Masters Historic F1s Delighted with Singapore GP Outing

27 Sep 2014

Masters Historic Racing is celebrating a successful weekend at the Singapore Grand Prix at which its combined grid of cars from Europe and North America made a stunning spectacle.

Masters Historic Racing Event Manager Rachel Bailey said: “We were delighted with our two races at Marina Bay. The reaction from the fans was stunning, many of whom had never seen Formula One cars of the 70s and 80s, and the drivers loved the track, the atmosphere and the competition. That contemporary F1 drivers watched – and enjoyed – our races made it even more of a thrill.”

A grid of historic Formula One cars made a stirring sight around the Marina Bay street circuit in Singapore, thrilling fans as they offered the perfect backdrop to the Singapore Grand Prix.

Ollie Hancock (Fittipaldi F5A) won both races in Singapore, his first coming after a great duel with Michael Lyons (Hesketh 308E). Lyons leapt into the lead when Hancock ran wide line at Turn 7 setting up a great fight between the young guns, until traces of smoke from Lyons’s Hesketh forced the Fittipaldi driver to drop back and take a different approach. Lyons was able to keep the Fittipaldi in his wake for six laps. It was a nail-biting period for Team Lyons as his pit crew signalled him to return to the pits to save the engine. On the seventh lap disaster struck: Lyons’ front locked up and the Hesketh careered into an escape road, enveloped in white smoke. Hancock, his Fittipaldi smeared in oil, took the win by a comfortable 10.3 seconds from the March 761 of Aaron Scott, with Joaquin Folch third in Bernie Ecclestone’s Brabham BT49C (later demoted for passing under yellow). The ex-Ronnie Peterson Lotus 76, driven by Andrew Beaumont, finished fourth, ahead of the Keith Frieser’s Shadow DN1.

Hancock strolled to victory in Sunday’s race, 31.77 seconds ahead of Aaron Scott (March 761) and Folch (Brabham BT49C). There were battles throughout the field with fourth finally going to Richard Eyre’s ex-Keke Rosberg Williams FW08. Eyre scrapped initially with Andrew Beaumont (Lotus 76), but Beaumont was then pipped to the flag by Max Hilliard-Smith’s Wolf-Williams in a magnificent drive from the rear of the grid. Sadly, the hard-charging Lyons suffered the same issue that plagued him in the opening race. At one stage he had hauled the Hesketh up to fourth but had to call it a day, pulling into pit lane at half-distance.

“The circuit felt pretty slippery, to be fair,” said Hancock, spotting a left-front puncture post-race. “There was a lack of grip and the car’s very hot. We were on the edge and I had to slow down and speed up when I could, just to manage the temperature. I’ve never done anything in this sort of humidity.”

Masters HGP racers are next in action at Sonoma on October 4/5 and the final races in the FIA Masters Historic Formula One Championship are at Jerez, Spain, on October 10-12.

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