Guide: Jaguar D-type / 55
Background
Jaguar’s inaugural campaign with the D-type in 1954 yielded promising performances at each of the car’s three outings.
Its debut appearance at the ‘54 Le Mans 24 Hours should have resulted in a victory for Tony Rolt and Duncan Hamilton. However, the organisers failed to notice the Ferrari of Jose Froilan Gonzalez and Maurice Trintignant had received an illegal push start during one of its pit stops and, on a drying track, the big five-litre 375 Plus was able to pull away from Hamilton who had been just 90 seconds behind with half an hour to go.
Three weeks after claiming the runner up spot at Le Mans, the D-types of Peter Whitehead / Ken Wharton and Tony Rolt / Duncan Hamilton recorded a dominant one-two finish at the Reims 12 Hours.
In September, Jaguar took a trio of D-types to Northern Ireland for the Dundrod Tourist Trophy which was run to a complicated handicap format. Instead of the usual 3.4-litre straight six motors, two of the D-types in attendance ran 2.5-litre engines to give them the best chance of outright victory. Unfortunately, all three cars experienced some kind of technical trouble. Best placed at the end was the Whitehead / Wharton machine which came home sixth overall and second in the 2.5-litre class.
The D-type had been conceived as a replacement for Jaguar’s all-conquering C-type which most famously took victory at Le Mans in 1951 and 1953. Unlike the XK120-derived C-type, the new model incorporated a radical magnesium alloy monocoque that made it arguably the most advanced sports racing car of its era. In the engine bay was an uprated version of the C-type’s dual overhead camshaft straight six.
The D-type’s suspension layout was closely derived from its predecessor with double wishbones and torsion bars up front and a solid axle with trailing links and a transverse torsion bar at the back. Telescopic dampers were fitted all round along with the Dunlop disc brakes that had been a pioneering C-type feature.
Instead of traditional wire wheels, centre lock cast alloy rims were adopted for the new car.
Jaguar constructed six D-type tubs for the 1954 season: XKC401 to 405 and XKD406. Four of these had seen competitive action while, the prototype (XKC401) had been used for test and development purposes. The other unraced tub, XKC405, was a bare chassis built up over the winter of 1954-1955 for Duncan Hamilton. This D-type went on to assume the identity of Hamilton’s second place car from Le Mans (XKC402) after the original was heavily damaged on its return from the 1954 Paris Motor Show in October.
D-type production was ramped up considerably for 1955 as Jaguar supplied a plethora of cars to privateers. Some of these (such as the Ecurie Ecosse and Briggs Cunningham concerns) were slick professional outfits while others were just well-funded amateurs.
Technical Changes for 1955
Despite a rapid pace of development during the mid 1950s, few changes were deemed necessary to keep the D-type at the head of the field for 1955.
Among the most significant updates applied to a handful of specially selected cars were bolt-on instead of arc-welded front subframes and new Long Nose bodywork.
An uprated engine also came on stream with an asymmetrical big valve ‘35/40’ cylinder head where the intake valves were mounted at 35° and the exhaust valves were mounted at 40°. The net result was a power increase from 250bhp to 270bhp at unchanged 6000rpm. This did come with a very slight downgrading of the torque rating though which dropped from 242lb-ft to 240lb-ft at unchanged 4000rpm.
The rest of the engine specification remained unchanged. It used a cast-iron block and light alloy head with two valves per cylinder and single plug ignition. Displacement was 3442cc thanks to a bore and stroke of 83mm and 106mm respectively. Three sidedraught Weber 45 DCO3 carburettors were fitted and the compression ratio was kept at 9.0:1.
Transmission was through a four-speed all-synchromesh gearbox and Borg & Beck twin-plate clutch.
Another update for 1955 concerned the arrival of a limited-slip differential which was debuted at Le Mans (the factory team’s second outing of the year).
1955 Season
Unlike many of their rivals, Jaguar were not concerned with challenging for the World Sportscar Championship. Instead, the Coventry firm’s overwhelming priority was Le Mans. This would be preceded by an outing for a solitary D-type at the Sebring 12 Hours (where it would run under the auspices of a Briggs Cunningham entry) and a three-car run out at the Silverstone International Trophy (a month before the trip to la Sarthe).
After the all-important 24 hour race at Le Mans there would be single vehicle appearances in the British GP-supporting sports car race at Aintree and the Dundrod Tourist Trophy.
The 1955 season saw a couple of new faces added to Jaguar’s driver roster: Mike Hawthorn was brought in to replace Mercedes-bound Stirling Moss and Jaguar recruited Ivor Bueb as Hawthorn’s co-driver for Le Mans. Jaguar’s test driver, Norman Dewis, was promoted to a race seat for Le Mans and Don Beauman was installed as his co-driver for a one-off appearance with the marque. Irishman Desmond Titterington would partner Hawthorn at the Dundrod TT.
Tony Rolt was retained along with Duncan Hamilton who dovetailed his factory drive at Le Mans with myriad outings in his own D-types.
The 1955 season would see an unprecedented attack from Europe’s top manufacturers. In addition to stalwarts Ferrari, Maserati and Aston Martin, Jaguar would now be up against the might of Mercedes-Benz.
Early Season Privateer Outings
The season kicked with a trip to the USA for XKD406 (the machine raced by Moss at the ‘54 Dundrod TT). Once landed in Florida, the car’s main business was to contest the Sebring 12 Hour race in the hands of Mike Hawthorn and Cunningham team driver, Phil Walters.
Prior to this though, the D-type was used by Walters to attend the annual NASCAR Speed Week at Daytona Beach which took place from February 20th to 27th. The event saw cars run solo along a tricky 4.1-mile course which comprised a mix of sand and tarmac surfaces.
Although Walters was considered the favourite, he found himself pipped to overall honours by Bob Said’s monoposto Ferrari 375 Indianapolis (which set a top speed of 170.538mph). XKD406 took the Sports car honours with Walters hitting 164.138mph.
Also held on February 27th was the Agadir Grand Prix in Morocco. Duncan Hamilton entered his privately owned D-type for the 60 lap 146km contest (XKD405) but retired from the premier over two-litre main event shortly after quarter distance with gearbox trouble.
Two weeks later, Hamilton ran XKC405 at the Dakar Grand Prix in Senegal. Having been forced to take a drinks stop in the searing heat, he finished third behind the privateer Ferrari 750 Monzas of Piero Carini and Louis Rosier.
1955 Sebring 12 Hours
The Sebring 12 Hours (March 13th) was round two of the 1955 World Sportscar Championship. That year’s opening race, the Buenos Aires 1000km on January 23rd, had been won by a privateer Ferrari 375 Plus after the works cars from Maranello (the only factory entries in attendance) had been disqualified.
Although it was factory owned, XKD406 appeared at Sebring as a Cunningham entry along with the outfit’s Maserati 300 S, OSCA MT4 and Cunningham C6-R. Opposition would chiefly come from a litany of Ferrari-driving privateers.
The race got underway at 10am with a Le Mans-type start.
By the end of lap one, Hawthorn’s D-type led from Alfonso de Portago (Ferrari 750 Monza). Next through were Jack Ensley (Kurtis Kraft 500), Stirling Moss (Austin-Healey 100S), Jack McAfee (Ferrari 375 MM), Piero Taruffi (750 Monza), Phil Hill (750 Monza) and Jim Kimberly (Ferrari 375 Plus).
Bob Said’s Ferrari then stormed up to second during a brief banzai stint before he crashed into a stationary ambulance on lap three.
Up front, Hawthorn looked comfortable as the battle for second saw De Portago, Taruffi and Hill trade places while McAfee and Kimberly dropped out early on.
As the second hour drew to a close, Taruffi’s 750 Monza had closed to within 2.5 seconds of Hawthorn and the pair briefly exchanged positions before XKD406 re-took a prolonged lead.
Shortly after 1pm, Hawthorn handed the D-type over to Phil Walters and Taruffi briefly took over at the front until he came into the pits for Harry Schell’s stint behind the wheel.
At 5pm, the Taruffi / Schell Ferrari relinquished second when a long pit-stop allowed the Phil Hill / Carroll Shelby 750 Monza to move up a position.
By 8pm, the second place Ferrari was lapping five seconds faster than the lead D-type around the by now dark course. At this stage, both lead cars were suffering from imperfect brakes.
The second-placed 750 Monza continued to close the gap for the next couple of hours.
The tension then mounted to a crescendo during the final hour with Shelby now on the same lap as Walters after the Jaguar driver was forced to stop for fouled plugs. However, Walters ultimately held on to take a famous win by 25.4 seconds.
Privateer Outings
Following victory at Sebring, Duncan Hamilton made three more outings in his privateer D-type before the works cars next appeared.
On April 4th, Hamillton finished second in his qualifying heat for the British Empire Trophy at Oulton Park and followed up with seventh place in the final. At the Easter Monday meeting at Goodwood on the 12th, he finished third in the over two-litre Sportscar race behind Roy Salvadori (Aston Martin DB3S) and Michel Poberejsky (Ferrari 750 Monza).
A week later, Hamilton and XKC405 were in France for the Coupes de Paris at Montlhery (April 17th). He finished the Formula Libre event as runner up behind the Formula 1 Gordini T32 of Andre Pilette, but won the Sports car class.
1955 Silverstone International Trophy
On May 7th, Jaguar took a team of three works cars to Silverstone for the annual International Trophy. They were allocated to Mike Hawthorn (XKC404), Tony Rolt (XKC403) and Duncan Hamilton (XKD406). This trio were joined by a pair of brand new cars that had been delivered to Ecurie Ecosse (XKD501 for Jimmy Stewart and XKD502 for Desmond Titterington).
Unfortunately, Stewart did not start after he crashed in practice having set a time good enough for second on the grid.
The cars lined up for the 40 lap race with Hawthorn on pole followed by the sole remaining Ecurie Ecosse D-type of Titterington. Peter Walker’s works Aston Martin DB3S was third, the works D-type of Rolt fourth, the Jaguar-powered HWM of George Abecassis fifth and Hamilton’s D-type sixth.
The Le Mans-type start saw Titterington first away followed by Rolt, Hawthorn and Abecassis.
By the end of lap one, it was the D-types of Rolt and Titterington out front followed by the Aston Martins of Peter Collins and Reg Parnell. Hawthorn had been relegated to fifth. However, a lap later Hawthorn had stormed back into second and on lap three he took the lead from team-mate Rolt. The Astons of Parnell and Salvadori were now third and fourth followed by the D-types of Hamilton and Titterington.
The race was being run at a blistering pace and Hawthorn looked destined for another big win.
At the beginning of lap 15, Parnell’s DB3S passed Rolt to take second. In face of renewed danger, Hawthorn set a new lap record. This was promptly matched by Salvadori’s DB3S which moved into third as Rolt’s Jaguar seemed to be suffering handling problems around the corners.
The race then settled down with Hawthorn out in front by around seven seconds from Parnell, Salvadori, Rolt, Walker, Hamilton, Collins and Titterington. The lead Jaguar then posted another new record on lap 32, but on its 36th tour, the end of XKC404’s top radiator hose blew out. Parnell, Salvadori and Rolt sailed by as Hawthorn came home fourth.
Hamilton and Titterington finished fifth and sixth respectively on what ultimately proved Aston Martin’s day.
Soon afterwards, Duncan Hamilton purchased XKD406 (the ex-Hawthorn / Walters car from Sebring that he had just raced at Silverstone). It would subsequently appear as a rent-a-racer for pay drivers. XKC403 (with which Rolt had just finished third) was sold to Jack Broadhead.
Privateer Outings
Privateer D-types subsequently appeared at four races during the remainder of May.
Duncan Hamilton loaned XKC405 to Michael Head for the 25 lap Elaintarhanajo Sportscar race in Helsinki on May 8th which he won by eight seconds from the C-type of Curt Lincoln.
On May 13th, Desmond Titterington piloted his Ecurie Ecosse D-type (XKD502) to victory in the Ulster Tourist Trophy which comprised 24 laps around the Dundrod street circuit. Titterington overturned the one lap lead given to Bill Smith’s C-type in the Northern Irish handicap to set up a thrilling first win for an Ecurie Ecosse D-type.
Two weeks later, both Ecurie Ecosse D-types were on hand to contest the Nurburgring Eifelrennen which, at the time, was Germany’s biggest sports car race. The 228km event was round two of the German Sportscar Championship and attracted 28 high quality entries for ten laps of the infamous Nordschleife. Most notably, the D-types would be up against a trio of Mercedes 300 SLRs (for Juan Manuel Fangio, Stirling Moss and Karl Kling)
Unfortunately, the race proved something of a disaster for Ecurie Ecosse as both cars were crashed during practice. Desmond Titterington broke his nose and shoulder in XKD502. Meanwhile, although Jimmy Stewart’s car (XKD501) was hurriedly repaired in time to start, he retired on the first lap with mechanical trouble.
Duncan Hamilton had more luck with XKC405 at the Goodwood Whit Monday event on May 30th where he stormed to a brace of victories. First was the ten lap over two-litre Sportscar race and then the 21 lap contest for Unlimited Sportscars. On both occasions, Bob Berry finished as runner up driving Jack Broadhead’s ex-works D-type (XKC403).
1955 Le Mans 24 Hours
Next up was the all-important Le Mans 24 Hours which took place over the weekend of June 11th and 12th.
To illustrate just how seriously Jaguar were taking things, six brand new D-types were taken to la Sarthe.
Of these, five were Long Nose ‘Works Team Cars’, one of which would serve as a spare. The other four comprised three works race cars and one for Briggs Cunningham’s team (painted a handsome white livery with two blue stripes).
The factory driver pairings were Mike Hawthorn / Ivor Bueb (XKD505), Tony Rolt / Duncan Hamilton (XKD506) and Don Beauman / Norman Dewis (XKD508). The Cunningham car was driven by Phil Walters and William ‘Bill’ Spear.
The final D-type in attendance was a standard bright yellow machine for Ecurie Francorchamps allocated to Johnny Claes and Jacques Swaters (XKD503).
Mercedes created a sensation with their now air brake-equipped 300 SLR although it was Eugenio Castellotti that went fastest in practice driving a works Ferrari 735 LM. Then came a brace of the Mercedes followed by Hawthorn’s D-type. However, none of the Jaguar drivers were giving anything away; they had been lifting on the Mulsanne Straight to conceal their true pace.
When the flag dropped at 4pm on Saturday, all 60 drivers dashed across the track to their awaiting cars. Unfortunately, Rolt’s D-type did not want to fire and he eventually got away at the tail end of the field.
It was Castellotti that reached the Dunlop Bridge first and he roared past the pits to lead at the end of lap one having established a useful gap to Hawthorn’s Jaguar and team-mate Umberto Maglioli’s 735 LM. Then there was another gap to the Jaguars of Walters, Beauman and Swaters who were followed by Levegh (300 SLR) and the DB3S Aston Martins of Salvadori, Parnell and Collins. Running just outside the top ten were Musso (Maserati 300 S), Kling (300 SLR), Trintignant (735 LM) and Fangio (300 SLR).
Within a couple of laps, the slow starting Fangio had displaced Walters to take fourth and the Mercedes driver soon went passed Maglioli for third. Together, Castellotti, Hawthorn and Fangio set a blistering pace at the head of field and traded a number of fastest laps.
At the one hour mark, Castellotti’s Ferrari still led from Hawthorn’s D-type and Fangio’s Mercedes. The rest of the top ten comprised Maglioli’s Ferrari in fourth, Walters in fifth with his Cunningham D-type, the two Mercedes of Kling and Levegh, the D-types of Beauman and Rolt in eighth and ninth and Cesare Perdisa’s Maserati 300 S in tenth.
Soon afterwards, Hawthorn finally took the lead and Fangio followed the Englishman passed Castellotti’s Ferrari. The D-type and 300 SLR were barely a second apart and switched positions several times.
By the end of the second hour, the Jaguars were first (Hawthorn), seventh (Walters), eighth (Rolt) and ninth (Beauman) with the Ecurie Francorchamps car now running just outside the top ten.
Half an hour later, tragedy occurred.
Heading down the pit straight, Hawthorn pulled to the right-hand side of the track and started to brake for his stop in front of Austin-Healey driver, Lance Macklin. Macklin swerved out from behind the slowing Jaguar straight into the path of Levegh’s Mercedes.
Levegh ploughed into the back of Macklin’s car which acted as a ramp and launched the SLR into the air.
The Mercedes skipped over a protective earth bank at 125mph and barrel rolled into the crowd.
Levegh was thrown from the car and fatally fractured his skull.
83 spectators were killed in what remains motor racing’s most catastrophic crash.
A shocked Hawthorn handed over the lead Jaguar to Ivor Bueb while Fangio and Kling both stopped for Moss and Simon to take over.
With the death toll still unknown, the organisers decided that nothing would be gained by stopping the race.
Following the disaster, Moss went into the lead followed closely by Bueb’s D-type, both of whom were a lap clear of the third place Castellotti / Marzotto Ferrari. The Maglioli / Hill Ferrari was fourth followed by the works Jaguars of Rolt / Hamilton and Beauman / Dewis in fifth and sixth respectively.
These positions remained unchanged at 8pm, by which time the Ecurie Francorchamps D-type of Swaters / Claes had moved up to eighth behind the Musso / Valenzano Maserati 300 S. The Cunningham D-type was back in twelfth with its engine running less than perfectly.
Shortly after 8pm, the third placed Ferrari of Castellotti / Marzotto retired with its own engine trouble.
After six hours of racing (10pm), Fangio / Moss led the works D-types of Hawthorn / Bueb, Rolt / Hamilton and Beumann / Dewis. Kling / Simon were fifth in the other Mercedes.
By midnight, the Fangio / Moss SLR had a two lap lead over the second place Jaguar of Hawthorn / Bueb, but at 1:45am the order came for Mercedes to withdraw while their cars were lying first and third. By this time, the Cunningham Jaguar’s engine had expired.
Mercedes’ withdrawal left the Hawthorn / Bueb Jaguar with a five lap lead over the Musso / Valenzano Maserati. Another lap back was the third placed Collins / Frere DB3S and the D-type of Rolt / Hamilton. The Beauman / Dewis Jaguar briefly remained in fifth before Beauman stuffed XKD508 into the sand bank at Arnage and was unable to get it out. This promoted the Ecurie Francorchamps Jaguar of Swaters / Claes into fifth (a lap behind the third and fourth placed cars).
These positions remained unchanged for the next few hours. The gloomy atmosphere around the track worsened when dawn broke with rain.
Shortly before 8am, the fourth-placed D-type of Rolt / Hamilton was forced to withdraw when its gearbox seized.
A little later, the second-placed Maserati’s engine began to sound rough. It soldiered on in the heavy rain until soon after midday when its gearbox packed up.
Thereafter, the lead positions did not change. Hawthorn / Bueb took a five lap win from the Aston Martin of Collins / Frere. Rounding out the podium was the yellow Ecurie Francorchamps D-type of Claes / Swaters.
Jaguar had secured their third Le Mans victory in five years, albeit in the most sombre of circumstances.
Privateer Outings
Following Le Mans, there was a gap of just over a month before the factory Jaguar team next appeared.
The week after Mike Hawthorn and Ivor Bueb had won at la Sarthe, Michael Head drove Duncan Hamilton’s rent-a-racer (XKD406) in a double-header at Goodwood (June 18th). He finished second to the Jaguar-powered HWM of George Abecassis in the ten lap 3.5-litre Sports car race and then placed fifth in a five lap handicap later that day.
The next weekend, Hamilton was himself in action behind the wheel of XKC405 at the Portuguese Grand Prix which took place over 55 laps of the 7.4km Boavista street circuit in Porto. Bob Berry was also in attendance with Jack Broadhead’s car (XKC403).
Despite having got the best start, Hamilton was soon passed by Jean Behra’s works Maserati 300 S and then Masten Gregory’s Ferrari 750 Monza. Berry was close behind Hamilton in fourth and a great battle ensued between the two D-types. Unfortunately, a late stop for some extra oil saw Berry drop to fifth while Hamilton claimed the final podium spot.
On July 9th, Desmond Titterington entered his Ecurie Ecosse D-type for the Leinster Trophy handicap which took place on the County Wicklow street circuit in his native Ireland. Having lopped nine seconds off the existing lap record in practice, road conditions owing to abnormally hot weather proved a nightmare for the faster cars in the race. Titterington was eventually classified ninth.
1955 British GP Support Race, Aintree
Among the biggest events of 1955 to take place on Jaguar’s home soil was the British Formula 1 Grand Prix at Aintree (July 17th). Ever one for a bit of good publicity, Sir William Lyons decided to enter Le Mans winner Mike Hawthorn in a D-type for the 17 lap Sports car support race.
Also present was Ninian Sanderson in one of the Ecurie Ecosse D-types (XKD501) and Bob Berry in Jack Broadhead’s car (XKC403). Hawthorn would drive XKD506 which had suffered a gearbox failure at Le Mans in the hands of Rolt / Hamilton.
Hawthorn qualified fifth behind the quartet of works DB3S Aston Martins (Roy Salvadori, Peter Walker, Peter Collins and Reg Parnell). Sanderson lined up sixth and Berry was ninth.
When the flag dropped, Hawthorn out-accelerated the Astons. The DB3S of Parnell went off onto the grass which allowed team-mate Walker through into fourth behind the sister cars of Salvadori and Collins. Berry moved his Jaguar up to fifth and Sanderson was sixth in the Ecurie Ecosse machine.
On lap two, Salvadori and Collins shot passed Hawthorn who then had Walker on his tail next time round followed by a fast recovering Parnell. The top five cars then proceeded to pull away from the rest of the field.
By the sixth lap, the Aston Martins held first through fourth and Hawthorn’s Jaguar had developed a leaking petrol union which was spraying fuel into the cockpit and becoming trapped under his visor.
Just behind, Berry and Sanderson were engaged in their own battle which ended abruptly when Berry ran on to the grass at Melling Crossing and lost several seconds while he re-joined the track.
It was Aston Martin that emerged triumphant at Aintree. Salvadori took the win from Collins, Parnell and Walker while the Jaguars came home a disappointing fifth (Hawthorn), sixth (Sanderson) and seventh (Berry).
Privateer Outings
On July 24th, Duncan Hamilton contested the 55 lap Lisbon Grand Prix which took place on the 5.4km Monsanto street circuit. XKC405 retired just passed mid-distance with brake trouble.
Two weeks later, the brace of Ecurie Ecosse D-types appeared on home soil for a couple of races at the Charterhall airfield track in Berwickshire, Scotland. XKD501 was on hand for Desmond Titterington and XKD502 for Ninian Sanderson.
First up was a five lap challenge match featuring teams for Scotland, England, Australia and France. Reg Parnell won in his Aston DB3S and Titterington placed second in his D-type. Sanderson’s car shunted the Ferrari 750 Monza of Louis Rosier but continued until plooms of smoke began to appear from his brakes.
Then, after a slow start in the over 2.7-litre Sports car race, the two D-types began to close on the leaders and Titterington took a lead he would not relinquish on lap eight. Unfortunately, Sanderson was subsequently bothered by more brake issues and came home fourth behind Rosier’s 750 Monza and the Bristol-powered Lister of Archie Scott-Brown.
The next day, Michael Head drove Duncan Hamilton’s rent-a-racer in the 32 lap Swedish Grand Prix at Kristianstand. Against a stellar field he came home sixth while Fangio and Moss claimed a 1-2 for Mercedes chased by works cars from Ferrari and Maserati.
On August 14th, the two Ecurie Ecosse D-types were entered for the 20 lap National Benzole Trophy, a handicap over 1.5-litre Sportscar race at Snetterton. Having started well back, Desmond Titterington (XKD501) and Ninian Sanderson (XKD502) stormed through the field with extreme skill to take a well-deserved one-two.
Titterington then contested the 25 lap Formula Libre race. He finished third behind Peter Walker’s Connaught A-type and Roy Salvadori’s Maserati 250 F, both of which were single seat Grand Prix cars.
1955 Goodwood 9 Hours
The Goodwood 9 Hour race which took place on August 20th was arguably the most high profile British endurance race for Sports cars despite not being part of any championship.
Although Jaguar played no official part in the proceedings, they did supply a works owned car for Rolt / Hamilton (XKC404) which appeared under a Duncan Hamilton entry. Jaguar’s chief test driver, Norman Dewis, was also on hand to partner Bob Berry in Jack Broadhead’s car (XKC403).
The other two D-types in attendance comprised an Ecurie Ecosse entry for Titterington / Sanderson (XKD501) and Duncan Hamilton’s rent-a-racer for Michael Head / Peter Whitehead (XKC406).
Jaguar’s star driver of 1955, Mike Hawthorn, took up an offer from Enzo Ferrari to drive a works 750 Monza alongside Alfonso de Portago.
Practice saw Hawthorn put his Ferrari on pole. Next up were the trio of works DB3S Aston Martins driven by Peter Walker / Dennis Poore, Peter Collins / Tony Brooks and Reg Parnell / Roy Salvadori. The best of the Jaguars was the Ecurie Ecosse machine of Titterington / Sanderson which lined up fifth.
Hamilton / Rolt qualified seventh (behind the Jacques Jonneret / Ken Wharton 750 Monza). Head / Whitehead started eleventh and Berry / Dewis 14th.
The race began with a Le Mans-style start and ran until midnight.
Rolt got a good start in the factory-owned D-type and was immediately up to fifth, but his race was short-lived and he went out just after the 20 minute mark with a sheared distributor drive shaft. Soon afterwards, Hawthorn found himself with gearbox trouble which put the Astons of Collins and Walker 1-2 followed by Sanderson’s Ecurie Ecosse D-type in third. The next best Jaguar was that of Berry who had moved up to sixth.
During the second hour, Mike Keen, who had led the two-litre class early on, was fatally injured when his Cooper T40 overturned at Fordwater. Keen was thrown clear of the car and later succumbed to his injuries in hospital.
At 5pm (two hours in), the Collins / Brooks DB3S led from the Schell / Lucas 750 Monza Ferrari in second, the Titterington / Sanderson D-type in third, the Walker / Poore DB3S in fourth and Berry / Dewis in fifth.
An hour later, Titterington had stormed to the head of the field to lead Collins by a lap.
Just after 7pm, the D-type contingent was reduced to a brace of cars when the Head / Whitehead entry threw a connecting rod. XKC406’s engine locked solid and Whitehead went backwards into the sandbank at Woodcote.
Soon after dusk, Titterington’s Jaguar was baulked by a slower car which forced him to brake suddenly and mow down several marker posts. One of XKD501’s headlights was damaged which necessitated some hasty repairs and dropped the Ecurie Ecosse car down to third behind the two lead Astons of Collins / Brooks and Walker / Poore.
By 9pm, the Ecurie Ecosse D-type’s hold on third was being threatened by Hawthorn’s Ferrari which had steadily regained ground since its early delay. Berry and Dewis were fifth in the other Jaguar.
Half an hour later, the Ferrari challenge vanished when the 750 Monza’s back axle broke shortly after de Portago had taken over.
Sensationally, the two leading Aston Martins then came into the pits with ignition and tyre issues respectively which left Ecurie Ecosse at the head of the field with just two hours to run. However, XKD501 still needed to make one final stop which dropped it down to second and, while Titterington gradually made up ground on the Walker / Poore DB3S, the Aston came out on top to give David Brown’s company their third successive Goodwood 9 Hour win.
Titterington / Sanderson took the runner up spot for Ecurie Ecosse and Berry / Dewis finished fifth some eight laps behind the winners.
Privateer Outings
One week after his outing at Goodwood, Bob Berry was back behind the wheel of XKC403 for the 80 lap International meeting at Oulton Park which attracted a stellar field of cars and drivers. Having qualified eleventh, Berry steadily rose through the field to claim fifth at the chequered flag (one lap behind the winning DB3S of Reg Parnell).
That same day (August 27th), Ecurie Ecosse ran their two D-types in a couple of races at the Crimond airfield tack in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Ninian Sanderson won both the 20 lap Unlimited Sports and 10 lap Formula Libre events in XKD501 while Bill Smith collected a pair of third place finishes in XKD502 (coming home behind the C-type of Jock Lawrence on both occasions).
A week later (September 3rd), the Ecurie Ecosse cars were back in action again for the Autumn International at Aintree where a 17 lap Sports car race was held in support of the big F1 contest. Against another impressive field of Ferraris, Maseratis and Aston Martins, Sanderson came through from sixth on the grid to win driving XKD502 while pole-starting Desmond Titterington claimed the runner up spot in XKD501.
On September 11th, a pair of American-owned D-types took to the track for the big SCCA race at the picturesque Road America circuit in Wisconsin. In attendance was Briggs Cunningham’s Long Nose car (XKD507) and Ernie Erickson’s standard example (XKD503) whose only previous outings had been at Le Mans (where XKD503 finished third for Ecurie Francorchamps).
The 37 lap contest was won by Phil Hill in George Tilp’s Ferrari 750 Monza, but the two Jaguars finished second (Sherwood Johnston in the Cunningham entry) and third (Erickson) to claim first and second in the C Modified class.
Sherwood Johnston was then back in XKD507 for the Watkins Glen Grand Prix a week later (September 17th) which took place on a 7.4km road circuit in New York state. As one of the biggest Sports car races on American soil, the 22 lap event attracted a strong field and it was Johnston that emerged victorious from the 300 S Maseratis of Bill Spear and Bill Lloyd to take Cunningham’s first win with the D-type.
Also held on September 17th had been a joint BRSCC / BRDC meet at Silverstone for which Duncan Hamilton entered his own D-type (XKC405) and his rent-a-racer for Michael Head (XKC406). Hamilton and Head finished first and second in the 20 lap over two-litre Sports car race and then picked up sixth and eight respectively in the Formula Libre event later that day.
1955 Dundrod Tourist Trophy
On September 18th, Northern Ireland hosted the penultimate round of the 1955 World Sportscar Championship: the Dundrod Tourist Trophy.
With Mercedes-Benz locked in an epic battle with Ferrari for the title and Maserati still in with an outside chance of victory, the event attracted an outstanding grid to include a solitary works D-type for Mike Hawthorn and Desmond Titterington (chassis XKD506, the Hamilton / Rolt car from Le Mans and Hawthorn’s mount for the British Grand Prix support race at Aintree). Jaguar were reputedly too busy with other matters to send a full team although lack of top class drivers available was cited by other sources.
The only other D-type in attendance was Jack Broadhead’s car in which Bob Berry was partnered by Ninian Sanderson.
The gruelling event took place over 84 laps of a tricky 12km road course on the outskirts of Belfast. During practice, the Jaguars drivers were third and fourth fastest behind the Mercedes 300 SLRs of Moss and Fangio. Peter Collins was the only other driver to break the five minute barrier in his Aston Martin DB3S.
The race got underway at 10:30am with a Le Mans-type start. Berry was the first off followed by the other D-type of Hawthorn and Moss in his 300 SLR.
Moss then hurtled passed both Jaguars on the approach to Jordan’s Cross and Hawthorn overtook Berry to give chase.
At the end of lap one, Moss led from Hawthorn and Berry followed by Wolfgang von Trips (Mercedes 300 SLR) and Peter Walker (Aston Martin DB3S). The rest of the top ten comprised Jean Behra (Maserati 300 S), Juan Manuel Fangio (Mercedes 300 SLR), Umberto Maglioli (Ferrari 857 Monza), Reg Parnell (Aston Martin DB3S) and Eugenio Castellotti (Ferrari 857 Monza).
Shortly after the second lap began, there was a seven car pile up at Cochranstown that cost the lives of British drivers Jim Mayers and Bill Smith.
Henri de Barry’s 300 SL Gullwing was leading Ken Wharton’s Frazer Nash when, on the approach to Deer’s Leap, Wharton tried to pass the painfully slow Mercedes, but decided to abort before the blind hump and fell back.
Jim Mayers’ Cooper T39 had to take evasive action and hit the left-hand side of the road at around 100mph. Mayers’ car struck several concrete pillars on the opposite side of the road and disintegrated.
Debris was strewn everywhere, including the fuel tank which burst into flames. Mayers was still in the front part of the car as it was catapulted through the air and was was hit by Bill Smith’s Connaught AL/SR which landed among the wreckage and was also set ablaze.
By the time the medics arrived, it was too late for both Mayers and Smith.
Several other drivers caught up in the accident suffered burns to their faces and hands.
As ever, the race continued.
Bob Berry’s D-type was another car to drop out on lap two; he abandoned XKC403 at Quarry Corner with a flat front tyre.
Meanwhile, Moss came through to complete his second lap with a nine second advantage over Hawthorn. By this time, Fangio had moved up to third and was beginning to close the gap to the second placed Jaguar.
At the ten lap mark, Moss had extended his gap to Hawthorn to 47 seconds and Fangio was just two seconds adrfit of the works D-type. The Argentine then went passed on lap 14, but he was demoted three laps later as Hawthorn posted a new lap record and began to build a gap to the Mercedes.
On lap 25, Hawthorn made a rapid pit stop and Titterington took over. A lap later, Moss came in for Fitch and a slow stop by the Mercedes crew allowed Titterington to sail by into the lead. The Irishman then extended his advantage as rain began to fall.
At 1:30pm, Fitch came in for Moss to take over; the second placed 300 SLR was now two minutes and 13 seconds behind the lead Jaguar although the D-type was yet to make its next stop.
By the time Titterington came in on lap 50, Moss had cut the Jaguar’s advantage to around a minute. Moss just went faster and faster on the wet roads and sliced into the Jaguar’s lead lap after lap. He went by on lap 56 and continued to build a gap.
By lap 60 Moss had just over a minute lead while Fangio was 83 seconds down the road in third. On lap 61, Moss made a surprise stop for new tyres and Hawthorn flashed by. However, on his fresh rubber, Moss made short work of the Jaguar’s nine second lead.
XKD506 looked set for a certain second place finish, but with just three laps to go, Hawthorn had everything lock solid at Quarry and trundled up a side road into retirement.
Mercedes ultimately took a formation 1-2-3 finish to ensure the 1955 World Sportscar Championship would go to a decider at the Targa Florio.
Privateer Outings
Thereafter, privateer D-types contested a number of events in the UK, the USA and the season-ending Bahamas Speed Week.
At Goodwood on September 24th, Ian Baillie drove his new D-type (XKD511) to a sixth place finish in a ten lap race for under 3.5-litre Sports cars. Michael Head claimed second in the car he rented from Duncan Hamilton (XKD406) while George Abecassis took the win in his Jaguar-engined HWM. Head then took fourth in a five lap handicap held at the end of the day.
The next day (September 25th), XKD406 had been trailered up to Snetterton where Abecassis drove it in a ten lap race for Unlimited Sports cars. Duncan Hamilton was also in attendance with his own car (XKC405) and romped away to a three second victory over Abecassis.
Both Hamilton’s cars were out again the next weekend for a 20 lap race at Castle Combe in support of the international Formula 1 event. Hamilton and Head engaged in a great battle with the Ferrari 750 Monza of Herbert Mackay-Fraser, but both D-types ultimately retired with mechanical trouble.
A week later (October 8th), Alex McMillan gave XKD517 its circuit racing debut at Silverstone. Previously, this D-type had been sprinted in the hands of Gillie Tyrer. McMillan ran XKD517 in four of the day’s events. He won the ten lap Formula Libre and seven Unlimited Sports car races having taken the lead on lap two in both contests. McMillan subsequently won the ten lap Handicap event for Racing cars and later claimed second behind P.J. Nunn’s Frazer Nash in the seven lap Sports car Handicap.
On October 9th, Walter Huggler debuted his new D-type (XKD523) in the ten lap SCCA race at the 2.4km Thompson circuit in Connecticut. Huggler finished tenth overall and fifth in the C Modified class.
Four weeks after his victory in Briggs Cunningham’s works-spec. Long Nose D-type at the Watkins Glen Grand Prix, Sherwood Johnston drove the car to another win, this time in a 42 lap SCCA National race at Hagerstown where he beat Phil Hill’s Ferrari 750 Monza to take another well-deserved victory.
The last big American event of 1955 took place on the 3.7km Palm Springs street circuit over the weekend of December 3rd and 4th. Charles Hornburg entered Ignacio Lozano to drive his new D-type in Saturday’s ten lap preliminary (XKD522), but after a disappointing ninth place finish, Carroll Shelby was brought in for the 38 lap main event on Sunday. Unfortunately, Shelby posted a DNF as a result of handling issues while Masten Gregory took the win in Tony Parravano’s Maserati 300 S.
The 1955 season was brought to a close with the Bahamas Speed Week in Nassau which hosted a variety of contests between December 9th and 11th.
Event two was a five lap over two-litre Production car race for which the D-type was somehow eligible. Sherwood Johnston won in Briggs Cunninghams Long Nose car (XKD507), Charles Wallace was second in Jack Rutherford’s new car (XKD516) and Ernie Erickson finished third in his own example (XKD503).
Competition was stiffer in event three, the 30 lap Governor’s Trophy, where Johnston claimed the final podium position (and the Class C win) for Briggs Cunningham. Up ahead were the Ferrari 750 Monzas of Alfonso de Portago and Phil Hill. Ernie Erickson retired on lap eleven.
Jack Rutherford then drove his own car to victory in the Speed Trial. His father also had a go and placed second.
The three D-types already seen were subsequently joined by Loyal Katskee’s new car for the 60 lap Nassau Trophy finale (XKD635). Unfortunately, Katskee failed to start after an accident in practice.
Driving Luigi Chinetti’s Ferrari 857 Sport, Phil Hill defeated Alfonso de Portago’s 750 Monza to claim his first Bahamas win of ‘55. Masten Gregory claimed third in Tony Parravano’s Maserati 300 S and Ernie Erickson finished fourth in his D-type. Jack Rutherford was running 30th at the end (some eleven laps down) while Sherwood Johnston went out on lap 46 when the Cunningham car threw a rod.
Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: Jaguar Heritage Trust - https://www.jaguarheritage.com/ & Collier Automedia - https://www.collierautomedia.com/
