This Jaguar E-type was in the hands of an IndyCar legend at Revival

And this car really does have a life-long competition history. It’s one of the earliest E-types to have been used as a racing car from new. At the car’s launch in 1961, demand was so strong that the first cars were supplied to friends of Jaguar Cars, and Williams Lyons and ‘Lofty’ England encouraged those early adopters to race them.

YRP 999 was the 20^th flat-floor right-hand-drive off the production line, and it was entered into the very first race that featured E-types on the entry list, at Oulton Park in April 1961. Sadly it didn’t start, but another E-type — the storied ECD 400 (also at the 2025 Revival as part of the Stirling Moss Memorial Trophy) — was driven to victory at that Spring fixture by Graham Hill.

The car’s first owner was Derek Wilkinson who had a parts business that supplied Jaguar. He bought the E-type to replace his Lola, but in the end couldn’t commit the time to race it. Wilkinson enlisted John Bekaert to drive the car for a couple of seasons, before it then changed hands for the first of many times.

John Woolfe was its next owner. During his 1963-’64 tenure he began modifying the car with lighter weight bodywork, a D-type tachometer and a long-range fuel tank. The next owner came along in 1969 following Woolfe’s death in a first-lap crash at Le Mans in a Porsche 917.

The E-type moved on to the Concross Racing Team before being bought by Bob Vincent in November of the same year. Competition upgrades continued; it gained lower, stiffer suspension, extra ducting and vents and the original green hue was changed to red.

As the first chapter of its racing career came to an end, it was returned to Historic Sports Car Club specification and raced by Martin Ryan. Then in 1974, it was bought by Alexander Boswell, who didn’t race the car during his six-year ownership.

Recommissioning wouldn’t begin until it was taken on by Charles Good in 1991. He instructed the restorers to only replace original parts or period upgrades if necessary, and it was finally back on track in 1995. It has been racing ever since. 

Even with that mid-life sabbatical, such a long career makes this one of the most-raced E-types, and the race entries in its history file are still being added, not least at the 2025 Goodwood Revival for the RAC TT Celebration. It was driven by six-time Indycar Champion Scott Dixon and Revival regular Joe Twyman, both of whom only drove it for the first time at a pre-event test day.

“We had a bit of a mixed day in terms of the weather,” said Twyman, when we spoke with him ahead of Sunday’s race, “which actually for this weekend has been perfect, because it’s been wet/dry, wet/dry all weekend.

“We’re learning something every time we go out in the car. That’s obviously a good thing, but also a bad thing because, I think every time we've gone in the car, we’ve both done quicker.”

Looking ahead to the race, Twyman told us that he was hopeful for rain. “A lot of people that are here watching are not, obviously. But for me, it would be better.” The reason? Wet weather plays into the E-type’s hands because rival AC Cobras are harder to manage when grip reduces. 

As it transpired, Twyman got his wish. Rain arrived shortly before he handed over driving duties to Dixon in the middle of the RAC TT Celebration. Even so, their 11^th place on the grid was downgraded to 14^th by the time the chequered flag fell. You never can predict how things will turn out at Goodwood…

Photography by Joe Harding and Charlie Brenninkmeijer.