The Broadspeed cars
In 1976 Ralph Broad prepared XJ12Cs for the European Touring Car Championship. This ran under Appendix J Group 2 regulations. Broad received his first coupe in September 1975 and showed it to the press in in its Group 2 form in March 1976. Reliability issues plagued the car and it wasn't seen publicly until Spetember 1976 where it entered the Tourist Trophy race at Silverstone. Derek Bell put the car on pole and lead for almost nine laps before dropping down the field with tyre trouble. The car was eventually retired with a broken drive shaft while David Hobbs was at the wheel.
Development continued over the winter and two new cars went to the first round of the 1977 European Touring Car Championship at Monza.
Neither car finished due to oil starvation. The next round was at the Salzburgring where both cars dropped out with drive shaft failure.
The team skipped the next two rounds while further development was undertaken and the cars returned at Brno in Czechoslovakia. Derek Bell retired with a broken gearbox but the car of Fitzpatrick and Schenken made it to the finish coming third in class and 16th overall.
The first time a Broadspeed XJC had finished a race.
At the Nurburgring Fitzpatrick recorded the fastest lap from a rolling start but suffered engine failure on the second lap. Meanwhile Derek Bell and Andy Rouse finished second.
At Zandvoort it was two DNFs again.
Next was the home race at Silverstone. The car of Bell and Rouse qualified fastest but an extra pitstop vs the less thirsty BMW and meant they had to settle for 4th. The sister car failed to finish.
The final race in period for the XJ12Cs was at Zolder where neither car finished and then BL cancelled the project.
The Jaguars had been racing in division five of Group 2 and BMW were the only other manufacturer in that class. At the season's end they had accumulated 160 points to Jaguars 37.
Ralph Broad sold Broadspeed at the end of 1977 and retired to Portugal. He said that the car's problems had been down to its weight, however, it had lead every race entered and got one lap record.
The Results
| Date | Location | Entrant No. | Qualifying Position | Race Position | Drivers | Additional info |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19th September 1976 | Access RAC Tourist Trophy Silverstone | 1 | 1 | DNF | Derek Bell, David Hobbs, Andy Rouse | Fastest Lap. Lost a wheel on lap 39 |
| 27th March 1977 | Autodromo Nazionale di Monza | 1 | 1 | DNF | John Fitzpatrick, Tim Schenken | Two engines lost in practice to oil surge. Retired lap 25 due to oil pressure |
| 27th March 1977 | Autodromo Nazionale di Monza | 2 | - | DNS | Derek Bell, Andy Rouse | Oil pressure caused failure to start |
| 24th April 1977 | Austria-Trophae Salburgring | 1 | 4 | DNF | John Fitzpatrick, Tim Schenken | Fastest lap. Wheel flange failure lap 10 |
| 24th April 1977 | Austria-Trophae Salburgring | 2 | 1 | DNF | Derek Bell, Andy Rouse | Holed radiator. Wheel flange failure lap 20 |
| 5th June 1977 | Masaryk-Ring, Brno | 6 | 1 | DNF | Derek Bell, Andy Rouse | Gearbox |
| 5th June 1977 | Masaryk-Ring, Brno | 7 | 2 | 16 | John Fitzpatrick, Tim Schenken | Fastest lap. 3rd in class. Tyre exploded lap 45 |
| 10th July 1977 | Nurburgring Nordschleife | 2 | 1 | DNF | John Fitzpatrick, Tim Schenken | Fastest lap. Oil pressure lap 1 |
| 10th July 1977 | Nurburgring Nordschleife | 3 | 5 | 2 | Derek Bell, Andy Rouse | |
| 7th August 1977 | Zandvoort | 5 | 5 | DNF | John Fitzpatrick, Tim Schenken | lap 41 |
| 7th August 1977 | Zandvoort | 6 | 3 | DNF | Derek Bell, Andy Rouse | differential lap 92 |
| 18th September 1977 | Access RAC Tourist Trophy Silverstone | 1 | 1 | 4 | Derek Bell, Andy Rouse | Accident lap 98 |
| 18th September 1977 | Access RAC Tourist Trophy Silverstone | 2 | 2 | DNF | John Fitzpatrick, Tim Schenken | Front hub |
| 25th September 1977 | EG Trophy Zolder | 8 | 3 | DNF | Derek Bell, Andy Rouse | Gearbox |
| 25th September 1977 | EG Trophy Zolder | 9 | 2 | DNF | John Fitzpatrick, Tim Schenken | Valve |
Where are they now?
Jaguar supplied two shells to Broad in 1975 direct from the production line. Only one of these was built up as complete racecar
as two lighter weight shells were used to build cars for the 1977 season. After being found in a scrapyard the second standard shell
was assembled from accumulated parts by Bob Kerr.
I've not been able to determine whether Jaguar issued chassis numbers from the production sequence to any of the shells but they
are known by their Broadspeed chassis codes with a prefix that is presumably an acronym of 'B'roadspeed 'E'ngineering 'L'imited 'J'aguar 'C'oupe
| Chassis No. | Details |
|---|---|
| BELJC001 | Currently owned by Chris Scragg who campaigns it having had modifications carried out by M&C Wilkinson |
| BELJC002 | Car built up by Bob Kerr after purchasing for £750 from a scrapyard near Coventry |
| BELJC003 | Part of the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust Collection |
| BELJC004 | Only car fitted with the dry sump engine. Fitzpatrick/Schenken car. Was sold from the JDHT collection in 1997 |
