Bring the Cat back…Return of the XKR GT3

When Paddock42 heard a rumour that a Jaguar XKR was going to be lining up on the grid for the Silverstone 24hr in April and Freddie Hunt was going to be driving it we had to find out more. Introducing Simon Green Motorsport and their project ‘ Bring the Cat Back’. We caught up with proprietor Simon Green to find out about the team and how it all started…

P42: Simon, firstly how did you get started in motorsport?

SG:

I started racing in karts at the age of 12, I went to a friends birthday party held at a local kart track and the bug bit and the rest they say is history…. I used to then work for a local kart team, that funnily enough both James Nash (Former BTCC & WTCC independent champion and Blancpain Audi driver) and Will Bratt (GP2, F3000 & former BTCC driver) both started their karting careers with. I used to work 2 weekend’s a month to pay for my own karting in TKM or Rotax Max, but after racing in the Isle of Man Manx Kart Grand Prix in 2004 and 2005 I moved into car racing in 2006 in a Ford Fiesta in the Ford Saloon Car Championship.P42: Most notable race weekend for the team so far?SG:Two race weekends have stood out for SGM so far, the first was when I and the team competed in the first round of the 2013 BTCC supporting Ginetta GT Supercup in the G50 class scoring a podium in the first race of the weekend and only being 0.2 of a second off the fastest lap despite never having driven a G50 before the Friday test day. The next was in 2014 where out of 107 cars the team finished 2nd in class and 31st overall in the Spa 6 Hour Classic running a 1964 Ford Falcon Sprint that we had previously built from a bare shell to a running race car between November 2011 and August 2012. In 2014 the car was driven by VW cup and BTCC racer Tom Barley, ELMS Aston Martin and Historic racer Daniel Brown and experienced American V8 racer and engine builder Simon Lane.

P42: So with this success in both modern and historic racing how did your end up with a XKR GT3 car?

SG:

The current owner’s of the XKR-S I have known for a number of years and I knew the car was sat waiting to make its return but after plenty of persuasion I managed to get them to agree to giving us the opportunity to run the car.

P42: First meeting with the Jaguar is the Britcar 24hr at Silverstone in April, are the preparations going to plan?

SG:

We had looked to get the car out at the Birkett 6hr relay race at the end of 2014 however the budget wasn’t available so we took the car along and had it on display and the response to the car just sitting there in the paddock was awesome. Then the decision was taken to do the Britcar 24hr but to a certain degree it is unfortunate that the meeting is at the beginning of the season as it would have been great to do a couple of shorter races first. However we’ve now done over 3 hours testing with the car and have another test lined up for the 10th of February and so far the car has run faultlessly. We are looking forward to the 10th as it will be at Silverstone and will give us chance to gauge where our true performance is.

“By the power of social media Freddie Hunt got involved”

P42: Freddie Hunt is driving the car at the meeting, how did he end up getting involved?

SG:

The Freddie Hunt involvement came about through the power of social media. We contacted Freddie through Facebook whilst he was racing at the Walter Hayes and he showed real interest in joining us and also as Freddie is looking to race at Le Mans it will give him the perfect opportunity to compete in his first endurance race.

P42: We understand that Freddie’s race suit will be auctioned off?

SG:

Yes Sabelt are supplying us with a suit to auction off via our eBay. The auction will be held prior to the event and will be signed by Freddie and the team.

P42: You have been running various fan funding exercises on Ebay and your website, how has the response been?

SG:

The response has been amazing, we have had an awesome response from the Jaguar fans, not jut here in the UK but overseas as well. It’s pretty safe to say that if we had attempted this using any other brand I don’t believe the response would have been so great. We have recently added a full hospitality auction where you get tickets for the 3 days plus and evening welcome buffet on the Thursday evening and drinks supplied throughout the event all for £275.00 per person. Also after the test day we will be launching further items including team posters and more team clothing.

P42: We all have fond memories of this iconic marque, Silk Cut Jaguars, TWR XJS’s…Tell us a bit about the team.

SG:

The team was set up in February 2009 after spending a number of years working for a local race team/car tuner. We started life in a small single car unit and since then we have continued to grow to our current 4,000 sq/ft premises where we cover all aspects of race and track car preparation, storage and builds and rebuilds. We also offer full road car servicing and we are a fully approved APR dealership supplying and fitting all tuning product for all VAG group cars.

In our first season we came close to winning the 2009 URS Formula Ford 2000 Championship with Lawrence Denne, and then close in 2012 with Scott Temple and we competed in 3 Fun Cup 25hr races finishing all 3. Recently we have been involved with a lot of American V8 racing including building the pre-mentioned Ford Falcon and 1967 Camaro that Tom Barley has had podiums in the UK as well as at Spa and Portimao. For 2015 we have the current Jaguar program as well as the build of the Lotus Cortina (available to be finished to purchasers specifications!)

P42: Fast out the box! We look forward to seeing the Cortina, we have a soft spot for those. With the XKR, what are the plans for the car for the rest of 2015? Are drives available?

SG:

The plan for the rest of 2015 really depends on our result from the Britcar 24 Hour. Currently talking to a number of drivers who are interested in competing in a range of races from Britcar to VdeV and the Creventic 24hr Series and we welcome all inquiries. Also with the support we’ve had from the overseas fans it would be good to get the car out racing on the continent because if there is something that’s become very apparent it is just how passionate the Jaguar fans are about the brand and just how they’ve missed having a GT program to cheer on….

P42: Many thanks Simon, we wish you the best of luck with this project and look forward to seeing and hearing the big cat back on the track.

SG:

Thank you very much, as I’ve said the support from the fans, the press and especially the Jaguar fans has been awesome. Thank you again to everyone for their support.