What is the Protheroe Cup?

This will be the second time a race has been run exclusively for E-types at the Motor Circuit, and it’s incredibly exciting to know that we’ll soon be treated to another round 15 years after the 2011 Revival’s Fordwater Trophy. 

A new grid of pre-1963 Jaguar E-types will form up at the 83^rd Members’ Meeting for the inaugural running of the Protheroe Cup, a 45-minute, two-driver race that will undoubtedly deliver a remarkable showcase of glamorous GT action. 

Named after Dick Protheroe, the man who built a career as a racer and preparer of Jaguar sportscars, this race will aim to encapsulate everything we love about the peak years of the marque’s motorsport history. 

After serving in the RAF during the latter stages of World War II and the years that followed, Protheroe turned his attention to motor racing and procured a Jaguar XK120 while he was stationed in Egypt. He returned to Britain together with the car in 1953 and began racing almost immediately at Goodwood. 

He continued to race regularly with the car that became known as the ‘Ancient Egyptian’ through 1954 before switching to a Jaguar C-Type for 1955. He also spent time racing Jaguar-engined HWMs and Tojeiros before returning to his roots with the XK120 in 1959. 

It was in 1962 that Protheroe’s association with the E-type began. Over the next three years he was responsible for developing two of the most famous Jaguar racing cars of all time, CUT 7 and CUT 8. His work on these cars, which he took gallantly into battle against the mighty Ferrari 250 GTOs, was instrumental in forging the E-type's legacy. 

It's wholly appropriate, therefore, that the 83^rd Members’ Meeting’s all-Jaguar E-type race should be named after Dick Protheroe. It’s going to be a memorable occasion, a sight and sound like no other. 

The 83^rd Members' Meeting presented by Audrain Motorsport takes place on the 18^th & 19^th April 2026. Tickets are on sale now for GRRC Members and Fellows.

You can sign up for the Fellowship now. Click here to find out more.

Photography by Nick Dungan, Pete Summers and James Lynch.