Spa Six Hours 2023: Masters Racing Legends for 66/85 F1 Cars

Mike Cantillon started from pole to win the first Masters Racing Legends of the Spa Six Hours weekend, but that was hardly the full story of his race, as the Irishman spun off his Williams FW07C at La Source going into his second lap, handing the lead to Nick Padmore who had started sixth but proved the most capable in the treacherous circumstances, as the Lotus 77 driver produced a demon opening tour on a Spa circuit that only minutes before had been partly covered by a sudden downpour.

“I thought we had a good gap on the first lap, and then, well, I just lost it”, said Cantillon. “I kept the engine going, thank God, and then we were back in there.”

“Yeah, it was a good lap”, said Padmore of his first lap. “I just had to get on with it quite quickly, and be careful through the wet, and then maximize the dry.”

Padmore continued to lead while Cantillon kept picking off places until once again hitting the front on lap 7, partly helped by a mid-race safety car. Padmore held on to second place to gain another pre-78 class victory, while Ken Tyrrell (Tyrrell 011) and Werner d’Ansembourg (Brabham BT49) fought hard over third place, the American claiming it by a whisker. Matt Wrigley initially led the pre-78 class but went straight on at the chicane to hand the initiative to Padmore. The Penske PC3 driver still salvaged fifth.

“It was a good fight”, said Tyrrell, standing next to Cantillon and Padmore. “I just tried to do my best, learn from these guys that know what they’re doing.”

“A great race, I’m very happy with the results. But I can’t lie, I think I’m going to have to change my underwear after this”, said a delighted d’Ansembourg, “because the slicks in the wet, it was crazy, I’ve never done it before. But actually it was wet from Eau Rouge, but then it was a dry race, so it took me a couple of laps to really learn it. Once I knew it, I mean it’s my home track, so I was able to push through it. I couldn’t pass Ken but it was a photo finish!”

“It was fun on the first lap”, said Wrigley. “I had Ken coming inside, and at the Bus Stop I just outbraked myself. Got on a wet patch, so that was my fault, but we recovered OK. It just took me too long to get back up to pace. So I was being a bit cautious, but I kept it in one piece, and that’s the main thing.”

Behind Warren Briggs (McLaren M29), Mark Hazell (Williams FW07B) and Patrick d’Aubréby (Arrows A4), Max Werner’s Hesketh 308C claimed the final pre-78 podium spot while Ewen Sergison’s Surtees TS9B cornered the pre-72 class win. The wet La Source hairpin not only forced Cantillon into a ‘spin-and-win’ scenario, but claimed various other victims including Steve Hartley (McLaren MP4/1), Simon Fish (Arrows A4) and Yutaka Toriba (Williams FW05).

“I chose the wrong tyres”, said Werner, “and as soon as they got the car down I found that I didn’t have a clutch. So I started in second gear with the starter engine. I think the gearbox will need some work now! It was a gamble, and sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, but the car ran well, and it was a fun race.”

The Masters Racing Legends lined up for their first race of the Spa Six Hours weekend under a thick cover of clouds, as its prime-time afternoon slot in the timetable approached. However, on the formation lap, a sudden downpour enveloped the paddock area, and the race was redflagged before it had even started, to allow for teams to change to rain tyres. After a ten-minute delay, the field got underway once again, this time trailing rooster tails in their wake.

Mike Cantillon’s Williams FW07C stormed off at the head of the field, with Ken Tyrrell’s Tyrrell 011 hot on the heels of pre-78 class leader Matt Wrigley, the Penske PC3 still in second after Wrigley’s strong qualifying run. At the back of the circuit, though, pre-78 class rival Nick Padmore in the Lotus 77 proved most adept in the conditions, as he charged from sixth to second. Into the second lap, that became first when Cantillon outbraked himself into La Source and spun!

So now, after his demon first lap, Padmore led Tyrrell, with Steve Hartley’s McLaren MP4/1 and Simon Fish in the Arrows A4 moving up into third and fourth, the team mates having passed Wrigley into lap 2 as the Penske had missed the chicane. Cantillon was on his way back, however, now also passing Wrigley to reclaim fifth. Seventh was Werner d’Ansembourg in the Brabham BT49, with third-placed pre-78 runner Max Werner in eighth in the Hesketh 308C. Warren Briggs was ninth in the McLaren M29, with Patrick d’Aubréby’s Arrows A4 rounding out the top ten for now.

At the front, three laps down, Padmore wasn’t having it all on his own, though, as Tyrrell heaped loads of pressure on the Lotus. Hartley was just a few tenths behind Tyrrell, with Cantillon now back up into fourth. Further back, though, Yutaka Yoriba’s Williams FW05 had ended up stranded at La Source, resulting in the safety car’s deployment, allowing Padmore to breathe for a while.

At the end of lap 4, the field was released again, with ten minutes still remaining on the clock. Cantillon immediately pounced to pass both Fish and Hartley at the restart to be third, as this time Fish dropped places at La Source, only to rejoin in 11th. A four-way battle developed at the front in which Padmore still led, but Cantillon was back into second place as the leaders completed lap 6. Behind Tyrrell in third, La Source claimed another victim – now it was Hartley, allowing Werner d’Ansembourg to move up to fourth, with Wrigley fifth and Briggs in sixth. Meanwhile, Mark Hazell had steadily risen to seventh ahead of d’Aubréby, Werner and Ewen Sergison in the pre-72 class-leading Surtees TS9B.

An unleashed Cantillon was back in front on lap 7, with a fastest lap of the race that left the competition floundering, as he immediately led Padmore by 2.5 seconds. The Irishman had dropped Tyrrell by six seconds, as the American in the Tyrrell now had his hands full with holding off d’Ansembourg’s Brabham. Wrigley was a steady fifth, with Briggs equally in no man’s land in sixth.

On lap 9, Cantillon had left Padmore trailing by four seconds as he went into his tenth and final lap. Easing off towards the chequered flag, his winning margin over Padmore still amounted to 2.3 seconds. Tyrrell narrowly held off d’Ansembourg for third while in fifth overall Wrigley claimed second to Padmore in the pre-78 class. Briggs, Hazell and d’Aubréby were next, while Max Werner and Ewen Sergison completed the top-ten while finishing third in the pre-78 class and winning the pre-72 class respectively.

For the second time on the same day, another young d’Ansembourg climbed the top step of the podium for the first time in his historic racing career, as Werner d’Ansembourg copied what his brother Antoine had done in the Masters Endurance Legends race in the morning – passing the leader on the opening lap and never looking back in the remaining laps. The result was that d’Ansembourg’s Brabham BT49 won the second Masters Racing Legends race at Spa with a commanding lead over Ken Tyrrell’s Tyrrell 011 and Mike Cantillon’s Williams FW07C.

“I started the race on fresh tyres and I was lucky to overtake on the first lap”, said d’Ansembourg. “Then it was a clean race with clean weather on a track that I know well, so I just kept going. So lots of fun, and very happy with the result. Incredible weekend. Yeah, what a weekend for the family.”

Cantillon had passed Tyrrell for second on lap 10 but the race was redflagged when on the same lap Steve Hartley crashed his McLaren MP4/1 at Stavelot. On countback, Tyrrell remained second ahead of Cantillon while Simon Fish (Arrows A4) took an inspired fourth ahead of Hartley and pre-78 class winner Nick Padmore.

“I had a nice gap on Mike”, said Tyrrell, “but with the backmarkers, he caught right up. And he’s too good to have right behind yet. So he got by, but then I guess with the red flag, we got a little gift…”

“It was great racing”, said Cantillon. “Really thoroughly enjoyed it. Fighting with the guys and lots of racing – that’s what it’s all about. And I’m really pleased for Werner to get the win.”

Padmore’ Lotus 77 had battled pole sitter and pre-78 class rival Matt Wrigley all race but when Wrigley was forced to retire his Penske PC3 with a broken driveshaft, Padmore was home free for his second class win of the weekend. In ninth overall, Ewen Sergison (Surtees TS9B) got his second pre-72 class win of the weekend.

“It was good, it’s just a shame that Matt broke down. I was really enjoying that”, said Padmore. “I could see it smoking for about four or five laps. I thought, any minute now it’s going to go. But it’s mega, we may have won the championship now. So that’s brilliant. Get in there!”

In the final Masters race of the Spa Six Hours weekend, the Masters Racing Legends cars went out in sunny conditions that compared favourably with how the day had started. Matt Wrigley’s Penske PC3 started from pole but soon Werner d’Ansembourg emulated his brother Antoine’s move in the earlier Masters Endurance Legends race to storm into the lead on the Kemmel Straight. So going into lap 2, d’Ansembourg’s Brabham BT49 led Wrigley’s Penske, Ken Tyrrell in the Tyrrell 011 and Wrigley’s pre-78 rival Nick Padmore in the Lotus 77. Friday winner Mike Cantillon was fifth in the Williams FW07C, followed by Warren Briggs (McLaren M29), Mark Hazell (Williams FW07B), Simon Fish (Arrows A4) and Patrick d’Aubreby in another A4 while Steve Hartley got his McLaren MP4/1 up into tenth.

Setting a blistering pace by using his intimate track knowledge, the other young d’Ansembourg created a gap of no less than 4.5 seconds in two laps, as Tyrrell passed Wrigley for second while Cantillon stole fourth from Padmore. The next time around, however, Tyrrell had cut his deficit to 3.9 seconds as the order in the top five remained static. Further back, Hartley had got up to eighth, passing both d’Aubreby and Hazell, while Fish had demoted Briggs to seventh. It was the end for Max Werner, though, his Hesketh 308C stopping with a engine issue on a safe spot at the top of the Raidillon.

On lap 4, d’Ansembourg turned the ride to put in another barnstormer of a lap, leaving Tyrrell gasping at a six-second gap, while Cantillon moved into third to leave Wrigley and Padmore contest the pre-78 class by themselves. A fighting Fish was close, though, and soon joined the battle for fourth overall. His teammate Hartley, meanwhile, had cleared Briggs who now had Hazell and d’Aubreby to worry about.

Maintaining a searing pace around his home track, d’Ansembourg left Tyrrell looking at a 8.6-second disadvantage after five laps – and Cantillon wasn’t closing on the leaders either. Two seconds behind the Irishman, Wrigley and Padmore were still nose-to-tail, the Penske defending bravely against the Lotus, but one lap later, the flying Simon Fish had his Arrows A4 up into fourth after passing the warring pre-78 machines. Moments later, Wrigley’s driveshaft failed… and Hazell was out too with gearbox issues.

On lap 8, d’Ansembourg looked home safe with 13 seconds in hand over Tyrrell, but Tyrrell’s second place was anything but safe – a late charge from Cantillon saw the Williams closing up on the Tyrrell 011’s gearbox. Nine seconds further down the road, Fish and Hartley fought over fourth place while Padmore was now trying to keep his nose clean to bring home a valuable pre-78 class win in sixth.

While d’Ansembourg delivered another shock win for the family, Cantillon indeed passed Tyrrell for second on lap 10, but then the race was redflagged as Steve Hartley had crashed his McLaren MP4/1 at Stavelot. This meant that the result was taken from the last completed lap, restoring Tyrrell to second and maintaining Hartley in fifth. Briggs, d’Aubreby, pre-72 class winner Ewen Sergison (Surtees TS9B) and Paul Tattersall’s Ensign N179 rounded out the top ten.