Monday morning, June 3rd, after parking my 72 E-type in the garage I turned around and found myself smiling : the front wire wheels had a nice gun metal tint from the brake dust, the front of the bonnet and windshield had gathered enough insects to organize a fishing tournament, and the panels behind the wheels were coated with more mud than most suburban based SUV sees in a year... This plus the fact that the car had just completed a 3500 miles ( extended ) week end trip is probably enough to make some Jaguar owners cringe but what a week end it was !

Taking your Jaguar to the Track Running your Jaguar on a track requires a little extra preparation to make sure it performs properly and safely. Safety is one of the key element to driving on a track and while track days and driving schools do not involve racing and passing, technical inspection requirements are still critical. It's best to get your Jaguar pre inspected before heading to the track to make sure you don't fail tech inspection. If your car is well maintained this should not be a problem but running on track is slightly more demanding on the various systems. Pay close attention to your brakes, wheels and suspension. Everything should be tight, no play in the bearings or steering, check all the bushings, no loose spokes and cracked tires... Brakes get a work out so make sure your pads are good. If you haven't flushed your brakes in a while, doing so will reduce the risk of boiling the fluid because of the higher humidity level or your old fluid, reducing the boiling point. If you intend on driving real hard, you may consider using a higher temperature fluid. There are many brands available, make sure it's DOT 3 or 4, compatible with others and also has a high wet boiling point. In most cases, you can decide how fast and hard you will run, this is not racing after all and there are no prizes or trophies. You won't have to shift at the red line unless you want to but in most cases your engine will run hotter than on the street; check your cooling system which will need a coolant recovery tank if you car doesn't have one ( easy to install ). Any oil leak will usually be aggravated because of the higher RPM your engine will be turning, of course make sure all the fluid levels are topped off especially since most engines will tend to burn a little more oil at high RPM. Important details often overlooked on street cars are battery hold down and throttle return springs which are the first things tech inspectors will check. What you must have... Helmet, Seat belt or racing harness, Roll bar for convertibles, Empty interior and boot.

Every year, on the week end following Memorial day, the Empire Division partners with the VSCCA ( Vintage Sports Cars Club of America ) and rents one of the best road racing track in North America, Lime Rock Race Park, so that its members can enjoy driving their Jaguars at high speed in a safe controlled environment. Lime Rock Race Park is a special place for its wonderful scenic setting in the Northeast corner of Connecticut, nestled in the Berkshires. The 1.53 mile, 6 turn course, may not be the longest, most spectacular or challenging there is but it is quite technical and exciting. Built in 1956, it has seen just about every form of motor racing : Sports Cars, Trans Am, Nascar, CanAm and Vintage.

Because of their experience, Empire Division president Charles Bordin and his team have the event running as smoothly as a Swiss watch or a Jaguar V12. Coordinating with the VSCCA, instructors, track personnel and the well over 100 drivers should be a logistical nightmare but amazingly they pull it off year after year and only an occasional rain shower will be the source of problem. The detailed schedule given that first morning is respected and all get their track time when they are supposed too.

I first heard about this fun week end three years ago after reading messages on the Jag Lovers lists and reading the report on the JTC website since the New Jersey club always has a strong presence at Lime Rock. It sounded like a fun week end and I just had to try it. Of course, coming from Miami FL adds another challenge to attending but getting there is half the fun when you drive one of the best GT car ever built...

For this second trip to Lime Rock, I decided to leave on the Tuesday evening so that I could get there on Wednesday afternoon giving me an extra "just in case" day or time to rest... I had decided to take the inland route in order to bypass the Northeast corridor and the traffic problems, leaving I-95 for I-26/I-77 to Columbia and Charlotte then following I-81 all the way up to Scranton PA before heading west on I-84 into New York and Connecticut. It only adds 75 miles to the trip and in addition to avoiding traffic the mountain sections in the Appalachians are very scenic. The trip turned out to be uneventful and I made it in just under 21 hours including an hour or so of napping in a rest area and a 20 minute encounter with a Virginia State trooper who didn't think cruising at 82 in a 65 zone was a good idea; luckily, he let me go with just a warning.

I used the "just in case" day to drive around a bit, not that I did not get enough driving, but those country roads are so much fun in an E-type and badly lacking in South Florida. In the afternoon, I met with a local E-type owner, Rick Lees, who had arranged for a tour of Stew Jones Restoration in nearby Winstead. Stew Jones is without a doubt the leading expert on V12 E-type and gave us a detailed tour of his shop and the various projects he's working on ( full article coming soon ). After the visit, we headed back to Lime Rock where we had made plans to meet with other JCNA members for a spirited pre dinner drive and dinner.

Friday morning was the start of the real fun and serious business. Getting up early was not a problem because of the anticipation and we soon were all gathered in the paddock in a section conveniently "reserved" by JCNA president Gary Hagopian near big bend. Speaking of Gary ( who as most JCNA members know is one serious driving enthusiast), he was there with a large group of his own family who all seem to be as addicted to driving as he is...both sons, daughter, and his wife Sue in charge of timing the clan...

Among our Jaguar group, we had a great sampling of Coventry's finest : E-Types (Gary Hagopian , Rick Lees , Mike Frank , Warren Hansen and myself ), XJS ( Steve and Carole Weinstein , Charles Maraia ), XK8s (Eric Hagopian , Mark Pavliv ), XJR (John Parsons), XJ6 ( Ken Haas , Barbara Stark ) and even the latest X-Type ( Daniel Thompson ). Some club members chose to bring non Jaguars like Bruce Lepp with his new Qvale Mangusta . All ready to play... Tech inspection was conducted on all the cars ( see side bar for details on how to prepare your car ) and all drivers went to the meeting under the picturesque Michelin tower.

Within the Jaguar Group, drivers are divided in three run groups depending on their experience and the speed of their cars. Drivers in the Red group, beginners, also get to attend an hour long classroom session where they are taught or reminded of the safety rules, procedures and shown corner by corner what the Line should be. The Line of course being the theoretical optimum trajectory through each corner which should result in the fastest lap your car, and your nerves, are capable of. The school session, lead by one of the veteran instructors, is crucial for the rest of the week end as you are taught the basic skills you will need once on the track. At the end of the class each new driver is assigned an instructor and thanks to the number of instructors who volunteered their services all drivers were able to get all the help they needed throughout the week end by having their instructor in the car with them during any of the session.

The schedule calls for three 20 minute sessions for each group on each of the two days resulting in a total of 2 hours of track time. Each Jaguar group runs in sequence after which the track is turned over to the VSCCA, first for their practice sessions, then for their races. The 2 to 3 hour break between our runs allows us to relax, catch our breath, check our cars or just enjoy the rest of the show.

Steve Weinstein (JTC) with his instructor, Gary Hagopian ready for a session.

The first time you get on track it can be rather intimidating. The presence of an instructor in the car is reassuring but also keeps you even more busy because of all the instructions coming your way. Since this was my second year at Lime Rock and I ran all the sessions solo but last year I remember the first few laps as real frantic despite my pace not being very fast; just learning the line, listening to Gary Hagopian instructions and focusing on each corner and the cones marking the turn in and the Apex, while looking ahead. After a few laps things start to fall together and while you will not break any track record, your times do improve and you gain confidence.

Gaining confidence is one of the goals of attending a drivers school and doing it in your own car lets you realize that it can be pushed much farther that you will (hopefully) ever push it on a public road; it allows you to experience and push the envelope without endangering yourself and others. For instance, braking is very important in any driving situation and when you are accelerating hard on the straight reaching in my case just over 100 mph, braking for Big Bend, that very first wide 180 degree corner is quite an exercise. No ABS on an E-Type... You start braking early and then as your confidence builds in you start pushing your braking point a car length or so at a time until you find the limit. Big Bend has a big escape road just in case ( don't ask how I know...) but other corners don't and you need to be extra careful. One of them is the Diving turn which leads on to the straight, a fast third gear bend with little margin for error as the tire wall is not that far from the edge of the track : track driving school also teaches you self control. Even though there is no passing in corners in the drivers school, we are allowed to pass on the front straight as long as the passing is completed before entering Big Bend. One of the challenges, in term of self control, is to know when not to push it too far when you're trying to pass a car that's slow in the corners but has the power on the straight.

What is really different about the Lime Rock Drivers School from any other club event is the reaction of drivers when they get out of their cars, especially the ones running for the first time. The level of excitement and enthusiasm is as high as it can be and I certainly have never witnessed such enthusiasm at a Concours... . No pre judging blues, no stress and nobody is going to argue anything either ! Just pure fun, a real rush and this is what it should always be about. There are no trophies, no prize money, nobody even really keep track of the times participants are turning, this is not a competition and the point is just to enjoy driving our cars in ways that we cannot do on public roads.

Despite the fun and the casual atmosphere, safety is critical and taken very seriously by the track personnel, organizers and all the volunteers which are needed to run the event. Corner workers especially deserve a big thank you as without them they would be no running. They often come from far, members like Walt Morris from JTC ( New Jersey ) or Bruce and Donna Cuningham who drove their XK120 from Vermont and spent the two days on the side of the track so that we could have some fun...

At the end of the Friday, which in our case was cut short by one session because of a very heavy rainshower , everybody headed for the grassy hill across the track for the traditional Champagne Party. Left to right: Mike Frank (JTC), Steve Weinsten (JTC), Rick and Marge Lees, Walt Morris (JTC), Warren Hansen (JTC), Carole McKenzie (JTC). And what a party it is ! Live music, open bar with champagne flowing all evening, excellent food under a big tent overlooking the track and the paddock. And no speeches or lengthy award ceremony, those guys from Empire know how to have fun ! Even a strong thunderstorm was not enough to put a damper on the party...

Saturday, with clear skies and cool temperature, was the second and final day with again three 20 minutes sessions on the schedule and for those of you wondering why the event is never held on a Saturday / Sunday it's simply because the locals in the village of Lime Rock sued the track over noise issues in a case which ended up in the State Supreme Court years ago when they banned racing at Lime Rock on Sundays... The second day went smoothly and again on time, alternating VSCCA races and Jaguar Club sessions providing great opportunities to watch some serious vintage racing in case of the VSCCA. On our side, no racing of course but all drivers gradually improved, building up their confidence levels and resulting in lower lap times. All the cars in our group performed flawlessly with no incidents, accidents or technical problems, evidence that any well maintained street Jaguar car be enjoyed on the track with a minimum of preparation.

Warren Hansen (JTC) in his Silver Bolide on the way to NJ

After the last session on Saturday afternoon, I headed down to New Jersey for the 3rd Annual Jag Lovers Picnic and another opportunity to get together with Jaguar enthusiasts. The two hour drive was made particularly enjoyable by the two other Jaguars driving along : Warren Hansen in his E-type and Steve Weinstein and Carole McKenzie in their XJS. A Jaguar may look good standing still but it looks even better on the road !

And the open road is something I got plenty of on Sunday after the picnic with some 1300 miles down I-95 to its southernmost exit in Miami. Traffic was heavy all the way through Washington DC and Richmond Va, where is finally cleared and I was able to make up some of the lost time. My deadline was to be back home in Miami on Monday morning so that my 7 year old daughter-navigator-pit crew would make it to school... she did...

What a week end ! 3500 troublefree miles in a V12 E-Type including some 60 or 70 laps at Lime Rock, getting together with club members I knew already, meeting some for the first time, and most importantly witnessing first hand how much fun we could all have with our Jaguars. Since Lime Rock, there has been a lot of E-mail discussion about organizing track events in other regions for those who might not be willing to drive 1500 miles just to get there... Track days are very popular with other car clubs; BMW, Porsche, Corvettes, and Vipers clubs actually make that one of their main activity so why can't we ?

Let's not forget that performance is built in nearly every Jaguar and has been built in for half a century... From the E-Type to the new X-Type and even saloons like the XJ6 which can be enjoyed on track. With Coventry raising the game with cars like the XK8 and XKR, XJR, S-Type and X-Type some available with sports packages, 400hp or manual gear boxes, we need to address the needs of those newer members for which car shows and Concours might not be as thrilling as they are to an E-Type owner. Hopefully we won't have to wait another year !

 

 

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A Pride of Jaguar in the Paddock at Lime Rock

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About the author - Pascal Gademer is the webmaster and newsletter editor of the South Florida Jaguar Club and webmaster for JCNA. Owner of a restored and upgraded (for reliability and performance) 1972 series 3 E-type 2+2, he doesn't miss an opportunity to drive his E-type to various events (Concours, rallies,..) often regardless of distances. His daily driver his another Silver Coupe, a 2000 XKR.

Posted 6/4/2002

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