Brands Hatch Masters. Superbly Atmospheric.

I grew up with Brands Hatch and clearly remember being just fourteen but still mixing with the likes of Jim Clark, Graham Hill, and all the rest, while wandering the paddock. I also remember Boxing Day at the track. They were great times. Sadly, yours truly was also at Brands the day the music died, in other words, when news came through to a stunned crowd of Clark’s death in Germany.

Drivers love the International 3.9 km circuit where the fast cars are allowed to stretch their legs. A Lola T70 is good for 175 mph, while the historic Formula One cars are maxing out at 200 mph. On Friday, test day, and with teams in relaxed mood, it was a chance to chat with the likes of Michael Lyons, Andy Wolfe, and enthusiastic Team Retro-Speed member, Calum Lockie, sharing the ultra-competitive Shelby Cobra Daytona and Ford Falcon of Julian Thomas. Note: Today’s fastest are as approachable as the stars of 1966.

The weekend’s Masters Historic Festival, 29-30 May 2021, blessed with good weather, offered an eleven race programme, highlight being two, twenty-five minute rounds, of the FIA Historic Formula One Championship, both won by Steve Hartley’s 1982 McLaren MP4/1 painted in the well known red and white colours of Marlboro cigarettes.

Longest race, the ninety minute Sunday morning thrash that attracted forty-four Gentlemen Drivers was won by James Cottingham (Shelby Cobra), fifteen seconds ahead of the Pearson/Brundle Jaguar E Type. Sadly the Thomas/Lockie car was retired with engine problems.

Alex Brundle won the FIA Masters one hour Historic Sports Car race (Lola T70) while yet again Thomas and Lockie were left disappointed after the demise of their Chevron B8. However they made up for their bad luck in convincing manner by stroking their dark blue Ford Falcon to a convincing win in the fiercely contested sixty-minute Masters race for Pre-66 Touring Cars, beating David Coyne (Ford Mustang) to the line by three seconds.

Minis were given two twenty-minute outings on Sunday afternoon with Ian Curley proving invincible. Mind you, Nathan Heathcote and Ollie Streeke gave him a good run for his money. Nathan put in fastest lap, while Ollie finishing less than a second behind in race two.

Equipe Libre was the only non-Masters organised pair of races, each lasting thirty minutes and open to all pre-66 sports cars, split into owners, split into no less than seven classes. In the end nobody could get close to the red MGB of Tom Smith. Was he lucky that both the Larry Tucker Mustang, and Allison/Thompson Shelby Cobra ran into problems during race one. Probably not, because Smith still beat the Cobra by six seconds in race two.

Judged by any standards, the 2021 Masters Historic Festival was a success. Limited spectator access was allowed and everybody adhered to the rules. Not only that but my Bank Holiday, three hour drive home, was accomplished with problems, a minor miracle in itself.