JAGUAR MEMORIES

Bob Gibbons was a very skilled and fast driver. He was also a very safe driver. As far as I know he never went off the road – but he was a secretive person so he would probably have kept any such incident very much to himself. Your article, Classic Cat ( NZ Classic Driver March/April) refers to Bob racing the Shelley Jaguar D-Type that came to New Zealand in 1956.

I won’t say that Bob was entirely responsible for my life-long enthusiasm for motor sport and the cars it involved, but he certainly encouraged me. His occasional very rapid road trips from his home in Eastbourne to visit his parents in Whanganui in the D-Type provided me with an unforgettable thrill. We lived beside a long straight on the highway about eight miles from Whanganui. Bob would ring to let us know the time he expected to be coming past our place early in the morning. He would never let on what time he was leaving Wellington, but he is reputed to average 100mph between Foxton and Sanson, a distance of about 15 miles. Right on cue I would see the first indication of Bob coming with our sheep moving across their paddock away from the highway. Next would be the unforgettable sound and sight of the D-Type rocketing over the top of the Whangaehu hill. I still have the memory of witnessing that D-Type Jaguar accelerating through gear changes to what could have been its maximum speed down the Marangai straights. I would remain transfixed where I was until I could no longer hear the D-Type as it proceeded on to Whanganui. It would have lasted only a few minutes.

Another of Bob’s motor sport achievements was as NZ hillclimb champion in his Cooper. Interesting that the Cooper appears to have been registered for road use. Maybe Bob drove it up from Eastbourne.

Writing this letter makes me realise that I really did live in a favourable time for motor sport enthusiasts. I would like to repeat that as far as I know, Bob never had an accident on the road or the track, or road infringement prosecution – although there is a story about him very cleverly talking his way out of a speeding ticket.

John Mackintosh, via snail-mail

Hard to beat the sound of a racing Jaguar XK engine at peak revs – a great memory! AGW

2 1. Bob Gibbons and the D-Type at an Ardmore GP meeting where he won the sports car race; 2. Bob in the Cooper at the Hawera hill climb – perhaps someone can remember the year.

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