Star Jaguars on the prowl at new Oulton Park Cheshire Cats CSCC event

There was a distinct Jaguar theme to the Classic Sports Car Club’s Oulton Park meeting last weekend as the inaugural Cheshire Cats event was held. Alongside a host of Jags racing, there were also some very special cars taking part in a demonstration.

Star Car: Jaguar XJR-9

There was a thoroughly impressive collection of vehicles on display, but the one that created the most excitement was undoubtedly the Le Mans-winning Jaguar XJR-9. Jock Howe, one of the day’s designated drivers for this piece of automotive history, commented that when driving it he feels “massively responsible, because of the heritage of the car, the value of the car and what it represents to people”.

The famous victory at Le Mans in 1988 ended a remarkable run by Porsche, which had dominated the event, winning every race since 1981. But the trio of Dutchman Jan Lammers and Britons Johnny Dumfries and Andy Wallace brought an end to that run in a hotly contested race in which the Jaguar was stuck in fourth gear for the last 40 minutes. Earlier in the race its sister car, driven by Raul Boesel, was forced to retire due to the same gearbox issue and Boesel had the presence of mind to warn Lammers what to look out for.

During the final stint Lammers felt the vibration Boesel mentioned, and knowing that changing gear would shatter the casing, he jammed it into fourth to finish the race. This particular vehicle, chassis 488, was handed over to the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust after some promotional events. Astonishingly, Le Mans was the only race it ever finished.

Star Car: Jaguar XKR

The Powered by Jaguar Race boasted a number of impressive cars, but few were created with more expertise than Stephen Dowell’s Jaguar XKR.

Sporting a classic Martini Livery, this unassuming XKR boasts several impressive racing modifications that make it stand out as a special machine. Most notably the 8HP gearbox conversion, which is becoming increasingly popular in the world of aftermarket upgrades, a conversion known for increasing shifting speed, drivability, as well as fuel economy. The car’s owner Stephen Dowell commented that of all the things he has done to his Jaguar, this is “the one thing that makes me feel excited to drive it and makes me feel proud”. This event was also the first time they had been able to use paddleshifts due to regulations normally requiring a stick shift.

Aside from this, it has a supercharged conversion from a Range Rover SVR and an eight-into-one collector exhaust that produces a noise which can quite confidently be described as unique. The engine and gearbox have all been moved back to help with the balance and weight distribution and a new fuel tank added that sits lower.

Sadly for Dowell, both his qualifying session and his race were cut short due issues outside of his control, but his XKR certainly turned heads. There are few who know how to modify a Jaguar for racing better than him but, by his own admission, he “is more of an engineer than a racing driver”, and his expertise certainly shines through.

Chilton’s Nissan wins the Jaguar hunt

Skyline was able to stretch clear of the Jaguar contenders

Photo by: Steve Jones

Diverse would be the best way to describe the Powered by Jaguar Race, which also featured Modern and Future Classics competitors. The split grid began with the Jaguars heading off into Old Hall a few seconds before a wide variety of assorted Classics followed on.

The very impressive Mark Chilton drove his Nissan Skyline GT-R from the Future set like a man possessed to catch up with the Jaguar pack, alongside the Lotus Elise driven by Craig Denman. Meanwhile, an enthralling battle was taking place at the head of the Jaguar prowl. Jack Robinson had, as expected, solidified his lead in his XK8 but second position was up for grabs and hard fought between Tom Lenthall in his XJS and Andrew Harper’s S-Type R, a battle that was settled by a spectacular move at Clay Hill and into Druids by Lenthall.

The mandatory 90s pitstop created a lot of action at the halfway point of the race. Some drivers swapping over, and one or two switching cars, with Tom Robinson taking over from his brother, Jack. Once the dust had settled from the pitlane shenanigans, Chilton’s Skyline had become the clear leader and proceeded to dominate the remainder of the event, finishing with a nearly 23s gap to the Robinson brothers.

Denman fought hard to try and hunt down the Jaguar to claim second, but ultimately came up 3s short. The best of the rest was a hugely impressive Geoff Beale in his Talbot Sunbeam Lotus with a thoroughly professional drive.

Best Battling: BMW contenders

Bradley wrapped up the title with win in race two

Photo by: Steve Jones

Away from the Jaguars, the Ramair BMW Championship provided the event with some excellent racing, none more exciting than their second contest of the day. Coming into the weekend, Class A leader Niall Bradley had the chance to wrap up the title in his M3 E46, but the rest of the field wasn’t going to make it easy. Bradley’s nearest rival, Luke Yeomans, finished fourth in race one, while Bradley himself had a hard-fought second, losing out to an impressive Nathan Wells. This meant that a third-place finish or above would seal the title in the finale.

Fellow M3 E46 pilot Wells had completed a brave dive into Old Hall at the start of the opener, and Bradley returned the favour in the sequel and took the lead. This set the scene for an intriguing battle with Wells fighting hard, while Yeomans followed in third until Jason West expertly took advantage of a bad run through Old Hall and overtook on the outside of Cascades.

At the rear of the pack, Joe Collier was forced to start from the back due to a race-one DNF and was carving his way through the order, gaining eight places into sixth after four laps. Luck wasn’t on Collier’s side, though, after an incident at Druids culminated in him finding the barrier, which brought out a red flag.

Wells continued to pile the pressure on Bradley after the restart, until the effects of the dirty air caused an engine temperature issue on the final tour, and forced Wells to pull back to save his race. Bradley therefore crossed the line as race winner and champion.

Wells had jumped into the lead at the start of the opener

Photo by: Steve Jones

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