Iconic F1 machines from Williams and Lotus shared the victory spoils as the Masters Historic Festival drew to a sunny conclusion at Brands Hatch this afternoon (Sunday). Mark Hazell won the opening Masters Racing Legends contest before Nick Padmore claimed honours in race two.
The first race was an absolute thriller as Hazell withstood pressure from a very quick chasing pack. The pole-sitter led every lap in his Williams FW07B, but he was looking in his mirrors throughout the race with Padmore’s Lotus 77 close behind.
Whilst Hazell held off Padmore, the latter was defending from Jamie Constable’s Tyrrell 011B which made several attempts to pass. And there was another Tyrrell in the chase too with Ken Tyrrell, no relation to his namesake the famous team boss, drawing ever closer to the leading trio in his 011 as the race wore on.
The fight at the front threatened to develop into a five-way battle royale as Steve Hartley surged through the field in his McLaren MP4/1 before he eventually ran off the track and caused a red flag. Despite causing the stoppage with his crash, Hartley was classified fifth when the race ended, with the four ahead of him remaining in order.
In the second Masters Racing Legends race for three-litre Grand Prix cars from 1966 until 1985, it was Padmore’s turn to enjoy a run to the top step of the podium. Hartley was granted an opportunity to bounce back from his earlier disappointment by starting from pole and the McLaren initially made a strong getaway to lead from the front.
Hartley lead the opening seven laps before once again dropping out of the race, opening things for Padmore who’d worked his way into second early on. Padmore held on to the chequered flag to win by just over two seconds from Tyrrell who completed a strong showing.
Hazell drove a good race from fifth on the grid to take the final step on the podium ahead of Warren Briggs and Mark Higson, both of whom were racing McLarens.
Masters Racing Legends, Brands Hatch, Race 1 Top 6
- Mark Hazell, Williams FW07B
- Nick Padmore, Lotus 77, +0.341s
- Jamie Constable, Tyrrell 011B, +0.993ss
- Ken Tyrrell, Tyrrell 011, +1.953s
- Steve Hartley, McLaren MP4/1, +3.891s
- Warren Briggs, McLaren M29, +15.718s
Masters Racing Legends, Brands Hatch, Race Top 6
- Nick Padmore, Lotus 77, +0.341s
- Ken Tyrrell, Tyrrell 011,
- Mark Hazell, Williams FW07B
- Warren Briggs, McLaren M29
- Mark Higson, McLaren MP4/1B
- Mark Harrison, Shadown DN9
Other highlight races of the day included a pair of 40-minute contests for the Masters Endurance Legends series for ‘90s and ‘00s Le Mans prototypes and GTs. Both of these races were won by Peugeot LMP1 machinery with Steve Brooks winning the opener from Stuart Wiltshire’s similar 90X. Wiltshire won the second race after Brooks retired.
Click here to view full results from this race event.