Jim Clark Life at Team Lotus – Publishers Edition

Jim Clark: Life at Team Lotus, it is a feast of previously unseen photographs from the mid-1960s when the Scottish maestro was at the peak of his career. It features almost 300 stunning black-and white photos of the two-times Formula 1 World Champion in action on the track, as well as in and around the paddock during his most successful period – 1964 to 1967.

All the images in this 12×12-inch, 256-page title were taken by Team Lotus official photographer at the time, Peter Darley, and represent some of the very best images from his personal archive. The majority of these images have never been on public view before, and they provide fresh insights into Clark’s – and the team’s – methodology, demeanour and race prep.

Every picture tells a story, so they say, and Darley’s photographs feature the amiable Scot with team members including Lotus boss Colin Chapman. A wide variety of paddock scenarios, reveal intimate moments and thus the psychology between Team Lotus personnel when relaxing, as well as anxieties in the moments leading up to and during the race. We see Clark and his rivals (Stewart, Gurney, Brabham etc.) engaged in charming pit and paddock banter as well as battling it out on the track. We’re also treated to incidents and highlights from a range of formulae, from wheel-wagging Lotus Cortinas in touring car events to thundering, wayward Lotus 30s in sportscar races, as well as the thoroughbred single-seater Types 25, 33 and 49 in F1 and the 32 and 48 in F2. These images provide a fabulous record of an era when stars like Clark were happy to drive anything they were offered, at national championship meetings as well as big time internationals.

The images represent an important contribution to the world’s motor racing archive in general, and of Jim Clark and Team Lotus in particular, as well as providing a record of how circuits looked prior to commercialisation and implementation of what many would say were much needed safety measures.

Each copy of  Publishers’ Edition of Jim Clark: Life at Team Lotus is presented in a deluxe, green cloth-covered clamshell case, embossed with the JC monogram. Each of the leather-bound books has individually numbered Lotus Chassis ‘book’ plate attached to the front cover, and is signed inside by the author Peter Darley and the publisher William Taylor. There were just 100 of this now highly sought-after title produced.