Italy, 15th-18th May: Jaguar Heritage Racing tackled the legendary Mille Miglia classic car endurance event from 15-18 May with a line-up of top-name drivers, which traversed over 1,000 gruelling miles from Brescia-Rome-Brescia in ten of the most revered and sought-after historic Jaguar cars ever produced.
Household names from stage and screen, plus fashion, motor sport and music celebrities campaigned their assigned historic Jaguars through Northern and Central Italy for four tough but memorable days of hard driving. Spectators enthusiastically lined the Mille Miglia route got the chance to see examples of historically-significant Jaguar XKs, C-Types and D-Types shooting past them with famous faces in the cockpits.
Leading American TV chat show host, Jaguar collector and classic car enthusiast – Jay Leno – drove the famous ex-Sir James Scott-Douglas 1951 Jaguar XK120 roadster, raced as part of the Ecurie Ecosse team in period.
Another well-known 1951 XK120 roadster – the ex-Duncan Hamilton racer registered LXF 731 – was shared by husband and wife team, Elliot and Erin Gleave. Elliot is better known as successful British musician Example, with his wife Erin being the Australian TV presenter that he first met when she interviewed him for MTV.
Other significant Jaguar XK models on the Mille Miglia included the ex-Jim Swift racing XK120 roadster, which was driven by multiple award-winning British actor Jeremy Irons.
Jaguar Vehicle Integrity Chief Engineer Mike Cross drove the well-known ex-Stirling Moss Monthlery record-breaking XK120 Coupé, which carries the registration LWK 707. Author David Blakeley and model-turned-TV presenter Jodie Kidd shared a stunning example of the Jaguar XK120, which was driven by Oscar-winning actor Daniel-Day Lewis in the 2013 event.
Jaguar Heritage Racing also entered three famous C-Type racing cars, driven by celebrities as diverse as Belgian singer-songwriter Milow (Jonathan Vandenbroeck) – who drove with Jaguar Land Rover Regional Director for Europe Bernard Kuhnt, and legendary AC/DC lead singer and car afficionado Brian Johnson. Ex-Jaguar Le Mans 24 Hours race winner Andy Wallace drove the Jaguar C-Type which won the 1952 Reims Grand Prix with Formula 1 legend Sir Stirling Moss at the wheel.
Two motor racing greats – ex-Jaguar Le Mans and World Sports Prototype Championship winner, Formula 1 driver and SKY F1 TV pundit Martin Brundle, plus ex-Formula 1 racer Bruno Senna – shared the famous ‘Long Nose’ Jaguar D-Type, the penultimate example built, registered 393 RW, as this legendary Jaguar model celebrates its 60th anniversary in 2014.
A number of new Jaguar F-TYPE Coupés supported the Jaguar Heritage Racing team, following the full Mille Miglia route through Italy with broadcast crews and VIP guests.
Press release and content provided by Digital News Agency
