Following the successful XK120 Belgian motorway speed trial in the spring of 1949 it was Frank Raymond Wilton (FRW or “Lofty”) England who organised the XK120 test sessions at Silverstone that August. They were an insurance policy to prove to William Lyons that the cars were ready to race in the Daily Express BRDC production sports car race later that month, and be certain of winning of course.
The cars came in first and second a lap ahead of the field. This of course fuelled further demand for a car that was nigh on impossible to obtain.
Partial success followed in the 1950 Mille Miglia race – Leslie Johnson finished in 5th position. The Le Mans 24-hour race of the same year saw three privateer Jaguar XK120’s entries resulting in 12th 14th and a DNF. As if to emphasise the non-factory entrant status, Lyons was on his annual Isle of Man TT motorcycle racing pilgrimage.
Although Lyons could see the potential benefits that racing bought the company, he was still cautious. ‘Look what happened to Bentley – tremendous success at Le Mans, none better to this day. It didn’t stop them going bust though, did it? In fact, the money they spent on racing was probably a major factor in their downfall.’
Will Heynes looked on as FRW England argued the case. ‘We do know that with not too
