JOHN COOMBS
JOHN HAROLD COOMBS was a racing driver, team owner, and what we’d now term a Jaguar ‘influencer’ in the 1950s and ’60s. Born in Surrey in 1922, he began his apprenticeship at his father’s garage, Coombs & Co, in Guildford. He had enjoyed attending meetings with his father at Brooklands and took part in his first race in 1949. Coombs was successful in 500cc and Formula 3, often winning or finishing on the podium. In 1952 he finished third behind Stirling Moss at Goodwood and won at Thruxton.
By the mid-1950s, Coombs of Guildford was a successful Jaguar and Daimler dealer, famous for its modified Mk1 and Mk 2 saloons: race on Sunday, sell on Monday. With its immaculate presentation (the man himself was always fastidiously tailored and coiffed), Coombs Racing attracted only the best talent such as Flockhart, Salvadori and Gurney. When the E-type proved uncompetitive against the lighter Ferrari GTO, he told William Lyons that he would change to the cars from Maranello. The result was the 170 mph ‘Lightweight’ E-type, an immediate contender.
In 1964 Lofty England asked John Coombs to test the young and largely unknown Jackie Stewart in the Lightweight. Coombs agreed reluctantly but when the Scot broke the lap record at Silverstone he was immediately signed. As E-types became less competitive, Coombs moved to F2 and started managing the Tyrrell cars with Jackie Stewart and Servoz-Gavin as drivers. Stewart went on to become three-times World F1 Champion, retiring in 1973. Coombs sold his dealership and retired to Monaco in 1981. He passed away in 2011.