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1969 Jim Clark Tragedy

Jim Clark, one of the greatest grand prix racers of all time, died in a tragic accident during a Formula 2 race in Hockenheim, Germany. Clark, widely regarded as the most naturally gifted F1 racer of all time, competed his entire career on behalf of Colin Chapman's Team Lotus. He won two World Championships, in 1963 and in 1965. Clark's 1965 season is undoubtedly the sport's greatest individual achievement. Clark led every lap of every race he finished, and he won the Indy 500. Known for his soft-spoken manor, Clark was known for his ability to win on all types of courses, including those that he personally detested. He won four straight Belgian GPs at his least favorite course, the arduous Spa-Francorchamps circuit. Clark died in a meaningless race at Hockenheim, when his car mysteriously left the track and collided with a tree. His death shocked the racing world. Chris Amon, then with Ferrari described his own feelings about the accident, "If it could happen to him what chance did the rest of us have? I think we all felt that. It seemed like we'd lost our leader."

1969 Jim Clark Tragedy

1968. Very sad. Sadder to think that now the place he died is in the middle of a forest,as they've dug up the original "ring" at Hockenheim, and filled the old track area with trees too...

thanks - I thought it was 1968 (that's what I remembered from the news at the time)  I guess you can't trust the History Channel with getting their facts straight.


1968 was a terrible year in terms of racing (and US political, but that's a separate issue) deaths.

Apart from J. Clark, I believe that Pedro Rodriguez also lost his life that year (his brother Ricardo having died about 1961/62)

A sad loss to the racing world. Truely one of the greats!

Clark died in a meaningless race at Hockenheim

I dislike that statement greatly. Jim Clark loved racing and every moment he could spend in the car he did. every race meant something to him. A great man lost before his time. Thankfully the younger generation such as myself still have the chance to read about his career.

If I remember correctly he wasn't happy at Hockenheim in the Lotus as he was running about 8th, and also it was because of Lotus he was there as he was also meant to be driving for Ford that weekend at Brands Hatch... mind you its a while since I read my Racing Legends book..... don't know where it is at the minute to confirm the facts.

Clark was one of a kind, one that we will never see again.  Its hard to imagine a time when it was common to see so many fatalities in one year.  

I have been lucky enough to never see a fatality live in my 4 years of watching racing.  I was going to watch the 2001 Daytona 500, but I completely forgot about it.  The following weeks I began to watch NASCAR.  Then late that season I watched everything else that was on.  In 1999, there were 2 horrible wrecks in CART that killed 2 drivers.  Gonzalo Rodriguez-Laguna Seca, Gregg Moore-Fontana.  Both of their fatalities improved safety on the tracks greatly.

I have been darn close to seeing a race fatality live(Kenny Brack), but hopefully, I won't ever.

I remember the Greg Moore crash vividly - I was watching the race live on Eurosport at the time. Awful, one of the worst things I've ever seen. It seemed inevitable when the race coverage was then disrupted to show the doctor's statement...

Very, very sad