Jaguars celebrated at Castle Combe Autumn Classic
Jaguars will be celebrated at this year’s Autumn Classic event, held at Castle Combe on Sunday 6th October, with the appearance of two very special models and a parade lead by Jaguar test driver Norman Dewis.
The Jaguar Parade will see Norman at the wheel of the Howard Webb owned replica XJ13, while bringing the action right up to date is Jaguar’s latest performance car, the £135,000 186 mph XKR-S GT, one of just ten cars built for the UK market, courtesy of regional Jaguar dealer, Hartwell of Bristol.
Also, with the news that the famous Ecurie Ecosse Race Collection is to be auctioned off later in the year, it might be the very last opportunity, certainly on a race circuit, to see the transporter and some of the Ecurie Ecosse cars including the ex Jim Clark Tojeiro.
There will also be pre 1966 Jaguars, including C Types, D Types and E Types in action on the Wiltshire circuit.
Making a long awaited return to Castle Combe is the 'Miller Oils Formula Junior Championship', featuring the delightful one litre and 1100 cc single seaters which many great names cut their racing teeth on. One of the most beautiful cars on the grid will be the 1961 Lotus 20 of Professor Peter Hawkey of Painswick, rescued from a scrap yard in Kenya.
The popular Fiscar race for historic sports and GT cars of the fifties, which is run as a 30 minute, three car team race with pit stops, returns. Westbury's Peter Campbell has a Wingfield Bristol Special, whilst Marlborough's David Bennett has his AC Ace and will also appear in the race for 'Historic Aston Martins' with his DB3S. He will be emulated by Mark Campbell from Stonehouse, who uses his ex-works Le Mans DB2 in both races.
Equally interesting will be the unique 'FISCAR FLIERS' race for 'Fifties Lightweight Sports Racing Cars', which should throw up some rather unusual sub 1.5 litre cars which rarely have a home to race. Gloucester's John Paul Mason brings his Cooper T21. Chris Guest has the Cooper-MG sports-racer which Bristol's only Formula 1 driver, Horace Gould, raced at the circuit in 1953. Gould's best F1 result was fifth in the 1956 British GP in his Maserati 250F.
The Vintage Sports Car Club's race for pre war sports cars includes the coincidence of two Glastonbury drivers, Hamish McNinch and Barry Foster, both in 1931 MG C-type Montlherys. Westbury's Stephen Curtis has his 1934 Talbot 105, Andrew Baker from Martock his Riley Brooklands and Crewkerne's Allen Clear is in his Riley TT Sprite.
The Historic Aston Martin Race will show off some of the finest examples of the Aston Martin marque in the years when it was striving and developing its cars for success at Le Mans. Several of the actual cars in this race ran in period at Le Mans and many of the identical models were regular Works team entries.
Sponsored by Bristol Forklifts and Carole Nash Insurance, qualifying for the Autumn Classic gets underway at 8:30am with displays from 12noon to 12:50. The Aston Martin Centenary Grid Walkabout will start a 1pm with racing starting at 1.30pm.
Tickets are £15 for adults, £10 for senior citizens, with children under 17 years offered free entrance. Entrance into the paddock is also free. For further details and to book tickets, visit Castle Combe’s website castlecombecircuit.co.uk.
