Tragedy in Germany - Hockenheim, April 7, 1968
The final race
Clark prepares for the Formula 2 race at a damp Hockenheim that would end his life
Grand Prix Photo
In an ideal world, Ford had hoped Jim Clark would be free to drive one of its new P68 sports-prototypes, which Alan Mann Racing was running in the Brands Hatch 6 Hours. Lotus commitments prevailed, however, so Bruce McLaren and Mike Spence shared the Ford while Clark and team-mate Graham Hill decamped instead to Hockenheim, to drive a brace of Type 48s in the opening round of the European F2 Championship.
They had little to gain.
As part of the established elite – ‘graded drivers’, as they were labelled at the time – they weren’t eligible to score championship points, but were very useful benchmarks for the rising stars against whom they were competing: Jean-Pierre Beltoise, Henri Pescarolo, Kurt Ahrens, Chris Lambert and Piers Courage featured at the sharp end of the grid, while future FIA president Max Mosley was also a participant, albeit towards the back of the field.