Category: Racing
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…
The prestigious British Automobile Racing Club end of season awards dinner were held at the luxury Old Thorns Resort in Hampshire on 4th February. The glamorous ‘black tie’ event saw recognition with a host of silverware being handed to BARC Champions including the 2022 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Champion Tom Ingram and Rokit Formula 4 Champion Alex Dunne. Joining them on stage was our very own Tom Robinson collecting the BARC Trophy for the 2022 Berkshire Jag Components Jaguar Challenge. Tom topped the points table last season with eleven outright…
The CTCRC Jaguar Challenge finale at Donington Park on 22nd & 23rd October finished in much the same way as the season started for Swallows. Tom winning in the XJR6, Jack excelling well beyond expectation and Steve, Damian and Andrew all pulling out wonderful performances in their respective classes. Tom had already secured the championship at the previous round at Snetterton so could look forward to a less pressured weekend. Qualifying on Saturday with two races scheduled for Sunday, Tom turned on the style out qualifying his nearest rival by over…
One thing motorsport teaches you is to never count your chickens. So, although Tom went into the race weekend at Snetterton Park with a healthy twenty-three-point lead over his nearest rival, there were twenty-eight points up for grabs, so nothing taken for granted in terms of securing the championship. With work still to be done and a five-hundred-mile round trip the race truck was loaded with Tom’s XJR6, Matthew’s XJR6 (to be driven by Jack) Steve’s XKR and Andrew’s XJ40 for the pre-dawn early departure on Friday. The weather has not…
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…
Bolstered by our early season success, the Swallows Racing truck headed north on Thursday afternoon, ready for practice on Friday, ahead of the Saturday May 28th CTCRC/BARC Round 5 & 6 double header. With no fewer than seven cars under our wing for the weekend, base camp was established in the middle of the Oulton Park paddock. It wasn’t long before our chef Colin was serving up ten portions of chicken curry for the team accompanied by poppadom’s and nan bread washed down with a bottle of Cobra beer. After a…
A packed-out sunny Brands Hatch on Easter weekend saw the Swallows Racing team again out in force with the BARC run CTCRC Berkshire Jags Challenge. Tom & Jack were driving their Class D XJR6 and Class A XJ40 and we were again running another XJ40 for Damian Gray a XJS for Tom Butterfield as well as supporting the XKR of Steve Dowell from PVE. Arriving early in the morning on Good Friday it gave us an opportunity to set up camp around the race truck and do some car preparation. With…
Long cold winter days and late nights are the glamorous reality of motorsport at club level. This season we have gone from running two cars last year to having an involvement in seven or eight cars on this year’s grid. Hopefully this reflects our hard work and success in recent seasons, but it also brings with it extended work and commitment. Last season Tom in the XJR6 achieved the perfect result in the opening rounds at Silverstone with pole position, two outright and class wins along with the Jaguar Saloon &…