The 'Big Cat' that got the cream

Jaguar and TWR’s first full season in Group C was in 1986. With an overall victory at the 1000 km of Silverstone in May, the team was feeling confident heading to Le Mans the following month. Unfortunately, the following months would shape up to be a difficult year for the “Big Cats” at Le Mans, as none of the three cars entered, by this point, coined the XJR-6, would finish. Over the winter, TWR worked tirelessly to create the new XJR-8, a name awarded considering the Group 44 team’s latest IMSA GT racer was designated the XJR-7. This would be a shot in the arm for TWR and Jaguar, as the XJR-8 dominated the 1987 World Championship. It claimed eight outright victories over 10 events. However, Jaguar’s luck at Le Mans continued to falter, with Porsche continuing their dominance of Circuit de la Sarthe; the XJR-9 would put paid to that.

This, the first three XJR-9s, began life in 1987 and was initially sent out for special testing that had been organised by Jaguar at Big Spring in Texas. This car completed over 400 miles of testing while TWR hunted for the perfect set-up. The next outing was at Talladega in early 1988, in preparation for the gruelling 24-hour meeting at Daytona later that month. Unfortunately, wearing race number 61, the first race of that year’s IMSA GT Championship did not go to plan for this car with drivers Danny Sullivan, Davy Jones, Jan Lammers finishing 26th, although its Castrol Jaguar Racing sister car that wore the number 60 won on the XJR-9’s competitive debut.

The rest of the season brought relative success for this car, albeit without any outright victories. After placing 7th at the 12 Hours of Sebring, highlights in the year included 2nd at the West Palm Beach 3 Hours, 3rd at the Lime Rock 150 Laps, 3rd at the Mid-Ohio 500 km, and 3rd again at the Sears Point 500 km. Over the following year, the Jaguar faired better. At the start of the 1989 season the results were much stronger, finishing 2nd at the 24 Hours of Daytona followed by 2nd place finishes in the next four IMSA races, including the Miami 3 Hours, 12 Hours of Sebring, Road Atlanta 500 km, and West Palm Beach 3 Hours. A 3rd-place finish followed at the Lime Rock 150 Laps, then 2nd at the Mid-Ohio 500 km, and 3rd at the Road America 500 km.

Jaguar entered two cars at Daytona in 1990, with Jones, Lammers, and Andy Wallace driving this chassis. Both Jaguars were out-muscled in qualifying by turbocharged competitors, but the XJR-9’s strength lay in its reliability and strong race pace over many hours. As the night rolled in, the cars at the front of the pack continued to encounter a growing amount of problems. As dawn rose, the two Castrol Jaguars were running well clear of the 3rd place Porsche by an astounding 16 laps. However, the rising sun also led to rising temperatures, and both Jaguars began to overheat. The team decided to pit the cars and flush the radiators, handing time to the hungry Bayside Porsche. After a tense final few hours, relief came when Lammers brought this car across the line in 1st, to win IMSA’s greatest race. The sister car would finish just behind for an extraordinary 1-2 Jaguar finish. This car also scooped the prize of fastest lap as well.

After much celebration, the car returned to the track in March for the 12 Hours of Sebring. Another difficult qualifying session resulted in this car finishing 12th on the grid, but after another contentious race, this car had scythed though the field to come home on the podium once more, this time in 3rd place, rounding off its hugely impressive racing career in true Jaguar fashion.

This 1988 Jaguar XJR-9 will feature as part of RM Sotheby’s Monaco sale on the 14th May 2022. Photos © Courtesy of RM Sotheby's