Jaguars at Le Mans 1956
One of the most welcome consequences of the advent of video has been to make archive film material more readily available to Joe Enthusiast. Contemporary celluloid of momentous events seldom fails to entrance the knowledgeable racing fan, and this is no exception.
Jaguar Cars itself commissioned a film-crew to follow the exploits of its D-Types at the Sarthe between 1954 and 1958, and this is one of the set of five finished products now being marketed by Sports Seen. The fullcolour story of the works team’s rescue by Ecurie Ecosse in 1956 is accompanied by Raymond Baxter’s typically starchy period commentary, with an initial guest appearance by Mike Hawthorn thrown in for good measure. The action itself is limited both in scope and duration, but start, finish and pitwork are well covered, with frequent glances at driving and trackside personalities. And opportunities to study such historical insights are still all too rare so this collector’s series is very welcome despite its brevity. GT