The Masters, with their four racing series, have now found their appeal in Styria and celebrated a premiere with the Austrian Historic at the Red Bull Ring. Around 8,000 fans got their money's worth, although some starting fields were still a bit sparse, which is likely due to the distance from their „homeland.“.
The main attraction at Austrian Historic was of course the two Formula 1 Legends races between 1965 and 85. Under a cloudy-warm sky on Saturday, pole-sitter Steve Hartley took off in his McLaren MP4/1, followed by the ChromeCars trio Michael Lyons, Nick Padmore, and Marco Werner, all in their Lotuses in the Monaco Configuration. The Brit Steve Brooks in a Lotus 91 and the American Jonathan Holtzman in his 6-wheeled Tyrrell P-34 battled for fifth place. As Holtzman was alone in the Fittipaldi-category only Philippe Bonny was still on the road in a Trojan T103-1, and the Frenchman was plagued by a wheel bearing defect, Brooks didn't necessarily have to be kept. The scene at the front was unchanged: Hartley just ahead of Lyons, two seconds behind him Padmore and Werner in his slipstream. Since Hartley and Lyons were intensely occupied with each other, Padmore was able to catch up. On the sixth lap, Lyons had overtaken his countryman. Georg Hallau in his Theodore-Ensign N183 crept up a little on the Tyrrell, without coming within striking distance. When Nick Padmore's Lotus 88B rolled out with a rear axle problem, Marco Werner was able to take third place at the Austrian Historic, even though the clutch of the 87B, somewhat overstressed since Monaco, was increasingly causing problems. With Hartley's McLaren practically hanging on the gearbox of his Lotus, Michael Lyons crossed the finish line as the winner.
Gasoline in the Lotus cockpit during the Austrian Historic
Steve Hartley – also known as „Jam Baron“ – had managed to win all previous Masters races of the season, and he would succeed in doing so on this magnificent course nestled in the landscape above Spielberg on Sunday. He even beat Michael Lyons, the leader in the Lauda class, by 5.8 seconds. „Mr. Breakdown„ was with Nick Padmore and Marco Werner, who took third place one after the other. Marco: “My brakes failed on the ninth lap.„ Nick's comment on the 13th lap: “Suddenly fuel was dripping into the cockpit, presumably through a leaky fuel gauge line.„ Steve Brooks thus inherited third place without a fight, ahead of Belgian Marc Devis in a Lotus 78. Georg Hallau had already become a spectator by then, as his car had rolled to a halt with gearbox damage. Starting number 5, Holtzman, once again finished fifth overall, receiving the “Fittipaldi consecration." In this attrition-filled race, only two other drivers were classified: Arthur Bruckner in the ex-Surer-Arrows A6 and Philippe Bonny, whose declining engine power had kept him in the pits for a long time. Hartley had set a worthy exclamation point with the fastest lap of the race.
Peugeot Prototype Double Winner
Within the first three laps of the endurance race, British driver Steve Tandy’s Peugeot 90X had already gained as many seconds on Canadian Keith Frieser’s Zytek 09S. Belgian driver Christophe d’Ansembourg, who was still in third place at that point, made a major driving error that sent him to the back of the field. His James Bond-style comeback was then rewarded with a fourth-place finish in the Lola-Aston Martin DBR1-2 bearing start number 007. No sooner had Friese overtaken Tandy than the latter countered and subsequently gained eight seconds on the Canadian. Another eight seconds behind was Marco Werner in the ChromeCars Lotus, leading his LMP2 class, who was also the first to take advantage of the open pit stop window. The three GT leaders—Timo Scheibner and Alexander Lienau, both in Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3s, and sandwiched between them, Jason Wright’s Ferrari 458 GT3—met in the 14th lap for their pit stop rendezvous. Frieser and Tandy, on the other hand, waited until shortly before the window closed. While Tandy maintained the lead, Frieser had to briefly cede his second-place position to Marco Werner due to a spin and was only able to reclaim it on the penultimate lap. The GT classification went to Scheibner ahead of Wright. At the finish, Tandy was well ahead of Frieser and signaled his intention to set the pace in the second race as well.
Austrian Historic – Final Chord as Usual
The final race at the Red Bull Ring, the second endurance race, was similar to the first. Steve Tandy finished 25.491 seconds ahead of Keith Frieser, and Marco Werner easily secured the second class victory in his Lotus, finishing third overall. Like in the first round, Christophe d'Ansembourg had to compensate for a driving error with a comeback. As in the first race, Marco Werner was the first to make his mandatory pit stop, followed by Stephan Jobstl, who handed over his Ligier JS P3 to Andy Willis. Mike Furness completed his first race kilometers in such a Ligier after taking over from Ron Maydon. In the GT class, Timo Scheibner had built up a 21-second lead over Jason Wright. The P3 class was clearly won by the Oreca LMPC 10 of Rick Carolino and Aaron Scott. Last place went to Mike Furness, who still seems to need to get used to the Ligier.
Lean yield
While the gentlemen drivers had 38 starters at the „Masters Historic Festival“ in Brands Hatch, the trip to Styria was apparently too far for some. Of course, Julian Thomas and Colum Lockie, who had celebrated victories at Silverstone and Donington Park with their Shelby American Daytona Coupe, could not be missed and slipped into the favorite role here. In the first 30 minutes of the one-and-a-half-hour race, Julian Thomas led clearly ahead of Lee Mowle's Jaguar E-Type and Phil Keen. Then, gearbox problems in the Daytona required a repair stop, costing a full two laps. Thus, Lee Mowle was able to easily hand over to Phil Keen on the 21st lap, with the instruction to drive to finish. In contrast, Nick Padmore in a Ferrari 250 Lusso had to build up a considerable lead in the GT class before handing over to Marco Werner, because his status as a successful professional racer included an „Elite Penalty“ - meaning a time penalty. This, of course, did not come to pass, as the Ferrari was plagued by severe brake problems and had to be retired. Although Calum Lockie was able to compensate for a lost lap, the E-Type had gotten away. The Swedish duo Nils-Fredrik Nyblaeus/Johan Rosendahl took third place with an Austin Healey 3000, ahead of the Lotus Elan 26R of Wolfgang and Christian Molitor. And – sorry, dear spectators – that was it for the gentlemen.
For the modest field of gentlemen, the audience was compensated with a decent supporting program. The undoubted attraction was Jason Wright's two „Sharknose“ Ferrari replicas, driven by Arturo Merzario and also by Marco Werner. Marco, who was testing both with a view to one of his track day contributions, said: „I noticed that the engine of one of the 156 F1s sounded rough and turned it off as a precaution. Metal shavings were found in the oil, and Jason was grateful to me for apparently having saved the engine.“
„Davids“ vs. „Goliaths“ during Austrian Historic
As expected, the burly McLaren M1A from Marc Shaw was on pole position for the „Sports Cars Legends,“ but a relatively small field of 2-liter sports cars intended to make his life difficult. However, after just four laps, the McLaren „Goliath“ had to surrender, clearing the way for the „Davids.“ First up was the Lola T210 driven by the pairing of Graham Adelman/Andy Willis, but they fell victim to a gearbox failure. Belgian Marc Devis, in his Chevron B19, then put up a spirited fight against the seasoned duo of Julian Thomas/Calum Lockie. Andy Willis, competing in two races, also drove Stephan Joebstl's Lola T212, with which he then secured the final podium spot. Fourth place went to Alberto Zoli in a Chevron B16, and the local T210 pairing of Ingo Strolz/Thomas Matzel finished the race, which did not live up to its promise.
In contrast, there was considerably more action in the two races of the „Lurani Trophy.“ In the first, Italian Gianluigi Candiani in a Branca Formula Junior had to narrowly concede to Briton Lee Mowle. In the placings: Englishman Adrian Russel, Swiss Philipp Buhofer, and Australian Martin Bullock. It was Bullock who kept Lynx drivers Pierre Guichard and David Kent at bay in the second race. Best German and in fourth place: Peter Laier in a Lotus 22, only a car length ahead of Austrian Stephan Joebstl. Due to a false start, a „drivethrough“ penalty, or rather 22 penalty seconds, cost Adrian Russel another podium finish. The same fate befell Frenchman Stéphane Rey.
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Photos: Peter Heil