Masters Historic Racing at Formula 1® Pirelli United States Grand Prix 2024: Masters Racing Legends for 66/85 F1 Cars

Cantillon started the 20-minutes plus one lap race from pole position and preserved his spot on the run up the steep climb to Turn 1, with Meeker slotting into second place.

But Meeker shadowed Cantillon and grabbed the lead along the back straight, shortly before the Safety Car was deployed due to William Shields’ March 722 coming to a halt by the side of the track.

The Safety Car interlude lasted only a single lap and at the restart the battle raged between Meeker and Cantillon, with Cantillon placing his Williams FW07C up the inside of Meeker’s Tyrrell 009 on several occasions, only for Meeker to fight back and reclaim top spot.

Eventually Cantillon scythed his way past Meeker into Turn 12 and the Canadian was unable to fight back, allowing Cantillon to build a slender buffer at the helm of the pack.

Any hopes of a fightback from Meeker was extinguished in the closing stages when his Tyrrell 009 came to a halt at the last turn, to the understandable frustration of its occupant.

That gave Cantillon a healthy advantage up front and he crossed the line 9.1 seconds clear after 11 laps of action.

“Firstly what a privilege to be here in front of an amazing crowd, thank you to Masters,” said Cantillon.

“It was a fantastic race, I didn’t expect Cal to come down my inside on the back straight, I was shocked, fair play to him! We had a great race, really clean, I finally got him about halfway through the race and pulled a gap on hm. I could see Jamie waiting for me to have a bang so had to keep on my toes, I’m so thrilled, I don’t know what to say – another one tomorrow!

Jamie Constable slotted into second position following Meeker’s demise, while third spot went to Steve Brooks’ Lotus 91.

“It was a wonderful race,” said Constable. “Great fun, we were mixing it around, some great racing – they had more speed on the straights, they’re great guys to race with, so it made it good fun and hopefully it was great for people watching too.”

Brooks overhauled Todd Willing for what was fourth place at Turn 1, which became third – and a spot on the podium – when Meeker’s race was run.

Willing brought his March 721G home in fourth position while James Hagan made up three spots in his Tyrrell 011B to wind up in fifth place.

Michael Fitzgerald finished sixth in his Arrows A4, ahead of Doug Mockett’s Penske PC4, with just a seven-tenths buffer separating him from Steve Cook’s Chevron B27, with Cook fronting the charge in the Formula Atlantics category.

Octavio Rincon (March 821) and Charles Warner (Shadow DN9) rounded out the overall top 10.

Kyle Buxton (March 77B) and Josh Boller (Chevron B29) classified second and third in the Formula Atlantics class, respectively.

Race 2 of Masters Historic is scheduled for 10:00 local time on Sunday.

Cantillon led away from pole position while Constable slotted into second place, and the duo streaked away up front while exchanging fastest laps.

Constable threatened Cantillon’s position but Cantillon responded with his own fastest lap and duly opened a slender buffer over his opponent through the majority of the 20-minute plus one lap race.

The majority of the entertainment on a sunny Sunday morning was supplied by Cal Meeker.

Meeker started only 19^th on the grid after a failure towards the closing stages of Race 1 but carved his way into the top 10 on the opening lap, before crossing the line in sixth next time around.

Meeker continued to push and worked his way up into fourth spot, and gave pursuit to third-placed Todd Willing.

But Meeker spun through Turn 8 and tumbled down the order, initially unable to return the car to the track.

The stricken Tyrrell 009 caused the deployment of the Safety Car, bunching the field up, and leaving just one green flag lap of racing when it pulled back into the pits.

That provided an opportunity for Constable but Cantillon swiftly pulled clear and wrapped up victory by a margin of 2.1 seconds, completing a clean sweep of the weekend’s action.

“Incredible race,” said Cantillon. “Jamie kept me really honest out there, he filled my mirrors, I got a bit stressed because we came across traffic and I know he’s going to carve through. With the Safety Car I thought ‘oh gosh’, then one lap to go, I went into the final corner too deep and I was waiting to see Jamie go straight past me! It was fantastic, so thrilled, great racing.”

Constable came home in second place

“A wonderful race,” said Constable. “The Safety Car was fun because it gave me a little bit of a chance at the end, but Mike had the pace in all the right places, but it was a fun race, very happy to end up in second.”

Willing brought his March 721G home in third spot, after an early battle with Steve Brooks, to climb onto the podium.

“I had a great dice with Brooks in the first couple of laps, that gave me a bit of a gap, until Cal caught up to me,” said Willing. “I saw him in my mirrors for a lap and a half and then he spun, thought I was home free but we had the Safety Car, and Steve was behind me, but one lap to hold off, delighted to be third.”

Brooks settled for fourth, Octavio Rincon took fifth spot in his March 821, while Steve Cook was sixth overall and once again led the way in the Formula Atlantics class in his Chevron B27.

Michael Fitzgerald took seventh in the Arrows A4, ahead of Doug Mockett’s Penske PC4, with Charles Warner’s Shadow DN9 ninth.

The top 10 was rounded out by second in Formula Atlantic class Kyle Buxton, with Josh Boller third in category.