David Coulthard drives Jim Clark's Lotus 25 Easing his lanky frame into the narrow, exposed cockpit of the spindly, green and yellow Lotus, chassis number 25/R4, with its 1.5-litre, V8 Climax engine, Coulthard, a winner of 13 grands prix, said: "This is a real racing car but I am both terrified and exhilarated at the thought of driving it. These cars were so rudimentary and minimalist compared to the modern safety-conscious machines but it is a thing of beauty, a legend, once driven by a legend. He added: "It is just as well I am wearing an open face helmet because a closed one would not contain the width of my smile. Now I feel like a real racing driver. This car's steering is so sensitive and you have to make fine adjustments to the wheel all the time because it has no aerodynamic downforce. It also has a real gear lever to shift, and I confess to having graunched one gear. There is also actual suspension travel, whereas today's cars feel bolted to the road. Silverstone is pretty level and flat so I don't know how they guys in that era coped with the challenges of Spa and the old Nürburgring with their roller-coaster changes in elevation. You feel exposed in the open cockpit and ultra aware of what is going on around you. Picture: Felix Bloomfield But it fitted like a glove, even if I could not adopt the great man's totally laid back, straight-arm driving style. On hand to fettle the car, which is now owned by retired Australian investment manager John Bowers, was 77-year-old Bob Dance, the spritely former chief Lotus mechanic. He is a mainstay of Classic Team Lotus which was established by Clive Chapman, son of Lotus's founder Colin, to maintain and run historic Lotus racing cars. Coulthard's retro session came during the media day for July's Silverstone Classic race meeting where the pre-1966 historic F1 event carries Clark's name - his Lotus 25 will be driven by former touring car racer Andy Middlehurst at the meeting on July 26 to 28. This car carried Clark to seven wins out of 10 championship races in 1963. Whereas Coulthard won 13 grands prix during a career spanning 246 races between 1994 and 2008 Clark, the Duns farmer who died in a Formula 2 race at Hockenheim in April 1968, was the most successful driver of his era recording 25 F1 race victories from 72 starts. Coulthard won the British Grand Prix at Silverstone in 1999 and 2000 while Clark was victorious at the former wartime RAF aerodrome in 1963, 1965 and 1967, also winning the UK rounds at Aintree (1962) and Brands Hatch (1964).