Quote:
Originally Posted by davyboy
Clark did everything... BTCC, Indy, F1, F2 etc... all at the same time but in many of the events he drove in, the opposition was significantly below what one would expect of F1 calibre... not just in terms of the drivers but also in terms of the cars. There's no doubting that Clark was an incredible pilot but we need to bear in mind what he was up against when he was racking many of his victories up.
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Whoa, hold on there, I say hold on there boy!
I'm not a Clark "fan" but I hugely respect his ability, and would have loved to have seen him up against an experienced Stewart. And Rindt come to that.
In F1 he invariably had the faster car, but had to hope it lasted the race. Those days he had to contend with G.Hill, Surtees and Gurney, all of whom could beat him on their day. In F2 the Lotus wasn't always the cream of the field, and in sports cars the Loti 30 and 40 were pigs to drive. Yes, he was better than the other saloon car boys, but he only did it for the fun, and to keep Chapman happy. At Indy it's fair to say the car was best of the field, but he had to contend with the Indy regulars and the Indy establishment, who in those days did not like "furriners" taking home the prizes.
I don't think he had things easy at all - he really was that good.