The Apex Jaguar XKR races Snetterton

After qualifying in 4th position out of a field of 28 cars at Snetterton in the latest round of the Britcar Series, the Apex Team were quietly confident regarding the performance of the V8 supercharged Jaguar XKR GT3 for the four hour enduro.

Driver Mark Sumpter started the race, demonstrating the Jaguar’s tremendous power by moving up to 3rd place by the end of the first lap. Mark maintained position, and at the first driver changeover, Chris Ryan rejoined in 8th place, moving up to 4th after 40 minutes of consistent lap times.

Car owner and third driver, Stuart Scott, took the wheel and after just 10 minutes on the track the race was stopped due to a major accident. The race eventually restarted under the safety car, and Stuart showed good speed for the balance of his session handing the car over to Mark.

The first mandatory pit stop for Mark Sumpter’s second stint in the Jaguar went extremely smoothly, and the XKR rejoined the race in 4th place. Mark had an off track excursion resulting in some damage to the car’s front splitter, but the aerodynamics and performance were not affected, and the Apex Team were able to perform a running repair on the damage during the next driver changeover.

Careful fuel management meant that the Jaguar would run the last 75 minute session with driver Chris Ryan without needing to return to pits for refuelling, giving the XKR a clear advantage. The supercharged Jaguar was running just 3 seconds behind 3rd place with 16 minutes left when a backmarker caused the Jaguar to hit the barrier, and the race for the V8 cat was over, completing 3 hours 52 minutes, of the 4 hour 8 minute race.

The Apex Team were joined for the race by Ron Lee, Group Chief Engineer (Powertrain) for Jaguar Land Rover, who was delighted with the car’s performance. Ron commented; "It was a fantastic race, it’s been a great experience being part of the Apex team for the day."