50th anniversary malt toasts racing superstar Jim Clark

Limited edition whisky to help raise money for new museum in memory of motor racing legend

It is quite incredible how his memory remains so strong and emotional even 50 years on

GRAHAM BROWN Motor racing fans are being given the opportunity to raise a glass to Fife-born legend Jim Clark with the release of a rare dram.

As part of the continuing commemorations surrounding the double Formula One World Champion’s death in April 1968 at Hockenheim in Germany, a limited edition Jim Clark 50th anniversary single malt whisky will be launched at the upcoming Goodwood Festival of Speed, one of the highlights on the UK motorsport calendar.

The single cask 11-year-old had been selected to celebrate the Jim Clark Trust being named as the official charity for the world-famous Goodwood event, which runs from July 12 to 15.

There will only be 400 bottles of the whisky, selected from Speyside’s Aultmore Distillery by specialists Morrison & MacKay in partnership with Simpsons Malt, to celebrate the achievements of one of Scotland’s biggest sporting heroes and a man regarded by many as the greatest motor racing driver of all time.

Proceeds from the whisky, which comes with a £100 price tag but is certain to be snapped up by Clark fans from around the globe, will support the Trust’s plans for the new Jim Clark museum in the Borders town of Duns, where the family moved to from Kilmany in Fife.

The first five bottles – numbered 1, 25, 50, 63 and 65 to mark significant numbers in the star’s career including his 1963 and 1965 World Championship triumphs – were auctioned at the RAC Club in London’s Pall Mall during the Jim Clark 50th Anniversary dinner with RAC chairman Tom Purves and Sir Jackie Stewart last month.

In April, the Fife hamlet hosted a wreath-laying ceremony led by Provost Jim Leishman at the statue of Clark erected to mark his connection to the area.

It coincided with a weekend of events in the Borders, which drew fans from across the world, as well as figures from within motorsport, including the Lotus team in which the driver’s talent shone before his tragic death at the age of just 32.

As well as twice winning the Formula One World Championship, modest Clark also captured the Indianapolis 500 crown.

Doug Niven, the racer’s cousin and a trustee for the Jim Clark Trust, said: “It is quite incredible how his memory remains so strong and emotional even 50 years on.”

Sir Jackie Stewart was there when the first five bottles were auctioned at the RAC Club in London.