{"id":610972,"date":"2020-01-13T14:59:34","date_gmt":"2020-01-13T14:59:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/archive\/article\/\/\/jim-clarks-cortina"},"modified":"2023-04-17T17:34:33","modified_gmt":"2023-04-17T16:34:33","slug":"jim-clarks-cortina","status":"publish","type":"issue_content","link":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/archive\/article\/october-2019\/78\/jim-clarks-cortina\/","title":{"rendered":"Delivering Jim Clark’s Lotus Cortina \u2014 with Dario Franchitti"},"content":{"rendered":"

T<\/span>he sun is breaking through to the east of Gleneagles railway station. There\u2019s the occasional car passing on the A9, 200 metres to the west, but it\u2019s quiet enough to hear the starlings and pigeons. Until, that is, the dawn chorus is broken by a popping, banging, four-cylinder motor.<\/span><\/p>\n

Around the corner comes the unmistakable Ermine White and green flash of a Lotus Cortina. A waiting van driver looks on in amusement \u2013 it\u2019s not every day you see one of Ford\u2019s finest here in the Highlands. What he may not have known, though, was exactly which car this was. Or who was behind the wheel.<\/p>\n

This is BJH 417B, Jim Clark\u2019s 1964 British Saloon Car Championship-winning Lotus Cortina. In typical Clark style, he won his class in every round he entered that year, and even won three races outright when the quicker Galaxies faltered. His results in this little Cortina were superb: Oulton Park (twice) and Crystal Palace \u2013 first in class and first overall; Snetterton, Brands Hatch and Goodwood \u2013 first in class and second overall; Aintree and Silverstone \u2013 first in class and third overall. It was utter domination.<\/p>\n

\"Clark
Clark at Crystal Palace in 1964, en route to one of three outright wins that season<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Three-time Indy 500 winner and four-time IndyCar champion Dario Franchitti pulls up by the early 20th century railway station with a cheery, \u201cMorning mate!\u201d Dario is a self-confessed Jim Clark nut and this Cortina is one of his most prized possessions, something he spent many years pursuing. The mission today is simple: deliver BJH 417B to the newly extended and refurbished Jim Clark Motorsport Museum in Duns, two hours to the south. This is prime Clark territory as, after being born in Kilmany, Fife, he moved to Edington Mains Farm just outside the pretty Borders town of Duns.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not 100 per cent sure you\u2019re going to fit,\u201d says Dario looking back at the Cortina, wary that the Formula Junior seats were not made for my 6ft 7in frame. Relief. I can get in, even if it looks as though Dario is giving Harry Potter\u2019s Hagrid a lift.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe won his class in every round he entered that year. clark’s results in this little Cortina were superb<\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Bar the Formula Junior seats, the interior is as you\u2019d expect \u2013 rear seats, a minimal dash, no carpet and no seat belts. To the left of my shin, or most people\u2019s knee, is the windscreen washer bottle. \u201cThis steering wheel was favoured by Jim,\u201d Dario says as I\u2019m looking around. \u201cIt\u2019s the one he liked to have in his cars. It\u2019s really flimsy, but it feels good. The steering is actually quite heavy because it has a load of castor. If you pull away from a junction with a lot of lock on, you have to give it some throttle so that it doesn\u2019t stall.\u201d<\/p>\n

Is that because he needs to go to the gym a bit more often? \u201cProbably correct,\u201d he says. \u201cI don\u2019t frequent the gym nearly as much as I used to.\u201d<\/p>\n

We head off onto the A9, bypass Stirling on the M9 and then head around Edinburgh, eventually splitting off the ring road onto the A68. After a stop for fuel, we get onto the A-roads that will take us to Duns and the Cortina starts making sense. The car is running better \u2013 it has been sitting idle for a while \u2013 and Dario\u2019s face lights up as the two lanes become one ahead of us.<\/p>\n

\"Clark's
Clark's Cortina in a more tranquil setting, 55 years later<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThese are the roads he would have driven in his Cortina road car \u2013 550 VAR,\u201d Dario shouts over the noise of the engine, \u201cand I guess, at times, they would have tested the D-type around here. The Aston Martin DBR1, too. If it needed some modifications or had a problem in the race before, they would have taken it on these roads and given it a wee clean-out. To be driving this car, on these roads, is really something special. It just feels\u2026 right<\/i>.\u201d<\/p>\n

I\u2019d never sat in an ex-Clark car before, so the mixture of this Cortina, these roads and this location are enough to send your mind spinning back to the early \u201960s \u2013 an age of no speed limits, plus the chance of seeing world champion driver Jim Clark out testing in some exotic machinery.<\/p>\n

Peeling off the A68 onto the A697, we pass The Lodge at Carfraemill. \u201cThis is where Jim and the guys from the Border Reivers  <\/span>team would stop after races either to commiserate or, more often, talk about their win,\u201d says Dario, offering a small glimpse into his astonishing knowledge of all things Jim Clark. \u201cA pretty neat part of history. Now the roads from here to Duns get really cool.\u201d<\/p>\n

Having not spent much time in road cars with professional racing drivers, the Cortina trip was an eye-opener. Apexes were hit with zero fuss, while braking, changing gear and accelerating were effortlessly smooth. It was initially quite alarming how close Dario would get to cars as he overtook them, but the throttle was always kept steady, there was never a panic. I guess that\u2019s what happens when you spend your career inches away from 20 other cars on an oval, at average speeds of more than 200mph\u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cThe museum had welcomed more than 300,000 visitors, including Ayrton Senna<\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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We made good time, despite a diversion, and pulled into Duns on schedule. There was a small amount of relief on Dario\u2019s face \u2013 despite a tiny oil leak from the oil filler cap, BJH 417B didn\u2019t miss a beat. At the museum, a camera crew, two photographers and various journalists were waiting for him and the car. I made myself scarce and capitalised on a chance to look around the soon-to-open (at the time of writing) museum while everyone else was outside.<\/p>\n

The Jim Clark Motorsport Museum was formerly a \u2018room\u2019, which opened in 1969. It had welcomed more than 300,000 visitors, including Ayrton Senna, before the decision was made six years ago to expand the site. The room was filled to the rafters with trophies and Ben Smith, one of the three Jim Clark Trust trustees, admits that only a few were ever on display. The \u00a31.6 million museum extension will rectify that.<\/p>\n

When we arrived, boxes were still being unpacked below the Lotus green lampshades and much of the memorabilia was being carefully assembled for display. Three walls of one area were covered with the aforementioned trophies. \u201cYou could spend a whole morning just in there,\u201d Dario says between filming duties. What the extension aids is the journey through Jim Clark\u2019s life, from quiet farmer to Indy 500 domination. Films can be played via touch-screen menus and the space for cars means that Dario\u2019s Cortina will be joined by Clark\u2019s Lotus Type 25\/R6.<\/p>\n

Ian Calder, one of the trustees, and Jim Clark\u2019s nephew, has been at the forefront of the renovations. \u201cOriginally the Scottish Borders Council wanted to move the museum to an old high school along the road,\u201d he says. \u201cIt was quite far out of town and it was Sir Jackie Stewart [the honorary president] who said that it would be perfect here. Over the last few weeks it\u2019s been all hands to the pump and there are still lots of things to finish. When it opens, it\u2019ll be tickety-boo. The job of the trustees [Ian, Ben Smith and Doug Niven] is now to keep it alive for the next 30-40 years, and we have plans on how to do that. The North West 500 [a Scottish road trip] has been a huge success and we\u2019re looking at a route around The Borders.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOf all the stuff here his Indy memorabilia has a special connection to me\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n

One of the star exhibits will be a gold and silver helmet, presented to Jim Clark after his 1965 season. The third-scale helmet is covered in jewels: an emerald to indicate home, and rubies around the \u2018world\u2019 for each race that he won that year. It is truly a one-off, and just to recreate it, without any of the history, would be nearing six figures.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe helmet is going to be amazing,\u201d says Dario. \u201cWhen I came here a month or so ago, I was chatting to the trustees and they were saying: \u2018Where is that helmet?\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018I don\u2019t know, is it at your house?\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018I\u2019m not too sure. Isn\u2019t it in a bank vault?\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cTurns out it was at someone\u2019s house! The cars are obviously cool, but the helmet really stands out.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember coming to the Jim Clark room after my first Indy win [in 2007]. It just felt like something I should do. I wanted to come and have a look, reconnect with it. I jumped in the car, blasted down, wandered around on my own and went home. It was good, but this is on a different level.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf all the stuff in here his Indy memorabilia has a special connection to me. There\u2019s his Indy suit on display along with his Rookie jacket. Then his Indy helmet, plus the winner\u2019s plaque you were given up until the mid-1980s. After that you were given a \u2018Baby Borg\u2019 [the Borg Warner Trophy being the main silverware] and some of the earlier winners have asked if they can have one. I presented 1963 winner Parnelli Jones with his in 2012.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I saw Jim\u2019s face on the Borg Warner Trophy after my first win, someone captured it on film. We had returned to the circuit the day after and I was\u2026 severely hungover. I saw his likeness and that was the moment I realised I was going to be on the trophy with him.\u201d<\/p>\n

As we carry on walking around the museum, Dario keeps spotting pieces that strike a chord. \u201cThere\u2019s one of the Indy bricks\u2026 I love the Indy stuff as it\u2019s so familiar. It\u2019s amazing what you get nowadays. I have a gold gun at home, a Winchester, although it had to be deactivated. It\u2019s gold! It\u2019s literally  <\/span>gold<\/i>!\u201d I mention Dario should be giving guided tours around the new museum. He laughs, \u201cThat\u2019s my retirement sorted!\u201d<\/p>\n

The Jim Clark Motorsport Museum is simply a \u2018must visit\u2019. The soft opening was on July 11, while a grander commemoration, with Jackie Stewart, was held in late August.<\/p>\n

What would Jim Clark have made of it all?  <\/span>He\u2019d probably wonder what all the fuss was about.<\/p>\n\n

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DIGITAL EXTRA<\/h5>\n