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James "Jim" Clark OBE (4 March 1936 – 7 April 1968) was a British racing driver from Scotland, who competed in Formula One from 1960 to 1968. Clark won two Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles with Lotus, and—at the time of his death—held the records for most wins (25), pole positions (33), and fastest laps (28), among others. In American open-wheel racing, Clark won the Indianapolis 500 in 1965 with Lotus, becoming the first non-American winner of the race in 49 years.
Born in Fife and raised in the Scottish Borders, Clark started his racing career in road rallying and hillclimbing. By 1958, Clark had graduated to sports car racing in national competition with Border Reivers, racing the Jaguar D-Type and Porsche 356, where he attracted the attention of Lotus founder Colin Chapman. Driving a Lotus Elite, Clark finished second-in-class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1959. Clark made his formula racing debut the following year in Formula Junior, winning the championship ahead of reigning seven-time Grand Prix motorcycle racing World Champion John Surtees. After immediately impressing in Formula Two, Clark was promoted to Formula One with Lotus for the remainder of the 1960 season alongside Surtees and Innes Ireland, making his debut at the Dutch Grand Prix and scoring his maiden podium four races later in Portugal. Clark finished third overall at Le Mans that year. After multiple further podiums in 1961, Lotus fielded the highly-successful 25 chassis from 1962 onwards. Clark took his maiden win at the 1962 Belgian Grand Prix, achieving further wins at his home Grand Prix in Great Britain and in the United States, as he finished runner-up to career rival Graham Hill. After winning a then-record seven Grands Prix during his 1963 campaign, Clark won his maiden title, earning widespread acclaim for his dominant performances. Despite winning the most races the following season, reliability issues with the Lotus 33 saw him fall to third in the standings. However, the chassis would excel in the hands of Clark in 1965, as he took six victories in another record-breaking season. Lotus then struggled to adapt to the 3-litre engine era, with Clark only able to win the United States Grand Prix during his second title defence. 1967 was far more successful for Lotus under Cosworth power, with Clark taking four wins throughout the season but again let down by poor reliability.