Brands Hatch, May 30, 2010
For the second two days of the Masters Historic Festival the full
and demanding GP circuit welcomed the competitors, with a ten
race programme plus practice and qualifying sessions.
Fortunately the weather had improved during Saturday night, and
the rest of the meeting was held in dry, sometimes even sunny
conditions, although Monday was a little on the cool side. There
had been an interesting array of cars in Saturday’s races on the
Indy circuit, but the selection for the remainder of the weekend
was even greater and more eclectic. The Grand Prix Masters field
comprised of a colourful assortment of F1 cars, with eligibility for
different classes spanning the period 1966 to 1985 The cars
running ranged from a 1968 Martini liveried Brabham BT24,
through MS80 and MS120C Matras, a Marlboro McLaren M23/4,
JPS and Martini liveried Lotus’, Tyrrells, Williams, and a rare
Osella FA1, to a 1982 Arrows A4.
The World Sportscar Masters grid was home to a plethora of Lola
T70s in over 2 litre class, plus David Hart’s Ferrari 512 M re-
creation of chassis # 1034, which looked the part and sounded
glorious amidst the rumbling V8s. Chevrons dominated the under
2 litre class, whilst the invitation classes included a trio of
Porsche 911 RSRs, a Lola T210 and a very rapid Osella PA01.
The Gentleman Drivers under 3 litre group, which had a 2 hour
enduro as the closing race on Saturday, was a British GT car
benefit, with a number of Austin Healey 3000s, Lotus Elans,
Marcos 1800 GTs, and even a pair of rare Morgan SLRs in the
field. The Interserie Revival grid, was probably the most diverse of
the weekend, as it featured 70s sports prototypes, invitation
CanAm cars, plus 70s Touring Cars. The Sports Racing Masters
group had a quartet each of Ford GT40s and Lola T70 Spiders, a
pair of McLaren M1Bs, together with a horde of Chevron B8s in
the under 2 litre class, plus rarities like Lenham P69 and a Daren
Mk2. In the Pre-66 Touring Cars race the large capacity class
was dominated by Ford Mustangs and Falcons, with a loan
Mercury Comet Cyclone, whilst the 1001 – 1300cc class was a
complete Mini Cooper preserve, and the homologation special
class was dominated by Ford Lotus Cortinas, including one that
had come all the way from Norway.
The final race of the meeting was for the Gentleman Drivers over 3
litre group, with a massive and diverse field battling out the 2 hour
enduro. Numerically the predominant combatants were Jaguar E
Types, whilst there was a quartet of Ford Shelby Mustang
GT350s, and a trio of Bizzarrinis, along with AC Cobras, Chevrolet
Corvettes, a pair of TVR Griffiths, and a pair of Sunbeam Tigers in
the mix for overall honours.
Unfortunately Monday’s racing was delayed for an hour after a
bad accident in the Interserie race, when John Grant’s McLaren
M8C appeared to suffer a mechanical failure approaching
Paddock Hill Bend, which saw the car fly across the gravel trap
and into the tyre wall head on , folding the front across the driver’s
legs, and briefly catching fire. It was later reported that he had
broken both legs, broken ribs, bruising to the stomach, some
lacerations and burns. He was airlifted to hospital, but his injuries
were not believed to be life threatening. This cast a cloud over the
rest of the meeting, but didn’t stop some good on track activity.
Results
Grand Prix Masters
Race 1
1st Bill Coombs, Tyrrell 009
2nd Roger Wills, Williams FW05
3rd John Grant, Shadow DN9A
Race 2
1st Bill Coombs, Tyrrell 009
2nd Manfredo Rossi di Montelara, Brabham BT42
3rd Nico Bindels, Lotus 87B
World Sportscar Masters
Race 1
1st Richard Evans, Osella PA01
2nd Oliver Bryant, Lola T70 Mk3B
3rd Jon Minshaw Lola T70 Mk3B
Race 2
1st Oliver Bryant, Lola T70 Mk3B
2nd Steve Tandy, Lola T70 Mk3B
3rd Richard Meins, Lola T70 Mk3B
Interserie Revival
Race 1
1st Richard Piper, McLaren M8F
2nd Frank Bradley, March 707
3rd Leo Voyazides, Lola T280
Race 2
1st Richard Piper, McLaren M8F
2nd Frank Bradley, March 707
3rd Leo Voyazides, Lola T280
Sports Racing Masters
1st Georg Kjallgren/James Littlejohn, Daren Mk2
2nd Roger Wills/Joe Twyman, McLaren M1C
3rd Sandy Watson/Martin O’Connell, Chevron B8
Pre-66 Touring Cars
1st Patrick Watts, Ford Mustand
2nd Leo Voyazides, Ford Falcon
3rd John Young, Ford Mustang
Gentleman Drivers (under 3 litre)
1st Sean Walker/Ian Flux, Lotus Elan 26R
2nd Michael Schryver, Lotus Elan 26R
3rd Alan Tice/Chris Conoley, Marcos 1800 GT
Gentleman Drivers (Over 3 litre)
1st Leo Voyazides/Simon Hadfield, AC Cobra
2nd Malcolm Johnson/Nigel Reuben, TVR Griffith
3rd Carlos Monteverde/Gary Pearson, Jaguar E Type
Keith Bluemel
06/2010
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