Jack Sears

Jack Sears (16 February 1930 – 7 August 2016) was a British race and rally driver, and was one of the principal organisers of the 1968 London-Sydney Marathon.

Jack Sears
Sears' 1958 Championship-winning Austin Westminster
Nationality	British
Born	16 February 1930 Northampton, England
Died	6 August 2016 (aged 86)
Retired	1965
Related to	David Sears
British Saloon Car Championship
Years active	6
Wins	12
Best finish	1st in 1958 and 1963
Championship titles
1958, 1963	BSCC

Biography

Sears was popularly known as "Gentleman Jack". His son David is also involved in motorsport.

He won the inaugural British Saloon Car Championship in 1958, driving an Austin Westminster. After finishing on joint maximum points with Tommy Sopwith, it was initially suggested the champion would be decided by the toss of a coin. The idea was very unpopular with both drivers and at the final meeting at Brands Hatch, with a draw being a likely possibility, two identical looking Marcus Chambers-owned Riley One-Point-Five works rally cars were brought along for a five lap shoot-out. To make the race fair, they raced five laps, switched cars, then raced five laps again with the driver who had the quickest combined time being crowned champion. In pouring rain, Sears became the first ever champion by 1.6 seconds.

He regained the title in 1963, driving a variety of cars including a Ford Cortina GT, a seven-litre Ford Galaxie and a Lotus Cortina, which was used for the final two races.[1] Sears also co-drove a Ferrari 330 LMB with Mike Salmon to a fifth place in the 1963 Le Mans 24 Hours, the best result in the abbreviated racing history of the LMB.[2] He died on 7 August 2016, aged 86.[3]

Racing record

Complete British Saloon Car Championship results

(key)

Year	Team	Car	Class	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	DC	Pts	Class
1958	Jack Sears	Austin A105	C	BRH 1†	BRH 4†	MAL 3†	BRH 3†	BRH 3†	CRY	BRH 2	BRH 3	BRH 3			1st	48	1st
1959	Equipe Endeavour	Jaguar 3.4 Litre	D	GOO	AIN	SIL	GOO	SNE 2	BRH	BRH 1†					NC		NC
1960	Equipe Endeavour	Jaguar Mk II	Over 1000cc	BRH	SNE	MAL	OUL	SNE 1	BRH 2	BRH 1	BRH				NC		NC
1961	Equipe Endeavour	Jaguar Mk II	D	SNE Ret	GOO	AIN 2	SIL	CRY Ret	SIL	BRH 3	OUL	SNE 12			NC		NC
1962	Equipe Endeavour	Jaguar Mk II	D	SNE 2	GOO 3	AIN 4	SIL 3	CRY 2	AIN 1	BRH 2	OUL 2				3rd	38	1st
1963	John Willment Automobiles	Ford Cortina GT	B	SNE	OUL 4	GOO 7	AIN 4								1st	71
		Ford Galaxie	D					SIL 1	CRY 1†	SIL 1	BRH Ret
		Ford Lotus Cortina	B									BRH 3	OUL 3	SIL 4

† Events with 2 races staged for the different classes.

References

1. 1963 British Saloon Car Championship Archived 15 January 2008 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved on 18 December 2006.
2. Eaton, Godfrey (1980), Ferrari: The Sports/Racing and Road Cars, Skokie, IL: Publications International, p. 93, ISBN 0-517-381982
3. First champion Jack Sears dies aged 86. Retrieved on 7 August 2016.

External links

• Profile of Jack Sears, HistoricRacing.com
• Account of the route of the London-Sydney Marathon, written by Jack Sears who reconnoitred the event
• BSCC Results