Oulton Park Gold Cup 2017

Here are some photographs taken at Britten's chicane during the 40 minute long Jaguar Classic Challenge race at the Gold Cup meeting at Oulton Park in August 2017. Some cars had a second driver nominated as there were compulsory stops to allow for driver changes during the race.

21 1962 Jaguar E-type, Graham Dodd & James Dodd

145 1964 Jaguar E-type, Nick Riley & Ben Short

155 1962 Jaguar E-type, Alistair Dyson

72 1964 Jaguar E-type, Jamie Boot

39 1965 Jaguar E-type, Mark Russell

55 1961 Jaguar E-type, Martin Melling

25 Jaguar E-type, John Burton

17 1965 Jaguar E-type, Robert Gate

38 1962 Jaguar E-type, Cliff Gray

15 1962 Jaguar E-type, Paul Castaldini

23 1958 Jaguar Mk1, Roger Cope

15 1962 Jaguar E-type, Paul Castaldini

23 1958 Jaguar Mk1, Roger Cope

33 Jaguar XK150S, Paul Kennelly

77 1962 Jaguar E-type, Tim Whitworth

34 1954 Jaguar XK120, Chris Scholey & Nick Finburgh

66 1961 Jaguar E-type, Chris Milner

34 1954 Jaguar XK120, Chris Scholey & Nick Finburgh

66 1961 Jaguar E-type, Chris Milner

58 1962 Jaguar Mk2, Derek Pearce & Tom Lenthall

20 1961 Jaguar E-type, Michael O'Shea

49 1957 Jaguar Mk1, Diane Osborne & Stephen Radcliffe

20 1961 Jaguar E-Type, Michael O'Shea

49 1957 Jaguar Mk1, Diane Osborne & Stephen Radcliffe

68 1958 Jaguar XK150, Marc Gordon

150 1959 Jaguar XK150, Chris Keith-Lucas & Claire Leith-Lucas

150 1959 Jaguar XK150, Chris Keith-Lucas & Claire Keith-Lucas

Austin Healey 100/4

This car competed in the AMOC '50s Sports Cars race at the Aston Martin Owners Club's meeting at Oulton Park in May 2015.

It's Martyn Corfield's 1954 Austin Healey 100/4 with a 2,660cc inline 4 cylinder engine, a replica of the car that Donald Healey took to the Bonneville Salt Flats in 1954 and with a team of drivers including Carroll Shelby set 83 National and International speed records. The effects of the Bonneville salt on the original car led to it being scrapped in 1957, and the creation of this replica started in 2007 using many of the modifications fitted to the Bonneville record car. Those 1954 record breaking efforts also led to the production of the racing version of the 100/4, the Austin Healey 100S which incorporated many of those modifications.

The two photographs above and below were taken at Old Hall Corner during the morning practice session.

This photograph and the one below were taken at Britten's chicane during the race. Here Martyn Corfield leads the 1952 Jaguar XK120 of Andrew Wenman, the 1959 Jaguar XK150 of Andrew Moore and the 1955 Jaguar XK140 of Alexis de Beaumont.

Later in the race Martyn Corfield leads the 1951 Jaguar XK120 of Chris Keith-Lucas and the 1959 Jaguar XK150 of Andrew Moore.

Jaguar XK120

I photographed this car in the paddock at the Gold Cup meeting at Oulton Park in August 2003.

It's a 1952 Jaguar XK120 which the DVLA record says has a 3,442cc engine, presumably the XK6 straight-6 unit that was fitted to these cars when new. Its chassis number is 672427 and it's said to have been fitted at one time with a 4.5 litre and/or 4.2 litre engine, and to have competed in the Carrera Panamericana race in Mexico in the early 1950s (or possibly in the modern revival series started in 1988 - the xkdata.com record is inconclusive). It's also possible, of course, that it's still got this larger engine and the DVLA record is incorrect.

Jaguar XK120

This was one of the cars on display at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1997.

It's the 1950 Jaguar XK120, powered by the 3,442cc straight-6 DOHC XK6 engine, in which Ian Applyard won a Coupe des Alpes in the Alpine Rally for three consecutive years, from 1950 to 1952. On 2 December 2015 I showed a photograph of this car that I took at Oulton Park in 2004.

Jaguar XK

Here are three photographs of XK Jaguars taken at the 6th Cheshire Cats' Trophy Meeting at Oulton Park in April 1987.

This is the 1951 Jaguar XK120 of Brian Arculus that took part in the JDC Production Jaguar Challenge Race at this meeting. The chassis number of this car is 660575.

This is another XK120, that of Tony Hildebrand who drove the car in the Gordon Russell Furniture Inter-Marque Championship Race.

This is a Jaguar XK140, which didn't take part in any of the races but is here waiting to take part in a track parade by various Jaguars.

Jaguars

Here's a photograph taken at the Gold Cup meeting at Oulton Park in August 2008 of four Jaguars parked in an appropriate chronological order.

From right to left there's an XK120, produced between 1948 and 1954, an XK140, produced between 1954 and 1957, an XK150, produced between 1957 and 1961, and an E-Type, produced between 1961 and 1975.

Jaguar XK120

This is a car that was on display at the Gold Cup meeting at Oulton Park in August 2004.

It's Ian Appleyard's 1950 Jaguar XK120, most famous for its exploits in the Alpine Rally, where it won a Coupe des Alpes (Alpine Cup) in 1950, which was awarded for finishing the event unpenalised. Ian Appleyard repeated this feat with the car in 1951 and 1952, thus being awarded a Coupe d'Or (Gold Cup) for winning a Coupe des Alpes in three consecutive years. He also won the RAC Rally and the Tulip Rally in 1951 with NUB 120.

Jaguars & Cars with Jaguar Engines

In the 1950s most sports car races would contain a variety of Jaguars, or Jaguar-engined cars and some of these were in evidence at the Donington International Historic Grand Prix meeting in May 2004 at Donington Park organised by the British Racing & Sports Car Club. Below are some of the cars which I photographed at that meeting.

This is a 1954 Jaguar XK120 with the 3442cc version of the straight-6 engine. This car was entered and driven in the HGPCA Race for pre-1959 Drum-Braked Sports Cars by George Holt.

A 1952 Jaguar C-type which took part in the BRDC Historic Sportscar Championship race, although the car is not shown in the programme. It's car XKC021 and may have been owned at that time by Dave Lomas. The Le Mans 24 hour race was won by Jaguar C-types in 1951 and 1953.

The car in the background is Ben Eastick's 1955 Jaguar D-type long-nose, registration number 207 RW, which also took part in the BRDC Historic Sportscar Championship race, as did the car in the foreground, John Pearson's 1959 Costin-bodied Lister Jaguar. The Costin Lister was designed to be fitted with Chevrolet engines but a few used the Jaguar XK unit. Jaguar D-types won the Le Mans 24 hour race in 1955, 1956 and 1957,

This car, which took part in the 2¼ hour long Gentleman Drivers GT and Sports Endurance Race, is a 1954 HWM Jaguar. It was driven in the race by Michael Steele and Julian Bronson.

Another car which took part in the HGPCA Race for Pre-1959 Drum-Braked Sports Cars, this is the 1952 RGS Atalanta Jaguar owned by Barry Wood.

There was also a Cooper Jaguar at the meeting but I didn't get a photograph of that.

Guernsey May 2014

Over to Guernsey again last week to see grandson Edward and join in the Liberation Day celebrations - the 69th anniversary of the liberation of Guernsey from Hitler's Nazis on 9th May 1945.

It's only 2 months since we were last there but Edward's seems to have changed such a lot in that time. This is his multi-purpose gesture apparently signifying "What do I do now?", "I've finished doing that", "Look what I did" or "I didn't do that" as appropriate.

Standing at the top of his slide in the garden

Enjoying a lollipop at Moulin Huet Bay

Albert Pier in St Peter Port was pretty crowded on Liberation Day

Watching the vehicle cavalcade along the Esplanade

The cavalcade of vehicles of the Guernsey Old Car Club and the Guernsey Military Vehicles Group was led by the RAF Lossiemouth Pipes & Drums band.

The vehicles in the parade included this Jaguar XK120 from the early 1950s....

....this 1934 Austin Seven 2-seat Tourer....

....and this WW2 Chevrolet C15 Truck.

We came home on the Sunday evening flight to Manchester and the clear and sunny weather allowed me to take this photograph of the west coast of Guernsey shortly after take-off.

Vazon Bay at the bottom and above that Cobo Bay and Grandes Rocques

Jaguar

This is a photograph of a line of Jaguar E-types taken at The 6th Cheshire Cats' Trophy meeting organised by the Jaguar Drivers' Club at Oulton Park on 25th April 1987.

After the Second World War Jaguar had produced three sports car models prior to the E-type in 1961, the XK120 from 1948 to 1954, the XK140 from 1954 to 1957, and the XK150 between 1957 and 1961. Here are photographs of each of these models taken at the same Jaguar Drivers' Club meeting.

The Jaguar XK120

The Jaguar XK140

The Jaguar XK150