Decades after a two-time Formula 1 world champion lost his life, a new investigation is challenging the sport's long-held narrative. Jim Clark was killed during a Formula 2 race in April 1968, at a time when he was widely regarded as one of the greatest drivers in the sport. For decades, the accepted explanation for his Lotus leaving the circuit was a puncture. But as Speedcafe reports, author Malcolm Turner argues in his book Death of Champions: Who Killed Jim Clark? that the car actually suffered a suspension failure, and that the handling of the wreckage helped shield the team from scrutiny.
Turner's fascination with the Scottish driver began in his childhood, watching Clark win at Goodwood and later hearing the news of his death on the radio at age 16. What started as a broader research project into crashes that improved Formula 1 safety shifted focus when Turner examined how the cause of Clark's accident was originally established. He came to believe that the cover-up actually made the sport more dangerous by sweeping the true cause under the carpet and delaying necessary safety changes.
The author's investigation relies heavily on forgotten accounts rather than fresh forensic testing. One crucial piece of evidence is a letter written by Fred Gamble, a former racing driver and head of Goodyear's international racing tyre operation, who was present at Hockenheim on the day of the crash. Writing in a 1993 letter published in the American magazine On Track, Gamble disputed that a deflated right-rear tyre on the inside of a shallow right-hand bend would cause the sudden loss of control described by witnesses, arguing instead that the tyre damage was consistent with a prior suspension failure. After coming across a Reddit reference to the letter, Turner tracked it down in a 2018 edition of New Zealand Classic Car.
The book also points to an earlier incident at Barcelona just a week before Hockenheim, where Clark's Lotus was hit by Jacky Ickx's Ferrari. Turner disputes Lotus's claim that the damaged rear suspension was replaced at the British factory, asserting instead that it was repaired at the circuit in Germany. Interviews for a forthcoming autobiography by Dave “Beaky” Sims, Clark’s mechanic at Hockenheim, helped Turner reconstruct the events that followed the tragedy.
According to Turner, German police instructed Lotus to leave the wreckage and transporter untouched during the investigation. Colin Chapman, who was in St Moritz at the time, flew directly to Hockenheim and allegedly ordered the team to smuggle the wreckage out of Germany overnight. The team crossed the border into Belgium and eventually returned the wreckage to the Lotus Works in Hethel in Norwich. Turner contends that Chapman's handling of the evidence solidified the puncture theory, noting that an examination at the factory by Peter Jowitt alongside Firestone representative Bob Martin and Cosworth’s Keith Duckworth concluded a slow puncture was to blame. Turner questions the independence of that examination and argues that Chapman cleverly created the impression that the Royal Aircraft Establishment had investigated and endorsed the puncture conclusion.
While acknowledging Chapman's extraordinary success, Turner argues that his reputation shielded Lotus from scrutiny, despite the cars being regarded by many within Formula 1 as unacceptably fragile. He cites Jackie Stewart’s refusal to race for Lotus and Jackie Oliver surviving a major structural failure during practice for the 1968 French Grand Prix at Rouen. Turner also points to Ken Tyrrell saying that Chapman should have his own private graveyard. The book further connects these safety concerns to Jochen Rindt's fatal brake-shaft failure in the Lotus 72 at Monza in 1970, noting that Bernie Ecclestone had warned Rindt about the flimsy nature of Chapman's cars before the Austrian famously replied that he would either be world champion or die.
Ultimately, Turner believes the sport needs to confront its past and move past cosy myths. Death of Champions: Who Killed Jim Clark? by Malcolm Turner is available now from Vortex Publishing.
