Championship Super Charger

Round 7 & 8 of the CTCRC Berkshire Jag Components Championship took place at a roasting hot Thruxton over 9th & 10th July. With seven cars again under the Swallows wing for the weekend our race techs Dan & Ben were constantly busy. Our pre-race prep proved to be key with all seven cars completing the weekend with very few issues. With several new upgrades to Tom’s XJR6 for the weekend we were keen and slightly nervous to see how this would affect the car. Electric power steering (after the hydraulic system failed at Oulton Park). A new peddle-box set up aimed at getting the most from the Tarox brakes and improved clutch peddle. Finally, a completely new damper arrangement from our partners at AVO. We needn’t have worried everything worked perfectly. Tyre degradation if always a big factor at Thruxton, however such was the improvement with new AVO damper set up that even with extremely high track temperatures the drop off from the tyres was minimal. Qualifying late morning, the mercury was already pushing the high twenties. Tom jumped to the top of the leader board on the second lap and stayed there. Jack in the Class A XJ40 was learning the Thruxton circuit for the first outing at the Hampshire track and his times were progressively coming down through qualifying, eventually pipping Class A rival Simon Lewis for second in class and eleventh overall. Tom Butterfield qualified the Class C sixth overall and second in class. Damian Gray had an excellent qualifying in his Class B XJ40 thirteenth overall, closely followed by Matthew Davis in the other XJR6. Steve Dowell in the XKR from our friends PVE used qualifying to learn the circuit as did Andrew Maynard in the remaining XJ40, both with improving times through the session. Race One was held over from Saturday evening to Sunday after a large oil spill from truck racing rendered the track unusable. Sunday proved to be even hotter. Getting off the line well from pole the new clutch peddle helping Tom swept into the lead after seeing an initial challenge from Mike Seabourne. With a dominating performance the XJR6 collected a flag-to-flag win and a comfortable 6.5 second margin. Jack unfortunately got tagged on the rear bumper on the opening lap spinning him in the gravel trap. Fortunately, he managed to get going again and worked his way back through the field to recover twelfth spot and second in class. After swapping places several times Tom Butterfield had to settle for second in Class C in the XJS. Steve made really progress in the XKR to move up from seventh to finish thirteenth clipping an impressive five seconds off his qualifying time. In the battle of the XJ40’s Damian came home ahead of Andrew both finding improved pace. Matthew recovered from a late spin in the XJR6 to ensure all our cars finished in testing conditions. With temperatures nudging towards 30 degrees race two got underway. James Ramm managed to narrowly get the lead through the opening corners, but Tom got the better drive out of Church Corner and was able to pass his Class D rival to take the lead before the end of lap one. Continuing to steadily build his advantage to 4.6 seconds by the chequered flag to complete another perfect points weekend. With seven outright and class victories Tom championship challenge continues to gather momentum. Jack’s challenge in Class A resumed by making an excellent start passing veteran racer Derek Pearce, which nicely set up a race with Andrew Harper’s X350 2.7 diesel. Jack’s XJ40 eventually coming out on top with a late move coming out of Church Corner. With another second in class and excellent points haul Jack moved to second in the Class A tables. Tom Butterfield put in a strong performance in Class C bringing the XJS home fourth overall and second in class. Damian and Steve battled it out for tenth & eleventh respectively, whilst Andrew again just got the better of Matthew the latter suffering a spin at the chicane but was undamaged. In such hot conditions it was a credit to the Swallows team that all the cars completed qualifying and two races with no mechanical or electrical issues. We would again like to thank our partners, sponsors, family, and friends who contributed to such a successful weekend at Thruxton, not least; Vision Techniques, AVO, PVE, Tarox, Jaguar Enthusiasts Club (JEC TrackSport), Meguiar’s, Naked Signs and Pipercross. We look forward to the next rounds at Brands Hatch Grand Prix Circuit on 13th August.

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