The Jaguar Classic Challenge returns in 2017 with two brand new events confirmed in the five-race series for pre-1966 Jaguars

• Silverstone Classic and Spa-Francorchamps added to the Jaguar Classic Challenge calendar for 2017
• Five-date race series runs from April to September
• First race commences at the Donington Historic Festival on 28 April – 30 April, and the series concludes with the Spa Six Hours from 15-17 September
• Drivers wishing to take part can register via the dedicated web page at http://www.hscc.org.uk/jaguar-classic-challenge

The Jaguar Classic Challenge returns in 2017 with two brand new events confirmed in the five-race series for pre-1966 Jaguars.

A new date for the Jaguar Classic Challenge calendar is the Silverstone Classic on 28-30 July. This special summer weekend will be the third round in the Challenge and is expected to draw a full grid of stunning classic Jaguar racing cars.

Another new addition to the series for 2017 is Spa-Francorchamps (Six Hours of Spa), taking place between 15 and 17 September at the world-famous circuit in Belgium, and set to feature over 600 cars racing in a variety of different races, one of which is the Jaguar Classic Challenge. 

The single-marque series returns to the circuit where it claimed victories in the showpiece six-hour endurance race in 1954 (Hans Davids in a C-type), 1956 (Ninian Sanderson in the Ecurie Ecosse D-type) and 1987 (Martin Brundle, Johnny Dumfries and Raul Boesel XJR-8).

Run in partnership with the Historic Sports Car Club (HSCC), the Jaguar Classic Challenge for 2017 will continue to compete according to the FIA’s Appendix K technical regulations for cars competing in international historic racing competitions. 

The regulations pay particular consideration to a car’s period specification and are in keeping with the true spirit of historic motor racing.

Drivers participating in this year’s Jaguar Classic Challenge will now also qualify to enter many other international historic races that run this set of rules.

The full list of races for 2017 is as follows:

28-30 April: Donington Historic Festival

1-2 July: Brands Hatch Super Prix (GP Circuit)

28-30 July: Silverstone Classic

26-28 August: Oulton Park Gold Cup

15-17 September: Spa Six Hours

Tim Hannig, Director, Jaguar Land Rover Classic, said: “Now in its third season, the Jaguar Classic Challenge continues to build, and pay homage to, the brand’s rich racing history. 

To see such a diverse array of iconic cars from Jaguar’s past racing on the world’s finest circuits is a sight to behold, and we are delighted to confirm Silverstone and Spa for the 2017 calendar.”

Places are limited, and drivers wishing to take part in 2017 are encouraged to visit the dedicated web page for the new season at http://www.hscc.org.uk/jaguar-classic-challenge for full details and information on how to enter.

Exclusive world first, features and unique cars, confirmed for the Palace of Holyroodhouse 2015 event.

Concours of Elegance 2015, Palace of Holyroodhouse, Edinburgh, 4-6 September

• Sir Jackie Stewart named Concours of Elegance Vice Patron, alongside Patron, HRH Prince Michael of Kent
• Jackie Stewart to showcase three of his Formula One world championship cars on the lawns of the Palace
• Tribute to Scottish motor racing heroes and a world-first gathering to celebrate the Ecurie Ecosse racing team to be displayed in September
• World’s first Scottish Motoring Hall of Fame inaugurated at 2015 Concours of Elegance
• Main Concours event to be held alongside the Club Trophy, celebrating the best of the UK’s car club national winners
• History of motoring celebrated alongside modern day automotive legends from partners such as Bentley and Jaguar
• 2015 charitable beneficiaries confirmed, including a number of projects in Scotland

Concours of Elegance has announced further details of its 2015 event at a special preview held in Edinburgh, giving an early glimpse of one of the highlights: a priceless Jaguar D-type ‘Long Nose’ Ecurie Ecosse racer, which finished second at Le Mans in 1957, just behind the winning Ecurie car.

Running alongside the main Concours event, made up of 60 of the world’s finest cars, will be the largest ever collection of Ecurie Ecosse racers, ranging from the ‘50s to the modern day. Sir Jackie Stewart, recently named Vice Patron of the Concours of Elegance, will also display his three Formula One Driver’s Championship-winning cars to Holyroodhouse, in another world first.

There will be a separate homage to some of Scotland’s motor racing heroes, including two Formula One cars driven by Jim Clark and Johnny Dumfries’ Le Mans-winning Jaguar XJR-9. Concours of Elegance will also see the first members of the Scottish Motoring Hall of Fame inducted at the event.

In the main Concours display, the organisers have confirmed a number of the stars of the show, which will include a 1933 Hispano-Suiza J12 Cabriolet and the 1911 London-to-Edinburgh Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost.

The Club Trophy will also be held at the Palace in September, featuring hundreds of classic cars from across the UK and the best-of-the-best from the nation’s car clubs. Each club submits their individual Concours winner, which is then judged by a panel of Concours of Elegance experts, chaired by HRH Prince Michael of Kent and guest judges which in recent years have included David Gandy, Mark Knopfler, Jodie Kidd and others.  2015’s judging panel will be confirmed in the summer.  The Club Trophy winner car is then entered in to the Concours of Elegance in 2016.

Sir Jackie Stewart, Vice Patron of the Concours of Elegance, said: “This event already has an incredible history, beginning with the Windsor event in 2012, and it’s brilliant to see it heading to Scotland this year. The history, the roads and the scenery mean that Scotland is the perfect place to host our automotive festival of cars old and new here in Edinburgh.”

One of the primary aims of Concours of Elegance is to raise money for charity, and this year’s event will be generating funds for Walking With the Wounded – who will be establishing facilities for ex-military personnel all over Scotland – Action on Addiction and Springfield Motor Racing’s Club for Young People. So far, Concours of Elegance has raised more than £600,000 for its charities.

Concours of Elegance, supported by AIG, takes place between 4-6 September and has partnered with a series of exclusive brands for the event, including Autoglym, Bentley, Johnnie Walker, Hamilton & Inches, Jaguar, Pol Roger, RM Sotheby’s and Rolex. Tickets are available now from www.concoursofelegance.co.uk; an adult ticket costs £35, with a variety of discounts and concessions available (under 5s go free and under 17s £10). A variety of hospitality packages are also available.  

Jay Leno joins Ian Callum for 2014 Mille Miglia

• Jaguar Design Director will partner US TV chat show host in unique 1951 XK 120 roadster
• Ex-Sir James Scott-Douglas race-winning car features full Ecurie Ecosse period livery and is only surviving example
• Jaguar Heritage Racing to field ten 1950s models in the 2014 Mille Miglia including XKs, C-types and one D-type
• Top racers plus household names from stage and screen as well as fashion, motor sport and music celebrities will drive

This year’s Mille Miglia is packed full of famous cars and equally famous drivers – but when it comes to prodigious competition histories paired with A-list names, the combination of Jaguar Heritage Racing’s 1951 Ecurie Ecosse XK 120 roadster with Jay Leno and Ian Callum is hard to beat.

US TV chat show host, Jaguar collector and classic car enthusiast, Jay Leno, and Jaguar Design Director, Ian Callum, are legends of the automotive industry – and at the Mille Miglia this year their presence is complemented by that of the 1951 XK 120 Ecurie Ecosse roadster.

 

One of the most valuable and important XK 120s in the world, ‘LXO 126’ is the only surviving example of three original cars built to launch the Scottish racing team in 1952. A race winner in its period, it is most famously associated with raffish Anglo-Scottish aristocrat Sir James Scott-Douglas.

Scott-Douglas competed in a number of endurance races across Europe with Ecurie Ecosse and even went on to keep ‘LXO 126’ as a road car in 1953. In the same year, the car returned to the race track at the infamous Nurburgring; Ecurie Ecosse mechanics hastily converting it back into a competition car when one of the team’s C-type’s met with an accident.

Since then the car has been the subject of a meticulous restoration. Resplendent in the classic Flag Metallic Blue of the Ecurie Ecosse racing team, it was recently sold by Bonhams Auctions for £707,100 at the end of 2013 and has been loaned to Jaguar Heritage Racing for the Mille Miglia.

It won’t be the only Ecurie Ecosse car in Italy for this event – the Ecurie Ecosse C-type and D-type the original Ecurie Ecosse racing transporter will also be present at the start of the Mille Miglia in Brescia. 

Ian Callum, Jaguar Design Director, said: “As a Scotsman, Ecurie Ecosse is incredibly close to my heart – so the chance to drive this incredible XK 120 through Italy is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Factor in a co-driver who’s almost as much of a Jaguar man as me – and there’s no doubt I’m going to love every minute!”

Jay Leno commented: “I’m fortunate to have an XK 120 in my garage – not to mention a few other incredible cars from Coventry - but this Ecurie Ecosse XK 120 is one of the most beautiful Jaguars ever built. I absolutely adore it. It’s a real honour to be asked to drive it on the Mille Miglia and to be able to revel in its history with someone like Ian is a true privilege.”

Jaguar Heritage Racing will be tackling the legendary Mille Miglia classic car endurance event from 15-18 May with a line-up of top-name drivers, which will be traversed over 1,000 gruelling miles from Brescia-Rome-Brescia in ten of the most revered and sought-after historic Jaguar cars ever produced.

Live updates will be available from 15-18 May through Jaguar official social media channels (www.facebook.com/Jaguar and www.twitter.com/jaguar), as well as Twitter profiles of drivers using hashtag: #JaguarMille

Jaguar showcases 10 historic cars for the 2014 Mille Miglia.

• Jaguar Heritage Racing to field ten of the marque’s most celebrated 1950s models in the 2014 Mille Miglia, from 15-18 May, including XKs, C-types and one D-type
• Famous faces from the world of entertainment, music, motor sport and fashion to drive the gruelling Mille Miglia in historic Jaguars
• Live updates from event available through Jaguar official social media channels, as well as Twitter profiles of drivers using hashtag: #JaguarMille

Jaguar Heritage Racing will be tackling the legendary Mille Miglia classic car endurance event from 15-18 May with a line-up of top-name drivers, which will be traversed over 1,000 gruelling miles from Brescia-Rome-Brescia in ten of the most revered and sought-after historic Jaguar cars ever produced.

Household names from stage and screen, plus fashion, motor sport and music celebrities will campaign their assigned historic Jaguars through Northern and Central Italy for four tough but memorable days of hard driving.  Spectators enthusiastically lining the Mille Miglia route will get to see examples of historically-significant Jaguar XKs, C-types and D-types shooting past them with famous faces in the cockpits.

Leading American TV chat show host, Jaguar collector and classic car enthusiast – Jay Leno – will drive the famous ex-Sir James Scott-Douglas 1951 Jaguar XK 120 roadster, raced as part of the Ecurie Ecosse team in period.

Another well-known 1951 XK 120 roadster – the ex-Duncan Hamilton racer registered LXF 731 – will be shared by husband and wife team, Elliot and Erin Gleave. Elliot is better known as successful British musician Example, with his wife Erin being the Australian TV presenter that he first met when she interviewed him for MTV.

Other significant Jaguar XK models on the Mille Miglia will include the ex-Jim Swift racing XK120 roadster, which will be driven by multiple award-winning British actor Jeremy Irons.  Multi-million album selling Scottish singer and songwriter Amy Macdonald will take the wheel of an XK140 once owned by successful British racing driver David Hobbs.  

Jaguar Vehicle Integrity Chief Engineer Mike Cross will drive the well-known ex-Stirling Moss Monthlery record-breaking XK120 Coupé, which carries the registration LWK 707. Author David Blakeley and model-turned-TV presenter Jodie Kidd will share a stunning example of the Jaguar XK120, which was driven by Oscar-winning actor Daniel-Day Lewis in the 2013 event.

Jaguar Heritage Racing is also entering three famous C-type racing cars, to be driven by celebrities as diverse as Belgian singer-songwriter Milow (Jonathan Vandenbroeck) – who will drive with Jaguar Land Rover Regional Director for Europe Bernard Kuhnt, and legendary AC/DC lead singer and car afficionado Brian Johnson. Ex-Jaguar Le Mans 24 Hours race winner Andy Wallace will drive the Jaguar C-type which won the 1952 Reims Grand Prix with Formula 1 legend Sir Stirling Moss at the wheel.

Two motor racing greats – ex-Jaguar Le Mans and World Sports Prototype Championship winner, Formula 1 driver and SKY F1 TV pundit Martin Brundle, plus ex-Formula 1 racer Bruno Senna – will share the famous ‘Long Nose’ Jaguar D-type, the penultimate example built, registered 393 RW, as this legendary Jaguar model celebrates its 60^th anniversary in 2014.

A number of new Jaguar F-TYPE Coupés will support the Jaguar Heritage Racing team, following the full Mille Miglia route through Italy with broadcast crews and VIP guests.

The drivers making up the Jaguar Heritage Racing team will be tweeting live throughout the event, which was famously once proclaimed as: ‘The most beautiful race in the world’. Twitter profiles to watch for the latest personal updates on the event include: