Brands Hatch 1

"MALCOLM HAMILTON ATE MY PERCY !"

A wet and dry qualifying session left Malcolm on the grid in fourth place behind Win Percy in the XJ220 and a brace of Porsches.

A misty start to race day was soon burnt off by the sun. The order after the first corner was Finlay (Porsche), Win Percy (XJ220), David Lees (Porsche), Malcolm Hamilton (E-Type), but Malcolm was very quickly up to third. On lap 3 the Porsche ran wide at Druids allowing both Jaguars through, On the next run down from Druids to Graham Hill bend the two cars entered the narrow corner side by side. Wheels touched (see pic below) and unfortunately (!) the XJ220 rear suspension suffered damage leaving it unable to continue (Vidclip should be available soon). With a clear track ahead Malcolm was able to stretch out a comfortable lead which was to last until the end of the race. A Porsche 911 spun off into the tyre wall at Paddock Hill bend causing the race to be stopped two laps from the end, leaving Malcolm the winner, 10 seconds ahead of Richard Chamberlain in a Porsche 935 (Finlay had spun off at Clearways on the previous lap).

Commentator's quote: "Surely the hairiest E-Type in the world."

A mention must also be made of Mike Adam's victory in the Anglo-American Challenge. He held off a charging Mustang to win his race by about 3 feet (and has the tyre marks on his bodywork to prove it). Mike drives a rather more standard E-Type which is also "part of the team". So a double victory to round off a very good weekend.

The first picture is of the two victorious cars side by side. The second is a view of the total damage to the car caused by the collision with the XJ220.