JEC puts a halt to Saloon and GT series
The Jaguar Enthusiasts’ Club has decided to focus its sporting activities away from circuit racing and will no longer run its Saloon and GT Championship.
Its former competitors are now set to join the Classic Touring Car Racing Club’s new Jaguar Challenge series.
The JEC, which began organising racing series and championships in 1998, has launched a new Tracksport initiative focused on non-competitive trackdays, hillclimbs, sprints and navigational events.
Club director Richard West said: “We discussed it at board level and we said, ‘It’s been fantastic, but it involves such a small number of the JEC’S membership that, really, should we be spending time on that or should we be looking for something more inclusive that all members can benefit from?’”
Having hosted the JEC championship last year, the CTCRC has introduced the Jaguar Challenge following an approach by drivers. Minor technical changes will be aimed at improving parity between different models.
“There’ll be some odd tweaks on some cars but, being a non-championship series, it’s given us a year to develop [and] change the regulations if needed,” said series coordinator Chris Robinson, the former JEC competitions secretary.
The Mike Hawthorn Challenge and XK Challenge series for pre-1962 Jaguars, run in collaboration with the Aston Martin Owners’ Club in recent years, will now be administered by the Classic & Modern Motorsport Club, with a series of races set to run primarily alongside Ecurie Classic Racing events.