Masters Historic Festival 2025: Masters Gentlemen Drivers

A strong opening stint by John Tordoff kept the Lotus Elan in contention, before Andrew Jordan stormed through in the second half to snatch victory from the troubled TVRs of Whitaker/Hancock and Spiers/Greensall. Hancock held onto second, but Greensall limped home sixth, nursing fading brakes.

“I just tried to keep up and let Andrew work his magic,” said Tordoff. “The TVRs were slowing – we were catching by seconds a lap!”

“It was brilliant,” added Jordan. “Once I saw the TVRs, I pushed hard. In the Elan you can go flat out without worrying about brakes.”

Mike Whitaker and Sam Hancock’s Griffith suffered from brake fade. “There were still brakes for Sam at the start of his stint, but by the end they were gone,” said Whitaker.

“I probably overdid it when Nigel [Greensall] was catching,” admitted Hancock. “Pedal to the floor. But sometimes you just can’t stop the mighty Jordan!”

Spiers, meanwhile, had his own battle with Whitaker early on. “It was fun – we were quicker in different corners,” he said. “But we took too much out of the brakes.”

Greensall described the finish as pure survival: “I had no fourth gear, no brakes – just downshifting for engine braking. Wild!”

Behind them, the Mooney/Kay Elan took third overall and second in class after a solid second stint from Kay. Quintero and Jamieson, early front-runners, dropped to fourth.

Further back, the Sautter/Newall Jaguar E-type made a strong comeback to seventh. “It was Elan City out there!” said Newall.

The 90-minute race started with Spiers on pole and Whitaker and Thistlethwayte in close pursuit, before attrition, safety cars, and strategy played their part. A key moment came when Thistlethwayte’s Cobra retired, and Spiers briefly went off, handing the lead to Whitaker before the safety car bunched up the field.

The Elans gained ground during the stops, with Jordan emerging as a major threat. A slow stop for Whitaker and penalties for both TVRs helped the Elan surge to the front.

By the final third, Hancock briefly led, Greensall was chasing hard, and Jordan was flying. Greensall took the lead on lap 38, but Jordan soon swept past them all to seal a memorable win.