The Jaguar XK150 belonging to Richard and Helen Slade was a fitting victor on this year’s Beaujolais Run – which was dedicated to the marque and the celebration of its E-type’s 50th anniversary – after the '50s drop-top completed the traditional Reims to Mâcon challenge in the shortest distance.
The pair won the ‘maps only’ GT1 class and were only 40 miles shy of Julian Di Tomaso and Chris Boon’s Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale, which won the ‘any assistance’ GT2 category (which allows the use of sat navs) on the 41st run to bring back the Beaujolais.
The 1200-mile, five-day event kicked off on 14 November at the RAC’s Woodcote Park, where contestants were flagged off by former Jaguar chief development test engineer, Norman Dewis (below).
The Jaguar legend joined the teams at the official start at Dunsfold Park the following morning, when Dewis led the teams in a track parade while at the wheel of 774 RW, Nigel Webb's Jaguar D-type.
Other celebrities lending their names to the annual fundraising bash included former F1 champion, and event patron, John Surtees OBE and ex-British Touring Car Championship hotshoe Anthony Reid.
Taking the prize for the top fundraisers were Corvette entrants Chris Bonvini and Dom McKay, who amassed £9200 for the Henry Surtees Foundation – their efforts putting them on P1 for next year’s Beaujolais Run.
The pair were one of 25 teams taking part, with entries from as far afield as Las Vegas and Gibraltar, in a range of classics that spanned everything from a Jaguar E-type to a Mini Cooper ‘S’ and the latest Jaguar XKR-S.
See: Beaujolais Run for more.
