Historic GP Zandvoort 2020: Masters Racing Legends for 66/85 F1 Cars

Mike Cantillon produced an impeccable race to claim the first win of the weekend’s two Masters Historic Formula One races at Zandvoort. The Williams FW07C driver led from start to finish after fending off an early challenge by Marco Werner in the Lotus 77.

The German three-time Le Mans winner eventually dropped away from the leader but held on to second place and the pre-78 class win, despite race-long pressure by Steve Brooks’ Lotus 81 and Mark Hazell’s Williams FW08, Hazell in the process claiming post-83 class honours.

The top-four were a long way away from Jamie Constable (Shadow DN8) in fifth who after his mishaps in qualifying valiantly fought his way up from last on the grid. Marc Devis looked on course for sixth but the Belgian’s Surtees TS16 expired on the final tour, handing the place to Andrew Beaumont’s Lotus 76.

After a troublefree start, Cantillon had his work cut out keeping Werner at bay, while Hazell kept ahead of Brooks – but further back, the Cosworth in the back of Patrick d’Aubréby’s March 761 let go on the opening lap. The drama wasn’t over yet, as Christophe d’Ansembourg’s Brabham BT49 disappeared from third while Ron Maydon had to pit his Lec CRP1 with a broken clutch.

After the oil from d’Aubréry’s demise was cleared, the safety car made way for the race to recommence on lap 4. On the restart, Brooks pipped Hazell for third, while Constable who had started from last on the grid in his Shadow DN8 was already up into sixth, chasing Hallau’s Theodore N183. Devis was seventh in the Surtees TS16, followed by Andrew Beaumont’s Lotus 76.

At the front, Cantillon had opened up a 2.3-second gap by lap 7. Werner held a similar advantage on Brooks who in turn led Hazell by 1.6 seconds. Constable had now moved up into fifth as Hallau spun out in the daunting Scheivlak corner at the back of the circuit.

Two laps on, Cantillon’s lead was up to 5 seconds. As Werner dropped away from the leader, Brooks began closing on the older Lotus in front, with Hazell in turn starting to put pressure on Brooks. In fifth, Constable was now half a minute away from the lead, the Shadow driver having some 8 seconds in hand on Marc Devis in the Surtees. Beaumont in the Lotus 76 was a lonely seventh, well ahead of Steve Farthing in the guesting F5000 Lola T332, with Paul Tattersall in the Ensign N179 in ninth.

With three minutes left on the clock, Cantillon punched in the fastest lap of the race to put victory beyond doubt, while Werner used the final laps to slowly ease away from Brooks and Hazell. Well behind the top-four, Constable momentarily lost fifth to Devis, only to claw it back from the Surtees going into the final lap. To make matters worse for the Belgian, Devis pulled off in no-name corner to hand a last-gasp sixth to Beaumont. The Surtees’ downfall also helped Farthing and Tattersall to move up a spot while d’Ansembourg recuperated to ninth.

Despite starting fourth on the reversed grid, Mike Cantillon made no prisoners on his way to a dominant victory in the second Masters Historic Formula One race at Zandvoort. The Williams FW07C driver hit the front on lap 3 before disappearing into the distance.

Steve Brooks was on course to take second in his Lotus 81 but a spin while braking for Tarzan corner allowed Marco Werner (Lotus 77) and Mark Hazell (Williams FW08) to claim the remaining spots on the podium. The German passed poleman Hazell on lap 9 before gaining another position with the help of Brooks’ unfortunate spin. Werner and Hazell also took the pre-78 and post-83 class wins respectively.

Christophe d’Ansembourg (Brabham BT49C) looked set to take fourth ahead of Brooks but dropped down to eighth with two laps to go. This handed fifth back to Jamie Constable (Shadow DN8), who also lifted second place in the pre-78 class. In sixth, Georg Hallau (Theodore N183) took second in the post-83 class while keeping Marc Devis at bay, the Belgian crossing the line third of the pre-78 runners.

Cantillon was on the move as soon as the lights went out. Picking off one car per lap, Saturday’s winner was third after the opening lap, second after two laps and into the lead as lap 3 was completed. Setting a scorching pace with laptimes in the low 1.33s, the Williams driver then opened up a three-second gap to Steve Brooks who had outbraked polesitter Mark Hazell into Tarzan at the start of lap 4. Hazell then had to look in his mirrors as Marco Werner was ready to pounce in the pre-78 class-leading Lotus 77.

Behind the top-four, Christophe d’Ansembourg made his way up to fifth, having started ninth in his Brabham BT49C, but he was trailing Werner by ten seconds. The Belgian’s progress had pushed back Jamie Constable’s Shadow DN8 down to sixth while Georg Hallau’s Theodore N183 was another car on the move – from the back of the grid, the German was seventh ahead of Marc Devis in the Surtees TS16 and Andrew Beaumont in the Lotus 76. Meanwhile in tenth overall, Steve Farthing held his own in the guesting F5000 Lola T332.

At the front, Cantillon was down into the 1.32s, leaving Brooks to trail by 12 seconds, as Werner nipped past Hazell to snatch third. Going into lap 10, however, Brooks dropped it braking into Tarzan. By the time he got his Lotus 81 going again, 20 seconds had gone, and not just Werner and Hazell but even d’Ansembourg profited to demote Brooks down to fifth.

Towards the end, the Irish Williams driver eased his pace but even then walked further away from Werner, securing his second victory of the weekend after 16 dominant laps. 24 and 35 seconds down on the leader, Werner and Hazell completed the podium, taking pre-78 and post-83 class wins respectively. They were followed home by the hapless Brooks, with Constable taking second in the pre-78 class in fifth. D’Ansembourg, however, dropped down to eighth on the penultimate lap, as Hallau narrowly held off Devis for sixth.