Lovely video and a fitting tribute to the greatest ever racing driver (in my opinion). My father is motor sport crazy and Jim Clark was his hero, he told me all about Clark, his incredible skill and natural talent and the circumstances of his death when I was a kid and how it crushed him. (He was at sea with the Merchant Navy in April 68 when he heard the news on the ships radio in the Gulf Of Aden) He still shakes his head today when the subject of Jim's death is brought up, it upset him deeply. One day I'd love to take my Dad over to Hockenheim to the spot. Thanks Nick
Hi Nick, thx a lot for posting this video. Even I'm just living a few minutes away to this place I never took the chance to visit it before since my ten years old son asked me in 2020 to go there. So we watched your video, took our bikes and brought some little things to the place where Jim had this fatal accident. A very nice quite place as a reminder for the best driver of all time. Every year in April we visit this place now.
Hi Nick, your clip on visiting the place of Jim Clark's deadly accident touched me very much. You did a great job! But - as I was born and raised in the '50s and '60s close to Hockenheim - I would like to give you some additional input: You mention the "chicane" close to the place of accident several times. But you should know and inform your audience clearly, that this chicane did not exist at the time when the accident happened. This shows clearly, that the track in this area was almost straight, with only a very slight right turn, the fastest part of the complete track. (You can see the staight line of bushes - indicating the original track in the sandy area of the chicane on Google earth.) This, plus the rain at the day of the accident, heavily influenced the circumstances. To reduce speed, the chicane was built two years later - certainly as a result of what happened to Jim Clark.
Lovely work from both of you & going all that way. My Dad told me so much about this brilliant driver & I always think of him. I wonder just how different F1 would've been had he been driving into the 1970s, setting records far out of reach to most.... Thank you for posting this & no annoying music or anything, just respectfully produced
I was born way too late in 1983, but i love motorsports history and vintage sim racing (1967 F1 season being my favourite). Thanks so much for this video, it's a powerful tribute to one of the greatest men behind the wheel of a racecar.
Jim Clark was a kind and decent man. Had the pleasure of sitting in the table behind he and the lotus team at the USGP. We spoke all thru dinner and he was so kind to a young boy. In fact all the drivers were most gracious. Brabham, Ginther, Gurney, P Hill, G Hill, Bandini, Surtees. Jim was my favorite and I cried my heart out the day he passed.
The knuckleheads from Hockenheim removed the memory plate from the original place of the accident - because the part of the track doesn't exist anymore. What a shame.
What thoughtful & sincere tribute to one of the greatest racing drivers of all time - thank you so much for doing this - I watched Jim Clark race and feel that he deserves greater recognition
Thank you so much for preparing this video and instruction on how to get to the area of Jim's accident. One more trip for the bucket list, this guide will help!
Dear Nick Cooke I first of all want to say THANK YOU for the great job you did in pointing out the exact location as well as the way you presented this short clip in paying respect to ONE of the GREATEST DRIVERS of his day and by far this young man was a TRUE race car driver ahead of his time, once again THANK YOU for pointing out the spot as I have made it one of my places to see when I go to Germany and I can see I would have had one heck of a time finding it. R.I.P. Jim Clark
@Tom Smith Another thing to consider is the money end of it. Back then there was no money so you had to take care of your car and finish the race to make the money. Today, they get their $50,000,000 paycheck whether they finish a race or not. Whether they win the championship or not. so they can take all the chances they want and they know they won't get hurt doing it. So they LOOK superior to earlier drivers.
Thank's!!! Very good vídeo!!! I didn't know the memorial has been moved!!! When I back to Germany I go to the right real site of Jim accident. Thank you, very usual guide. Amazing!!!
Beautifully done, Nick. As a Scot, and an Anglophile (yes, we do exist) I’ve always appreciated the fascinating and touching brotherhood of genius that Jimmy and Colin Chapman had. A closeness of spirit and intent that produced the most glorious cars and racing that history will probably ever see. I must get out to Hockenheim soon, and I’ll be thanking you for showing the way to that spot. The only other individual who engenders that extent of feeling for me is Donald Campbell, a great Anglo-Scot. Coniston has been a place of pilgrimage for me so many times. And Hockenheim should be too. It was wonderful to see Bluebird flex it’s ‘wings’ again on Bute. Both men were from an era of such bravery and romance, and utterly gentlemen to the last...
Thank you for this informative, detailed film. I've been an F1 fan for 45 years yet Jim raced long before my time. Through old film and books read, he clearly was one of the most naturally talented and loved champions. Just following the 56th anniversary of his passing, your film was very welcome and interesting to watch. I doubt I'll ever get the opportunity to visit the crash site myself hence your film is all the more appreciated. Thank you for taking the time to research and make it,
A noble effort to help others who feel the loss of a great automotive racer to find this memorable spot , to serve tributes and honors to that amazing driver, who, Im sure was also a great man...(RIP) JIM CLARK
Very well done tribute to probably the greatest racing driver of all and a stellar ambassador for the sport of auto racing! I have been to his grave and would someday like to visit his crash site. Thank you for this upload.
Thank you for taking the time to document your trip . How warming it is to know that people still place flowers ... I must do so too one day .. again thank you .... regards .
Yes it was nice to see that Jim still has visitors. There is a small book behind the headstone {in a protective container}, so you can leave some thoughts.
Thank you for this video, as others said before it is a respectful tribute. One day, I hope I get there to locate the site took him from us. It is hard to to beleive it happened 50 years ago. RIP Jim.
Thanks for this guide. Just walking back from the two conifers to my car at the memorial. Very serene spot but such an insignificant place for a world hero to be taken. RIP fellow Scot.
Growing up in the USA you'd think we would be bigger fans of Indy but my parents were born and raised in Ireland with a Scottish connection and my dad was a huge Jim Clark fan. Dad was crushed by the loss of Jim Clark. We went to Watkins Glen numerous times in the 60's and 70's and our Memorial Day ritual was to go to Lime Rock Park for the sport car races. A different time...
I went to Lime Rock Park every major event from 13yo till I was 30yo Lime Rock Is the greatest race track In the middle of nowhere. Built because some buddies had all heard of a track called Watkins Glen. This Is Mr.C "F Camping Lot" Wattslaykin O.G
@@VeliusCoba -- The track at Lime Rock is nothing special but it was reasonably close to where we lived in upstate NY -- closer than the Glen. While at the Glen I got to witness some of the insanity that was The Bog!
It's amazing how much of the old circuit has gradually but almost completely disappeared. I presume that the racing surface was removed to some extent, leaving soil that quickly attracts vegetation. Without seeing the aerial photos, you would never know that the race track had ever been there.
Fantastic piece of work. I was born in Duns later that year. I still live in the area, and our friends live in Jim's farmhouse! It's on my bucket list to visit the site sometime, so thanks so much for helping me find it in the future :-)
thanks for doing this I'll never get to go there in person but you've let me visit it thru you thanks a lot...Jim Clark will NEVER be forgotten if not the than one of the greatest of all time.
Jim Clark was my hero, so I got on my pushbike and made my way from Darmstadt to the Hockenheimring on Saturday afternoon before that fateful day. The journey turned out to be much more of an adventure than I anticipated. By the time I trundled through the town it was getting close to midnight. A police patrol stopped me and asked what I was doing out so late. When i told them, they loaded my bike into the boot of the car, took me to the police station and locked me up in one of their cells. They thought I was a runaway. I was 14 years old. A couple of hours later they loaded me and my bike back into the car and took me to the nearest prison for juvenile delinquents, which was in Mannheim. I stayed there for the rest of the night. In the morning someone brought me a couple of slices of somewhat stale black bread smeared with margarine and jam. Also a tin mug with lukewarm instant coffee thinned out with way too much milk. Half an hour later I was taken to an office. The person behind the desk pointed at a black Bakelite telephone and told me to ring my parents, so they can come and pick me up and take me back home. I rang them, briefly explained my situation and handed the receiver to the man behind the desk. My parents told him that they gave me permission to go to the race. To my eternal gratitude two policemen in a different car (new shift, I suppose) not only took me back to Hockenheim, but dropped me off at a bike stand right next to one of the ring's ticket booths. Watching the support races from the main tribune was not nearly as exciting as I had hoped, though I did see a Fiat 124 go too fast into the right-hander after the starting straight and roll over twice. The cars were just too far away. So I took a walk around the place. Security was nothing like it is today. Someone had snipped a hole through a chainwire fence. Then there was a tunnel and another chainwire fence, also with a hole snipped through it. To my surprise I found myself behind the pits and surrounded by race cars. Of course I made a beeline for the F2 cars, which were easy to spot. The road grime of the Lotuses contrasted sharply with the immaculately polished cars of the competition. They also were the only cars fully liveried as cigarette advertisements. The rest were still painted in their traditional national colours. With a few hours to go for the first heat I had plenty of time to collect autographs. Among them were Jean-Pierre Beltoise, Henri Pescarolo, Kurt Ahrens, Jo Schlesser, Chris Amon, Derek Bell and yes, Graham Hill and Jim Clark as well. I tried to strike up a bit of a conversation with the latter. Although they did reply to my questions (I cannot remember what I asked) my school-English was not up to understanding them. They talked way too fast for me to make out what they said. Clark's death really shocked me. I remember sitting somewhere near the Sachs Kurve after the crowd had already left, watching someone in an Opel Kadet making his way around it, and thinking I should start on my way home. The trip back took about five hours and the entire time was taken up trying to come to grips with having had a brief chat with my hero just a couple of hours before he died. I have ridden down to the Hockenheimring three more times that year. On those occasions I made sure to have a piece of paper with my parents' permission on me. Also, a camera, dammit. The following year the entire family had migrated to Australia, where the car racing scene was quite disappointing. The last Trans-Tasman series had concluded before we disembarked in Sydney. I have commented on your video before, but you seem to have deleted it. That is a pity, but my criticism was not made with malice in mind. I just wanted to correct a couple of errors concerning the map you displayed near the start of your video. Hoping you receive it as constructive criticism, here it is again: None of the chicanes shown on the map at 1:42 existed when Jim Clark had his fatal crash in 1968. The ones shown as #1 and #3 were built in 1970. Chicane #2 was added in 1982. The Sachs curve did not look like it was shown here either. For a more accurate diagram of the Hockenheimring check this out: cdn.motorsportmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/01/28094022/Hockenheim-397-2.svg The speed indications are incorrect too. Clark's Lotus 48 would have had a top speed of 275 km/h (171 miles/h), and that would have been the speed it was travelling at when he crashed.
Lovely video, very sensitively done yet it gets the detail across. I’d like to pay my respects to Jim one day at Hockenheim, even though I was born 31 years after he died. Keep his memory alive :)
On a coolish Spring morning in 2002 my brother Stephen and I went looking for Jim's accident site. The morning was chilly for the time of year and even in the chill new spring flowers bloomed . We like yourself followed old maps trying to work out the old track location of his chicane etc. my family were big racing fans and our father had been a huge Clark fan . He had long passed but my brother and I had decided to make a pilgrimage to a few places where drivers had died or were buried . This one tore hard at heart strings . The woods almost quiet felt strange and empty . Barely any birds making noise. We found the chicane first the sand bank that we followed to to place that jim passed away. The memorial waited between two large conifers like on your video. Till that point is been ok . But on the sight of his crash I broke down and cried. We left flowers and a letter and told him we missed him . There were many flowers there old and new . Someone had been keeping it tidy. On the way back we passed an elderly man and his two sons who were also out looking for the memorial and we showed them where to find it . The old mans tears hurt me over again when he told us he'd seen Jim drive many times when he was younger. I wasn't born when Jim Clark met fate in a forest track in Hockenheim . I wasn't born until 1973. But brilliance in racing is forever. And the greatest wherever they are now will always be remembered for the brilliance they were on the track and fans of all backgrounds still remember . And can only dream .
I have been there today. I used to drive on the old circuit with my mountain bike when it was still in use. Such a shame to see that the entire tarmac and the circuit is gone. But the memorial was well maintained and had fresh flowers. I pleases my to see this and it gave me a heartwarming feeling today. Had my 11 year old godchild with me to show him this place of great tragedy and motorsport heroism.
very touching video mate, well done. I've been to Jim Clark's house, grave and his museum when I was a boy. maybe that's as close as I'll get to his crash site and that's because of you my man. glad to see its so peaceful. next year will be 50 years since his death. hope sky and the likes do a fitting tribute.
I believe if all the great racing drivers had lived at the same time and actually raced against each other then Jim Clark would be the man to come out on top. Some people may disagree but that's only because they're wrong ! Jim Clark 1936 - 1968 .
This has always been the question that people ask........ who is the best driver, runner, swimmer etc. Jim was no doubt the best at his time..... don't think anyone can say he is the best ever. Dear old Murray rates Fangio as number 1, with Jim at No. 2...........
My belief is that no one has ever seen the best at anything. I always feel the best, in this case, race car driver's life took him in a direction where he never got in a race car. But if he had . . . Thinking that way keeps you humble knowing you'll never be the best at anything. There is likely someone out there who never wanted to, or had a chance to prove who really was the best.
@@nickcooke536 Cars were much less reliable in Jim's day and during his career he had 26 races where nothing went wrong ( malfunctions, accidents etc). He won 25 of those and finished 2nd in the other one. That's a win percentage of 96.15% . He also won the Indy 500 in 1965, finished 2nd in 1966 and won the British Touring Car Championship, he had the British Rally sewn up too but for a late crash. He was able to take part in various categories of racing and be faster than the regular drivers.
Very well done and respectful. I followed Formula racing in high school getting most of my info from Car and Driver magazine. Loved every issue! We lost some great drivers, Pedro Rodriguez and others. Those certainly were some glory days of racing but drivers like Niki Lauda and James Hunt and so many others kept the legacy going. I wish I could list all the wonderful drivers we have seen like Dan Gurney, Stirling Moss, Jackie Stewart, Brabham, Chapman and many, many others. That would make a great YT series starting with the early days of racing. Thanks again, RIP JIMMY CLARK ET AL.
I watched Jimmy race here in Australia, when he and others of the F1 contingent would "holiday" Down Under for the Tasman Cup series in the 1960s. Fond memories.
It is important that videos such as this one are posted so that history is not lost or forgotten. In this way people who are interested can find these places.
I may like to share this with my family.. My father admired Jim Clark , in fact he brought the first Lotus Elan in early September 1963.. to the USA.. How appropriate my sons have the love of cars. Our son , Jim has some beautiful prints of Jim Clark.. winning Indy, and F1 .
Fangio said in an interview in Argentina, that Jim Clark was the most similar driver to him, and also said that he dead because the car was not good and had some problems , not because of Clark's driving.
I am always impressed by the following Jim had in life and after he crashed. I was lucky enough to catch the race in Monaco before Hockenheim - We were there in the stands at Hockenheim and as we were living in Heidelberg for several years - A week after I drove over to the track and it was raining like it was on race day. Of course i don't remember a path I just walked in till i found a tree that showed damage - no one else was there and i almost felt guilty taking photos. but I had my camera and I took several. At that time i was taking slides and over the years i had a small photo business and had thousands of negatives - If i get the time i intend to try to locate the slides. i don't see a place here to allow photos. I am pretty sure i was taking photos of the cars going to my right on the track into the woods. .
Officialdom dictates the moving of ze memorial, because ze track has been changed! But people still visit the site, because that is where he lost his life. Just as well it is accessible to the public! Very thoughtful and respectful video. Nice tribute. Hope everyone who visits respects it!
JIM CLARK - By far the greatest driver ever - no doubt. He is and was the Best of the Best. No other driver in history until today was so superior as Clark. This man is the Olymp of driving - the Michelangelo of racing - a dynamic art at the highest level. So smooth, so precise, so fast....simply out of this world. One, who won in Spa by 5 minutes (!) in monsoon rain with only one hand at the wheel (!) because of gearbox trouble...One, who takes back a complete lap (!) in Monza and back into the lead... One, who took pole on the original 22,8 km Nürburgring track by 9 (!) seconds and more....One who won Indy by 2 whole (!) laps...For eternity and by lightyears unmatched in the sport. That`s just four examples of his mesmeric unique genius...
Thank you for this. Was at new memorial just as work was starting on it. Didn't have time to get to the original site. Is on my bucket list along with visiting the grave site.
I was lucky enough to see Jim Clark race twice with the lotus 49 - at its birth at the 1967 Dutch Grand Prix and later that summer at the German Grand Prix held at the old Nurburgring I still remember his qualifying run at the German Grand Prix - some 9 seconds faster than the next driver. You could just see that Jim had an 'edge' that none of the other drivers, including legends such as Surtees, Brabham, Gurney, G. Hill etc, had. For me personally he still remains the greatest racing driver of all time.
I always felt suspicious about his death....and wondered if someone or other's had tampered with his car that day....remove the winner and you move yourself ahead....hmmm just wondering....Jim ....may God be with you......
@@leonnygren9394 Not that day but a week before in Barcelona. Jacky Ickx went into the rear LEFT wheel of the Lotus. Remember that at Hockenheim, the rear RIGHT wheel got loose and almost felt apart...
Very interesting. As crazed teenage F1 fans, in the era of Gille Villeneuve, my brother and I went to Hockenheim for the German Grand Prix. I'm pretty sure we trudged our way around most of the circuit very likely passing that exact spot. Not long after we'd been there PATRICK DEPALLIER was also killed in a crash. It's shocking to see how that part of the track has all but disappeared under new vegetation.
I remember coming out of the cinema as a kid, and someone saying "Jim Clark's been killed". He was a big hero in the 1960s and I rode the bus home in a daze.
I was there. I had just graduated from a US Army HS and a couple of friends and I drove from Mannheim to Hockenheim for the race. My first Formula 1 race and a day that I will always remember.
Brilliant bit of detective work .... and a tribute to a great man. I saw Jim Clark race in the Tasman Series in Australia at Warwick Farm, Sandown and Lakeside/Surfers Paradise 1966, 1967 and 1968
Just for the record, I found it very easy to find. I walked along the cycle path until I came across a little bridge with what looks like a drainage channel running under it, at that point, I turned right towards the circuit, and found the conifer trees about 1/2 mile further upstream to the right of the banked soil retaining the stream. Been wanting to find this location for decades.
With the help of your video, I found the coordinates on Google earth. 49°20'25.34"N, 8°35'4.59"E There is still a picture of the old memorial, but not for a long time since Google decided to kill Panoramio the source of Google earth pictures. This is another (bad) story… Anyway, I’m ready to go on April, 7 2018 for the 50th anniversary of this sad day and to pay tribute to a men who had such an influence on my hobbies and my passion for motorsport. Jim’s accident marked the end of an era in F1. He won his last grand prix in Kyalami 68 with the green/yellow lotus. At the next race, after Jimmy’s accident, the Lotus was painted with Gold Leaf colors. Jim Clark was the last gentlemen driver.
Going to totally ramp up the one-upmanship here (haha), my great great uncle had that farm obviously some time before the Clarks. (My family are still farmers in the area).
Emotional trip, i was 10 yo when the accident occurred. Ayrton Senna said that to him, Jim Clark was one of the very best drivers in times. Respect.
I was 16 and remember it well. My mother actually cried. I think she fancied him. A lovely man who will always be remembered. Thanx for posting.
A fitting tribute to the greatest racing driver of all time, in my opinion. Thanks for posting.
Lovely video and a fitting tribute to the greatest ever racing driver (in my opinion). My father is motor sport crazy and Jim Clark was his hero, he told me all about Clark, his incredible skill and natural talent and the circumstances of his death when I was a kid and how it crushed him. (He was at sea with the Merchant Navy in April 68 when he heard the news on the ships radio in the Gulf Of Aden) He still shakes his head today when the subject of Jim's death is brought up, it upset him deeply.
One day I'd love to take my Dad over to Hockenheim to the spot. Thanks Nick
Thanks for the beautiful video. I loved Jim Clark in my early teens and will definitely visit and pay my respects to Jim next time I visit Europe.
Hi Nick, thx a lot for posting this video. Even I'm just living a few minutes away to this place I never took the chance to visit it before since my ten years old son asked me in 2020 to go there. So we watched your video, took our bikes and brought some little things to the place where Jim had this fatal accident. A very nice quite place as a reminder for the best driver of all time. Every year in April we visit this place now.
Hi Nick,
your clip on visiting the place of Jim Clark's deadly accident touched me very much. You did a great job!
But - as I was born and raised in the '50s and '60s close to Hockenheim - I would like to give you some additional input:
You mention the "chicane" close to the place of accident several times. But you should know and inform your audience clearly, that this chicane did not exist at the time when the accident happened. This shows clearly, that the track in this area was almost straight, with only a very slight right turn, the fastest part of the complete track. (You can see the staight line of bushes - indicating the original track in the sandy area of the chicane on Google earth.) This, plus the rain at the day of the accident, heavily influenced the circumstances. To reduce speed, the chicane was built two years later - certainly as a result of what happened to Jim Clark.
I didn't think it existed...put it in after he was killed, it was a flat out section and raining and wet was not good circumstances.
Thank you for doing the homework to locate the original memorial and making the video. This pilgrimage is on my bucket list.
Lovely work from both of you & going all that way. My Dad told me so much about this brilliant driver & I always think of him. I wonder just how different F1 would've been had he been driving into the 1970s, setting records far out of reach to most....
Thank you for posting this & no annoying music or anything, just respectfully produced
German tv , his last race , with a picture of the tree which his car hit.
ua-cam.com/video/atnAfHgbi4w/v-deo.html
Very thoughtful and respectful.
I was born way too late in 1983, but i love motorsports history and vintage sim racing (1967 F1 season being my favourite). Thanks so much for this video, it's a powerful tribute to one of the greatest men behind the wheel of a racecar.
Jim Clark was a kind and decent man. Had the pleasure of sitting in the table behind he and the lotus team at the USGP. We spoke all thru dinner and he was so kind to a young boy. In fact all the drivers were most gracious. Brabham, Ginther, Gurney, P Hill, G Hill, Bandini, Surtees. Jim was my favorite and I cried my heart out the day he passed.
The knuckleheads from Hockenheim removed the memory plate from the original place of the accident - because the part of the track doesn't exist anymore. What a shame.
Barnabas Wanger did you watch the video completely? There's still a memorial site at the location of the accident
Störende arschlöcher, vergleichbare Stadtplaner, die das Straßennetz durcheinander bringen, alles überarbeiten!
What thoughtful & sincere tribute to one of the greatest racing drivers of all time - thank you so much for doing this - I watched Jim Clark race and feel that he deserves greater recognition
Thank You for putting together such a super video of the greatest racing driver that ever lived.
Top job.
Unfortunately we have lost Jim Clark and also the amazing circuit where he died.
Good grief! I never thought of it that way. They're both dead.
@@maxmulsanne7054 w forest 🌳 tho
@@TheGrinch_
The forest was there already. Long ago...
@@maxmulsanne7054 it still a decent track in may option but it nothing like the original
@@TheGrinch_
Yes, I agree. 🏁💨
Thanks mate that was so respectful of you. cheers. R.I.P. Jimmy Clark.
Thankyou for this. I very much doubt I'll ever get to go there myself. So this is very touching x
As a fan of the Great Jim Clark I thank You for sharing this.
A very nice tribute to a wonderful man. My uncle was his chief mechanic and remembers that day vividly.
Thank you so much for preparing this video and instruction on how to get to the area of Jim's accident. One more trip for the bucket list, this guide will help!
Dear Nick Cooke I first of all want to say THANK YOU for the great job you did in pointing out the exact location as well as the way you presented this short clip in paying respect to ONE of the GREATEST DRIVERS of his day and by far this young man was a TRUE race car driver ahead of his time, once again THANK YOU for pointing out the spot as I have made it one of my places to see when I go to Germany and I can see I would have had one heck of a time finding it. R.I.P. Jim Clark
This is a truly fitting tribute to the great Jim Clark. Well done Nick.
I tear up thinking of Jim Clark and all the great drivers we’ve lost too soon. Thank you for posting this remembrance.
49 years ago today Jimmy! It seems like it was yesterday. Nobody has ever replaced you.
Senna was at the level with jim
But not in a 17 year olds heart.
John Mierz nah senna was a great driver but not at the level of jim
@Tom Smith Another thing to consider is the money end of it. Back then there was no money so you had to take care of your car and finish the race to make the money. Today, they get their $50,000,000 paycheck whether they finish a race or not. Whether they win the championship or not. so they can take all the chances they want and they know they won't get hurt doing it. So they LOOK superior to earlier drivers.
Excellent video. I was a kid when he died but can remember it happening. Always my favourite driver and one of the greatest of all time
Thank You for a nice explanation to a sad situation.
Thank you for that tour of the old circuit and place of Jim Clark passing.
Thank's!!! Very good vídeo!!! I didn't know the memorial has been moved!!! When I back to Germany I go to the right real site of Jim accident. Thank you, very usual guide. Amazing!!!
Beautifully done, Nick. As a Scot, and an Anglophile (yes, we do exist) I’ve always appreciated the fascinating and touching brotherhood of genius that Jimmy and Colin Chapman had. A closeness of spirit and intent that produced the most glorious cars and racing that history will probably ever see. I must get out to Hockenheim soon, and I’ll be thanking you for showing the way to that spot.
The only other individual who engenders that extent of feeling for me is Donald Campbell, a great Anglo-Scot. Coniston has been a place of pilgrimage for me so many times. And Hockenheim should be too. It was wonderful to see Bluebird flex it’s ‘wings’ again on Bute.
Both men were from an era of such bravery and romance, and utterly gentlemen to the last...
Thank you for this informative, detailed film. I've been an F1 fan for 45 years yet Jim raced long before my time. Through old film and books read, he clearly was one of the most naturally talented and loved champions. Just following the 56th anniversary of his passing, your film was very welcome and interesting to watch. I doubt I'll ever get the opportunity to visit the crash site myself hence your film is all the more appreciated. Thank you for taking the time to research and make it,
A noble effort to help others who feel the loss of a great automotive racer to find this memorable spot , to serve tributes and honors to that amazing driver, who, Im sure was also a great man...(RIP) JIM CLARK
Very well done tribute to probably the greatest racing driver of all and a stellar ambassador for the sport of auto racing! I have been to his grave and would someday like to visit his crash site. Thank you for this upload.
Thank you VERY much for that video. I feel it to be of great importance to remember our heros.
Really lovely & respectful video. Great tribute to a motor sport legend. Thanx for uploading & sharing this fascinating footage Bfn. Rx
Thank you for taking the time to document your trip . How warming it is to know that people still place flowers ... I must do so too one day .. again thank you .... regards .
Yes it was nice to see that Jim still has visitors. There is a small book behind the headstone {in a protective container}, so you can leave some thoughts.
Thank you for this video, as others said before it is a respectful tribute.
One day, I hope I get there to locate the site took him from us. It is hard to to beleive it happened 50 years ago.
RIP Jim.
Thanks for this guide. Just walking back from the two conifers to my car at the memorial. Very serene spot but such an insignificant place for a world hero to be taken. RIP fellow Scot.
Growing up in the USA you'd think we would be bigger fans of Indy but my parents were born and raised in Ireland with a Scottish connection and my dad was a huge Jim Clark fan. Dad was crushed by the loss of Jim Clark. We went to Watkins Glen numerous times in the 60's and 70's and our Memorial Day ritual was to go to Lime Rock Park for the sport car races. A different time...
I went to Lime Rock Park every major event from 13yo till I was 30yo Lime Rock Is the greatest race track In the middle of nowhere. Built because some buddies had all heard of a track called Watkins Glen. This Is Mr.C "F Camping Lot" Wattslaykin O.G
@@VeliusCoba -- The track at Lime Rock is nothing special but it was reasonably close to where we lived in upstate NY -- closer than the Glen. While at the Glen I got to witness some of the insanity that was The Bog!
@@Raptorman0909 Ive Been to "The BOG"! Did you ever meet "The Blender Bunch"?
It's amazing how much of the old circuit has gradually but almost completely disappeared.
I presume that the racing surface was removed to some extent, leaving soil that quickly attracts vegetation. Without seeing the aerial photos, you would never know that the race track had ever been there.
Fantastic piece of work. I was born in Duns later that year. I still live in the area, and our friends live in Jim's farmhouse! It's on my bucket list to visit the site sometime, so thanks so much for helping me find it in the future :-)
Thanks so much.......... Jim to me was such a natural talent. Living in Jim's farmhouse would be very exciting to me..........
Thank you very sad Jim is one of the greats i followed him in the 60s i am now 74 and this really gets to me wonderful camera work thank you again .
thanks for doing this I'll never get to go there in person but you've let me visit it thru you thanks a lot...Jim Clark will NEVER be forgotten if not the than one of the greatest of all time.
Jim Clark was my hero, so I got on my pushbike and made my way from Darmstadt to the Hockenheimring on Saturday afternoon before that fateful day. The journey turned out to be much more of an adventure than I anticipated. By the time I trundled through the town it was getting close to midnight. A police patrol stopped me and asked what I was doing out so late. When i told them, they loaded my bike into the boot of the car, took me to the police station and locked me up in one of their cells. They thought I was a runaway. I was 14 years old. A couple of hours later they loaded me and my bike back into the car and took me to the nearest prison for juvenile delinquents, which was in Mannheim. I stayed there for the rest of the night. In the morning someone brought me a couple of slices of somewhat stale black bread smeared with margarine and jam. Also a tin mug with lukewarm instant coffee thinned out with way too much milk. Half an hour later I was taken to an office. The person behind the desk pointed at a black Bakelite telephone and told me to ring my parents, so they can come and pick me up and take me back home. I rang them, briefly explained my situation and handed the receiver to the man behind the desk. My parents told him that they gave me permission to go to the race. To my eternal gratitude two policemen in a different car (new shift, I suppose) not only took me back to Hockenheim, but dropped me off at a bike stand right next to one of the ring's ticket booths.
Watching the support races from the main tribune was not nearly as exciting as I had hoped, though I did see a Fiat 124 go too fast into the right-hander after the starting straight and roll over twice. The cars were just too far away. So I took a walk around the place. Security was nothing like it is today. Someone had snipped a hole through a chainwire fence. Then there was a tunnel and another chainwire fence, also with a hole snipped through it. To my surprise I found myself behind the pits and surrounded by race cars. Of course I made a beeline for the F2 cars, which were easy to spot. The road grime of the Lotuses contrasted sharply with the immaculately polished cars of the competition. They also were the only cars fully liveried as cigarette advertisements. The rest were still painted in their traditional national colours.
With a few hours to go for the first heat I had plenty of time to collect autographs. Among them were Jean-Pierre Beltoise, Henri Pescarolo, Kurt Ahrens, Jo Schlesser, Chris Amon, Derek Bell and yes, Graham Hill and Jim Clark as well. I tried to strike up a bit of a conversation with the latter. Although they did reply to my questions (I cannot remember what I asked) my school-English was not up to understanding them. They talked way too fast for me to make out what they said.
Clark's death really shocked me. I remember sitting somewhere near the Sachs Kurve after the crowd had already left, watching someone in an Opel Kadet making his way around it, and thinking I should start on my way home. The trip back took about five hours and the entire time was taken up trying to come to grips with having had a brief chat with my hero just a couple of hours before he died.
I have ridden down to the Hockenheimring three more times that year. On those occasions I made sure to have a piece of paper with my parents' permission on me. Also, a camera, dammit. The following year the entire family had migrated to Australia, where the car racing scene was quite disappointing. The last Trans-Tasman series had concluded before we disembarked in Sydney.
I have commented on your video before, but you seem to have deleted it. That is a pity, but my criticism was not made with malice in mind. I just wanted to correct a couple of errors concerning the map you displayed near the start of your video. Hoping you receive it as constructive criticism, here it is again:
None of the chicanes shown on the map at 1:42 existed when Jim Clark had his fatal crash in 1968. The ones shown as #1 and #3 were built in 1970. Chicane #2 was added in 1982. The Sachs curve did not look like it was shown here either. For a more accurate diagram of the Hockenheimring check this out: cdn.motorsportmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/01/28094022/Hockenheim-397-2.svg
The speed indications are incorrect too. Clark's Lotus 48 would have had a top speed of 275 km/h (171 miles/h), and that would have been the speed it was travelling at when he crashed.
O Flower of Scotland,
When will we see your like again?
Those days are past now, and in the past they must remain.
Thank you so much for sharing this. A fine tribute to keep this great mans memory alive.
Nick this was really a lovely video for you to upload, thank you so very much!
Thanks, Nick, for a very interesting post. That must have been a bit of work, now much appreciated.
RIP Jim & Hockenheim.
Thank you for sharing. Jim was my favorite racer and a great man.
good of you to share this interesting video.
Thanks
I remember it well and was very upset. I visited the marker for Jimmy in the summer of 1971 wile in the US military. Thanks for the video.
heart breaking but well put together ... 1 Jim Clarke
Thank you Nick . Brings tears to my eyes...
Lovely video, very sensitively done yet it gets the detail across. I’d like to pay my respects to Jim one day at Hockenheim, even though I was born 31 years after he died. Keep his memory alive :)
well done sir, Thank you for the upload...
On a coolish Spring morning in 2002 my brother Stephen and I went looking for Jim's accident site. The morning was chilly for the time of year and even in the chill new spring flowers bloomed . We like yourself followed old maps trying to work out the old track location of his chicane etc. my family were big racing fans and our father had been a huge Clark fan . He had long passed but my brother and I had decided to make a pilgrimage to a few places where drivers had died or were buried . This one tore hard at heart strings . The woods almost quiet felt strange and empty . Barely any birds making noise. We found the chicane first the sand bank that we followed to to place that jim passed away. The memorial waited between two large conifers like on your video. Till that point is been ok . But on the sight of his crash I broke down and cried. We left flowers and a letter and told him we missed him . There were many flowers there old and new . Someone had been keeping it tidy. On the way back we passed an elderly man and his two sons who were also out looking for the memorial and we showed them where to find it . The old mans tears hurt me over again when he told us he'd seen Jim drive many times when he was younger. I wasn't born when Jim Clark met fate in a forest track in Hockenheim . I wasn't born until 1973. But brilliance in racing is forever. And the greatest wherever they are now will always be remembered for the brilliance they were on the track and fans of all backgrounds still remember . And can only dream .
I have been there today. I used to drive on the old circuit with my mountain bike when it was still in use. Such a shame to see that the entire tarmac and the circuit is gone. But the memorial was well maintained and had fresh flowers. I pleases my to see this and it gave me a heartwarming feeling today. Had my 11 year old godchild with me to show him this place of great tragedy and motorsport heroism.
Well done Nick, respectful memorial video, thank you
Nice video, thanks for uploading and giving us the information
very touching video mate, well done. I've been to Jim Clark's house, grave and his museum when I was a boy. maybe that's as close as I'll get to his crash site and that's because of you my man. glad to see its so peaceful. next year will be 50 years since his death. hope sky and the likes do a fitting tribute.
Many thanks for your help so others can come and pay their respects, great racing driver Jim Clarke rip
Nicely done. Thanks for posting.
I believe if all the great racing drivers had lived at the same time and actually raced against each other then Jim Clark would be the man to come out on top. Some people may disagree but that's only because they're wrong ! Jim Clark 1936 - 1968 .
This has always been the question that people ask........ who is the best driver, runner, swimmer etc. Jim was no doubt the best at his time..... don't think anyone can say he is the best ever. Dear old Murray rates Fangio as number 1, with Jim at No. 2...........
My belief is that no one has ever seen the best at anything. I always feel the best, in this case, race car driver's life took him in a direction where he never got in a race car. But if he had . . .
Thinking that way keeps you humble knowing you'll never be the best at anything. There is likely someone out there who never wanted to, or had a chance to prove who really was the best.
@@nickcooke536 Cars were much less reliable in Jim's day and during his career he had 26 races where nothing went wrong ( malfunctions, accidents etc). He won 25 of those and finished 2nd in the other one. That's a win percentage of 96.15% . He also won the Indy 500 in 1965, finished 2nd in 1966 and won the British Touring Car Championship, he had the British Rally sewn up too but for a late crash. He was able to take part in various categories of racing and be faster than the regular drivers.
Keeping the memories alive. It's pretty much the only thing you can do for him now. But it's a good thing.
Thanks for making this video.
Very well done and respectful. I followed Formula racing in high school getting most of my info from Car and Driver magazine. Loved every issue! We lost some great drivers, Pedro Rodriguez and others. Those certainly were some glory days of racing but drivers like Niki Lauda and James Hunt and so many others kept the legacy going. I wish I could list all the wonderful drivers we have seen like Dan Gurney, Stirling Moss, Jackie Stewart, Brabham, Chapman and many, many others. That would make a great YT series starting with the early days of racing. Thanks again, RIP JIMMY CLARK ET AL.
Hi Nick,
Pleasure to meet you and chat at the Jim Clark Chicane on Thursday of the race weekend just past.
All the best,
Gav
I watched Jimmy race here in Australia, when he and others of the F1 contingent would "holiday" Down Under for the Tasman Cup series in the 1960s. Fond memories.
Thanks Nick, it makes me cry everytime I watch...Jimmy is still my hero...
Gonna visit him soon 🙏
It is important that videos such as this one are posted so that history is not lost or forgotten. In this way people who are interested can find these places.
50 years ago. RIP Jim.
I may like to share this with my family.. My father admired Jim Clark , in fact he brought the first Lotus Elan in early September 1963.. to the USA.. How appropriate my sons have the love of cars. Our son , Jim has some beautiful prints of Jim Clark.. winning Indy, and F1 .
Fangio said in an interview in Argentina, that Jim Clark was the most similar driver to him, and also said that he dead because the car was not good and had some problems , not because of Clark's driving.
I am always impressed by the following Jim had in life and after he crashed. I was lucky enough to catch the race in Monaco before Hockenheim - We were there in the stands at Hockenheim and as we were living in Heidelberg for several years - A week after I drove over to the track and it was raining like it was on race day. Of course i don't remember a path I just walked in till i found a tree that showed damage - no one else was there and i almost felt guilty taking photos. but I had my camera and I took several. At that time i was taking slides and over the years i had a small photo business and had thousands of negatives - If i get the time i intend to try to locate the slides. i don't see a place here to allow photos. I am pretty sure i was taking photos of the cars going to my right on the track into the woods. .
I would love to see those photos!
Officialdom dictates the moving of ze memorial, because ze track has been changed! But people still visit the site, because that is where he lost his life. Just as well it is accessible to the public! Very thoughtful and respectful video. Nice tribute. Hope everyone who visits respects it!
JIM CLARK - By far the greatest driver ever - no doubt. He is and was the Best of the Best. No other driver in history until today was so superior as Clark.
This man is the Olymp of driving - the Michelangelo of racing - a dynamic art at the highest level. So smooth, so precise, so fast....simply out of this world. One, who won in Spa by 5 minutes (!) in monsoon rain with only one hand at the wheel (!) because of gearbox trouble...One, who takes back a complete lap (!) in Monza and back into the lead... One, who took pole on the original 22,8 km Nürburgring track by 9 (!) seconds and more....One who won Indy by 2 whole (!) laps...For eternity and by lightyears unmatched in the sport. That`s just four examples of his mesmeric unique genius...
100% Jim Clark is the GOAT- THE MASTER!
Thank you for this. Was at new memorial just as work was starting on it. Didn't have time to get to the original site. Is on my bucket list along with visiting the grave site.
I was lucky enough to see Jim Clark race twice with the lotus 49 - at its birth at the 1967 Dutch Grand Prix and later that summer at the German Grand Prix held at the old Nurburgring I still remember his qualifying run at the German Grand Prix - some 9 seconds faster than the next driver. You could just see that Jim had an 'edge' that none of the other drivers, including legends such as Surtees, Brabham, Gurney, G. Hill etc, had. For me personally he still remains the greatest racing driver of all time.
Certainly out of all the drivers that I saw around his era, he 'had the edge' as far as I'm concerned. He made it look easy.
Not exactly (about weak competition) - Nurburgring lap was over 8 minutes... so 9 secs is not as much as it seems...
I always felt suspicious about his death....and wondered if someone or other's had tampered with his car that day....remove the winner and you move yourself ahead....hmmm just wondering....Jim ....may God be with you......
Tony Willis how old are yu ?!!
@@leonnygren9394 Not that day but a week before in Barcelona. Jacky Ickx went into the rear LEFT wheel of the Lotus.
Remember that at Hockenheim, the rear RIGHT wheel got loose and almost felt apart...
Great video and factual. Thanks for sharing.
Grande Jim,eri il mio mito,avevo 22anni.Ho sofferto per la tua morte prematura.Non ti dimenticherò!R.I.P.
Great work, I'd like to visit one day, Jim was a legend. It's taken a long time to improve F1 safety
I can't believe how quickly nature has reclaimed the land where the old circuit ran. It's both sad and beautiful.
Thank you, Nick. Well done.
I don't know whats more sad. Seeing his memorial or what is left of the old Hockenheim I watched Mika & Michael battle on.
Very insightful n respectful Nick...thank you so much ffor the sharing....
Very interesting. As crazed teenage F1 fans, in the era of Gille Villeneuve, my brother and I went to Hockenheim for the German Grand Prix. I'm pretty sure we trudged our way around most of the circuit very likely passing that exact spot. Not long after we'd been there PATRICK DEPALLIER was also killed in a crash. It's shocking to see how that part of the track has all but disappeared under new vegetation.
I remember coming out of the cinema as a kid, and someone saying "Jim Clark's been killed". He was a big hero in the 1960s and I rode the bus home in a daze.
I was on my way home from Brands Hatch when I heard it on my car radio. Great shock.........
I was there. I had just graduated from a US Army HS and a couple of friends and I drove from Mannheim to Hockenheim for the race. My first Formula 1 race and a day that I will always remember.
it wasn't a Formula 1 race, it was Formula 2.
Brilliant bit of detective work .... and a tribute to a great man. I saw Jim Clark race in the Tasman Series in Australia at Warwick Farm, Sandown and Lakeside/Surfers Paradise 1966, 1967 and 1968
Heart touching and lovely video
Thank you very much for this. Off to find it this weekend.
Respect Nick. Thank You🇦🇺
He was the greatest of them all!
Very nice video and great information. Thanks for uploading :)
Just for the record, I found it very easy to find.
I walked along the cycle path until I came across a little bridge with what looks like a drainage channel running under it, at that point, I turned right towards the circuit, and found the conifer trees about 1/2 mile further upstream to the right of the banked soil retaining the stream. Been wanting to find this location for decades.
With the help of your video, I found the coordinates on Google earth. 49°20'25.34"N, 8°35'4.59"E
There is still a picture of the old memorial, but not for a long time since Google decided to kill Panoramio the source of Google earth pictures. This is another (bad) story… Anyway, I’m ready to go on April, 7 2018 for the 50th anniversary of this sad day and to pay tribute to a men who had such an influence on my hobbies and my passion for motorsport. Jim’s accident marked the end of an era in F1. He won his last grand prix in Kyalami 68 with the green/yellow lotus. At the next race, after Jimmy’s accident, the Lotus was painted with Gold Leaf colors. Jim Clark was the last gentlemen driver.
So agree............I wish I had met him.
Jim you are still a gentleman and someone to inspire people.
you may be dead but you'll always be alive to us......
Thank you for sharing this.
I've been to his graveside in the village of Chirnside, Borders, Scotland.
Yes so have I, as well as his farm.
Going to totally ramp up the one-upmanship here (haha), my great great uncle had that farm obviously some time before the Clarks. (My family are still farmers in the area).
Congratulations on the video stating the exact location where the remains of Jim Clark's car were found.👏👏👏🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷