1982: TWR first enters an XJ-S in the ETCC

March

TWR’s first race took place at Monza on the 21st March, with Walkinshaw and Nicholson on the front row of the grid together with the reigning champions Kelleners and Grano. The TWR car led the way until Walkinshaw mis-judged a chicane and damaged the underside of the car which ultimately led to his early retirement. Later in March, Walkinshaw and Nicholson raced at Vallelunga where they finished an impressive third.

April

Zolder saw Walkinshaw’ first time win for TWR, although this was not a ETCC race. In the same month they didn’t finish the UK race at Donnington as they damaged the radiator. Mugello in Italy was the home of round five in May, Walkinshaw took pole position but unfortunately, the car had to retire early from the race due to a valve spring failure.

June

Walkinshaw and Nicholson win for the first time at Brno. They won despite using slick tyres during a damp spell, and they also managed to overcome a throttle response concern. At Zeltweg, Walkinshaw raced alone and managed an impressive second place finish.

July

Despite BMW racing in their home country with a specially prepared 528i car, Walkinshaw and Nicholson took the coveted first place at Nürburgring Unfortunately, the race in Spa did not go the way of the previous rounds, although for the first time TWR entered two cars with an improved Getrag five-speed gearbox. The Dunlop tyres did not suit the road conditions, so the team decided to change to Pirelli tyres on the Dieudonne, Allam and Lovett car, but both cars failed to finish the race due to night-time crashes.

September

TWR was back in the UK, in the TT race at the Silverstone circuit. Again, TWR Racing entered two cars and it paid off for them, as they came first and second giving Jaguar their first TT victory since 1951. As they had done at Silverstone, TWR Racing took the front row of the grid to start the race at Zolder, and again finished first and second  in this last race of their first season.

 For the 1983 model year the following production charges were made: Cloth seat material was changed from polyester to woven velour and A new square section fuel rail was introduced on V12 engines with fewer connections

October

With four victories, the TWR team finished in third place in the championship. The first season’s results were something to be proud of, as the only retirement that caused concern was at Mugello where the valve springs failed and caused a build up of heat in the exhaust passages. 

From 1983 the BMW 635 CSi Coupé was Jaguar’s adversary, both on the race track and in the showroom. With BMW officially taking an active role in this form of racing, the comparison between the two brands couldn’t be clearer. BMW produced bodies and supplied them to a variety of specialists to get them race prepared in time for the season, whereas TWR was unable to claim an official Jaguar connection, until Jaguar were confident with their performance.