RE: Jag XJR-15s at Monaco: Time For Tea?
Wednesday 6th August 2014
Amazing what you can find on YouTube sometimes. Everyone knows the roadgoing XJR-15s were uncompromising race cars sold to the public, but what about the actual races? Now we have some idea.
Jag XJR-15s at Monaco: Time For Tea?
Now this is how to do F1 support races!
The Jaguarsport Intercontinental Challenge may sound like a Gran Turismo championship where XJRs race XKRs but it was in fact a genuine F1 support series back in 1991. It looks pretty awesome too. A mix of both pro drivers and owners, all the glamour of the F1 circus and 16 V12 Jag supercars on three great circuits (Monaco, Silverstone and Spa).A $1m prize made it all the more exciting.
If this short video from Monaco is anything to go by the Intercontinental Challenge (on one continent) was as good as it sounds. The racing is close, there's oversteer and, of course, much beautiful V12 noise. Murray Walker did the TV commentary too for those who couldn't make the race. Magnificent.
See here.
[Pic: LAT. The keen amongst you will note it's Spa but that is literally all that is available of the Intercontinental Challenge!].
Discussion
Fittster said:
Weren't these cars so awful to drive that a high percentage were crashed?
Yes - but there were reasons for this, as I discovered before acquiring one 3 years ago. (1) They ran them on the wrong tyres (from an F40) as they swapped tyre sponsors just before the series started. Switching to F50 tyres and dropping the front sorts this out and gets the aero working.
(2) Tom Walkinshaw was quite happy for the cars to be a tad difficult - exciting racing and big repair bills...so somebody from the TWR factory told me!
Basically - a Group C car homologated for the road - yes, still hard to drive, but very rewarding for a certain kind of petrolhead.
If you are really interested guys this stunning one is coming up for sale at auction in London in September
http://www.rmauctions.com/lots/lot.cfm?lot_id=1068...
http://www.rmauctions.com/lots/lot.cfm?lot_id=1068...
I remember as a youth seeing that very winning car on the Guernsey to Jersey ferry (I assumed it was Derrick's, unless there was another channel islander who owned one, probably not!).
I took about 15 photos (and at 3 quid a roll of film, that was a lot for a 13 year old!!), and remember both excited and annoyed at the same time. Annoyed because I could find literally nobody in the slightest bit interested in what I had just seen...
£500k back then was a huuuuuugge amount of money, fantastic thing - but then the F1 rocked up and everybody forgot it!
I took about 15 photos (and at 3 quid a roll of film, that was a lot for a 13 year old!!), and remember both excited and annoyed at the same time. Annoyed because I could find literally nobody in the slightest bit interested in what I had just seen...
£500k back then was a huuuuuugge amount of money, fantastic thing - but then the F1 rocked up and everybody forgot it!
SteveO220 said:
Fittster said:
Weren't these cars so awful to drive that a high percentage were crashed?
Yes - but there were reasons for this, as I discovered before acquiring one 3 years ago. (1) They ran them on the wrong tyres (from an F40) as they swapped tyre sponsors just before the series started. Switching to F50 tyres and dropping the front sorts this out and gets the aero working.
(2) Tom Walkinshaw was quite happy for the cars to be a tad difficult - exciting racing and big repair bills...so somebody from the TWR factory told me!
Basically - a Group C car homologated for the road - yes, still hard to drive, but very rewarding for a certain kind of petrolhead.
smilo996 said:
At the risk of getting many raised eyebrows, tutting and other cyberspace Bosch systems (LOL, OMG, WTF).
Was any of the XJR-15 transferred to the XJ220. What was the reasdon for not using the XJR-15 as the basis for the 220?
They came from different starting points and with a different purpose.Was any of the XJR-15 transferred to the XJ220. What was the reasdon for not using the XJR-15 as the basis for the 220?
XJR-15: a race car adapted for the road. First carbon-fibre road car, based on Le Mans-winning XJR-9, put racing tech into a street package that was (just) usable. Initiated by TWR.
XJ220: a road car that could go racing (intended for Group B but basically a GT racer). A very accomplished road car; comfortable, plenty of space, fairly easy to drive but much faster than anything on the road at the time. Initiated by Jaguar, built by TWR.
The XJR-15 is very cramped and not comfortable over a long distance, e.g. 5 miles...I did 250 miles on my first drive which was pretty epic / stupid, depending on your point of view.
http://community.evo.co.uk/users/steveo220/blogs/i...
cidered77 said:
I remember as a youth seeing that very winning car on the Guernsey to Jersey ferry (I assumed it was Derrick's, unless there was another channel islander who owned one, probably not!).
I took about 15 photos (and at 3 quid a roll of film, that was a lot for a 13 year old!!), and remember both excited and annoyed at the same time. Annoyed because I could find literally nobody in the slightest bit interested in what I had just seen...
£500k back then was a huuuuuugge amount of money, fantastic thing - but then the F1 rocked up and everybody forgot it!
That would have been his. Any chance you could upload the pics...? Would be amazing to see them!I took about 15 photos (and at 3 quid a roll of film, that was a lot for a 13 year old!!), and remember both excited and annoyed at the same time. Annoyed because I could find literally nobody in the slightest bit interested in what I had just seen...
£500k back then was a huuuuuugge amount of money, fantastic thing - but then the F1 rocked up and everybody forgot it!
SteveO220 said:
cidered77 said:
I remember as a youth seeing that very winning car on the Guernsey to Jersey ferry (I assumed it was Derrick's, unless there was another channel islander who owned one, probably not!).
I took about 15 photos (and at 3 quid a roll of film, that was a lot for a 13 year old!!), and remember both excited and annoyed at the same time. Annoyed because I could find literally nobody in the slightest bit interested in what I had just seen...
£500k back then was a huuuuuugge amount of money, fantastic thing - but then the F1 rocked up and everybody forgot it!
That would have been his. Any chance you could upload the pics...? Would be amazing to see them!I took about 15 photos (and at 3 quid a roll of film, that was a lot for a 13 year old!!), and remember both excited and annoyed at the same time. Annoyed because I could find literally nobody in the slightest bit interested in what I had just seen...
£500k back then was a huuuuuugge amount of money, fantastic thing - but then the F1 rocked up and everybody forgot it!
Tougher part is which of the 3 possible lofts are they buried in (Mum's house, Dad's house or mine!
. I have a couple of places they might be and I'll check when back from holiday. I remember using all my paper round money to buy an old Praktica SLR, and then on family holidays used to take pictures of cars and cars only - to my family's annoyance! Come to think of it, perhaps not surprising I didn't have a girlfriend at the time..... SteveO220 said:
cidered77 said:
Ye gods Steve that is a phenomenal looking garage you have there. No daily driver - tell me you knock about day to day in the P1800!?
Thanks and yes, the P1800 is my daily driver. Had it for 18 years now (my first car), seems to have stayed with me!
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