LE MANS TRIUMPH TR7 V8 SET FOR RACING RETURN AT SNETTERTON
Group 5-inspired project to be reborn at Norfolk circuit this weekend
The abortive Triumph TR7 V8 Le Mans project is due to return to racing at Snetterton this weekend, 43 years after it last raced.
The one-off project has not raced since 1981, but if everything comes to plan Kevin Jones will run the car as a guest entry in this weekend’s Historic Modsports races. He then plans to take the car back to Le Mans for the classic event this summer.
In the mid-1970s British Leyland gave a TR7 to the Janspeed team for development of camshafts and exhausts. The car was later gifted to Janspeed boss Jan Odor and he decided to turn it into a race car.
Initially it was planned to run in Modsports in V8 trim, but Odor then decided to develop it to the
Group 5 regulations of the day.
Sadly, money was always tight, and the project became a joint venture between ADA Engineering and Janspeed.
They got to Le Mans in 1980 but failed to qualify. John Sheldon recorded 204mph on the Mulsanne Straight, but said the vibration was so bad that his vision was blurred. The car was denied the last place on the grid in order to allow a French team into the race.
After an abortive outing in the Silverstone Six Hour in 1981 the car went to the Brands Hatch 1000km race later that year and finally qualified. Bill Wykeham started the race but spun and stalled on the third lap and reported that he was relieved to end the race there and then. That’s the only time so far that the car has completed a racing lap.
It was later owned by Peter Nott before being sold to Bert Smeets in Belgium, another TR enthusiast. Smeets took it to the Goodwood hillclimb in 2016 but had clutch issues.
Jones acquired the car in 2020 and set about trying to get it running again. If all goes well, this weekend at Snetterton he’ll give the car its first race since 1981.