Sears, Jack

[luigi2]

I am interested in the John Willment Racing Team 0f the early 60s. Jack Sears's name keeps showing up as driver.
I've heard of him over the years but I'm afraid that I know very little about his career except that he drove some awsome cars.

Can anyone tell me more?

[Ray Bell]

Very little from this quarter, except that he was there as Galaxies became the car of choice for touring car racing. He had previously raced Jaguars, IIRC, and was regarded to be among the top men in the field at the time.

[SL]

From memory, he was well known for his Cobra racing with Shelby and Willmont, racing at several events incl Le Mans in the Cobra. I think he was the test driver for the GT40, he also raced the GT40 a few times.

Prior to that I think he drove a Galaxie in the UK events and Jags and Ferrari's at some time before that.

Simon

[Speed Demon]

IIRC he is also the father of ex F2-racer and Super Nova F3000 team boss, David Sears.

[josvandeperre]

Had a big accident which put him off single seaters as I recall - now a farmer and very active chairman of the Ferrari Owners Club

[SL]

A little more info.

1958 & 1963 British Saloon Car Champion

Le Mans 1965 8th in a Cobra, first and only Ford car home 3rd GT class

Le Mans 1963 5th in a Ferrari 330LM with Mike Salmon 1st GT

1964 Goodwood in a 7.0 Galaxie beating Jimmy Clark (Cortina) from start to finish the following year 2nd to Jimmy both in Cortina's

That is all I can find at the moment. It does not seem a lot until you see the other drivers. Hill G & P, Clark, Gurney and so on.

Jack seemed content with saloon's Jag's, Cortina's etc but felt at home in the Galaxie, which maybe explains the Cobra's as well. A rear wheel drifter !

Simon

[TimD]

I do recall that the 1958 Saloon Car Championship dead-heated, and so Jack Sears was obliged to run a head-to-head race with his opponent in identical Riley 1.5s.

Can't remember who the opposition was. Peter Jopp perhaps, or maybe Les Leston.

Anyway, the Riley 1.5 was a bit of a change from the car Sears had run for the rest of the year - an Austin A105 Westminster!

[Roger Clark]

Originally posted by TimD
I do recall that the 1958 Saloon Car Championship dead-heated, and so Jack Sears was obliged to run a head-to-head race with his opponent in identical Riley 1.5s.

Can't remember who the opposition was. Peter Jopp perhaps, or maybe Les Leston.

Anyway, the Riley 1.5 was a bit of a change from the car Sears had run for the rest of the year - an Austin A105 Westminster!

It was Tommy Sopwith. They were given identical rileys, supplied by BMC. THey had two five lap races, changing cars for the second one. The winner was the one with the lower aggregate time. This happened at Brands Hatch on October 5th which was the last round of te championship, so it seems that the Rileys were there "just in case". The riley was also a bit of a change for Sopwith; his usual car was a 3.4-litre Jaguar.

[Brian Lear]

From "Encyclopedia of Auto Racing Greats" by Cutter/Fendell published
in 1973.
Born into a motor enthusiast family on February 16 1930, at Northampton, Norfolk.
His father,Stanley Sears, was a prewar club racer who took Jack on a tour of the banked Brooklands circuit at 100 mph in 1939. Given a Morgan for his 17th birthday, Sears made his competition debut in 1948 at a Brighton mud trials. The following year he switched to an MG TC, and went racing for the first time in 1950 at Goodwood. Not only did he not win, he spun off the course at the first turn.
Well known as a fast but not particularly predictable driver, Sears, who had switched to an XK 120 Jaguar and Cooper MG in the intervening
years was learning how to handle a Lister-Bristol properly when the first of his children was born in 1955. So he gave up racing. Rallying was something else again, however, and Sears continued to compete as a member of the BMC team. A second child, Suzanne, was born in 1956, and a third, Jennifer, in 1961.
In 1958 he had returned to the race courses, however, as the stock-car craze took hold in Britain, called saloon cars there. He won that season's title in an Austin A105, moved on to Grand Touring competition the following season, and rallied a bit once more.His GT car was an Austin-Healey 3000. Experience improved his consistency, and in 1960 Tommy Sopwith invited him to join his team, Equipe Endeavour. Sear's team mates, whom he credits with much of his later success, were none other than Graham Hill and Mike Parkes.
For the next three seasons he raced with these men in beautifully prepared E type Jaguars, 3.8 litre saloons,Aston Martin DB4s, and even Ferrari Berlinettas. In 1962 Sears was 3rd overall in British saloon competition, and winner of the unlimited class. He was 4th in class at Sebring in an MG A. When Sopwith retired at the end of the season, Sears was considering quitting himself once again. Then a phone call came from the man whom he had bested for the 1958 saloon title, Jeff Uren. Uren offered a berth on the new Willment team, for which he was manager, running Ford Galaxies and Cortinas. The offer was accepted; Sears won his initial Willment race in a Cortina at Oulton Park soon after, despite the fact that he started from the back row of the grid.
In 1963, he won all 8 saloon GT championship races and his second saloon title and set new lap records in 5 of them. Jack also drove all of the other white and red Willment Fords, including a Cortina GT which he and co-driver Bob Olthoff took to the USA., placing second overall and 1st in class in the 12 hour race at Marlboro Md.
Sears also drove for Maranello Concessionaires, the British Ferrari distributors, that season, including a 5th overall and class victory at Le Mans with Mike Salmon. In all, Jack won 18 of 23 races,
The following season was not too happy for Sears, however, since Willment had singled him out to put a Ford Cobra in contention in European and South African racing and the car still needed much sorting out.

Several articles have appeared on Jack Sears in recent years. Some are
Thoroughbred & Classic Cars - October 1985
Classic & Sportscar - August 1988
Thoroughbred & Classic Cars - May 1997
Motor Sport - May 1998
In recent years he was a Director of BRDC and Chairman of Silverstone Circuits
Brian Lear

[luigi2]

Thanks everybody

lots of good stuff here. He had an interesting racing career from this info.

I would like to find out more about the Willment team, but I will
probably have to post a new thread for that.

Thanks again,

Lloyd