Race Report: BRSCC Grand Prix Masters and World Sportcar Masters April 2-4 2010
The BRSCC meeting featured a mixed bag of races supported the start of a new season of Superleague Formula racing, including the Dutch Supercar Challenge, CIK-FiA European Superkart championship, bookatrack.com Caterham superlight R300 championship and two very different historic car race series, the Grand Prix Masters and the World Sportscar Masters.
Grand Prix Masters Series, features 3 litre Formula One cars built between 1968 and 1985. Divided into classes;Clark has the pre wing cars raced between 1966 and 68, Stewart for cars raced between 1969 and 1971, Fittipaldi for cars raced between 1972 and 74, Lauda for 1975 to 78 and Head for the post 1978 to 85 ground effect and flat bottomed cars. There were two races for these beautiful cars over the course of the weekend, the first being on Good Friday the second, after the lunch break on Easter Saturday.
With a relatively small field of just eleven cars from the Fittipaldi, Lauda and Head classes, the spectators were treated to two enthralling races. Drivers included Former British Touring car Champion, Anthony Reid in an Ex Alan Jones Williams FW07B, fellow British Legend Frank Sytner, drove the magnificently restored Hesketh 308B that James Hunt rocked the F1 establishment with. Classic F3 pedaller Bill Coombs in his first taste of F1 took to Silverstone’s Grand Prix track in a Tyrrell 009, Series Founder Ron Maydon in a very rare Amon F101 and Japanese driver, Katsuaki Kabota, who is fast making a bit of a name for himself within classic racing scene, driving another Williams FW07C.
Race One
In damp conditions it was Anthony Reid who eased away from the chasing pack until the rotor arm of his Williams’ DFV failed with just 2 laps to go, gifting the win to series debutant Bill Coombs’ Tyrrell 009. A further 8 seconds down the road Kabota brought home his Williams in 2nd with Abba Cogan’s Arrows A3 taking the final podium place.
Race Two
In bright sunny conditions, Reid fought through from the forth row of the grid to hit the front on lap 7 only to be denied the win he richly deserved by another un-named engine problem, the beneficiary this time being Kabota, who took the lead from Reid’s ailing Williams at the newly re-profiled Club corner on the final tour. Reid had done enough to bag a secure second place with Bill Coombs bringing his Tyrrell home in a lonely 3rd place. Abba Cogan’s ex Jochen Mass Arrows A3 sustained Front wing damage on the first lap after contact with Philip Hall’s similar car, finishing a distant 4th with Sytner’s Hesketh crossing the line 5th.
World Sportscar Masters features Le Mans type Group 4 prototypes built between the mid 1960’s to 1974.
The Weekend closed with the World Sportscar Masters Enduro. It was worth the wait as 25 beautiful prototypes took to the track in the late afternoon sunshine. No less than nine Lola’s of various description, nine Chevron’s, two GT40’s, a gorgeous Abarth PA01, a Cooper Monaco King Cobra and a bright orange Porsche 911 RSR as well as a Taydec Mk3 and a Cooper T61M. On pole, the Lola T70 Mk3b driven by classic racing stalwart, Martin Stretton sharing driving duties with David Coplowe. The Arbarth PA01, shared by John Crowson and Richard Evans lined up next to them on the front row. On the second row American Indy car Legend Bobby Rahal who has confirmed that he will be doing a full season of Masters races driving a bright Orange Lola T212 and Anthony Reid and Shane Kelly’s Lola T70 Mk3 Spyder.
At the start Rahal took the lead with Reid and Evans in close attendance. By the end of the second lap the Arbarth had hit the front and eased away from Reid who passed Rahal on the exit of Becketts a lap later. Evans pitted the Arbarth on lap 25, for there compulsory driver change, John Crowson took over but spun on his out lap handing the lead and the win to the Reid-Kelly Lola T70 Spyder. The bright yellow Tandy-Chambers Lola T70 Mk3b finished 2nd after a steady well paced run, with the Fox-Hales lola T210 finished 3rd, Crowson brought the Arbarth PA01 home in 4th, with Martin Stretton who took over the number 45 car on lap 16, with the car in 16th place, set the fastest lap of the race on lap 30 on his way to 5th.
Thus rounded off a great Easter weekend of on track action.
Images: Graham Dalley
