Category: Racing
Twenty-one years have passed since legendary British Touring Car Champion and race car builder Andy Rouse proudly unveiled his bold plan for the future of touring car racing in the UK. It was 2004, when Rouse took the wraps off the Jaguar X Type SCV8 at the Autosport International show with fellow series planner and business partner Pete Hall. Sadly the ‘Brave New World’ of SCV8 racing never came to fruition. The only legacy of the plan was the car itself which Rouse and Hall had ploughed a small fortune into.…
Much of what we learn through our experience in racing goes into our performance parts and upgrades. AVO dampers, coilover packages, Tarox brakes, Yokohama tyres, our own stainless-steel exhausts and racing cats, air-filters, silicone hoses and Maxx ECU’s and bespoke maps. It all gets tried and tested on our cars during the racing season. I thought it was worth looking back at our 2024 season to see what we have learned and to share some of the highs and at times the lows. After the long winter days preparing the cars…
As the racing year draws towards the climax, we look back on the highs and lows of Swallows 2024 season in the Jaguar Championship so far. After the early season ups and downs at Donington Park when we both had encouraging results and disappointments with the alternator on Jack’s XK8 and the supercharger belt on Rick’s XJR6, we worked hard to rectify the early teething problems. Late April we moved onto Oulton Park in Cheshire which is one of the most exciting and technically challenging circuits in the UK. On the…
In the hurly burly of running a Jaguar business sometimes it is difficult to step back and take stock of where you are and where you came from. I thought in the context of ‘Mods & Upgrades’ it might be interesting to do that, take a step back and look at where our performance parts have come from and where we are heading with them. Swallows Independent Jaguar Specialists like the club celebrates its 40th Anniversary this year. Our Swallows Racing brand however was born from our love of motorsports in…
Photo credits Chris Gage and David Stallard It doesn’t seem to matter how long the winter is there is still never enough time to prepare for the new season. Last minute jobs, late nights, and long weekends, but we got there, just! A completely new car build almost, for our customer Rick Walker who has opted for a similar XJR6 to Tom’s 2022 Championship winning car. A major refresh for Andrew Maynard’s XJ40 after the big rear shunt at the last race of the season. Then there was the front end…
We swear that Snetterton in Norfolk has its own micro-climate, so often, cold, windy, wet, or foggy, but for once in the middle of September largely sunny. Over the years Snetterton has often been a happy hunting ground for the Swallows team, yielding some great results, so we travelled east for the official Friday practice with optimism. Jack was holding a narrow six-point lead in the championship, some achievement in only his second season and in a new race car. Practice went well for Jack in the XK8 and for Andrew…
You have to go back a full six years for the last time the Jaguar Saloons and GT’s raced at Croft Circuit. But that 2017 season holds some happy memories. It was the debut season for Swallows Racing, and Croft produced Tom’s first podium finish. From our home in Somerset, it is nearly a 600-mile round trip to the circuit near Darlington but it is a journey well worth making to one of the most exciting circuits in the country. With this being the first time Jack Robinson and Andrew Maynard…
The races have been coming thick and fast for the Swallows team. Our ‘home’ track of Castle Combe was first up for 10th/11th June weekend and only an hour from base. As we have all season, we were running four cars, Jack in the XK8, mended after the ‘off’ at Brands Hatch and the trio of XJ40’s with Andrew Maynard, Damian Gray and Joe Osborne driving. Castle Combe was hot, very hot, but we were fortunate to have shade from the race truck to keep the cars and drivers cool. With…
Racing is so often about the highs and lows; I always refer to it as the racing roller coaster! Our April race weekend had a fair amount of both, but as Robert F Kennedy once said, “Only those who dare to fail greatly, can ever achieve, greatly.” Once again, we rolled up in the race truck with Jack’s XK8 on board and the three XJ40’s for Damian, Andrew and Joe. We were able to also look forward to having our own dedicated Jag grid after having to share on the Silverstone…
The unveiling of the product of Swallows Racing winter labours at Silverstone GP circuit was much like aristocratic young ladies being wheeled out for the first time at a formal society ‘Debs’ ball. The XK8 was wearing a fine set new threads and looking extremely glamourous and it wasn’t long before a crowd had gathered around her with their envious eyes. They were out of luck, this labour of love already belonged to Jack Robinson and he was about to spin her around the dancefloor for the first time. Joining the…
