The gloves Jim Clark wore during practice for his last Formula One race are set to appear at auction next month.
The legendary Scottish motor racing driver wore the leather gloves during practice for the 1968 South African Grand Prix in January 1968, a race he would win.
He died three months later, behind the wheel of a Formula 2 car at Hockenheim, Germany, aged just 32.
 The gloves of a two-time world champion |
Many who witnessed Jim Clark drive still regard him as the best they've ever seen. In 2009, the UK's Times newspaper placed him first among its list of all time Formula One drivers.
25 wins from 72 Formula one starts, and two world championships, tell their own story.
His untimely death helps explain why the gloves are expected to be such a draw at the PFC Auctions online event, which runs from May 3 to 24.
The superb provenance of the gloves will also help boost their regard among collectors. They come from the collection of Gordon Huckle, the mechanic on Jim Clark's car from late 1966 to January 1968, and are accompanied by his letter of provenance.
"During the practice for this race Jimmy changed his driving gloves and gave me his old gloves. He was driving a Lotus 49/R4 and went on to win this Grand Prix and set a new lap record of 1min 23.7," Huckle writes.
The lot includes a 1968 South African Grand Prix programme, pit passes, mechanic's armband and a list of race entrants.
A 1967 Monaco Grand Prix post-race dinner menu, signed by Jim Clark and Formula One rival Graham Hill, will also appear at the auction.
The sale will also feature a slice of wedding cake from last year's marriage of Prince William and Kate Middleton, as well as several other superb pieces of memorabilia, including a flag autographed by first man on the Moon Neil Armstrong.
