Sixty-Five Jaguars Set for Le Mans Classic Support this Weekend
A record 65-car entry for the Jaguar Classic Challenge will contest the invitation race during the Le Mans Classic this weekend (7th/8th July).
The Historic Sports Car Club runs the Jaguar Classic Challenge in conjunction with Jaguar Land Rover, including the special invitation race for JCC competitors which is due to start at 10.15am (Paris time) on Saturday morning. The incredible 65-strong field, featuring drivers from 10 countries, will pack out the famous French track.
The Jaguar Classic Challenge is open to XK series, C-type, D-type, Mk1 and Mk11 saloons and pre ’66 E-types running to original specification. The race series ran for the first time in 2015 and built on the success of the earlier E-type Challenge.
The fabulous line-up of cars will race for an hour on Saturday morning before the start of the 24-hour schedule of racing in the headline event and the top quality entry includes some of the leading drivers in historic racing. Martin O’Connell, Anthony Reid, Graeme Dodd, James Dodd, Andrew Kirkaldy, Ben Short and Martin Stretton are all in E-types and it was the Dodd car that won last time out at Silverstone.
While the E-type is most popular car, Jaguar’s outstanding heritage in the Le Mans 24-Hours will be honoured by five D-types and a C-type, the type of cars that provided Jaguar with five Le Mans wins in the 1950s. Up to eight cars from the XK 120/140/150 range add to the variety along with nine Mk1 and Mk2 saloons.
Grahame White, CEO of the HSCC, said: “We’ve had an amazing response to the race and we have a brilliant line-up. There are not many tracks where you can start 65 cars and it is a fantastic event to be part of.”
