JIM
CLARK

Jim Clark moved with his family to Berwickshire at the age of 6. The Clark family took over Edington Mains, just outside Chirnside. In 1955 at the age of 19, he joined the Berwick and District Motor Club and began to compete in local rallies. The local airfields of Winfield and Charterhall were the venues for some of his early races. In 1958 McBain's garage - Chirnside was used as the base for the reformed Border Reivers Motor Racing Team. In 1960 Jim Clark joined Colin Chapman's Team Lotus, taking over as #1 driver in 1962, and finishing second in the Formula 1 World Championship. Over the next 5 years, Jim Clark won the world championship twice and in 1965 became the first Britain to win the Indianapolis 500 in the United States. Sadly, Clark was tragically killed in an accident in 1968 on the Hockenheim circuit in Germany.

Each year, the Jim Clark Memorial Rally is held on the roads of Berwickshire. More info on the rally can be obtained by going to www.berwickmotorclub.co.uk.

The Jim Clark Room in Duns contains many of Clark's trophies and awards and is the beginning for the Jim Clark Trail which takes you to many places of interest and brings you into Chirnside itself. At the centre of the village stands the Jim Clark Memorial Clock.

In the Sunday Mail "100 Greatest Scots" poll (voted on by the public), Jim Clark came in 80th. The following was written in the article:

Born: Kilmany, Fife, March 14, 1936
Died: April 7, 1968
Claim to Fame: Racing Driver


One of the greatest motor racing drivers of all time after notching up an impressive 25 Grand Prix wins, seven in a row, and winning the World Championship twice. In 1965, he became the first non-American since 1916 to win the Indianapolis 500 as well as winning one of his world titles. He died in a car crash during a Formula Two race on the Hockenheim circuit, aged just 32. A museum to celebrate his life was set up at Duns, Berwickshire, where he lived.

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