Jim Clark in a Lotus Climax, Mexican Grand Prix 1964

It was some years ago when I was teaching at a local photography school called VanArts that a British student called Strand asked in class, “Mr. Hayward, do you have  photographs of people that are still alive in magazines that still exist?” I was so shocked that I was speechless.

I wonder what Strand would have said of the photographs in this blog. Most of the protagonists are dead. In 1964, I don’t remember all the circumstances I was given complete access in the pits to the Mexican Formula 1 Grand Prix at the then called Magdalena Mixhuca speedway. I was 22 but I  knew that there were three drivers to watch. They were Jim Clark driving a Lotus Climax, John Surtees in a Ferrari and Graham Hill in a BRM. I was particularly interested in Surtees as he was unique. Read below.

The only person to win World Championships in both Formula 1 and motorcycle racing is John Surtees, a British legend who claimed seven Grand Prix motorcycle titles (including four in the premier 500cc class) and the 1964 Formula 1 World Drivers' Championship with Ferrari. He remains the sole individual to achieve this unique feat in both two-wheeled and four-wheeled premier motorsport categories.

I was too young and uncertain to get any closer to the drivers. I was afraid to talk to them and to ask them to pose for me. Quickly I figured out that to pan my cameras (a Pentacon-F and an Asahi Pentax S-3) to freeze the motion of the cars and blur the background the approximate formula was to use a shutter speed that matched the speed of the car in kms.

1964 was especially important as these rear-engined racers revolutionized racing at the Indianapolis 500. It was Jim Clark who won it in 1965 and the front engine cars disappeared from racing.

Looking back on these pictures ( I have scanned some of the negatives, one Ektachrome and prints in my files) I marvel at the portrait of Graham Hill tinkering with his engine. That is not done any more.

Important to, is my portrait of Colin Chapman who created the Coventry Climax engine that took over Indianapolis the next year.

The driver under the umbrella (see below) was a fabulous Mexican Jai-alai player who was pretty good at driving, too! 

Graham Hill

This is British Formula 1 driver Graham Hill tinkering with his BRM P261 V8 during the trials for the 1964 Mexican Gran Prix. On one of the days I positioned myself at a difficult curve. I noticed a tar spot on it. Every time Graham Hill took the curve, his car was always at the same distance from the spot, which was unlike the other drivers who seemed to have less precision.

Jim Clark

Graham Hill

Coventry Climax engine

Jim Clark and Colin Chapman

Moises Solana

John Surtees