The Jaguar Enthusiasts’ Club are excited to announce to members, the launch of a new programme of track, hill climb, sprint and navigational events under the newly formed initiative of JEC TrackSport.
The JEC has recognised the increasing need and demand for more accessible and inclusive forms of motorsport derived activities within our calendar of club events, in which a broader audience of our members may participate more easily.
During the past year, the popularity of the moving motor show at the Summer Jaguar Festival, our ‘open-to-all’ Hill climb at Harewood and our track days at Blyton Park and Castle Combe has shown us that the appetite for driving experiences for Jaguar owners within the club is growing rapidly.
Whether you are a complete novice or an experienced track day driver, nothing beats the thrill of driving your own Jaguar at speed in safe and secure surroundings or being a passenger in a high-speed Jaguar with some of the best driving talent around. Furthermore, the opportunity to learn from our experienced ARDS instructors and Championship winning racing drivers gives members a unique opportunity to explore the capabilities of Jaguars of all ages and indeed learn new driving skills whilst having great fun.
The launch of JEC TrackSport will now enable the Jaguar Enthusiasts’ Club to open up the sporting elements of Jaguar ownership to all club members, with road-going cars, regardless of what model you drive or which era your Jaguar is from.
Four events are already confirmed for 2022, starting with Mallory Park Circuit Day on April 6th, Harewood Hill Climb on Sunday June 26th and thanks to our very special relationship with the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust we have been invited to participate in their track day at the Anglesey Circuit in North Wales on 6thSeptember 2022. The Anglesey opportunity will be run as part of the ‘The 100 Celebration’ event in Blackpool on the weekend of the 10th and 11th September 2022, marking 100 years since the formation of Swallow Sidecars, which became SS Cars and eventually, Jaguar.
The season then closes with our ever-popular track day at Castle Combe on 4th October 2022. We will then be adding further events as the calendar develops including some fun, road based, navigational events.
Additional benefits on offer from our JEC TrackSport calendar don’t stop there however.
The JEC will be working closer than ever with the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust and a number of private car collectors to enable us to display a range of superb road and racing cars, in action, out on track at our future events. Motorsport is core to Jaguar’s heritage and we are in a unique position to experience that incredible history first hand in the most exhilarating way.
Combining high-performance experiences with insightful talks from leading industry figures presented on the day, driving tuition from qualified ARDS instructors, access to a great social occasion to enjoy with fellow Jaguar owners, trade stands and offers from tuning companies, car detailing specialists and restorers all means that JEC TrackSport days are club events that you simply won’t want to miss.
Essential to any form of performance driving is of course some technical support and increasingly this will be provided courtesy of our official support partnership with Swallows Racing.
Swallows Racing are well known in the UK for their on-track racing prowess and performance Jaguar road car preparation. Adding excitement to the days will be high speed, on-track passenger experiences, which will also be available with lead Driver Tom Robinson and other Swallows team drivers in a range of unique racing and road cars. Further exclusive member discounts and benefits from our association with Swallows will be announced in coming weeks.
Finally, we should make note of the cessation of the Jaguar Enthusiasts’ Club Saloon and GT Racing Championship which the Club has organised and run for over two decades. With the overriding wish to ensure greater member inclusion in all of our events, the time for change has now come. We understand that some of our past Championship competitors will continue to race in conjunction with other motorsport organisations in the future and so we wish them all safe racing and thank them for keeping Jaguar’s motor racing heritage alive. We will of course welcome any former JEC Championship competitors who wish to bring their cars to JEC TrackSport events, as we know how valuable track time and testing is to racing teams.
Commenting of JEC TrackSport, Ray Searles, JEC Chairman said;
“Being new to track days, I was hugely impressed with the help and guidance I received from our ARDS instructor, Ray Ingman on my first visit to a track day. Having used his experience to understand racing lines, braking zones and safe overtaking rules, I have become a real fan of driving my own high-performance car on track with fellow enthusiasts. It also gives me the opportunity to really explore what my Jaguar is capable of and grow my own confidence in driving it.
A recent passenger ride with Tom Robinson in the Swallows racing Jaguar convinced me that I am most certainly not the next world champion, but the enjoyment the track day experiences have given me is immense and I look forward greatly to all of our events next year and to meeting many of you as the year progresses.”
