Minshaw’s British GT quest
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Minshaw’s limitations mean driving historic machinery with a clutch pedal is that bit more challenging than modern-day semi-automatictransmission-equipped GT3S with ABS and traction control, but it’s one he relishes. He has spurned opportunities to race in Europe specifically to free up time for his historic racing activities.
When it comes to choosing his favourite period machine to race, there’s only one contender.
“The Jaguar E-type,” he says without hesitation. “My father introduced me to E-types around 1997 and I felt I could do a reasonable job racing it. I’ve owned and raced E-types now every year since then, so I’m very fond of them.”
It’s no coincidence that his favourite historic memory also comes in an E-type, winning the all-e-type Fordwater Trophy at the Goodwood Revival in 2011.
“That was the pinnacle of my historic racing,” Minshaw recalls. “Tens of thousands of people there watching, a great circuit. I shared that car with Martin Stretton, and we beat Adrian Newey and Gerhard Berger – it was a great achievement.”
The classic Jag is far removed from the car in which he started racing – a humble Ford Fiesta that he built himself – but Minshaw retains the enthusiasm for careful preparation that he’s had since the beginning.
“A great appeal for me is building and prepping the car,
not just hopping in but actually understanding how it works and trying to build a car that’s better than anybody else’s,” he says.
“If it means delaying the project by a month because we’re going to acid-dip the car and seam-weld it, then that’s what we need to do. I get as much enjoyment from knowing that we’ve built the best car we can as I do racing them.”