FIRST OF MANY
Jack Sears’ Westminster
Top drivers in family cars – that’s the appeal of the British Touring Car Championship in a nutshell.
There’s something fascinating about seeing cars on track and knowing that several of them share DNA with the car you drive to work every morning, or perhaps were driven in by your dad to family holidays at the seaside. Regardless of which particular era you choose to home in on, all the hallmarks are there – wheel-to-wheel racing, seismic David and Goliath battles and, of course, plenty of sideways action.
This is the car that started it all – the Austin Westminster that Jack Sears drove to victory in the inaugural 1958 Championship. Its fascinating story is still being written, for after its appearance at the Silverstone Classic, the fine-tuning currently taking place will continue prior to its return to competitive racing following a five-decade hiatus. This year also marks 70 years of Silverstone circuit and 90 years of the British Racing Drivers’ Club, so it seems even more appropriate to be meeting this race legend at the home of British motor sport.
Jack Sears’ Austin Westminster A105 (registered TOL 563) was originally a press car before he drove it into the history books. Following on from its days entertaining motoring journalists, the first manager of BMC’s Abingdon Competitions Department, Marcus Chambers, removed it from the press fleet and turned it into part of its rallying endeavours. At this time, it would’ve been driven by the likes of Nancy Mitchell, Doreen Reece, Ken Best and, of course, Jack Sears, who had been recruited as a works driver in 1955.
Following numerous class placings in the Monte Carlo, Geneva, Tulip, Sestriere and Alpine rallies, Sears’ attention turned to what would become the British Saloon Car Championship. He bought the A105 after suggesting to Chambers that it would be as suited to motor racing as it had been to rallying. Chambers agreed, and while Sears campaigned the Westminster himself, he had support from both Chambers and BMC itself.
The field for the inaugural championship was made up largely of Riley Patherfinders and 1.5s, plus Tommy Sopwith with a Jaguar 3.4-litre saloon and Jeff Uren in a Ford Zephyr. The latter, with its Raymond Mays three-carb cylinder head, was of particular concern for Sears, informing his decision to commission Speedwell to produce a similar triple-carb head for his Austin’s 2.6-litre C-series. It was also fitted with a bespoke exhaust system to improve breathing, in addition to a bigger radiator and a limited-slip differential.
Although Uren would later go on to win the 1959 Championship, he managed only sixth in the BSCC’s first season; Sopwith was Sears’ main rival in ’58. Despite being in different classes, with the conclusion of the final round at Brands Hatch, the pair were tied on 48 points, each having claimed seven victories.
The decision was taken that Sears and Sopwith would go head-to-head in identically-specced Riley One-Point-Fives, competing in two five-lap races at Brands and swapping cars between races. 1.8 seconds was all that separated the two drivers, but it was enough to see Sears crowned as the firstever BSCC champion.
LEGENDS REUNITED
Sopwith retired as a driver following the ’58 Championship, but remained involved in racing,
running Equipe Endeavour, while Sears joined Sopwith’s operation, driving Jaguar MkIs and E-types, plus Aston Martin DB4 GTs. The Westminster passed through several hands but soon its whereabouts became a mystery.
It was rediscovered around 30 years ago by another former BSCC driver, Martin Thomas, famous principally for racing Chevrolet Camaros in the late Sixties and early Seventies, and who’s since built and prepared over 200 race cars. Martin also happened to be a close friend of Sears.
Catching up with Martin at a Silverstone test session, he describes how he found the car: ‘I was asked to go and value some cars in a barn. The old boy had died and the premises he had was going to go for redevelopment. I went in and there were Standard Vanguards, Alvises, a Willys Jeep – you can imagine it; everything preserved by chicken muck.
‘But then I noticed this Austin in the corner. It had got quite a nasty gouge on the passenger-side door, though otherwise looked okay. Then I spotted two badges on the front, faded, one of which was a British Racing Drivers’ Club badge. I lifted the bonnet and found triple carbs, then the floor gearshift
– I remembered that my dad had one and it had nothing like this!’
Martin made enquires with former BMC assistant competitions director, Bill Price, and Marcus Chambers, and both confirmed TOL 563’s provenance. Martin informed Jack who insisted he buy it – which he did.
‘It was restored bit by bit in between work commitments. The remarkable thing was that there just wasn’t any rust on it. I needed some panels so bought a donor car, which gave up its doors, rear panels and one front wing. The chrome had gone so I had that off the donor, too.
‘ The Westminster was basically Healey underneath, so I got in touch with Denis Welch who got all the engine stuff up for us and the gearbox sorted.’
TOL 563 would then be used sparingly for promotional work for the British Touring Car Championship (the BSCC was renamed BTCC in 1987) culminating in numerous events marking the Championship’s 50th anniversary in 2008 – but only ever taking part in demo laps as a period race car.
‘I found that going along the Hangar Straight at Silverstone at a rate of knots, you had no real brakes as they were drums all the way around and none of them pulled up square!’
Following the publicity generated from the 50th anniversary celebrations, things settled down and the Westminster was put in the back of Martin’s barn.
COUNTDOWN TO THE REVIVAL
A few years later, Martin realised that as the popularity of events such as the Goodwood Revival and Members’ Meeting (reintroduced to the motoring calendar in 2014) grew, so too did the feeling that TOL 563 should be taking part – as a race car. However, knowing that it had strong sentimental value to Jack (his first wife, Cicely, used it for shopping) he was loath to air these thoughts, not least because Jack’s heath was failing.
Ultimately, it was Jack’s passing in 2016 that focused Martin’s mind. He wanted the two-time BSCC champion to be fondly remembered, and the best way to achieve that was for people to see his Westminster winning races. He says: ‘ The driving force is that I want to pay credit to Jack with the car.’
But bringing TOL 563 up to present regulations governing historic racing at Goodwood presented Martin with a number of dilemmas. Not least, distilling the successes of those already well-versed with historic saloon racing, while only applying upgrades that wouldn’t compromise the car’s character. Crucially, everything Martin has done is reversible and the Westminster can easily be returned to FIA spec.
‘Improving the Westminster, you have to look at what the competition is out there and what they’re doing. The field has changed dramatically and they all have upsized engines. Straightaway those people who have been running those cars have a five-year start on you.’
The decisions Martin has made are detailed separately, but viewing Sears’ Westminster now is astonishing. Work on the car began in earnest in around March this year, and in a short amount of time Martin and his mechanics have made massive strides forward. ‘It’s been many hours going into many long evenings, but it’s been worth it. It’s been a labour of love,’ Martin adds.
‘I’ll make sure it’s right and hopefully at Goodwood it’ll show well.’