JD Classics secured two overall race victories at this weekend’s Donington Historic Festival.

• JD Classics secured two overall race victories at this weekend’s Donington Historic Festival, having entered a total of four cars
• The Maldon-based team competed in a Bastos Rover SD1, ex-Tom Walkinshaw Racing Jaguar XJS, Costin Lister and Ecurie Ecosse Jaguar XK120
• The JD Classics Costin Lister took victory in the Stirling Moss Trophy, while the Bastos Rover won the Historic Touring Car Challenge
• Latest two victories follow JD Classics’ season-opening two race wins at the 75th Goodwood Members’ Meeting

JD Classics has followed up its double-win at the season-opening Goodwood Members’ Meeting with a further two victories at this weekend’s Donington Historic Festival.

The Maldon-based classic car specialist was competing with four fully race-prepared entries; a Bastos Rover SD1, ex-Tom Walkinshaw Racing Jaguar XJS, Costin Lister and an Ecurie Ecosse Jaguar XK120. 

The weekend’s racing kicked off with qualifying for the Historic Touring Challenge, in which JD Classics was fielding the Bastos Rover and Jaguar XJS. Early laps revealed a breather tank issue for the Rover, which was quickly rectified by the JD Classics engineers, before it went on to set a blistering pole position time of 1:16.267. The Jaguar XJS, with John Young at the wheel, was sitting 11th on the grid by the end of the session.

The Historic Touring Car Challenge race got underway on Saturday afternoon, with Steve Soper taking over driving duties in the JD Classics’ Rover, and Chris Ward piloting the Jaguar XJS. After the rolling start, the Rover began to show its pace, pulling away from the pack with each lap. The Jaguar XJS was performing well, too, having moved from 11th to fifth in the space of just five laps.

By the time the pit window opened for the mandatory 60-second stops, the Rover SD1 had pulled out a 45-second lead. Even coming in for its stop and allowing Chris Ward to swap from the XJS into the Rover, it still rejoined the race in second position. Just a couple of laps later it was back in the lead, eventually crossing the finishing line 39 seconds ahead of the chasing car. The XJS, meanwhile, was consistently quick throughout, finishing in sixth position.

Next up was the Stirling Moss Trophy, where Chris Ward once again put in an incredible qualifying lap that saw the Costin Lister set a pole position time within his first six laps. No other car on track was able to beat the time for the remainder of the session, including the JD Classics-supported XK120 which qualified in 26th position with a lap three seconds quicker than its time last year.

The race began late on Saturday with a rolling start, in which Chris Ward established his place at the front of the pack and began pulling away in the Costin Lister. On lap 8, Ward had begun to lap the slowest cars, and the team decided to bring the Lister into the pits for its 60-second stop, before rejoining the race in fifth. As other cars began to pit, the Costin Lister made its way back into the lead, persistently chased by a Lister Knobbly that closed the gap to 0.4 seconds. But by the time the chequered flag fell, Ward had secured JD Classics’ second victory by a margin of 1.1 seconds.

The Ecurie Ecosse Jaguar XK120 of Steve and Josh Ward, meanwhile, made up seven places over the course of the race to finish in 19th overall and first in in its class.

JD Classics Managing Director, Derek Hood, said: “This was another weekend of fantastic performances from our Competition Department. The cars were brilliantly prepared by our engineers back at our Maldon HQ, and maintained to perfection at the track. We’re only two events into the historic racing calendar and JD Classics has already secured four victories –here’s to plenty more over the next few months.”

The 2016 calendar of events for the Motor Racing Legends Series has been released, dont miss this, its great.

Motor Racing Legends has unveiled its 2016 racing calendar which launches at the three day spectacular; Donington Historic Festival in May.

The four premier racing grids which come under the highly respected Motor Racing Legends banner include; the Historic Touring Car Challenge, Pre-War Sports Car Series, the highly competitive Stirling Moss Trophy for pre-’61 Sports Racing cars and for gentleman racers, the Royal Automobile Club Woodcote Trophy for original pre-’56 Sports cars.

All four of the Motor Racing Legends grids get the opportunity to race at a range of premier international historic meetings offering competitors a chance in the spotlight at some of the world’s best historic racing events.

2016 calendar highlights include all Legends grids starting at the Donington Historic Festival (April 30-May 2). This year the Pre-War Sports Car grid will also head to Zandvoort for the Historic Grand Prix event on the 2-4 September and the Royal Automobile Club Woodcote Trophy and Stirling Moss Trophy grids will both head to Silverstone Classic (Jul 29-31), Spa Six Hours (Sept 16-18) and the Algarve Classic Festival (Oct 28-30).

A first for 2016 sees the Historic Touring Car Challenge (HTCC) making its debut appearance on the Silverstone Classic programme with its own grid. This series is made up from touring cars from 1966 for Groups 1 & 2 and Group A Touring Cars that raced in the British and European Touring Car Championships between 1972 and 1985.

Motor Racing Legends Chairman Duncan Wiltshire commented “We’ve got a great calendar line-up for 2016, I am particularly excited to see the Historic Touring Cars featuring at Silverstone Classic and some interesting rule changes to be announced in the new-year should boost grid sizes as well as competition.  I am also looking forward to joining the Pre-War Sports Car Series when they head to Zandvoort where we hope to meet up with some new European competitors. All our grids will be out in force at the Donington Historic Festival and I am delighted to reconfirm support in 2016 from our sponsors JD Classics and EFG.”

Provisional Motor Racing Legends Calendar for: Historic Touring Car Challenge, (HTCC) Royal Automobile Club Woodcote Trophy & Stirling Moss Trophy

• Donington Historic Festival (April 30 – May 2)
• Silverstone Classic (July 29, 30, 31)
• Spa Six Hours (September 16, 17, 18)
• Algarve Classic Festival (October 28, 29, 30)

Pre War Sports Car Series - Calendar

• Donington Historic Festival (April 30 – May 2)
• Historic Grand Prix - Zandvoort  (September 3 & 4)

JD Classics’ legendary Ford Cologne Capri continues its winning ways with victories at the 2015 Spa Classic.

• JD Classics’ legendary Ford Cologne Capri continues its winning ways with a comprehensive victory at the 2015 Spa Classic
• The 1974 Ford chalked up impressive victories in the past year, including at the Silverstone Classic and Donington Historic Festival
• A dominant performance saw the Capri win both legs of the Heritage Touring Cup by 40 seconds and 30 seconds respectively

JD Classics’ Ford Cologne Capri has chalked up another comprehensive victory following a dominant season of racing in 2014. In the past twelve months, it has conquered its rivals at the Silverstone Classic and Donington Historic Festival.

As the 1974 Cologne Capri Works arrived at a warm and dry Spa Francorchamps circuit in Belgium, its drivers Chris Ward and Andrew Smith prepared for qualifying in the Heritage Touring Cup. Of a field of 38 strong contenders, the JD Classics Capri qualified second, sitting just behind the Rover Vitesse of Tim Summers and Richard Meaden.

But the work wasn’t over, with the night time practice session looming. Complete with an all-new lighting system, and never having run in the dark before, the Ford Cologne Capri showed just how dominant it can be, recording a lap that was six seconds quicker than any other in the field.

The following day was the first of two hour-long Heritage Touring Cup races, with driver Andrew Smith sitting on the grid behind the wheel of the Ford. At lights out, the JD Classics car’s searing pace was immediately obvious as the Rover ahead struggled to maintain its lead. By the time the cars were approaching the notoriously tricky Eau Rouge corner on lap one, the Ford Cologne Capri was in the lead.

And once in front, the Capri’s consistently quick lap times allowed it to pull out a lead that made it uncatchable. As the gap to second place lengthened, the JD Classics team called the Capri in for a pit stop, with time to give the car a once-over and allow Chris Ward to step in to the driver’s seat. By the time the chequered flag had fallen, the Capri had claimed fastest lap of the race and was 40 seconds ahead of second place – the Ford Capri of Steve Dance.

Later the same day, the JD Classics Capri headed out for the second of the Heritage Touring Cup races – an hour-long sprint in the dark, kicking off at 10pm.

Sitting on pole, the Capri extended its lead from the very first lap, but dropped to second as the team performed a pit stop and driver change with the safety car out. Nevertheless, the first-place Capri of Steve Dance couldn’t hold the lead for long, and before the out lap was through, the JD Classics Capri was back in the lead. Free to extend its lead once again, the Capri crossed the finish line 30 seconds ahead of its closest rival, showing no signs of interrupting its impressive winning streak.

JD Classics founder, Derek Hood, said: “The race results of our Ford Cologne Capri Works are a testament to the world-class engineers, drivers and support crew that make up our Competition Department. Its track record is seriously impressive and we believe there’s plenty more to come from this fantastic car.”

First race in the Jaguar heritage Challenge completed at Donington, and has been a huge success.

• Martin O’Connell and Andrew Kirkaldy driving Jaguar E-type take the chequered flag
• Pair of Joaquin Folch and Martin Stretton take second while Chris Ward and John Young finish third in one of the weekend’s most closely fought races
• Graeme Dodd chosen as the race commentators’ ‘Driver of the Day’
• Entrants and drivers can visit a dedicated web page for the new series at http://www.hscc.org.uk/jaguar-heritage-challenge for full details and information on how to enter
• Spectacular and diverse field of 39 heritage Jaguars on the starting grid
• Next race takes place at the Silverstone International Trophy between 16-17 May, 2015 

Martin O’Connell and Andrew Kirkaldy driving a Jaguar E-type have taken the chequered flag at the inaugural race of the Jaguar Heritage Challenge at the Donington Historic Festival.

In what proved to be one of the most closely fought races of the weekend, the lead changes on several occasions before a red flag brought a temporary halt to the action as marshals cleaned up the track following an earlier incident.

After the restart the Martin and Andrew got into a rhythm and began to stretch the lead out to eight seconds. The team managed to maintain this pace for the remainder of the race, and crossed the line ahead of second-place finishers of Joaquin Folch and Martin Stretton followed by the pair of Chris Ward and John Young who finished in third.

Winning driver, Martin O’Connell said: “We are delighted with the result but for us it is fabulous to see Jaguar get behind such an exciting series and the way they have put the package together is what historic racing is all about. There is such a competitive field and it makes for some incredibly close racing. Delighted with the result and we’re looking forward to the next round at Silverstone.”

Taking class honours were Chris Scholey and Nick Finburgh (Class A), Tom Barclay in his MK I (Class B), Benjamin Eastwick driving a Jaguar D-type 'Long Nose' (Class C) and Bob Binfield in a Jaguar E-type (Class D). Meanwhile, Graeme Dodd was chosen by the race commentators as their ‘Driver of the Day’ for a stellar drive and coming home fifth after starting near back of the grid.

John Edwards, Managing Director of Jaguar Land Rover Special Operations, said: “We’d like to congratulate Martin O’Connell and Andrew Kirkaldy and their team on their race victory in the first round of the Jaguar Heritage Challenge. It was captivating to witness such a diverse array of classic Jaguars competing out on the track and we are looking forward to welcoming the teams, our customers and fans to the next exciting round at Silverstone."

Andy Wallace, Jaguar Heritage Challenge competitor and 1988 Le Mans winner with Jaguar, said: “This has been a fantastic weekend and it’s been so exciting to race competitively with some of the most iconic Jaguars ever made. The brand gave me the opportunity and the car to win Le Mans and it’s always a special occasion to race a Jaguar.”

The Jaguar Heritage Challenge is open to all Jaguars manufactured before 1966 including the XK-series, C- and D-types, MK I and MK II saloons and E-type. It complements the growing portfolio of Jaguar Heritage activities, which also incudes the recently launched Jaguar Heritage Driving Experiences and factory sourced Heritage Parts and restoration – all under the expert direction of Jaguar Land Rover’s Special Operations division.

Following yesterday’s action at Donington, the single-marque series heads to Silverstone for the Silverstone International Trophy on 16 and 17 May, 2015.

The remaining dates for the Jaguar Heritage Race Series are as follows:

16^th– 17^th May: Silverstone International Trophy (GP Circuit)

11^th– 12^th July: Brands Hatch Super Prix (GP Circuit)

7^th– 9^th August: Nürburgring Oldtimer Grand Prix

29^th– 31^st August: Oulton Park Gold Cup 

Entrants and drivers can visit a dedicated web page for the new series at http://www.hscc.org.uk/jaguar-heritage-challenge for full details and information on how to enter.