A Jaguar Enthusiasts' Club evening with Tom Walkinshaw Racing (TWR) - reliving Le Mans 1988
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- čas přidán 23. 12. 2019
- Hosted by Wayne Scott for the Jaguar Enthusiasts' Club, the panel consists of Tony Southgate (Chief Designer), Andy Wallace (Driver), Allan Scott (Engineer), Alastair Macqueen (Chief Race Engineer) and Richard West (Marketing Manager).
The 1980s have come to be remembered as something of a ‘second coming’ for Jaguar motor sport thanks to TWR. Nearly thirty years had passed since the successes of the D Types and in that time, Jaguar had not been directly involved in motor racing.
But, all of this was to change in 1984 when Jaguar was freed from the shackles of British Leyland ownership. With Sir John Egan driving the privatised company forward, Jaguar would return to motor sport with monumental success.
That success was owed to Jaguar’s partnership with TWR. There are stories about TWR right from the very beginning, from the days preparing Mazda RX7s, through to the Rover SD1s in touring cars and of course those iconic XJS Group A Touring cars that dominated the European series. Pick any one of those subjects and we could spend all evening on just one of them, but tonight we are focused on the events that led up to and resulted in the 1988 and 1990 Le Mans wins.
TWR took their first Jaguar prototype to Le Mans in 1985 and in 1988 achieved one of those “where were you when” moments, by winning the Le Mans 24-hour race with Andy Wallace, Jan Lammers and Johnny Dumfries at the wheel of one of the iconic purple liveried XJR9s. It was a victory that was to break years of domination by Porsche at the event.
This success would go on to see them later creating some legendary road cars like the XJR-15 and XJ220 and of course the JaguarSport tuned versions of Jaguar's model range at the time.
Tom Walkinshaw was a talented driver in his own right. From a farming background, he started racing an MG Midget, eventually graduating to an FF1600 Lotus 61.
In the early 1970s his focus was very much on single-seaters but his aggressive style and physical attributes didn’t suit single seaters and an ankle breaking crash at Brands Hatch didn't help. From aged 30, he focused on saloons. While still racing a Capri in the UK, Walkinshaw joined forces with BMW for overseas racing in a CSL in which he scored a string of major wins.
Tom Walkinshaw could have settled for a good career as a works driver for many more years to come, but he had bigger ambitions. By 1977 he was BMW GB's motor sport manager, a connection that would ultimately lead to the birth of TWR. - Auta a dopravní prostředky
The 1980s was the best decade ever for every form of motor racing and the TWR Jaguars were the absolute pinnacle!
Tom Walkinshaw should have been Knighted. Amazing how these different men contributed - Management, Design, Construction, Pit Crew, Driving.
The depth and insight of this team is unparalleled! Tom Walkinshaw was a brilliant director. Very much want to buy Allan Scott's book about the V12 prototype era. Would be very interested to learn more about that famous failed gearbox, the venturi tunnels, and how they went about building the carbon monocell before the widespread use of CAD. However I believe Pinifarina was one of the first companies to use 3D scanning with the Lancia Monte Carlo in the late 70's.
I was fortunate to attend 3 Groups C races back in the 1980's and I remember on one occasion during the 1988 1000km of Brands Hatch standing trackside at Pilgrim's Drop when Andy Wallace in the No 1 XJR-9 lapped Jan Lammers in the 2 number car, and I honestly thought my ears were going to bleed ! Fabulous memories of those long gone days. p.s. I was fortunate to meet Derek Bell,Hans Stuck, Derek Warwick and Eddie Cheever during my time following the series in the 1980's.
How freaking cool is this! Imagine having this for every car you've ever loved. Thank you for posting this gem.
88 the years our son Chase was born..... A superb gathering of the top guns from Jag back in the day....
I saw the first XJR-6 race, at Mosport in 1985 (have pics of car, Mike Thackwell and Davey Jones. Now proud owner of 2023 F-Type and 2023 F-Pace SVR. Love them and the brand!
Imagine the comments in 30 years about boring Formula E.....zzzzzzzz... they will have nothing of any interest to talk about LOL, the glory years, it was a great time, thanks for this.
I thought this might be boring but this is great. All the guys have very interesting and funny stories.
Andy Wallace is a funny person & being around James Weaver has made him funnier.
IM VERY VERY VERY GRATEFUL THAT U DID UPLOAD THIS .GOD BLESS U
when TWR went to Gr C with Jaguar they brought in people with a Formula 1 background in design and moved the touring car crews who worked on the XJS to the Rovers though would move back to the XJS in the 4 races in Australia, Japan and NZ from 1985-87
Fantastic video thanks for sharing. It's an amazing insight into the world class winning cars whom had it not been for Tom Walkinshaw and the team of very talented personnel he put together would never have been.
I was there !! fantastic weekend the the Brits are great fans of sports car racing
Very interesting. Thanks for posting. And frankly, if the Tom Walkinshaw XJS Jags, in their full racing trim, aren't some of the best looking racing cars ever, I don't know what the hell are.
I agree. I also like the Group 44 XJS cars, too. But the TWR cars kept the original shape, which I love. I have a 1982 XJS with a few upgrades and mods. It is still a head turner, especially now with so many new cars looking the same.
They could do a whole 2 hours with Allan Scott just on the XJS Racing Program, maybe someday. So many great victories and drivers. I am just happy to have my TWR XJS with a TWR Racing Development 6.0 V12, 5 speed, with plenty of bits and pieces.
Brilliant! such nuggets of experiences and information shared. Thank you for posting this :-)
It was an amazing race. I was rooting for the Andretti entry, but was still happy for the Jags. It was really an awesome win.
the jag v12 had a possed a "Herorron" SOHC head developed from Coventry Climax in 60's F1. A very light motor produced in a very heavy car. detuned enormously and completely unappreciated.
well if u want to win le mans watch this documentary