This week would have marked Norman Dewis' 100th birthday, a milestone the former Jaguar test driver never got to reach having passed away last June. This year we've also lost Sir Stirling Moss, but tonight a new documentary will air that celebrates one of the achievements they're known best for: pioneering the disc brake.
Called 'The Racers That Stopped The World', the show premieres on Sky tonight with a star cast including Derek Bell, Sir Jackie Stewart and Murray Walker alongside Moss and Dewis discussing the impact the Jaguar C-Type and its disc brakes made on motorsport. This short trailerpreviews it, and the show certainly looks worth a watch. It was back in 1952 that disc brakes were first used in a C-Type, Dewis testing incessantly with Dunlop over the winter and getting a car on the Goodwood grid that spring, with Moss using it to set the fastest lap - making it clear Jaguar was onto something.
In 1953 came the C-Type's crowning moment; with further Dunlop-Dewis testing, the team went to Le Mans. Not only were the C-Types lighter than '52, they had improved discs brakes. The result, as you may well know, was a one-two for Jaguar, with Tony Rolt and Duncan Hamilton taking the victory and the second placed car piloted by Moss and Peter Walker. It was also the first time that Le Mans had been won with an average speed of more than 100mph. There was no going back from disc brakes now...
This is what the documentary will cover, in addition to the Mille Miglia exploits, with apparently unseen footage as well. It sounds like an ideal way to spend a Friday night as a car nut, remembering perhaps Jaguar's greatest contribution to motorsport and two of the best-known names associated with the brand. It's going to be broadcast at 8:20pm tonight, then available on demand soon after. Enjoy!
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