Jim Clark - Tribute to A Champion - Eric Dymock

Jim Clark is possibly the most gifted racing driver ever to emerge from British shores, yet his public profile was never as high as several of his contemporaries or near-contemporaries. Graham Hill was a charismatic extrovert who enjoyed the limelight and public affection, whilst Stirling Moss and Jackie Stewart survived their racing careers to achieve a high media profile in the ensuing decades.

Clark's comparatively low level of recognition with the general public may be put down to his reserve and reticence, and these and other elements of his make-up are examined in Eric Dymock's book, first published in 1997. The common perceptions about him may have clouded a more complicated and nebulous picture. The book devotes much space to assessing Clark's character traits and psyche, in addition to his feats on the racetrack.

Much emphasis is placed on his upbringing in the Scottish Borders farming community, as well as his education, and all this provides a more rounded portrait of the man than is often projected by superficial and condensed television documentaries and internet "screenbites".  This once again reinforces my conviction that if you want to acquire a nuanced understanding of a subject, don't rely purely on "audio-visual" media;read books, too.

Dymock's book has a quirky flavour and structure to it which I found quite appealing, eschewing a dry chronological story, and occasionally going off on tangents to explore sub-texts. Don't expect an exhaustive documentation of race results and chassis numbers. There is some input from people who knew Clark well, and their observations merely serve to strengthen the enigma. 

What emerged for me was a sometimes melancholy tale, not a smooth and seamless fairytale. The contradictions inherent in motor racing come through;people were entranced by aspects of the sport, but also had to reconcile themselves to its more unsavoury realities, especially the dangers and risks. Also, the true nature of the sport in the Sixties was perhaps not as idyllic and wholesome as is sometimes made out.  Some of that era's most revered exponents were not as perfect and heroic as some might like to hope, and Dymock does not flinch from highlighting some of the flaws. 

An illuminating and intriguing read...

Golden Era?

In a recent interview, Fernando Alonso suggested that the 2012 driver line-up will be the strongest in the history of Formula 1, with six world champions on the grid, and other notables such as Massa and Webber also out there.

This claim has also been advanced by some fans and members of the media, but does it stand up to scrutiny?  Whilst statistically the CVs of the class of 2012 will make impressive reading, other factors need to be examined.

Two of the six champions in the field will be Michael Schumacher and Kimi Raikkonen.  The German cannot be said to be at his peak, whilst the Finn is returning from an F1 hiatus.  There is also an argument for saying that the statistical accomplishments of drivers in this current era are distorted by the polarisation of resources, and therefore success, amongst two or three teams. Smaller grids also mean that there are fewer also-rans diluting the quality of the grid.

So which other periods in F1 history can claim to have had comparable, or superior, depth of driving talent?  Well, the mid-to-late 1970s, prior to the retirement of James Hunt and Niki Lauda, were very strong in this respect. In addition to Lauda and Hunt, we had Mario Andretti,Carlos Reutemann, Ronnie Peterson, Jody Scheckter, Clay Regazzoni, Patrick Depailler, Carlos Pace, John Watson and others. The racing at this time was fantastically competitive, and the victories were therefore spread around more, meaning that many careers left more of an indelible mark in the minds of fans, rather than in the record books.

Similar claims could be made for the 1960s and early 1970s, the "Jim Clark" and "Jackie Stewart" eras, and of course the issue of safety has also to be taken into account when making an assessment. Careers tend to be longer nowadays, cars are more reliable and there are more events on the calendar.

In truth, it is very difficut to make a direct comparison, because racing has changed out of all recognition over the decades, but I would simply counsel caution over possibly inflated claims made about the quality of the current grid. By any objective standard, it is indeed a formidable line-up, but people would also be well advised to consult the history books in order to acquire some perspective....