E-Type Challenge triumphs Class wins and podium finishes
JD Classics winning streak continued at the Nrburgring AVD Oldtimer Grand Prix on 10-12 August, when the leading classic car specialist entered four prominent cars through its affiliation with Jaguar Heritage Racing.
The cars were prepared by JD Classics expert team; a Mk 2, C-Type and a pair of E-Types were driven by Alex Buncombe, Chris Ward and Frank Klaas. They brought home podium successes on the Nrburgring Grand Prix circuit and the infamously challenging 14-mile Nordschleife. The E-Types and C-Type had been campaigned earlier on in the season, but the Mk 2 was prepared specifically for the Oldtimer Grand Prix.
Alex Buncombe was kept incredibly busy throughout the weekend with drives in the E-Type, C-Type and Mk 2. However, his ability to quickly adjust to the characteristics of each car led to victory in both of the E-Type Challenge rounds, as well as a class win and fifth overall in the ex-Fangio C-Type in both of the pre-60/61 sports and GT car rounds. Most challenging of all for man and machine was the 3.5-hour Marathon race where all three Jaguar Heritage Racing drivers competed in the freshly prepared Mk 2 in soaring heat on the Nordschleife circuit.
Alex Buncombe began the gruelling race and performed a seamless driver change after nine laps for Frank Klaas stint. For the remaining laps, Frank handed over to Chris Ward who maintained the pace, but a fuel pump issue arose two laps before the end. Despite this the team still managed an impressive third in class.
For the second of the pre-60/61 sports and GT car race, Alexs consistency mirrored the previous result in the C-Type by taking another impressive class win and fifth place overall.
Further adding to the silverware picked up at the Oldtimer was Alexs switch to the E-Type for the concluding race of the weekend, the E-Type Challenge. Unfortunately the E-Type of Chris Ward and Frank Klaas developed a mechanical issue in race one, which denied them a start for race two.
Starting from pole position, things were looking promising for Alex, but he was knocked off the circuit by another driver. Pushed down to fourth place, he managed to regain the lead before the first lap was completed and won overall with a 4.1 second advantage.
JD Classics/Jaguar Heritage Racing is now looking forward to the much celebrated Goodwood Revival meeting on 14-16 September.
Derek Hood, Managing Director, JD Classics commented: The Nrburgring Oldtimer Grand Prix is arguably one of the most challenging meetings on our racing calendar, which includes 3.5 hours on the notorious Nordschleife. The four entries kept the team very busy but mechanical issues aside, we still managed to achieve outright race and class wins, which is fantastic.
