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Archive for the tag “1965”

29 May 2015
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The month of May (1965): photo album/3

In shirtsleeves
And so it was time for qualifying. Saturday, May 15. Over 200,000 fans streamed into the Speedway. The sun was warm, the atmosphere electric. Jim wore a short-sleeved shirt to the track, then changed into his Hinchmans.  It was a media frenzy; the qualifying line was a mass of people, cars and equipment.  Jim found shelter under the Lotus pit wall gantry.Shelter2 Qual readyHe was due on track shortly after Mario, who took the temporary pole with a four-lap average of 158.849mph in his Clint Brawner/Jim McGee Brabham copy.

Jim and Mike fired up the Ford V8. The first engine had covered an amazing 1500 miles over the opening week, with a new boost-venturi fuel injection system providing improved consumption with no loss of power.  Jim had revved the engine to 9,300 in this period but would restrict the race engine to 9,100 for qualifying and then 8,800 for the 500 miles. No-one believed that Firestone could take the pole – and so it proved.Qual out  Having said that, Jim’s second lap broke the 160mph barrier (160.973mph) for the first time and paved the way to a four-lap average of 159.405mph. Amazingly, as Colin and the media swarmed around him, Jim apologised for “making a mess of it” on laps three and four due to the sudden gusts of wind. Qualifying P2

AJ Foyt (below) stalled his Ford engine just prior to his run but eventually took to the track in calmer conditions. Maximising his softer Goodyears, he won the pole at a stunning average of 161.233mph. Foyt on poleJim would start from the middle of the front row, with Dan to his right.

Then, for Jim, came a welcome break: he headed for the airport and a flight back to London. He would spend a few days in Scotland and then return, with Sally Stokes, to Indy for the race. Jim’s team-mate, Bobby Johns, would “sit in” for him during the traditional front-row photographs on the Monday.

Images: The Henry Ford Collection, The Peter Windsor Collection

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Posted in Jim Clark's 1965 season and tagged , , , , , , ,
29 May 2015
4 Comments

The month of May (1965): photo album/2

Action - no peakUnfamiliar in peakless helmet in the early testing days at Indy, Jim quickly established the race-winning potential of the Lotus 38.  With DanAs intense as the programme quickly became, there was also a feeling of isolation in the vast Speedway and within the town of Indy itself. Jim’s season until that point had been a blur of different cars, circuits, airports, aircraft, hotels and restaurants. Now he was at The Speedway and the rest of his European racing friends were preparing first for the non-championship F1 race at Silverstone and then for Monaco. Everyone, that is, except the driver closest to Jim’s heart – Dan Gurney. Dan had initially run as Jim’s Indy team-mate but was now managing his own, Yamaha-sponsored Lotus 38 on Goodyears as a precursor to his AAR F1 programme in 1966. Both drivers were going to miss the International Trophy at Silverstone (where Pedro Rodriguez would deputise for Jim, finishing fourth behind team-mate Mike Spence) and the Monaco GP; both had so much in common – including, while Jim tested them,  Goodyear tyres (below and below right). The Goodyears proved to be a little quicker than the Firestones but, as Jim Smith remembers in the adjoining video, Team Lotus eventually opted for Firestones after the Goodyears began to show signs of chunking. Tyres were always a concern for Jim Clark (using a new white peak from the second week onwards), particularly after the problems with the Dunlops at Indy in 1964

Indianapolis 500, Indianapolis, IN, 1965. Jim Clark prepares for practice in his Lotus-Ford 38. CD#0777-3292-0895-29.Tyre temps

Also at the back of everyone’s minds was the loss of Bobby Marshman, Bobby Marshmanthe ultra-quick US-based Lotus development driver (left) who had crashed heavily when the throttle stuck open while engine testing at Phoenix late in 1964; he had subsequently succumbed to his second- and third-degree burns

And so the month swept on. Colin Chapman couldn’t resist a bit of aircraft-spotting; 

Eyes up Flat out Flat out 2 Boys at rest Window sign Rubbing eyes

 

 

 

 

Jim often sat it out on the track; the boys took impromptu naps after the frequent all-nighters; and, while the inevitable joke-signs appeared on garage windows in Gasoline Alley, Jim worked hard, thinking of every possible angle.

Jim also befriended a young Italian-American named Mario Andretti (below).  Mario was in his rookie year but was already highly-rated by such drivers as Rodger Ward, Parnelli Jones and AJ Foyt.  With Mario

Images: The Henry Ford, The Peter Windsor Collection

 

Posted in Jim Clark's 1965 season and tagged , , , , , , , , ,
28 May 2015

The Month of May (1965): photo album/1

First things first: Andrew Ferguson, Team Manager, was corralled by Colin Chapman at the beginning of May to paint the number “82” on the nose of Lotus 38/1.  This was the result:Andrew's numberVery quickly, Colin employed the services of an Indy professional signwriter (George Gruber).  The result, complete with serifs, was artistic magic. Andrew (pictured below right in the background, in dark polo shirt) later recalled the incident in his excellent autobiography.Andrew Ferguson

In terms of performance, the month of May began well…and grew better by the day.  First time out on the famous Speedway, Jim loved the feel of the Lotus 38.  Very quickly, the month became a systematic box-ticking exercise punctuated by frequent breaks: fuel consumption runs, tyre choice, transmission tests…engine change. Here, Jim’s climbing into the 38 at the still-empty Speedway.  At this stage of the month he was wearing his Bell Magnum minus peak (as he had done since Easter Monday Goodwood) but was already using a new design of Firestone/Hinchman overalls. Later in the month he would add a Team Lotus badge to the top-right chest space. As Jim wore seat belts (shoulder and waist) as per the Indy regulations, he required the assistance of Chief Mechanic Dave Lazenby, Jim Smith (left) and Mike Underwood to climb into the cockpit. This was a far cry from F1, where, on the same weekend as Indy, Graham Hill would win a classic victory at Monaco after spinning his BRM in avoidance of a slower car, climbing out, pushing it back into position with the assistance of the marshals and then rejoining the race

Climbing in 1Climbing 1AAClimbing 1AClimbing 3Climbing 4

Jim walkingJim Smith, Mike Underwood and Colin Chapman wheel Jim’s Lotus 38-Ford out of Gasoline Alley on or about May 3:  the car has yet to be fitted with its cooling duct over the pedal area

Images: The Henry Ford, The Peter Windsor Collection

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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