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Jaguar F-Pace runs support at Tour de France

Jaguar is going back to the Tour de France. The British automaker will once again support Team Sky in its latest campaign for cycling's biggest prize by loaning out an F-Pace prototype that will run during the brutal first stage of this year's event. This marks our first genuine look at the production sheetmetal, which is lightly obscured by the Team Sky/Jaguar camouflage. Sporting a black theme, it features blue accents, carbon fiber, rubber, and chain elements reminiscent of a racing bike. Outside of that, it looks a lot like C-X17 Concept that previewed the F-Pace. Like the F-Type that was used by Team Sky in last year's race, the F-Pace will carry the team's director and a driver. They'll be joined this year by a mechanic and the team's physician, while the large trunk will house sports drinks, clothing for the riders, and spare parts for their bikes. "We are delighted to be supporting Team Sky again at such a prestigious sporting event and are excited at the prospect of the F-Pace being seen in action in public for the first time," Kevin Stride, the CUV's line director, said in the attached statement. "The Jaguar F-Pace is a striking balance of performance, style, and practicality. And what better way to showcase the vehicle's attributes than on this crucial first leg of the Tour de France." Scroll down for the full press release from Jaguar. JAGUAR F-PACE PROTOTYPE TO LEAD TEAM SKY AT THE TOUR DE FRANCE #FPACE STRICTLY UNDER EMBARGO UNTIL 00:01 BST WEDNESDAY 1 JULY 2015 ? Jaguar F-PACE breaks cover at the Tour de France as official Team Sky support vehicle ? Prototype version of Jaguar's first performance crossover will be seen in public for the first time with light camouflage ? Team Sky rider Chris Froome stars alongside the Jaguar F-PACE in a short film showing real world testing of the prototype at their training camp ? Jaguar Land Rover Special Vehicle Operations designs cutting edge bike racking solution to optimise quick-release of Team Sky's Pinarello Bolide TT bikes for Stage One Wednesday 1 July 2015: Jaguar will set the pace for Team Sky this Saturday when a prototype version of the highly anticipated Jaguar F-PACE will support the team at the Tour de France Grand Depart in Utrecht. Jaguar's first performance crossover is due to be revealed later in the year and is in its final stages of development.

Jaguar launches new classic racing series

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.

Lapping Le Mans with 1956's version of a dash cam

Mike Hawthorne and Ivor Bueb won The 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1955 driving a Jaguar D-Type. The following year, a few days before the race, a British broadcaster put cameras on Hawthorne's car, hung a mic from a plate on his race suit and had him narrate a lap of the Circuit de la Sarthe.
It is compelling viewing. A new pit complex was built after the massive accident on the front straight in 1955, but this was still a time when crews prepped for the race on roads that were open to the public. Hawthorne's lap includes maneuvers to avoid bicyclists and cars, and gems like letting us know that doing 185 miles per hour down the Mulsanne Straight was where you could "relax a little, recover your energy." Watch him work it like the men of old in the video below.