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Chequered Past

Martin Elliot

213 episodes

1 day ago

On 29 December 1962, the Formula One World Championship reached its conclusion in an unfamiliar setting — East London, South Africa — with the title still undecided and the margins as fine as they could be. Jim Clark took pole position, had the fastest car, and looked on track for the one result he needed. Graham Hill arrived knowing that finishing behind Clark would not be enough. What followed was a race that distilled motor racing to its most unforgiving truth: brilliance can put you in po...

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On 29 December 1962, the Formula One World Championship reached its conclusion in an unfamiliar setting — East London, South Africa — with the title still undecided and the margins as fine as they could be. Jim Clark took pole position, had the fastest car, and looked on track for the one result he needed. Graham Hill arrived knowing that finishing behind Clark would not be enough. What followed was a race that distilled motor racing to its most unforgiving truth: brilliance can put you in po...

Show more...

Episodes (20/213)

Chequered Past

29th December 1962: The Day That Reliability Decided The Title

On 29 December 1962, the Formula One World Championship reached its conclusion in an unfamiliar setting — East London, South Africa — with the title still undecided and the margins as fine as they could be. Jim Clark took pole position, had the fastest car, and looked on track for the one result he needed. Graham Hill arrived knowing that finishing behind Clark would not be enough. What followed was a race that distilled motor racing to its most unforgiving truth: brilliance can put you in po...

1 day ago

17 minutes

Chequered Past

28th December 1963: The Race That Closed A Champion's Season

December 28th didn’t deliver a championship showdown — but it did offer clarity. In this episode of Chequered Past, we revisit the 1963 South African Grand Prix, the final round of a season already defined by certainty. On a hot afternoon at East London’s Prince George Circuit, Jim Clark delivered a measured, authoritative victory that underlined not just his dominance, but the direction Formula One had taken by the end of 1963 — toward control, preparation, and precision. We then step back b...

2 days ago

17 minutes

Chequered Past

1965: The Season That Saw Jim Clark Defy Boundaries Part 8

If Jim Clark’s 1965 cannot be explained by a championship alone, then what does explain it? In the final part of this series, we step back from events to understand why Clark’s season still stands apart. Part 8 brings together the themes that have run through the story so far — range rather than domination, adaptation as a skill, and mechanical sympathy as performance — to explain how Clark sustained excellence across an extraordinary year. From his success in Formula Two, to the physical and...

3 days ago

22 minutes

Chequered Past

1965: The Season That Saw Jim Clark Defy Boundaries Part 7

By the time Jim Clark reached the final phase of the 1965 season, the championship had already been secured. What followed was not a victory lap. In Part 7, we explore how Clark behaved once the pressure was gone — and what that reveals about the season as a whole. With the title settled, Clark continued to race with the same seriousness and discipline, refusing to narrow his ambition or lower his standards. This episode traces the closing weeks of the year, from a remarkable August bank holi...

3 days ago

15 minutes

Chequered Past

1965: The Season That Saw Jim Clark Defy Boundaries Part 6

By mid-season, Jim Clark’s 1965 had changed shape. The speed was unquestioned. The victories were accumulating. And the championship was no longer something to be chased, but something to be managed. In this episode, we follow the point where Clark begins racing the season rather than the moment. At Zandvoort, he takes control without drama, timing his move and then protecting the advantage. At the Nürburgring, he delivers the drive that settles the championship — his sixth victory under rule...

5 days ago

15 minutes

Chequered Past

1965: The Season That Saw Jim Clark Defy Boundaries Part 5

Jim Clark returned to Formula One with momentum — and with responsibility. After conquering Indianapolis, the season offered no pause. The World Championship had continued in his absence, the margins had narrowed, and the pressure was immediate. What followed was not a victory lap, but one of the most demanding stretches of Clark’s 1965. This episode traces the point where speed alone is no longer enough. At Spa-Francorchamps, Clark delivers a masterclass in survival and judgement in appallin...

6 days ago

16 minutes

Chequered Past

1965: The Season That Saw Jim Clark Defy Boundaries Part 4

Indianapolis was not a diversion in Jim Clark’s 1965 season. It was its most exacting test. In this episode, we follow the consequence of Clark’s defining decision: to step away from Monaco and commit fully to the Indianapolis 500. There is no novelty here, no scepticism about speed, and no need for proof of talent. Clark had been fast at Indianapolis before. What remained was execution. From his quiet arrival at the Speedway to the disciplined design of the Lotus 38, everything about this at...

1 week ago

17 minutes

Chequered Past

1965: The Season That Saw Jim Clark Defy Boundaries Part 3

By the spring of 1965, Jim Clark’s season had reached its limit. In this episode, we follow the moment when an extraordinary year stops expanding and begins to narrow. Returning to Europe after months of racing across continents and disciplines, Clark finds no respite — only a calendar packed with non-championship Formula One races, sportscar commitments, and growing expectation. As victories continue to stack up, so does the pressure. Clark races and wins at Brands Hatch, Silverstone, Sebrin...

1 week ago

17 minutes

Chequered Past

1965: The Season That Saw Jim Clark Defy Boundaries Part 2

The 1965 season did not build slowly for Jim Clark — it began at full speed. In this episode, we follow the opening phase of Clark’s extraordinary year as momentum turns into commitment. From a dominant Grand Slam victory at the South African Grand Prix, Clark immediately leaves the familiar rhythms of Formula One behind to take on the gruelling Tasman Series across New Zealand and Australia. What follows is not a smooth procession. An early retirement in New Zealand threatens to stall his pr...

1 week ago

16 minutes

Chequered Past

1965: The Season That Saw Jim Clark Defy Boundaries Part 1

Before the victories, before the statistics, and before one of the most remarkable seasons in motorsport history, there was a driver shaped by patience, restraint, and quiet determination. In this opening episode of our series on Jim Clark’s extraordinary 1965, we step back to understand how it all became possible. From a rural upbringing in Scotland and a gradual, unhurried rise through Scottish club racing, to a defining partnership with Colin Chapman and Lotus, this episode explores the fo...

1 week ago

16 minutes

Chequered Past

1985: The Season That That Power Could Not Tame Part 2

In the second half of The Season That Power Could Not Tame, Formula One in 1985 begins to change shape. The chaos does not disappear — engines still fail, weather still intervenes, and raw speed still flashes into view — but the margins tighten. Races are no longer decided by surprise alone. They are decided by judgement. As Ferrari’s challenge falters under the weight of reliability, Lotus continue to deliver moments of brilliance without continuity, and turbo power proves as fragile as ever...

1 week ago

31 minutes

Chequered Past

1985: The Season That Power Could Not Tame Part 1

In December, when the racing calendar falls silent, Chequered Past turns to reflection. In this two-part special, we rewind to 1985 — a season run at the height of the turbo era, when power was abundant but control was elusive. The Season That Power Could Not Tame begins with a championship that refuses to behave. From Brazil to Britain, the fastest cars do not always win, fuel limits undo race leaders, disqualifications rewrite results, and brilliance proves fleeting without restraint. Ferra...

1 week ago

28 minutes

Chequered Past

17th December 2025: The History That Still Matters

Formula One history is often remembered in neat, simplified stories: a championship decided by a single corner, a rivalry reduced to heroes and villains, a career judged by statistics alone. But history is rarely that tidy. In Episode 200 of Chequered Past, we step back from the calendar and ask a more fundamental question: why does Formula One history still matter — and what happens when we stop interrogating it properly? Through four case studies, this episode explores how context, authorit...

1 week ago

22 minutes

Chequered Past

16th December 1982: The Team That Forced Formula One Forward

On 16 December 1982, Formula One lost one of its most influential figures. Colin Chapman’s death marked the end of an era — but not the end of his impact. In this episode of Chequered Past, we explore how Team Lotus, under Chapman’s relentless and visionary leadership, forced Formula One to evolve faster than it ever had before. From the monocoque Lotus 25 to the ground-effect dominance of the Lotus 79, Chapman’s cars didn’t just win races — they rewrote the technical rulebook. We trace Lotus...

2 weeks ago

18 minutes

Chequered Past

15th December 1962: The Race That Bridged Worlds

On 15 December 1962, Formula One gathered at Kyalami for a non-championship race that carried far greater significance than its status suggested. With the World Championship still undecided and South Africa preparing to host its first official Grand Prix just two weeks later, the Rand Grand Prix became a bridge between eras — linking Europe’s established Grand Prix world with Formula One’s expanding global future. We revisit Jim Clark’s commanding victory in the Lotus 25, a performance that u...

2 weeks ago

15 minutes

Chequered Past

14th December 1963: The Race That The Sun Ruled

On 14 December, Chequered Past travels from the baking heat of South Africa to the cliff-edge roads of early-1950s Brazil, via the modern realities of Formula One careers beyond the podium. The episode opens with the 1963 Rand Grand Prix, a non-championship race at Kyalami where extreme summer heat exposed the fragility of even the sport’s greatest combinations. Jim Clark arrived as newly crowned World Champion but failed to finish as fuel vaporisation and mechanical strain took their toll. F...

2 weeks ago

13 minutes

Chequered Past

13th December 2020: The Race That Closed a Unique Season

On 13 December, Chequered Past revisits a Formula One finale unlike any other. The 2020 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix did not decide a championship, but it brought down the curtain on the most disrupted season the sport has ever endured. Run behind closed doors, shaped by a Safety Car interruption and settled without drama at the front, it offered Formula One something it badly needed in 2020: closure. We reflect on how Max Verstappen’s controlled victory capped a year defined by adaptability, resilie...

2 weeks ago

16 minutes

Chequered Past

12th December 1959: The Titles That Were Decided at the Line

On 12 December, Formula One has twice reached its most dramatic extremes — and this episode of Chequered Past tells the story of championships decided at the very limit. We begin at Sebring in 1959, where the World Championship was settled not by a chequered flag sprint, but by sheer determination. Jack Brabham arrived leading the standings, watched his rivals fall away, then saw his own Cooper run out of fuel on the final lap. What followed — Brabham pushing his car uphill to the line to sec...

2 weeks ago

15 minutes

Chequered Past

1995: The Season That Reignited the Rivalry Part 2

In Part 2 of our deep dive into the 1995 Formula One season, we follow a championship fight that shifts decisively from a tense duel to a story of dominance, resilience and unravelled pressure. The second half of the season begins with Damon Hill’s flawless victory in Hungary — the last perfect moment of his campaign — before Michael Schumacher produces one of the greatest drives in Grand Prix history at Spa, carving through the field from 16th on the grid to seize control of the championship...

2 weeks ago

22 minutes

Chequered Past

1995: The Season That Reignited the Rivalry Part 1

In the first part of our deep dive into the 1995 Formula One season, we revisit a campaign shaped by pressure, precision and the early stages of a rivalry that would come to define an era. Damon Hill and Michael Schumacher entered the year carrying the weight of expectation — Hill seeking redemption after Adelaide, Schumacher defending his first world title — and the opening rounds quickly revealed just how close, and how combustible, their battle would become. From the dramatic return of the...

2 weeks ago

30 minutes