HISTORY

On May 8th this year, the Jersey Jaguar Enthusiasts’ Club in conjunction with the Jersey Motor Cycle & Light Car Club will be celebrating the 70th Anniversary of the first Road Race which was held in Jersey in 1947.

At the end of the Second World War there were no operational motor racing circuits in the UK and consequently no venue for the British Grand Prix as Brooklands had been turned over to wartime aircraft production.

A decision was therefore made to use a street circuit in Jersey, which was seen as a major coup for the Island and which attracted some of the top drivers in international motor sport, the equivalent of Formula One today.

The circuit ran from West Park to Bel Royal along Victoria Avenue, returning via St Aubin’s Inner Road, and was a total of 3.2 miles.

Two years after the Island was liberated the first race was held on May 8th 1947 and cars included ERAs, Maseratis, Delages and a Bugatti, with well known drivers of the time including Reg Parnell from the UK and Louis Chiron from France.

The Jersey International Road Race continued for a further three years until 1950 with some world class drivers such as Bob Gerard, Prince Bira, Baron de Graffenreid, Roy Salvatori, George Abecassis, Raymond Mays and Peter Whitehead.

By 1951 Grand Prix cars were becoming too fast for the local circuit, with average speeds of over 90mph, and there was a gap of one year until 1952 when a sports car race was held which was sadly to become the last of the road races in Jersey.

The Jaguar C Type which had been designed and built to compete at the 24 hour Le Mans, won the last race with Ian Stewart at the wheel, in a Jaguar XK120C, with Ken Wharton in a Fraser-Nash second and George Abecassis in an Aston Martin third.

Ultimately with the reconstruction of circuits like Silverstone & Goodwood in the UK and the fact that the local races were non-championship events, together with the local circuit not being sufficiently challenging and the cost associated with bringing cars and crews to Jersey and other European circuits available for championship events, these reasons unfortunately saw the demise of the Jersey International Road Races.

There has been a certain amount of interest in reviving the event for historic racing cars and one day we might see the return of such an event, which would be a tremendous boost for the Island’s Tourism Industry, but there will be many hurdles and expenses to overcome, especially the rules and regulations that currently apply for motor sport under the guidance and regulatory body, the Motor Sports Association.

EXHIBITION

To celebrate the 70th Anniversary, The Jersey Jaguar Enthusiasts’ Club in conjunction with The Jersey Motor Cycle & Light Car Club, have organised one of the largest exhibitions of Road Race Memorabilia ever seen in one location, including Photo Archives, Cine Film Footage, Paintings and Trophies. The Constable of St Helier, Simon Crowcroft, has kindly agreed to host the event at the Town Hall.

There will be opportunities to hear the stories from two men in their nineties, one of them being Bill Reynolds who was seriously injured in the fatal crash at Bel Royal, where the driver, Kenneth Bear driving a 3.3 Litre Bugatti crashed into the crowd killing himself, a police officer and another spectator and seriously injuring two others one of which was Bill, and Alan Barnes from Barnes Garages who looked after the Maseratis of Prince Bira and Baron de Graffenreid, and as an amateur cine-photographer took plenty of film footage of the Road Races which can be seen at the Exhibition in the Committee Room at the Town Hall.

There will be a display of Classic Jaguars around the Cenotaph area from late morning onwards on May 8th and invited guests from the Aston Martin Owners Club will be in attendance.