JAGUAR: A RACING HISTORY IN NEW ZEALAND. PART 7 1960
1960 –The C-Type, D-Type and Tojeiro continue, plus enter the Mk2 3.8 saloon
Ardmore 9 Jan 60 – At the 1960 NZIGP meeting held at Ardmore on 9 Jan 60, three Jaguar, or Jaguar-powered, cars were entered in Event 5, the 12 lap Ardmore Sports Car Trophy Race with a Le Mans start. Arthur Moffat entered the #27 Tojeiro Jaguar 3.8 he had purchased from Frank Cantwell in late 1959, #58 Angus Hyslop his Jaguar D-Type, and #69 David Young his Jaguar C-Type 3442cc. Fastest qualifiers were Malcolm Gill in the Lycoming Special 4733cc, and Jim Palmer in his Lotus 15-Climax 1960cc, both on 1m 28.9s, with Ken Harris 3rd in the Ferrari 750 Monza 2998cc on 1m 32.6s. Merv Neil was 4th fastest in his Cooper T39 Bobtail Climax 1498cc on 1m 35.4s. Angus Hyslop was 5th fastest in the Jaguar D-Type in a time of 1m 35.7s, and David Young was 8th in the Jaguar C-Type on 1m 40.0s – but Arthur Moffat’s Tojeiro Jaguar was not shown on the start sheet. Twenty cars started the race, won by Malcom Gill in the Lycoming Special, from Angus Hyslop in the D-Type, with Roly Levis 3rd driving the Avery brothers’ #66 HWM-Cadillac 5500cc.
After Event 6 for motorcycles, the next race for cars was Event 7, the Ultimate Ecko Race Car Feature handicap race over 12 laps. Thirty cars started the race on handicap, with David Young in the Jaguar C-Type 24th away 3m 10s after the first cars to start. Roly Levis in the HWM-Cadillac and Angus Hyslop in the D-Type were the 27th and 28th to start on 3m 35s. Only Merv Neil on 3m 40s, and Brian Prescott in his #29 Cooper T20-Bristol Mk1 on 3m 50s, were behind them. Ron Butler won the race in his #77 Porsche 356 1582cc, from Bruce Webster in a Cooper MKVII-Porsche 1582cc, with Angus Hyslop 3rd in the D-Type, J. Sloan 4th in a Triumph, and John Windleburn 5th in his Lotus 11 Climax 1098cc. The race time was 23m 01.5s.
Event 8 was a Saloon Car Handicap race for cars over 1500cc, and Bruce McLaren was entered in car #48, a Jaguar – thought to be the Mk2 3.8 he sent home from England for his father, Les McLaren. The 8 lap race was won by J. Welch in a Riley 2443cc, with Red Dawson 2nd in a Ford V8 4500cc, and J. Mackintosh in an Austin 2639cc in 3rd. Although entered, Bruce McLaren was not listed on the handicap start sheet, so it is assumed he did not start the race.
Event 9 was the 75-lap 1960 NZIGP, and although he was entered, Arthur Moffat’s Tojeiro Jaguar did not start in the Preliminary races, so he did not qualify for the GP. Jack Brabham won the GP from Bruce McLaren, both of whom drove ‘works’ Cooper T51 Climaxes, from Bib Stilwell in 3rd and Stan Jones 4th in their respective Cooper T51 Climaxes. As with the 1959 NZIGP, there were no Jaguar, or Jaguar-powered cars, in the 1960 NZIGP.
Levin 16 Jan 60 – At Levin for the 1960 Vic Hudson Memorial meeting held on 16 Jan 60, Angus Hyslop entered the Jaguar D-Type, as did David Young from Timaru his Jaguar C-Type. Young scored a 2nd place in the over 3000cc class of both Races 7 and 18, behind Malcom Gill’s Lycoming, a 2nd in Race 20 Handicap behind Doug Lawrence in his Cooper T39 Bobtail, and 3rd in Race 23 ‘Invitation’ behind Len Gilbert’s Cooper T23-Bristol Mk2 sports car, and John Windleburn’s Lotus 11 Climax. There is no mention in the results of the meeting for the normally quick and consistent Angus Hyslop in his D-Type, so it perhaps he did not race at the event?
Wigram 23 Jan 60 – The first event for the day at the Lady Wigram Trophy race meeting held on 23 Jan 60 was the 20 lap ‘Motor Racing Club (MRC) Trophy Scratch’ race ‘for cars not entered, or qualifying, for the Trophy race’. Angus Hyslop won the race in his #5 Jaguar D-Type in a time of 32m 18.5s. In 2nd place was John Windleburn in his #15 Lotus 11 Climax 1098cc, and Doug Lawrence’s #31 Cooper T39 Bobtail Climax 1100cc was 3rd. David Young in his #9 Jaguar C-Type had run in third place for much of the race, but he was forced to withdraw with overheating.
The third event on the programme at Wigram was a 20 lap Sports Car race from a Le Mans start. Jaguar entries were Angus Hyslop #5 Jaguar D-Type 3442cc, David Young #9 Jaguar C-Type 3442cc, and, Arthur Moffat #27 Tojeiro Jaguar 3800cc. Jim Palmer was 1st in his #41 Lotus 15 Climax 1960cc in a time of 30m 25.6s, from Malcolm Gill in his #11 Lycoming Special on 30m 29s. In 3rd place was Angus Hyslop in the Jaguar D-Type 31 min 25.3 s. In 4th was Len Gilbert in his #33 Cooper T23 Bristol Mk2 sports, and 5th was Bill Thomasen in the #29 Ferrari 750 Monza. David Young did not start after engine overheating problems in his earlier race, and it is not known of Arthur Moffat raced the Tojeiro Jaguar.
In the Lady Wigram Trophy Race, the only Jaguar, or Jaguar-powered, car entered was Arthur Moffat in the #27 Tojeiro Jaguar. However, Moffat did not start the race, that was won by Jack Brabham in his Cooper T51 Climax from David Piper’s Lotus 16 Climax, with Ian Burgess in his Cooper T51 Climax in 3rd, and 4th was Bruce McLaren who drove the Lycoming Special after his own Cooper T51 Climax had engine trouble in practice.
The final race of the day at Wigram was the 10 lap Saloon Car race from a handicap start. Harold Heasley from Rangiora won in his rapid Humber 80 in a time of 20m 30s, from C.J. Knight all the way from Kaitaia in his Standard 10 in 2nd place, and Frank Cantwell in a Triumph Herald was 3rd. Ian Dow in his #21 Jaguar ‘Mk1’ 3442cc was not placed.
Dunedin 30 Jan 60 – The 36-lap Dunedin Road Race held on 30 Jan 60 was won by Syd Jensen on his Cooper T45 Climax 1500cc in a time of 1hr 2m 45.2s. Pat Hoare in his Ferrari 625 was 2nd, from John Mansel in his Maserati 250F (chassis 2508). Four sports cars took the next four places – in 4th was Jim Palmer in his Lotus 15 Climax, 5th Malcolm Gill in the Lycoming Special, 6th Bill Thomasen Ferrari 750 Monza, and 7th John Windelburn Lotus 11 Climax 1098cc. Bob Blackburn was 8th in the Haigh-Citroën and Arthur Moffat 9th in the #5 Tojeiro Jaguar. In the ‘Allcomers Event’, David Young in the Jaguar C-Type took the class award.
Teretonga 6 Feb 60 – The annual International race meeting was held at Teretonga, near Invercargill on 6 Feb 60. Event 1 on the programme was ‘First Heat Teretonga International Race’ held over 8 laps for 12 miles/19.3km. There were nine cars entered, but Morrie Stanton’s #8 Stanton Corvette 4640cc and Pat Hoare’s #19 Ferrari 625 2884cc were moved to Heat 2, and Gavin Quirk’s #23 Maserati 250F (chassis 2504/2509) was withdrawn after a major engine failure in the earlier Lady Wigram race meeting.
Englishman David Piper won Heat 1 at Teretonga in his #18 Lotus 16 Climax 2495cc, from John Mansel’s #17 Maserati 250F, with Malcom Gill 3rd in the #11 Lycoming Special. John Windleburn was 4th in his #15 Lotus 11 Climax, Bill Thomasen 5th in #9 Ferrari 750 Monza, and in 6th and last place was Arthur Moffat in the #27 Tojeiro Jaguar 3800c. Angus Hyslop scratched his #5 Jaguar D-Type entry from Heat 2, that was won by Syd Jensen in his #1 Cooper T45 Climax 1750cc, from Pat Hoare’s Ferrari 625, Jim Palmer’s #41 Lotus 15 Climax 1960cc, Englishman Ian Burgess in his Cooper Climax 2500cc and Morrie Stanton’s Stanton Corvette.
Event 3 was a Sports Car handicap race over 6 laps, won by P. McFarlane’s MGA, from Doug Lawrence’s Cooper T39 Climax, and I. Wills in his Triumph TR2. If they raced, neither #5 Angus Hyslop in his Jaguar D-Type, nor #36 David Young’s C-Type featured in the results.
Event 6 was a Sports Car race over 8 laps from a Le Mans start. Race winner was Malcolm Gill (Lycoming) from Jim Palmer (Lotus 15), and Angus Hyslop was 3rd in his D-Type, with Len Gilbert 4th in his Cooper T23 Bristol Mk2 sports.
Event 8 was the Teretonga International race held over 50 laps comprising 75miles/120.7km. There were 19 cars listed as entrants but only 12 cars started – Arthur Moffat in the Tojeiro Jaguar qualified 8th and started from Row 3 of 4. Ian Burgess won the race in his Cooper T51 Climax, from David Piper’s Lotus 16 Climax, and Syd Jensen was 3rd in his Cooper T45 Climax. No results are known as to how Arthur Moffat fared in the Tojeiro Jaguar.
Event 10 was a 6 lap ‘Flying Farewell’ for the 8 fastest cars – and 9 cars started the race! Syd Jensen won from David Piper, Pat Hoare and Len Gilbert, but it is not known where Angus Hyslop finished in the D-Type.
Waimate 12 Feb 60 – Twelve cars lined up the second Waimate 50 run on the streets of Waimate township on 12 Feb 60. John Mansel won the 50-lap race in his Maserati 250F (chassis 2508) in a time of 1hr and 46.5s. In second place, some 3 seconds, back was Pat Hoare in his Ferrari 625, and in 3rd place was Syd Jensen in his Cooper T45 Climax. David Young retired his Jaguar C-Type from the race after 16 laps with an overheating engine and poor brakes.
In a race for Sports Cars, Malcolm Gill was 1st in his Lycoming Special, from David Young who was 2nd in his Jaguar C-Type, with Len Gilbert 3rd in his Cooper T23 Bristol Mk2.
In the 15 lap race for Saloon cars over 1551cc, Mrs June Monk of Lyttleton in her ex-Cantwell #10 Jaguar XK140 Fixed Head Coupe 3442cc finished 4th with a race time of 16m 41.8s. In 1st place was Ernie Sprague of Timaru in his Ford Zephyr Mk2 in 16m 14.5s; 2nd was J. Alexander of Christchurch in a Chevrolet 3650cc in 16m 25.1s, and 3rd was R. G. (Ran) McDonald of Blyth Downs in a Ford Zephyr Mk2 2552cc on 16m 32s. Behind June Monk’s XK140 was Ian Dow of Geraldine in his Jaguar ‘Mk1’ 3442 cc who was in 5th place with a time of 17m 40s.
Ohakea 27 Feb 60 – The 1960 Ohakea Motor races were held on 27 Feb 60 the usual RNZAF airfield circuit. Event 2 was a Sports Car Scratch race over 7 laps and Angus Hyslop raced his Jaguar D-Type – he finished 1st after dicing with Bill Thomasen in the ex-Ken Harris Ferrari 750 Monza, only for the Monza’s engine to fail leaving Hyslop with an easy win.
Next up for Angus in his Jaguar D-Type was Event 9, the Ohakea Trophy Race held over 25 laps where the winner was awarded the Molesworth Challenge Trophy. After a race-long close battle, Syd Jensen won in his Cooper T45-Climax 1500cc by just 0.6 sec from Pat Hoare’s 3.0 litre Ferrari 625, with Angus Hyslop in a good 3rd place in the Jaguar D-Type. Allen Freeman in his Lago T26C-Talbot was 4th, ahead of Bob Smith’s ex-Tom Clark Ferrari T555 Super Squalo.
Event 12 was a Racing Car Handicap and surprisingly Angus in his D-Type sports car was an entry. Race results are not known. The final race of the day was Event 14, Sports Car Handicap, and once again the D-Type was entered – but again no results are known.
Levin 2 Apr 60 – Angus Hyslop was next at Levin for the 1960 Autumn Levin meeting, held on 2 Apr 60, where he drove his Jaguar D-Type. Angus scored the usual class win in the ‘over 3000cc class’ for sports cars in Race 6 held over 6 laps, a 2nd in Race 13 Handicap race for Racing and Sports Cars over 8 laps, a win in Race 17 Sports Cars Handicap, and 2nd to Len Gilbert’s Cooper T23-Bristol Mk2 ‘sports car’ in Race 23, an Invitation event for the 10 Fastest Sports cars over 8 laps.
1959/60 Summer Season Championship Results – At the conclusion of the 1959-60 racing season, Angus Hyslop in his Jaguar D-Type was in 8th place in the Association of NZ Car Club’s Gold Star Championship, won by Syd Jensen in his Cooper T45 Climax, from Pat Hoare’s Ferrari 625, and John Mansel’s Maserati 250F.
In the 1959/1960 NZRDC Sports Car Gold Star Championship, Angus Hyslop in the Jaguar D-Type was 2nd on 27 points, to Malcom Gill in the Lycoming Special who was 1st with 37 points. Len Gilbert was 3rd in his Cooper T23 Bristol Mk2 sports on 21 points, and Jim Palmer 4th in his Lotus 15 Climax on 17 points. David Young was 6th in his Jaguar C-Type.
Wallaceville, Lower Hutt 29 Oct 60 – Geoff Easterbrook-Smith of Wellington entered his red Bagnall Jaguar Special 3442cc in a hillclimb at Wallaceville, Upper Hutt, on 29 Oct 60 – he came 2nd in the class for Sports cars over 1500cc.
About the Bagnall Jaguar – Graham Vercoe’s 1991 book ‘Historic Racing Cars of NZ’, page 25, includes a story about the Bagnall Jaguar. Brian Watson in his 2009 book ‘Racing Jaguar in NZ’ corrects Vercoe’s work: – Rob Bagnall of Wellington started building the Bagnall in 1949, and by 1952 he had fitted a Talbot London 2969cc engine. Rob then drove the Bagnall Talbot in hillclimbs in the local area, and he raced at Ohakea in 1953 and 1954. In late 1954/early 1955 the car was sold, without the Talbot engine, to Alistair McBeath of Otaki who fitted a 1946 Ford-Mercury 3992cc V8, before racing the Bagnall Mercury in hillclimbs from 1955, and at Levin on 19 Jan 57; at Levin he finished 2nd in Race 7 for Sports cars to Bruce McLaren in the family’s Austin Healey, and ahead of Ross Jensen in his Austin Healey 100S. The Mercury engine was removed before the Bagnall was sold in about 1958 to Geoff Easterbrook-Smith; by late 1960 Geoff he had fitted a Jaguar MkVII 3.4 motor and gearbox that he sourced from USA. Geoff and his brother raced in hillclimbs at Palmer Head and Houghton Bay, Wellington, in March and April 1961 before the Bagnall Jaguar was sold in June 1961 to Brian Watson of Johnsonville.
Renwick 12 Nov 60 – The inaugural Renwick 50 meeting was held on12 Nov 60, “In the quiet atmosphere of Renwick, a small farming community on the Wairau Plains whose chief claim to fame is as a one-time coach stop on the route from Blenheim to Nelson..” (Christchurch Press, 14 Nov 60). Racing was on a clockwise three-turn 1.1 mile/1.77km triangular circuit using part of Highway 6, the main route from Nelson to Blenheim.
Event 2 on the programme was a 10 lap 11 mile/17.7km Saloon Car Scratch race. The race was open to all saloon cars and Ernie Sprague won in his now disc-braked #8 Ford Zephyr Mk2 in a time of 12m 32.5s, from M.C. Wear in his #9 Morris Minor (13m 47s), and Ron Silvester in his Chev Coupe was 3rd (14m 21.01s). Also in the race were the two Jaguar 3442cc cars – #12 Ian Dow in his Jaguar Mk2, and #23 Mrs J. Monk in her Jaguar XK140 Coupe ‘Saloon’ – but while running in 2nd place, she retired with clutch trouble.
Event 4 at Renwick was a 10 lap race for ‘Sports Cars and NZ Specials’ and race winner, in a time of 11m 1s, was #41 Jim Palmer in his Lotus 15 Climax 1960cc. Jim was 6 seconds ahead of #25 David Young in his Jaguar C-Type 3442cc in 2nd place, with a further 10 seconds back to 3rd placed Ron Rutherford in his RA 260M Zephyr single seater. Arthur Moffat in the #22 Tojeiro Jaguar was also entered in the race, but a newspaper report said that Arthur did not think the short and tight Renwick track to be at all suitable for the Tojeiro-Jaguar, so he withdrew. In his book at page 80, Brian Watson said: ‘ ….I have never forgotten seeing the Tojeiro, powered by a 3.8 engine running very hot cams, coming out of the slow first-gear corners – it coughed and spluttered, but once it hit certain revs it just hurtled itself down the next straight.. Arthur Moffat was still driving the Tojeiro but after this race he sold it to Bill Gardiner.’ Also racing his Jaguar was N. Henderson of Wellington who took 7th place in his XK120.
Event 6 was billed as the ‘South Island Championship Race’ over 25 laps 27 miles/43.45km. Of the 14 entries, only 8 made the starting grid. Race winner was Frank Shuter in his ex-Pat Hoare Ferrari 625 in a race time of 28m 7s. Just 3.1 seconds behind Shuter, and in 2nd place, was David Young in his C-Type with a race time of 28m 10.8s – Young had passed Gilbert on the 20th lap when Gilbert uncharacteristically spun his Maserati 250F at the third corner of three – from Highway 6 onto Anglesey Street. Young in turn was 30 seconds ahead of 3rd placed Len Gilbert, having his first drive in his Maserati 250F (chassis 2504/2509). The scribe in the Marlborough Express for Monday, November 14th reported, “Young drove an outstanding race. His big Jaguar was not an ideal car for the course and was more than a handful on the corners. He really began to motor towards the concluding laps and was cutting down on Shuter’s lead”.
The Christchurch Press for 14 Nov 60 added, “Honours of this race must go top young Timaru driver, D.G. Young, whose C-Type Jaguar circulated consistently well to finish in second place. In beating L. R. Gilbert, of Hamilton, whose Maserati 250F was handling indifferently [due to tyre pressures too low and no rear wheel toe-in], Young drove the best race of his career to date. The Jaguar is a heavy sports car and not an easy one to handle on such a tight circuit.”
Arthur Moffat had entered the #22 Tojeiro Jaguar as well, but as said earlier, he withdrew as he did not think the circuit suited the Tojeiro. Graham Vercoe’s book reported that Moffat had done a deal to buy the Jim Palmer Lotus 15 Climax and sell the Tojeiro Jaguar to Bill Gardiner following the race.
Event 7 was a 10 lap Saloon Car Handicap race for cars over 1500cc and there were only 7 starters, including Ian Dow in his Jaguar ‘Mk1’ 3.4 and Mrs. J. Monk in her Jaguar XK140 Coupe. Ernie Sprague won again, this time from #6 R. Prestige in a Ford 3630cc, and Ron Silvester who was 3rd.
Event 9 was a 10 lap ‘Sports, Specials and Racing Cars’ with 13 entrants from a handicap start. Duncan McKenzie won in the ex-Syd Jensen/Ron Frost/David Evans #49 Cooper T41 Climax 1500cc in a time of 13m 57s. In 2nd place was David Young in the C-Type, just 12.8s behind McKenzie, with a bigger 14.6s gap back to Doug Lawrence in his #15 Cooper T39 Climax 1100c.
Levin 26 Nov 60 – The 1960 Fred Zambucka Memorial meeting at Levin on 26 Nov 60 saw Angus Hyslop entering again with the #5 Jaguar D-Type. Other Jaguars were driven by Simon Taylor from Te Awamutu in his #45 Jaguar Mk 2 3.8 Saloon, and C. Scott from Wellington in his #70 Jaguar 3.4. Taylor finished 2nd in Race 7 for Saloon Cars Handicap over 6 laps, behind M. Hogg’s Morris Minor. Angus Hyslop in his D-Type was 1st in the over 1500cc class of Race 9 Sports Cars, and 3rd in Race 12 Handicap. Simon Taylor in his Jaguar Mk 2 was 2nd to Ivan Segedin’s Zephyr Mk2 in the over 2000cc class of Race 17 Saloons, and 4th in Race 19 Saloons Handicap.
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