Jack Sears is a British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 former race and rally driver, and was one of the principal organisers of the 1968 London-Sydney Marathon

London-Sydney Marathon

The London–Sydney Marathon was a car rally from the United Kingdom to Australia. It was first run in 1968, a second event was organised in 1977 and a third in 1993 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the original. Two further rallies have subsequently been contested in 2000 and 2004.The original...

. He was popularly known as "Gentleman Jack". His son David

David Sears (Motorsport)

John David Sears is a former racing driver turned owner of the Super Nova GP2 team. He also managed drivers such as Jan Magnussen, Taki Inoue and Vincenzo Sospiri and is son to Jack.He turned down the chance to buy Simtek at the end of 1994.-Foot notes:...

 is also involved in motorsport.

He won the inaugural British Saloon Car Championship

British Touring Car Championship

The British Touring Car Championship is a touring car racing series held each year in the United Kingdom. The Championship was established in 1958 as the British Saloon Car Championship and has run to various rules over the years – "production cars", then FIA Group 1 or 2 in the late 1960s...

 in 1958, driving an Austin Westminster

Austin Westminster

The Westminster series were large saloon and estate cars sold by the British Austin Motor Company from 1954, replacing the A70 Hereford. The Westminster line was produced as the A90, A95, A99, A105, and A110 until 1968 when the new Austin 3-Litre took its place...

. After finishing on joint maximum points with Tommy Sopwith

Tommy Sopwith (racing driver)

Thomas Sopwith, Jr. is a British businessman and former auto racing driver. He is the son of Sir Thomas Sopwith, inventor of the Sopwith Camel....

, it was initially suggested the champion would be decided by the toss of a coin. The idea was very unpopular with both drivers and at the final meeting at Brands Hatch

Brands Hatch

Brands Hatch is a motor racing circuit near West Kingsdown in Kent, England. First used as a dirt track motorcycle circuit on farmland, it hosted 12 runnings of the British Grand Prix between 1964 and 1986 and currently holds many British and international racing events...

, with a draw being a likely possibility, two identical looking Marcus Chambers-owned Riley One-Point-Five

Riley One-Point-Five

The Riley One-Point-Five and similar Wolseley 1500 were motor vehicles based on the Morris Minor floorpan, suspension and steering but fitted with the larger 1489 cc B-Series engine and MG Magnette gearbox...

 works rally cars were brought along for a five lap shoot-out. To make the race fair, they raced five laps, switched cars, then raced five laps again with the driver who had the quickest combined time being crowned champion. In pouring rain, Sears became the first ever champion by 1.6 seconds.

He regained the title in 1963, driving a variety of cars including a Ford Cortina GT

Ford Cortina

As the 1960s dawned, BMC were revelling in the success of their new Mini – the first successful true minicar to be built in Britain in the postwar era...

, a seven litre Ford Galaxie

Ford Galaxie

The Ford Galaxie was a full-size car built in the United States by the Ford Motor Company for model years 1959 through 1974. The name was used for the top models in Ford’s full-size range from 1959 until 1961, in a marketing attempt to appeal to the excitement surrounding the Space Race...

 and a Lotus Cortina

Lotus Cortina

The Lotus-Cortina is a high-performance car, which was produced in the United Kingdom from 1963 to 1970 by the Ford in collaboration with Lotus Cars. The original version, which was based on the Ford Cortina Mark 1, was promoted by Ford as the "Consul Cortina developed by Lotus", with "Consul"...

, which was used for the final two races.

External links

• Profile of Jack Sears, HistoricRacing.com
• Account of the route of the London-Sydney Marathon, written by Jack Sears who reconnoitred the event