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The SHELBY AMERICAN
JACK SEARS
August 7, 2016
Jack Sears was one of England’s
best known sports car drivers in the
1950s and 1960s. He was born in
1930 to a well-to-do family and de-
veloped a passion for cars at an
early age. His first race was in 1950
in an MG TC at Goodwood. He con-
tinued racing and rallying and
gained a reputation in Lister sports
cars. He raced in single seaters only
twice, preferring full-fendered
sports cars and saloons.
Erudite, eloquent and elegant,
Sears always dressed smartly and
was meticulously polite, with a slow
and smooth mellifluous voice. He be-
came universally known as “Gentle-
man Jack.”
His association with John Will-
ment and his Ford-based team in
the early 1960s brought him promi-
nence in England’s popular touring
car competition. When Willment
began campaigning full-size Ford
Galaxies powered by 427 engines
they were responsible for many of
his successes.
When the Cobra Team arrived
in Europe with their Daytona
Coupes they made a habit of includ-
ing a team of drivers from the coun-
try they were racing in. If the race
organizers attempted to get cute
with their rules interpretation, since
all of the Coupes were prepared
identically they would have to disal-
low all cars – and they did not wish
to penalize a team of “local” drivers.
Sears was teamed with other Brits
and soon proved himself worthy of a
seat on the Cobra Team. In 1965 he
finished 10th AO/2nd GT at the
Nürburgring (with Frank Gardner),
8th OA/2nd GT at LeMans (with
Dick Thompson), 9th OA/2nd GT at
Reims (with John Whitmore) and 5th
OA/2nd GT at Coppa di Enna.
In 1964, AC Cars built a coupe of
their own for LeMans and Sears
gained national notoriety in England
by testing the car on Britain’s M1 mo-
torway late at night, reportedly top-
ping 180 mph. Upon discovering this,
local authorities admonished the man-
ufacturer against ever doing it again.
In later years, Sears was a pop-
ular guest at many automotive
events, including the Shelby Amer-
ican Collection’s annual December
party. He enjoyed meeting enthu-
siasts and talking about his Cobra
days. The Jack Sears Trophy has
been awarded for a variety of
achievements in the British Tour-
ing Car Championship. He was 86.
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