Track testing the best of the BTCC
Autosport got behind the wheel of five of the championship's greatest machines on a special day at Brands Hatch to celebrate six decades of tin-top action
As I roll gently down the Brands Hatch pitlane, ready to head out for my first run of the day, I feel like a villain in an early James Bond film. There are no machine guns lurking in the headlights of this particular Mk1 Jag, but even lacking rocket launchers this car was the weapon of choice in the early days of the British Touring Car Championship in the late 1950s, and remains one of the top choices if you are a serious '50s historic tin-top racer today.
Everything about this car screams elegance and sophistication on the surface, but underneath the skin lurks the stuff of a seriously potent racing car. I've been on the receiving end of one of these big-engined beasts mercilessly thundering past on the Lavant Straight at Goodwood - they are seriously quick and I'm looking forward to seeing what this one can do.
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