Sixty Jaguars Set for Le Mans Classic Support
A record 60-car field will contest the third race in the HSCC-run Jaguar Classic Challenge at Le Mans this weekend (8th and 9th of July).
During the biennial Le Mans Classic, the series for pre-1966 Jaguars will have the most prestigious race in its history to date. The race will run on Saturday (July 9) before the start of the classic 24-hour event and has drawn entries from the UK, Germany, Spain, Belgium, Switzerland, France, Italy and Portugal.
The fantastic entry includes six D-types, three C-types, 40 E-types, several Mk1 and Mk2 saloons and a clutch of XK120/140/150 models. The entry is headed by 1988 Le Mans winner Andy Wallace who won the famous race in a Jaguar XJR9 and this weekend he will be at the wheel of the 1955 Le Mans-winning Jaguar D-type.
Among a horde of rapid E-types, sure to set the absolute pace at the head of the race, will be the cars of Martin Stretton, Martin O’Connell, Julian Thomas, John Clark and Marcus von Oeynhausen.
The grid of 60 Jaguars on the grid has historic resonance as, for the first time since 1955, 60 cars started the modern 24-hour race last month. Only four times in the 93-year history of the 24-hour race have 60 cars taken the start and on the last three occasions, in 1951, 1953 and 1955, the race was won by a Jaguar.
The Jaguar Classic Challenge is administered by the HSCC and the club will manage the Le Mans race, which will run for 55 minutes and include a mandatory pit-stop and optional driver change.
After this weekend’s race, the HSCC-run Jaguar Classic Challenge series will conclude with races at the Nurburgring (August 12th to the 14th) and Oulton Park (August 27th to the 29th).
