Page 27 - On the Prowl: The Definitive History of the Walkinshaw Jaguar Sports Car Team

ON THE PROWL
1990: The Americans Take on Le Mans
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final two rounds. Tampa would not provide them that victory, though,
Jones succumbing to driver fatigue in a demanding race that was
shortened after a massive tropical rainstorm caused total havoc. Even
championship leader Brabham was caught out, smacking the wall hard
with the left rear of his car. Porsche emerged with the victory when the
race was called.
And so to the final round, back in Southern California with San Diego’s
Del Mar Fairgrounds closing the IMSA series once again. Jaguar brought
Martin Brundle to drive the second car, with the team opting for one driver
for each of the XJR-10s.
The rapidly-improving factory Spice cars, underwritten by longtime
sports car driver and businessman Gordon Spice, were running very well
that weekend, taking the pole with 1990 Indycar champion Al Unser Jr.
In fact, 50 percent of the field was made up of Spice cars with various
engine packages, the factory cars running a Chevrolet V8 in the Unser
car and a V6 Buick in the second entry.
Jaguar occupied the second row, hotly in contention for its third Del
Mar victory, and when the leading Spice crashed out on lap 20 after
being squeezed into the wall by a backmarker, the job became easier.
TV commentator David Hobbs apportioned all the blame to the driver
being passed, Martino Finotto, but admonished the leading Spice driver
Jay Cochrane for not being more careful, saying, “when you’re racing on
these city streets in these tight situations, you just have to assume that
the guy you’re gonna overtake is a complete lunatic!”
VMartin Brundle wouldn’t pick up another Del Mar win in the 1990 race
due to electrical issues and a subsequent fire that cost him nine laps.
(Stephen Miller)
vJaguar chief engineer Ian Reed chats with Dyson Porsche’s affable
James Weaver. The rapid Englishman had an eventful race at Del Mar that
involved the destruction of a decibel meter following a noise violation. The
normally cool Weaver was contrite afterwards, finding the right people to
whom he could apologize! (Stephen Miller)
After a mistake by the leading Nissan, Brundle slotted into the lead,
only to lose it moments later when he came to the pits with electrical
issues. The rear of the car erupted into flames, which were quickly
extinguished, but shortly thereafter the Englishman jumped out of the
ailing Jaguar.
Jones then began a run all the way from eighth place up to first, after
various rivals succumbed to a variety of problems including engine failure
for Wayne Taylor and most bizarrely a noise violation for James Weaver’s
Porsche. Later in the race, a furious Weaver collided with the decibel
meter that was measuring noise levels as he left the pits, rendering it
non-functional for the remaining laps and nearly taking out a decorated
Navy veteran who was manning the device. Being the gentleman he was,
Weaver later apologized to IMSA officials, admitting to doing it on purpose!
At the checkered flag it was Toyota which got the best of Jaguar, a
strategic early pit stop under yellow making all the difference for Dan
Gurney’s team and its driver Juan Manuel Fangio II (nephew of the five-
time world champion).
It had been a mixed season for the American Jaguar team. Any year
in which a team takes victory at the Daytona 24 Hours can’t be seen
as a failure (especially when they also ran the winning car at Le Mans),
but just two more IMSA wins after that was certainly less than hoped
for, again soundly beaten by the Nissan crew. More concerning however
was that the up-and-coming Toyota team had also scored more victories
and were clearly gaining in strength. For 1991, the team would need a
complete re-think of the XJR-10, which had never lived up to its promise.
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©2024 David Bull Publishing
©2024 David Bull Publishing
©2024 David Bull Publishing
©2024 David Bull Publishing
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©2024 David Bull Publishing
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