Cleland to lead Jim Clark tributeposted in BTCC20 | 08 | 2014
SIX OF THE MOST famous racing cars driven by Scots double Formula One world champ, the legendary Jim Clark, will parade across the Forth Road Bridge tomorrow (Thurs).
The procession, which will be accompanied by four cars competing in the British Touring Car Championship at Knockhill at the weekend, will mark three significant anniversaries.
It's 50 years since Fife-born Clark won the equivalent of the BTCC behind the wheel of his Lotus Cortina, and 50 years since the Forth Road Bridge opened on September 4, 1964. Significantly, this year also marks the 40th anniversary of Knockhill.
In addition to two of Clark's F1 single-seaters, the convoy will also include two Lotus Cortinas and two early cars driven by Jim Clark during his career.
And one of the latter — a two-door DKW Sonderclasse, one of the first cars Clark ever raced in the late 1950s — will be driven by double BTCC champ, John Cleland.
Related: David Coulthard drives Jim Clark's Lotus
“When they asked me if I would drive a Clark car, I jumped at the chance," admitted Cleland, whose Galashiels home is only a few miles from Duns, the Borders town Clark made famous.
"Jim was a real racing hero of mine. He was such a gent and legend of the racing world, and though he was born in Fife, he was raised for the majority of his life only a few miles from where I live in the Borders.
"It's obviously an honour to drive anything Jim Clark competed in and while it would have been fantastic to get into one of his single-seaters, this is just such a real privilege.
“l couldn’t pass up the chance to drive Jim’s first race car across the Forth Road Bridge; it’s not an offer that's likely to ever come around again.”
Joining Cleland on the crossing over the closed bridge will be the four current Scottish drivers contesting the BTCC — 2012 champ, and currently second in the title race, Gordon Shedden from Dalgety Bay; Dalkeith's Aiden Moffat; Inverness-based Dave Newsham; and Aberdeen's Glynn Geddie.
After forming in the south car park, the cars will cross the Forth Road Bridge at 11am behind a rolling blockade.
The cars will then be driven to Knockhill where the six Clark cars will form the centrepiece of a display commemorating the Fife circuit's 40th birthday.
Related: John Cleland wins Super Touring opener
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Jim McGill