Silverstone Festival 2024: Masters Gentlemen Drivers

The Silverstone Festival got the best possible finale to three epic days of racing when Olivier Hart and Julian Thomas produced a brilliant fight for the win that lasted for the final 20 minutes of the 50-minute Masters Gentlemen Drivers race, with the young Dutchman coming out on top in their intra-Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupé battle. For lap after lap, Thomas gave absolutely everything to repeat his Zandvoort victory but his young Dutch adversary hung on by the skin of his teeth in what was an accomplished defensive drive. The two cars were side by side on many occasions, with Thomas leading for half a lap, but they never once touched.

“Yes, I saw 15 minutes and I thought, how am I going to do this?” said Hart. “But I’ve raced with Julian a lot of times and I know he’s a fair driver. So I thought, maybe try and race him! And that’s what I did, and he was fair and square. One of my best races I did in historic motorsport. So I’m very happy and proud to be on the top step. I know the strength of his engine, it’s quick and has a lot of horsepower, but I calculated in my head where he could overtake me. I then positioned my car at the right spot and always looked with one eye in the mirror.”

“I’ve got no words. That’s the most fun I’ve ever had”, said an equally jubilant Thomas. “I was trying to get alongside him, but he’s so good – he just put his car exactly where he needed. He made a couple of mistakes but didn’t lose too much time. It was just gentlemen driving but inch-to-inch brilliant!”

Nine seconds behind the superb struggle for ultimate glory, Harry Barton netted a strong third to be the lead TVR Griffith home, two places ahead of the John Spiers/Nigel Greensall Griff, that in the hands of Greensall led the early part of the race. In fourth overall, Dan Eagling made a massacre of the CLP class, his Ginetta G4R slaying many powerful giants along the way. His nearest Lotus Elan rivals Giles Dawson and Shaun Balfe/Tom Ashton duelled hard for second place in class but finished in 12th and 13th overall.

Austin Healey 3000s dominated the C2 class, with Joseph Willmott leading for the entirity of the race, leaving the Tom Waterfield/Michael Russell and Doug Muirhead/Jeremy Welch pairings to squabble over second place in class. The former combo eventually took it.

As the grand finale to a bright and sunny Sunday at the Silverstone Festival, the pre-66 GT cars of the Masters Gentlemen Drivers series lined up for their International Trophy race of 50 minutes. After an eventful opening lap, Nigel Greensall’s TVR Griffith led Olivier Hart in the Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupé, while John Davison and Harry Barton fought over third in two more Griffiths, both pushing down Julian Thomas in the second Daytona Cobra. In sixth, Dan Eagling was flying in the CLP-class-leading Ginetta G4R, with the Jaguar E-types of Gary Pearson and Graeme Dodd up next. Mike Whitaker’s TVR was ninth ahead of John Pearson’s E-type.

In 13th and 14th overall, the Elans of Giles Dawson and Shaun Balfe contested second place in the CLP class, while three Austin Healey 3000s were nose-to-tail in their struggle for the C2 class lead, Joseph Willmott leading Crispin Harris and Tom Waterfield. In 25th overall, Catesby Jones was the comfortable C1 class leader in the Porsche 904/6.

At the front, Greensall led Hart by 1.7 seconds on lap 3, but four more seconds back, Barton and Thomas had repassed Davison, with Eagling latching on to the third Griffith. Behind them, the field settled down, but in 13th to 16th, four Elans nearly created one super-Elan, as Dawson, Balfe, Shaun Lynn and Matthew Wrigley all wanted second place in the CLP class. Then, on lap 4, the E-types of John Pearson and Graeme Dodd switched places, as Miles Griffiths’ Daytona Cobra and Andy Newall in yet another E-type joined them in 11th and 12th overall.

Five laps done, Greensall’s lead had grown to 2.4 seconds while Barton – now five seconds down on the leader – had inched away from Thomas, who in turn had dropped Davison by five ticks. Eagling’s giant-slaying exercise continued in sixth, while Mike Whitaker had cleared the fastest E-type of Gary Pearson to take seventh. Further back, Dawson had opened up a useful seven-second gap on Balfe to be a more secure second in the CLP class. In C2, Willmott and Harris were still first and second, but Doug Muirhead had claimed third from Waterfield. The C1 class was still led by Jones in the 904/6.

The pit window now open, Graeme Dodd – handing the E-type to son James – and Balfe – replaced by Tom Ashton – were the first to blink on lap 7, but for the moment the leaders continued to circulate in the same order. Davison was next on lap 8, joined by Gary Pearson who would give the Jaguar to Alex Brundle. Barton followed on lap 10, but the rest still stayed out. There was more action on track, though, as Greensall’s lead had slowly evaporated, young Hart now just eight tenths away, before both chose to come in on lap 11, immediately followed by Thomas, Eagling, Whitaker and the other Pearson E-type, Gary taking over from John. Further back, Adrian Newey had handed his E-type to son Harrison, as the Red Bull designer chose Silverstone over the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort.

In the pitlane, the three leaders were seen rejoining the fast lane in the pits at almost the same time, but in a different order – Hart now leading fellow Daytona Cobra driver Thomas, with Spiers down to third in the Griffith started by Greensall. In the CLP class, Eagling remained well ahead of Dawson, who in turn held a sizeable gap over Ashton. Joseph Willmott continued to lead the C2 class, but Jeremy Welch – in the Big Healey started by Muirhead was up into second ahead of Michael Russell, who had taken over from Waterfield. In C1, however, the Porsche 904/6 had retired to hand the TVR Grantura of Jack Willmott the lead.

On lap 13, Hart still led Thomas, but the latter had the bit between his teeth, looking for a repeat of his Zandvoort win, as he closed the gap to the Dutchman to 1.7 seconds. Barton was a strong third, seven seconds down on Thomas but six seconds up on Spiers, while Eagling was flying even more – the Ginetta now in fifth overall, ahead of James Dodd’s E-type, Miles Griffiths’ Cobra Daytona, Mike Whitaker and Gary Pearson, while Peter Thompson’s Griffith had just passed Dawson for tenth overall, as Davison was forced to retire his TVR to the pits.

With 12 minutes left, the two Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupés were nose to tail, as Thomas was looking to pounce. Behind them, Eagling had just slayed another giant, as Spiers gave up fourth to the Ginetta. On the edge of the top ten, Brundle had cleared the warring Elans of Dawson and Ashton, and looked at demoting Thompson, team mate Pearson and Whitaker as well, all locked in as visual targets.

Less then ten minutes now remained on the clock, and Thomas looked to his rival’s left and right for a way past but Hart Jnr stuck to his guns, even fighting back at the moment Thomas looked set to take the lead into Maggotts. As they braked for Stowe, however, Thomas was through. Was it over, though? No! Hart charged back into the lead as the pair navigated The Loop on the next lap.

Now all eyes were on the leaders as they continued their epic struggle for victory. Now, lap after lap, Hart managed to keep Thomas at bay – this was thrilling stuff. Eight seconds behind, Barton had third place sealed, while Eagling looked secure in fourth and in the CLP class lead, now three seconds ahead of Spiers. The E-type of the Dodds and the Pearsons were next, as they held off Whitaker, Griffiths and Brundle.

Two more laps remained, and again Thomas seemed to have slightly more power on the Hangar Straight, but Hart kept on defending valianty. On the final lap, Thomas tried yet again, putting a wheel on the grass, but Olivier Hart hung on to it after a dramatic 20-minute dice for the win. Barton took a fine third, nine seconds in arrears, while Dan Eagling completed a dominant CLP-class run in fourth overall. The Greensall/Spiers Griffith took fifth ahead of the Dodd and Pearson E-types, Whitaker, Griffiths and Brundle, who slowed towards the end.

In 12th overall, Dawson fended off Ashton for second in the CLP class, with Ashton in turn chased home hard by the Shaun & Max Lynn and Simon & Dominik Jackson Elans. Joseph Willmott headed an Austin Healey 1-2-3 in C2, having been in the lead from start to finish, as the Tom Waterfield/Michael Russell combo beat the Doug Muirhead/Jeremy Welch pairing to second in class. With Jack Willmott also retiring, there were no runners left in C1.