Masters Race Weekend 2021: Masters Endurance Legends

The More Modern Historics!

Race 1

Dex fends off every challenge to win first Masters Endurance Legends race at Donington Park

Jack Dex staved off challenges from Steve Tandy’s Lola B12/60 and team mate Max Lynn in a similar BR Engineering BR01 to in the end take a convincing win in the first Masters Endurance Legends race at Donington Park.

Having started from pole, Dex first kept a fast-starting Tandy at bay until the Lola spun off at Redgate, and then soaked up mid-race pressure from Max Lynn to increase his lead to a dominant 21 seconds at the chequered flag. In fact, towards the end it was Lynn who was forced to pull out all the stops in order to defend from his father Shaun in yet another BR01 P2 prototype.

Following home the BR01 1-2-3, Mike Newton in his MG-Lola EX257 claimed fourth ahead of Richard Cook in the Riley & Scott Mk3C and Richard Meins in the last of the BR01s. In GT’s, Olly Bryant was in a class of his own in the Ford Mustang GT-S1.

In the opening stages, Tandy was the man on the move, demoting Max Lynn to second in his chase of Jack Dex in the lead. Setting fastest lap of the race on lap 4, and further improving on that on lap 5, Tandy was soon harrying the BR01 in front of him while the two similar Russian cars of son Max and father Shaun Lynn grew ever smaller.

Mike Newton in fifth was in no man’s land, seven seconds down on the leader, but 11 seconds up on Richard Cook in the Riley & Scott Mk3C, who in turn was leading Richard Meins in the last of the four BR01s. However, from lap 7 on, Tandy had to do all over again as he spun going into Redgate, dropping down to fifth behind Newton.

In the GT class, Olly Bryant was way ahead of everyone else, first leading Mike Furness in the Courage LC75 before the next car GT car appeared – the Porsche 997 Grand-Am of Tom Jackson that in itself had some ten seconds in hand over Marcus Jewell in the 996 RSR. Next up was Colin Sowter in the Ferrari 458 GT3.

Now with three BR01s occupying the top-three, Max Lynn was closing on Dex while leaving his father trailing by five seconds. On lap 11, Tandy was back up into fourth but the gap to Shaun Lynn was still nine seconds, with Lynn setting almost identical lap times. Meanwhile at the back, Max Girardo was back in, the Dallara SP1’s engine issue from qualifying again playing up in the race.

The pit window now open, Dex had soaked up the pressure from Max Lynn to increase his lead to three seconds, with Lynn Sr now a further 15 seconds adrift. Tandy was nibbling away at the third BR01’s lead that was now cut to six seconds, while increasing his lead over Newton, Bryant and Furness.

On lap 21, suddenly all the leaders were in the pits for their mandatory stops – with Tandy coming in a second time! His spin had caused a bad vibration in his Lola B12/60 – enough reason to wisely decide on retiring the car

After the stops, Dex quickly increased his lead to 14 seconds over Lynn Jr and 20 seconds over Lynn Sr, with Newton now in a safe fourth. Cook was keeping some 13 seconds ahead of Meins in sixth, while Bryant continued to dominate in GT. Behind Furness in eighth, Jewell had got ahead of John Cockerton in the Grand-Am Porsche started by Tom Jackson, the pair chased by Sowter, the Michael McInerney/Aaron Scott Mosler MT900R and Andrew Lawley’s Porsche 911 GT3 RS, who at the end saw Simon Watts in the Lola B2K/40 come past.

As the time ticked away, Dex looked safe for the win, but Shaun Lynn was putting son Max under increasing pressure. As the 35th and final lap was completed, Max held on to take second ahead of his father. Newton, Cook, Meins, Bryant, Furness and Jewell were next up, while on the final laps Aaron Scott pipped Sowter and Cockerton for tenth overall and second of the GT cars.

Race 2

Tandy fends off the BR01s to win second Masters Endurance Legends at Donington

Steve Tandy took a hard-fought win by fending off everything that the BR01s of Jack Dex, Max Lynn and Shaun Lynn could throw at him. Taking the lead after the mandatory halfway pitstops, Tandy’s Lola B12/60 soaked up immense pressure for well over 15 minutes, the lead trio separated by less than a second lap after lap.

Ollie Hancock was an early star in Richard Cook’s Grand-Am and ALMS Riley & Scott MkIIIC but the car was thrown back by a jump-start penalty as well as an ‘elite driver’ pitstop penalty, while Mike Newton’s MG-Lola EX257 also featured strongly in the first half of the race, mixing it with the much newer BR01s and Tandy’s ex-Dyson Racing Lola.

As on Friday, Olly Bryant was the runaway leader in the GT class, followed by the Grand-Am Porsche of Tom Jackson and John Cockerton but the class turned upside down when Bryant retired his Trans-Am Ford Mustang GT-S1 while Jackson’s Porsche went off in a straight line at Redgate, having suffered from brake failure. Colin Sowter’s Ferrari 458 GT3 and Marcus Jewell’s Porsche 996 GT3 RSR consequently fought over the class win, with Sowter coming out on top.

As the field was let loose, Hancock wasted no time in passing Dex for second into Redgate and then surprised all by also jumping Max Lynn at Holly Wood for first! It soon proved that it wasn’t just for fun as the much older open-top Riley & Scott opened up a four-second gap on the younger Lynn. Hancock’s moves weren’t a fair cop, however, as he was deemed to have made a jump start.

Behind them, Dex had Tandy all over him but a botched move by Tandy on lap 4 helped a sly Newton to pip both and grab third ahead of Tandy and Dex. Lynn Sr was sixth, as Olly Bryant once more led the GT class in his Trans-Am Mustang GT-S1, again keeping ahead of Mike Furness in the P2 Courage LC75. Tom Jackson in the Grand-Am Porsche was next up, followed by Colin Sowter’s Ferrari 458 GT3 and Marcus Jewell in the Porsche 996 GT3 RSR.

Lots went on at lap 10, as Hancock came to serve his stop-and-go penalty just as Tom Jackson suffered a violent exit as Redgate, bringing out the safety car. Brake failure was the obvious cause for the Porsche’s demise. At the same time, Olly Bryant was seen limping into the pits with engine failure.

So now Max Lynn was the first car behind the safety car, trailed by Newton still punching well above his weight against Tandy’s newer P1 machine and Dex’s later P2 car. Shaun Lynn moved up into fifth while Hancock slotted back into the field in sixth, ahead of Richard Meins in the last of the BR01s. Sowter now led the GT class ahead of Jewell.

As the safety-car period endured, the pit window had opened, but none bar Tandy and then leader Max Lynn were taking the opportunity yet. Instead, Hancock was flying and in two laps had regained the lead from Newton. From third, Dex came to pit as well, leaving Hancock and Newton to come in at the next opportunity. Now S Lynn, Meins and Furness were the only ones left to pit, and they did just short of the pit window ending.

After the stops, the situation panned out with Tandy barely in the lead from M Lynn and Dex, the latter having produced fastest lap of the race. Newton trailed the leading pair by eight seconds while Richard Cook in the Riley & Scott started by Hancock had lost out in the pits by almost a minute, courtesy of the ‘elite driver’ time penalty for having Hancock in the car.

Now the fight was on for the final 12 minutes. Tandy still led but now had Dex breathing down the Lola’s rear wing, the two BR01s having swapped places. The battle was coming down to a veteran driver in an older P1 car against two young guns in newer P2 machinery. In their GT fight at the back, meanwhile, Jewell had got ahead of Sowter to lead by 1.2 seconds.

With five minutes to go, Shaun Lynn was eager to join the fun, as he set fastest lap of the race to close up to his son’s BR01 by less than three seconds. And then, Tandy got a big break as he lapped Meins in the fourth BR01 who then inadvertently baulked his teammates turning into the final chicane. Tandy’s breather was shortlived, though, as Dex cut his nine-tenths deficit to four tenths within a few corners.

Tandy’s Judd-powered grunt looked like saving him on the straight but the nimbler BR01s kept on closing in the Craner curves but then a small error by Dex into Macleans on the final lap was the decider – the win was Tandy’s. Behind Dex and his son, Shaun Lynn set another fastest lap of the race, with Newton taking fifth ahead of Meins. The Hancock/Cook Riley & Scott ended up seventh, while Sowter turned the tables on Jewell to take GT honours after all.