- 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.”
