FORTY YEARS since founding Derby-based Aston Engineering and 50 years since he first immersed himself in the world of Aston Martin, David Jack is in reflective mood. ‘Wandering around the paddock at this year’s Le Mans Classic, I’m thinking I must be the only bloke here who built the car back in the day and is still racing it now,’ he smiles. The car in question being the 1977 Aston Martin RHAM/1, aka The Muncher. ‘And here’s something else – the budget we had for the Classic this year was well in excess of what we had to do the actual Le Mans in 1977!’
Since the sad demise of Richard Williams in 2021, it’s hard to think of anyone who has a longer active association with the Aston Martin marque, or such a depth of knowledge of both the road and race cars. From 1950s Le Mans racers to Gaydon-era road cars, Jack has an understanding and empathy that comes only with being a hands-on engineer. Which is why he’s never happier than when tweaking the set-up for Goodwood or Le Mans, or extracting power figures on the engine dyno.
So it’s entirely appropriate that this story is rooted in engineering. It begins in 1970, with 21-year-old David Jack an apprentice engineer with the Rolls-Royce
