Jack Sears
| Jack Sears | |
|---|---|
 Sears' 1958 Championship-winning Austin Westminster | |
| Nationality |  British |
| Born | 16 February 1930 Northampton, England |
| Died | 6 August 2016 (aged 86) |
| Retired | 1965 |
| Related to | David Sears |
| British Saloon Car Championship | |
| Years active | 1958–1965 |
| Wins | 12 |
| Best finish | 1st in 1958 and 1963 |
| Championship titles | |
| 1958, 1963 1958, 1965 1962 1963 | British Saloon Car Championship BSCC - Class C BSCC - Class D BSCC - Class B |
Jack Sears (16 February 1930 – 6 August 2016) was a British race and rally driver, and was one of the principal organisers of the 1968 London-Sydney Marathon.
Biography
[edit]Sears was popularly known as "Gentleman Jack". His son David is also involved in motorsport.
He won the inaugural British Saloon Car Championship in 1958, driving an Austin Westminster. After finishing on joint maximum points with Tommy Sopwith, it was initially suggested the champion would be decided by the toss of a coin. The idea was very unpopular with both drivers and at the final meeting at Brands Hatch, with a draw being a likely possibility, two identical looking Marcus Chambers-owned Riley One-Point-Five works rally cars were brought along for a five lap shoot-out. To make the race fair, they raced five laps, switched cars, then raced five laps again with the driver who had the quickest combined time being crowned champion. In pouring rain, Sears became the first ever champion by 1.6 seconds.[1]
He regained the title in 1963, driving a variety of cars including a Ford Cortina GT, a seven-litre Ford Galaxie and a Lotus Cortina, which was used for the final two races.[2] Sears also co-drove a Ferrari 330 LMB with Mike Salmon to a fifth place in the 1963 Le Mans 24 Hours, the best result in the abbreviated racing history of the LMB.[3]
Death
[edit]Sears died on 6 August 2016 from lung cancer.[4] He had previously survived a heart attack.
Racing record
[edit]Complete British Saloon Car Championship results
[edit](key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap.)
| Year | Team | Car | Class | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | DC | Pts | Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1958 | Jack Sears | Austin A105 | C | BRH 1† | BRH 4‡ | MAL 3† | BRH 3† | BRH 3† | CRY | BRH 3 | BRH 2 | BRH 2 | 1st | 48 | 1st | ||
| 1959 | Equipe Endeavour | Jaguar 3.4-Litre | D | GOO | AIN | SIL | GOO | SNE 2 | BRH | BRH 1† | NC | 0 | NC | ||||
| 1960 | Equipe Endeavour | Jaguar Mk II 3.8 | BRH | SNE | MAL | OUL | SNE 1* | BRH 2* | BRH 1* | BRH | NC* | 0* | |||||
| 1961 | Equipe Endeavour | Jaguar Mk II 3.8 | D | SNE Ret | GOO | AIN 2 | SIL | CRY Ret | SIL | BRH 3 | OUL | SNE ? | 16th | 12 | 6th | ||
| 1962 | Equipe Endeavour | Jaguar Mk II 3.8 | D | SNE 2 | GOO 3 | AIN 4 | SIL 3 | CRY 2 | AIN 1 | BRH 2 | OUL 2 | 3rd | 38 | 1st | |||
| 1963 | John Willment Automobiles | Ford Cortina GT | B | SNE | OUL 4 | GOO 7 | AIN 4 | BRH 3 | 1st | 71 | 1st | ||||||
| Ford Cortina Lotus | OUL 3 | SNE 4 | |||||||||||||||
| Ford Galaxie | D | SIL 1 | CRY 1† | SIL 1 | BRH Ret | 3rd | |||||||||||
| 1964 | John Willment Automobiles | Ford Galaxie | D | SNE Ret | GOO 1 | OUL Ret | AIN 3 | SIL 1 | CRY Ret† | BRH 1 | OUL Ret | 8th | 22 | 3rd | |||
| 1965 | Team Lotus | Ford Cortina Lotus | C | BRH Ret | OUL Ret | SNE 6 | GOO 2 | SIL 1 | CRY 3† | BRH 3 | OUL 2 | 4th | 38 | 1st | |||
Source:[5] | |||||||||||||||||
† Events with 2 races staged for the different classes.
‡ Event with 3 races staged for the different classes.
- Car over 1000cc - Not eligible for points.
24 Hours of Le Mans results
[edit]| Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | J.G. Sears | Peter Riley | Austin-Healey 3000 | GT3.0 | 89 | DNF | DNF |
| 1963 | Maranello Concessionaires Ltd. | Mike Salmon | Ferrari 330 LMB | P +3.0 | 314 | 5th | 1st |
| 1964 | AC Cars Ltd. | Peter Bolton | AC Cobra Coupé | GT5.0 | 77 | DNF | DNF |
| 1965 | AC Cars Ltd. |  Dick Thompson | AC Cobra Daytona Coupé | GT5.0 | 304 | 8th | 1st |
References
[edit]- ^ "First-ever BTCC champion Jack Sears passes away". www.motorsport.com. 7 August 2016. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
- ^ 1963 British Saloon Car Championship Archived 15 January 2008 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved on 18 December 2006.
- ^ Eaton, Godfrey (1980), Ferrari: The Sports/Racing and Road Cars, Skokie, IL: Publications International, p. 93, ISBN 0-517-381982
- ^ Lawrence, Paul (8 August 2016). "Obituary: Jack Sears". motorsportmagazine.com. Motor Sport Magazine. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
- ^ de Jong, Frank. "British Saloon Car Championship". History of Touring Car Racing 1952-1993. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
External links
[edit]- Profile of Jack Sears, HistoricRacing.com
- Account of the route of the London-Sydney Marathon, written by Jack Sears who reconnoitred the event
- BSCC Results
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