If Cowley features heavily in the Local Heroes display at the April Scramble, so too will Tom Walkinshaw Racing. Its various bases meant Oxfordshire, all within our 30-mile radius, regularly ruled racing.
Not least the tin-top world. Its most famous touring car work was arguably the Jaguar XJ-S, work that set it on a course for Le Mans glory, too.
Thanks to regular Scramble supporter the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust, the European Touring Car Championship winner will be representing that chapter on Sunday 23 April.
Unlike the purple-and-white Silk Cut Jags that saw out the decade, the early TWR Jaguars retained a nod to the Group 44 cars that had laid such solid groundwork. Green, British Racing, of course, and white was the colour of choice. It matched the prototypes beginning to make their presence felt Stateside, and was fittingly patriotic.
Team boss and race winner Tom set up the deal to take Jaguar into touring cars and go toe to toe with BMW in the world’s best touring car series, and won. The village of Kidlington, Bicester-side of Oxford, was the team’s main base.
Its debut year, 1982, built up to a late-season win and in 1983 victories began to flow – just falling short of the title. In 1984, Jaguar’s first all day and all night win for nearly 30 years was the centrepiece of a championship winning season.
Walkinshaw had already won the Spa 24 Hours with Mazda but sharing with Win Percy he truly beat the best. In this very chassis, #007.
Weighing in at less than 1500kg, despite the 5.3-litre V12 in that long nose, it was good for more than 180mph and believed to produce more than 500bhp. At Monza in 1984, Chassis #007 won on its first outing with Tom and Tirolerhut-hat-wearing Hans Heyer and a week later claimed third at Vallelunga.
Rare struggles at Donington Park were forgotten within a fortnight with second at Enna and back-to-back wins at Brno and Österreichring. Win Percy joined for Spa and the trio converted pole into victory, before rounding out the season with a brace of non-finishes and victory at Macau.
Drivers’ title in the bag for owner-driver Tom, second in the constructors’, Chassis #007 was retired until being pressed into action and Down Under for the Bathurst 1000.
Chassis #007 will be part of the Local Heroes display at the Scramble on Sunday 23 April.