Jaguar launches new classic racing series

Fri, 14 Nov 2014

One-make racing series have become all the rage for customers who want to actually race their exotic sports cars (or competition-spec versions of them, anyway). Ferrari, Maserati, Lamborghini and Aston Martin all offer such programs, and Porsche supports several. Now Jaguar is getting in on the action as well, but instead of turning one of its production models – we're looking at you, F-Type – into a spec racer, it's launching an historic racing series instead.

The 2015 Jaguar Heritage Challenge will be open to cars made by the Leaping Cat marque before 1966, including the C-Type, D-Type, E-Type and Mk I and MkII sedans. The series, which builds on the success of the previous Jaguar E-Type Challenge, will be administered by the Historic Sports Car Club (HSCC) based at Silverstone and will include four races in the UK and one in Europe, with the exact schedule still to be determined.

The program was announced at the launch of the Jaguar Heritage Driving Experience, where Jaguar Land Rover Special Operations director John Edwards was also named chairman of the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust, replacing former Jaguar managing director Mike O'Driscoll who chaired the organization for the past five years.

If you'd like to know more about the heritage series, scroll down below for the details straight from the Leaper's mouth.

JAGUAR ANNOUNCES RACING PLANS WITH LAUNCH OF 2015 JAGUAR HERITAGE CHALLENGE

IN BRIEF

- Jaguar announces the 2015 Jaguar Heritage Challenge, a new historic race series dedicated to pre-1966 Jaguar models
- Eligible Jaguar models will include the XK series, C and D-types, MK I, MK II, and pre-1966 E-types
- Five races planned during the 2015 season, with dates and venues to be confirmed in due course
- The Jaguar Heritage Challenge to be administered by the Historic Sports Car Club

IN DETAIL

(Whitley, Coventry – 12 November 2014). Jaguar today announces the 2015 Jaguar Heritage Challenge, an exciting new historic race series, which will be dedicated to iconic pre-1966 Jaguar models.

The Jaguar Heritage Challenge will build on the success of the popular Jaguar E-type Challenge that ran for a number of racing seasons. As with the Jaguar E-type Challenge, this exciting new race series for pre-1966 models will be administered by the Silverstone-based Historic Sports Car Club (HSCC).

Derek Weale, Jaguar Land Rover Heritage Business Director, said: "Jaguar has established a strong presence in renowned heritage car celebrations including the Mille Miglia and Goodwood Revival in recent times. A single-marque race series will be an exciting addition to our plans for next year, and I look forward to meeting privateer teams that want to race Jaguar heritage sports and saloon cars in 2015."

The HSCC plans to run five Jaguar Heritage Challenge races during the 2015 season, with four to be held at major UK venues, plus one Continental European circuit. The confirmed dates, classes and race venues will be announced shortly.

By Noah Joseph