1985 BATHURST 'Tom Walkinshaw At His Best' JRA Jag

[@darrenbrailsford6809]

A glorious age. I adore the Jaguar XJS. Looks and sounds amazing. Outclassing everything. What glorious car.

[@bruceallardice5137]

Magnificent, Beautiful and British. The sound of those fabulous V12 6 litre engines, and the aerial sight of the Big cats loping across Mount Panorama, one and two on the road, in 1985, are one of my favorite sporting memories ever. Bless You Tom and Wyn!!!

[@Steveaustin007]

bruce Allardice - v12 5.3 litre .not 6.0 lt.....

[@Steveaustin007]

Jaguars 274 klm on conrod. Volvo turbo 260 klm/h and the Mustang and Commodores were around the 250 klm/h mark. In the race the Starions had to lower the boost and not anywhere near the TWR Jags. Interesting for 1986 , the jags had been developed to run 500hp ( using Cosworth high lift valves ) and the deal fell through to run them with sponsors and race organisers. To be honest none of the Aussie wanted them there for the double.

[@matthewjohnston4842]

@@Steveaustin007 The race car was 6.0 Lt, the road cars of the time were 5.3Lt. The later road cars 94 on were 6.0 L but different to the race motor.

[@Steveaustin007]

5344 cc was the only engine homologated to race in Group A. Every race record and group A documents show V12 5344cc. The only way to race , or qualify to race was the road car had to be built as the base in 5000 cars and evolution numbers of 500 - including the engine capacity.

[@matthewjohnston4842]

@@Steveaustin007 I stand corrected, you are right I was getting confused with Lister Jaguars.

[@Rossi-wu1ks]

When real drivers used an H pattern gearbox

[@Holden308]

You know, for all its detractors, the Group A era at Bathurst had some of the best racing in memory. The only reason most of the mob on the hill didn't like it (i.e. the Holden fans) was because the Aussie V8 was getting beaten by imported turbos or cars like the BMW 635 and the XJS Jags.

[@contributor7219]

Holden308 I think there are many people that lament the passing of Group A and the diversity of racing it brought with it. 1985 was the first full year of International Group A and the Australian teams were very much playing catch up after running Group C for so long, whereas the teams running European cars had the benefit of the all of the development done in the last few years overseas. It was always going to be tough to start with for the teams running local cars. We all had a laugh at the 'bird bath' VL Group A, but the truth is the aerodynamic modifications to raise the boot lid height on it had been well proven on cars like the E30 M3s. The Australian teams were learning and the entire class (and fans) benefitted as a result. In the end the quantum leap forward in performance from the R32 Nissans was the death-knell of Group A, even though Fred Gibson said in a recent article that they were very unreliable cars to start with. More was done to develop the Group A R32 here in Australia than anywhere else and they were a much more Australian race car than most realise. It is sad we never got to see how the class developed past that point.

[@Holden308]

+Contributor Can't argue with any of that.

[@porthpatho78]

For me the other benefit of Group A is that they seemed to be far closer to the road cars than current supercars. Either make it a real silhouette series like DTM/Super GT or have slightly modified road cars like Group A

[@BigYella300zx]

Plus Godzilla which we love moved the goal posts for ever

[@bugattieb110ss]

'Pack of Arseholes' as Jim Richards rightly called them. As a Brit I was absolutely disgusted by the appalling way the so-called 'fans' treated the 1992 winner. What made it worse was the fact that the Ford driver Dick Johnson had wound the crowd up when he stood on the podium to receive his 2nd place. Jim had just been told of the tragic death of his good friend Denny Hulme moments before he took to the podium to receive his winners' trophy. His words go down in motorsport history: "I'm just really stunned for words, I can't believe the reception. I thought Australian race fans had a lot more to go than this, this is bloody disgraceful. I'll keep racing but I tell you what, this is going to remain with me for a long time. You're a pack of arseholes."

[@glynpaton3062]

Funnily enough the fastest thing down Conrad Straight on race day wasn't the big cats but the Mitsubishi Starion as the Jags opted for a little less straight line speed the better to climb the mountain. Watched the race live and well remember the dramas that beset the JRA cars, from Percy's car being knocked out after Tom's Jag threw a stone through one of the headlights that was sucked into the air intake, Tom's oil cooler problems as seen here and John Goss's car having the drivers seat break away and then strapped down using plastic tape, apparently not very securely making driving very awkward indeed! A shame about the previous year when Tom's Group C Jag blew the clutch on the starting grid and was subsequently struck from behind by a Camaro, but this race more than made up for it. The sound of those beautiful V12's will live with me forever.

[@OzGonads]

I was there in 1985, watching from Hell Corner as a pup. The JPS BMWs were parked up in front of us having tripped over each other and sitting in the sand for most of the race. Despite being a Johnson fan, the Walkinshaw Jags were awesome. They gave me a headache but I loved it. My dad had basically beaten a love of John Goss into me. Those Jags were the class of the field that year, as long as the engines held together.

[@piedro132]

This guy can drive...awesome and what a sound from that V12, raw powe

[@Storkz0re]

ye, but last gear could be longer, he overheated engine by reving on it

[@melbguy1]

Jeez he was a good driver. Very smooth gear changes.

[@pete6891]

360 view in 85!

[@awesomeduder]

You forget just how sketchy that second hump on Conrod was until you see footage like this. Imagine the front of the car going light at that speed!

[@bobkanorange1847]

I still remember that weekend clearly. The Jags were big news and my dad decided we had to go to the rubbish dump on Sat afternoon and i missed the whole top 10 shoot out.

[@martinbrown1710]

I bet he was just desperate to get back out there just to hear that engine again - a combination of the vicious and the beautiful :-)

[@timothyellwood]

farrrrk! nice!! new and old...remember when this owned Bathurst?

[@nnoddy8161]

It just ate the BMW and Holden. Awesome footage. Thanks for posting

[@mikehunte2087]

Whoever found this in car footage I salute them 😁

[@haroldgodwinson832]

OMG, that XJS is just the business. What a fantastic machine.

[@MrGutfeeling]

I loved these Jags when they were at Bathurst, so beautiful, fast and smooth, they were great! I remember the broken seat, what rotten luck.

[@gtrmagic]

Awesome footage! That JRA Jag was a heavy bugger, you can see how TW has to tip the thing into Hell Corner, then drag its bum behind it... seems to be plenty of grunt there too, but had to be revved to get its supper. Funny TW is on the radio complaining about oil surge yet still pulled top gear at what must have been near full revs... them Jags must be very strong :)

[@peterhunter2298]

The 5.3L V12 Jaguar was a very strong motor. IIRC Walkinshaw said in 1984 at Bathurst that they can run for a very long time on low oil pressure before they go bang. Say what you want about Tom, but no one got those Jags going quicker than he did. If he'd had them to play with instead of the Rovers he might well have won the ETCC in 1985 and 1986.

[@Vonscnitzel]

Well said mate she seems to steer like a boat, however he drops the revs by 1000 revs per gear on up shifts once he identifies the oil pressure issue. Well that's what I heard anyway, cheers

[@grahamtaylor3093]

That’s not flies on the windscreen, it’s kangaroos. Tough race Bathurst.

[@steelfabric]

Momo wheel. I had one of those. Wish I steered it as good as Tom.

[@foldedpaperboats]

This is some great stuff. This looks like the late stages of the race where Brock had gotten past Ravaglia into second and was trying to chase the leading Jag. When TW passed Richards in the BMW that was for 4th, which became third when Brock retires near the end. Fantastic stuff, thank you for posting :)

[@musclecarbear4704]

Thank you Super100MPH!!!

[@lastcenturyclassics]

Great in Car Cam work thanks.

[@sirdigbyminge1639]

I did not have the pleasure of ever meeting Tom, but my friend Bernard used to drink with him at Gloucester. I think he ran the rugby club. Forgive me if I'm wrong, I am rather ancient. Anyway, Bern said that Tom was a f=#=ing dynamo. TWR won Le Mans twice I think, he produced the Aston DB7, and the Jag XJ220, the car that held the Nurburgring record for yonks. Never mind about that though. I want to say that Bathurst is one of the most epic circuits I've ever seen. Spa is good, and Oulton and Brands Hatch, but Bathurst is amazing.

[@rivenz6]

Normally I don,t care for the sound of a v12, however the twr jaguar had a most pleasing note about it. I would quite like to have a replica so I could listen to it at 7500rpm. I like the way it breaks traction on pit straight in second or 3rd gear. Not bad for an old tank jag....

[@captainkaos1770]

il need to bring her in there's oil in here everywhere Tom says to his pit. bet many many jag owners have said that on the phone to there dealership

[@Nuncal]

Absolutely awesome, where on Earth do you get this in-car stuff ?? Thank you for posting.

[@allanbarnes8420]

Nuncal this was typical of the local TV coverage of the Bathurst 1000. And the commentators new when to shut up and let viewers enjoy the sounds.

[@AUmarcus]

The in car camera tech was basically born at this race some years before and it's only evolved from there worldwide. Channel 7 Australia.

[@georgejacob3162]

Did I just witness Jim Richards and Peter Brock being passed easily?

[@johnoneill6231]

Saw this car in action at Winton a few years ago. Still demolished it’s competition

[@leviskintyre462]

where have the moths gone? In the 80's my radiator was often completely chock a block full of dead moths, don't get any nowadays.

[@mike_oe]

+Levis KinTyre Farming pesticides got them (yes, them too)

[@philbro1829]

I've gotta tell ya, Bathurst looks like best racetrack this side of the Rideau Canal... Ottawa, Ontario. 🇨🇦 CHEERS YOU LUCKY TO BUGGERS 😊

[@walterpeters2097]

MARAVILLOSO EL SONIDO DEL V-12 .

[@mortenfrosthansen84]

Man... that windscreen is heavily covered with bugs. The bimmers was definitely handling better, but didn't have a V12 and it's top speed. Wauv what a drive.. really nailing the corners with full aggression

[@frazerguest2864]

What a screamer ! I wonder what those V12’s were revving up to? My old XJS V12 convertible didn’t rev anywhere close to that.

[@mike_oe]

Amazing speed advantage

[@mrrolandlawrence]

the agony of that pit stop!!!

[@petergiourelas3753]

Tom could drive

[@shoominati23]

I think as a concession for having the racecam in the car they were allowed to pull an equal amount of weight from other areas of the car?

[@LaurieWilliams-lk8fc]

Thanks for posting. Any idea about the source of that hissing sound that repeats all the way through?

[@Super100MPH]

LaurieWilliams5066 Not a lot we can do about it, embedded in the soundtrack, this was a camera test tape never published. It took a lot of work to get the noise out as much as we could. Sorry about that.

[@friendlypiranha774]

Tom was playing Pac-Man with the other cars on that racetrack.

[@kerrykelaher2607]

Walkinshaw great driver in qualifying in one corner " he monstered the jaguar to lift 2 wheels off the ground ( awesome )

[@brianhoffman4861]

Comes the Sierra

[@jimjardine4705]

That is a terribly noisy gearbox!!

[@mortenfrosthansen84]

Also really good camera work

[@savecolaclibrarynow]

The Holden's and Fords couldn'r compete with the Jaguars which is why they changed the rules so they coudn'r continue to race at bathurst which was a dam shame!

[@CentralScrotiniser]

Paul David Cross the XJS was simply superseded... even by the time of this clip, they’d been more or less mothballed in favour of the Rover Vitesses. In the day, there were two homologation dates per calendar year: Holden had managed to get a smaller capacity V8 (so they could run in a lighter weight division) through in the August update, along with a five-speed gearbox, but missed out on their full “Group A homologation package... that would come in the New Year, and dominate at Bathurst in 1986. The Ford Mustang received some engine upgrades at the August update, and it was briefly in contention on this day, save for a broken oil cooler and loose wheel. By the time the new season rolled around, it had been left behind again. Development was swift and constant, and until the Ford Sierra RS500, no single marque and model would enjoy more than a single season at the top. Then Godzilla arrived, and everybody else lost interest...

[@alecyoung3107]

""Though Shalt not suffer a witch to live""

[@simonthompson251]

Beautiful...

[@bolingerneurenburgh6177]

Hard to sit still during that painfully long pit stop

[@_Junkers]

Hunting them down. Does anyone know what spec the engine is? I heard these came with a 7.0 litre.

[@contributor7219]

Junkers 5.3 litres in Group A racing form. If you want the full specs the best thing is to read Allan Scott's excellent book "TWR and Jaguar's XJS", as there is too much detail to get into here. The V12 was producing around 500hp at 7000 rpm by 1985. Allan Scott was the engineer who oversaw much of the development work of these cars.

[@mikesamos7257]

5.3 litre

[@redreuben5260]

V12, how fucking Awesome !

[@lindsaykelly2224]

Brocky would have had one hand on the wheel

[@FeiBenZhu]

Brocky without his windscreen xD 3:41

[@lindsaykelly2224]

BROCK 4 ever

[@stevecooksley]

Bit disappointed he didn't have a wooden steering wheel, but at least they didn't go into limp home mode back then.

[@melbguy1]

Walkinshaw was trying..

[@johncunningham4820]

The SOUND . OMG . A Car with a Big Cat emblem and the Sound of a Big Cat ready to Tear someone a Fresh One . Unfortunately , the Jaguar V-12 was notoriously unreliable . Rarely internals , just all the ancillaries . That's why SO many Jaguar V-12 Models replaced the Engine with 327 or 350 Chev's . Jaguars are always a Beautiful Car . Same weight and Easier and cheaper to fix IF necessary . And same Power and slightly more Torque with a couple of basic Mods .

[@brianmorecombe2726]

The reason a lot of daft americans swopped V12 Jag engines for them chev v8s was because they never bothered with proper mechanics who were charging higher dollar.Just put a cheap v8 from chrvrolet so all the cheap mechanic know how to look after them.That Jag V12 in the vid had proper mechanics that why he floored it all the time and never any breakdown and that Jag would piss on any chev v8.

[@vernongoodey5096]

Same answer I owned one for 13 years change oil every 8000 miles, they last forever! Change water hoses every five years otherwise the power of the engine just blows them apart! Regular servicing keeps them going

[@garymarquett2866]

The 2 BMWs should got a first and second that day

[@marksbikeexports5123]

Roberto Ravaglia watched this video....................

[@grahamtaylor3093]

At 16:30 they sure look like Jaguar owners!

[@kevinwaynehunt.9189]

NOT a pony mustang IN SIGHT.

[@brianmorecombe2726]

Sees them off no prob.This is one fast Jag.

[@Steveaustin007]

Ford did not have an evolution of the Mustang - so the car raced was a base model GT - Because they were preparing the Cosworth Sierra which wasn’t a world beater until the evolution 500 came out . Like a group A commodore VK . Only 500 made.

[@brianhoffman4861]

No denying,,.. awesome,.. but here can the Sierra .

[@kowalskis]

Anyone know ? is it 6 speed or is he using 1st for slow corners?

[@scotty3da]

5 speed dog leg Getrag box, 1st is down and to the left

[@_Junkers]

+Felix Ryder Think it's a dogleg 5 speed

[@Steveaustin007]

Everyone used Getrag 5 speed back then . Until Holinger had the 6 speed a few years later . Ford and Getrag have 3 factories together.

[@Paws4thot]

And before "Elvin Safety" wrecked Conrod Straight!! 😁

[@andrewprettyquick2070]

all Lions's jaguars were *fine*

[@brianmorecombe2726]

Not one sign of a wanky yankee chev in that Jag

[@brianhoffman4861]

And vl 5litres

[@alecyoung3107]

NOW HE HAS TO DIE.....

[@Thewatcherinthering336]

Nice!