through surrey town centre

Damon Hill to drive famous Jaguar D-Type to Hawthorn memorial run

£30m-worth of cars to take part in Surrey town centre parade!

More than 50 classic racing and sports cars worth some £30 million will take part in a unique parade on Sunday January 25th to mark the 50th anniversary of the death of World Champion racing driver Mike Hawthorn.

The parade will run through Mike Hawthorn’s home town of Farnham, in Surrey, where some 600 people are expected to attend a memorial service at St Andrew’s Parish Church.

This is the nearest Sunday to 22 January 2009 which marks exactly 50 years since Mike fatally crashed his 3.4 Jaguar saloon on the Guildford by-pass, many famous names from the world of motoring are expected to attend including Sir Stirling Moss, Tony Brooks, and Norman Dewis.

Mike Hawthorn drove for Jaguar and to mark that fact Jaguar will be sending one of its most famous cars, the Long-Nose D-Type in which Mike won the 12-hour race at Reims in France in 1956. He also competed in the Le Mans 24-hour race the same year .The car from Jaguar Daimler Heritage collection will be driven by former world champion Damon Hill.

Other cars expected include an Alfa Romeo 8C Le Mans, vintage Bentley 3.0 litre Red Label, Riley Ulster Imp, Riley Sprite, Fiat Topolino, Lancia Aprilia, Lancia Aurelia, C-type Jaguar, Ferrari 166 Barchetta, Ferrari 2.0 litre Inter, Ferrari 250 TR58, Ferrari 246 Dino, Ferrari Tour de France, Jaguar XK 120 and XK 140, Jaguar 3.4 saloon, a Jaguar Mk VII owned by the late Queen Mother a Mk VIII, Healey Silverstone, AC Ace Bristol, Sunbeam Talbot Alpine, Cooper-Bristol, Cooper ‘bob- tail’, Lotus XI Le Mans sports-racing car, Triumph TR2, 3 and 3A, and even a Wolseley 6/90 police car.

Organiser Michael Ballard said: “ It is fitting that Mike should be remembered on the 50th anniversary of his death. He won the Formula One World Driver’s Championship in October 1958 by a single point- just as Lewis Hamilton did in 2008, almost 50 years later.”

The Parade through the town will start in Downing St, at 2.30 pm and traverse the town centre.