After our success at the Spa Six Hours race at the end of September, where we finished first in our class and 35th place overall, an outstanding achievement for our 1961 Jaguar E-Type. However, after 20 hours of driving at Spa, we had to complete some prep work to compete in the Silverstone MRL Pall Mall Cup, which took place on the 18th and 19th of October, our final race of the season.

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We had fantastic results at the Spa Six Hours race after a new engine was fitted in our Jaguar E-Type. The new engine, built by Tom Barclay, was installed in August. This engine was built for reliability and for an upgrade in power. Our two drivers, Ciprian Nistorica (Cip), our Managing Director at P&K Thornton Restorations, and the legendary Grant Williams, who is well known for racing classic Jaguar saloons at Goodwood Revival, competed in 3 races over the weekend. These were the Silverstone MRL Pall Mall Cup on Saturday. Then on Sunday, the team competed in the HMRN Pre-63 race in the 1961 Jaguar E-Type and the HRDC Jack Sears Trophy in Grant’s MK2 JAG400, which has been driven by motor racing legends, such as Graham Hill, Jack Sears and Stirling Moss.

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The Pall Mall Cup, taking place on Saturday, had 28 cars competing. With dry conditions, we qualified in 21st place, similar to our qualifiers at the Spa Six Hours, with a ‘best of the rest’ result. Cip began the 2-hour endurance race well; however, an accident occurred on the first lap, which led to a safety car coming onto the track. This led to a change of strategy on the go. We decided to conduct the mandatory 5-minute pit stop (where refuelling is permitted) whilst the Safety Car was on the track. Because the Safety Car window apepared so early in the race, there was no point in refuelling after 2 laps. This was really nerve-wracking towards the end of the race, because we started to worry about running out of fuel, but nevertheless, we made it through the race with no problems or penalties. We conducted our 1-minute pit stop later in the race when Grant took over in the driver’s seat. Grant finished the race under the checkered flag in 12th place overall and 1st in our class! This is an improvement over last year’s results, where we finished P.17 overall and first in our class.

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On Sunday, we competed in the HMRN Pre-63 GT race in our 1961 Jaguar E-Type. Although the qualifiers were dry and we managed to qualify in 7th place, the weather soon took a turn with a dreaded downpour. Cip began the 1-hour Pre-63 race; despite the wet conditions, he had a steady start. However, later on in the race, we had to make an unforeseen pit stop due to some electrical problems. This problem was resolved by our team in the pits, so we were able to continue with the race. Grant took over, and we finished the race in 7th position overall. Also, despite the wet conditions, we managed to record the fastest lap out of all the E-Types and the second fastest lap overall behind the winner.

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In addition, Cip and Grant also competed for the Jack Sears Trophy on Sunday afternoon in Grant Williams’ legendary Jaguar MK2. Following the same pattern, Cip began the race and was making good progress before handing the JAG400 over the Grant. Some amazing results over the weekend, and we’re looking forward to returning again next year!

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Despite the incredibly long driving hours our Jaguar E-Type has endured over these past few weeks, we have performed very well throughout these long endurance races. This is a testament to our amazing and thorough race preparation.

Our team has extensive experience in preparing and supporting race-ready classic Jaguars – from the iconic XK to the sleek E-Type. We offer a comprehensive range of services to support your racing ambitions, including classic car race preparation, trackside support, race engineering, and classic car transportation and logistics. To learn more or to book our racing services, please get in touch via the usual channels. Call us on 0115 9262266 or email us at info@thorntonrestorations.com.