An action-packed Masters Race Weekend at Donington

The Masters Race Weekend at Donington Park delivered an exciting and action-packed two days, with dozens of thrilling sessions and races from early Saturday morning right until the very end on Sunday. Craig Wilkins and the father-and-son team of Lawrence & Freddie Tomlinson were among the drivers doubling up on wins during the weekend, but there were many more stories to tell from a busy weekend.

Masters Racing Legends for 1966/1985 F1 Cars

In the two Masters Racing Legends races for 1966-’85 Formula One cars, Matthew Wrigley looked set to be part of that illustrious group of double winners, but on Sunday morning a broken driveshaft on his Tyrrell 011 put paid to that ambition. In the afternoon, however, Wrigley hit back in fine fashion by overtaking the entire field to win race 2 from David Shaw, the surprise winner of race 1. In his pre-78 Williams FW06, Shaw had taken a shock overall victory, and with second place in race 2 doubled up on pre-78 class wins. With a second and a third, Simon Fish lifted a pair of podiums in his Arrows A4, joined there by Warren Briggs in the McLaren M29.

Masters Sports Car Legends

Saturday’s Masters Sports Car Legends glory belonged to Diogo Ferrão and Martin Stretton in the Lola T292. Ferrão hounded Gary Pearson’s Lola T70 Mk3B all through his opening stint, and the two were promoted to the first two places when Dan Eagling’s pole-sitting Royale RP17 dropped out with gearbox issues. Shortly after half-distance, Stretton dealt with Pearson before the latter ran out of fuel towards the end. This elevated Jason Wright’s T70 Mk3B into second place while John Spiers and Nigel Greensall claimed third overall as well as the pre-66 Hulme class win in their McLaren M1B.

Masters Endurance Legends

Returning their ex-LNT Ginetta-Zytek GZ09S to action, Lawrence & Freddie Tomlinson hit the jackpot straight away by bagging two Masters Endurance Legends wins in a single day. They twice had to fight Alan Purbrick and David Brise in the Lola-Judd B12/60, with Brise in particular producing a set of brilliant opening stints, while double LMP2 class winner Alfie Briggs also kept them honest in the HPD-Honda ARX-04b. Meanwhile, Jack Fabby was another to corner a couple of class wins, as the sole Duqueine D08 driver delivered a double-whammy to the Ligier JSP3 hordes in the LMP3 class.

Masters GT Trophy

In the Masters GT Trophy, which demonstrated its intentions of further growth by presenting the largest grid of the weekend, Craig Wilkins came up trumps on both occasions, but he was made to work hard for his wins by fellow Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo Evo drivers Jason McInulty and Neil Glover/Aaron Scott. George Haynes and Adam Sharpe impressed in the GT3 class, as their Mosler MT900R formed the strongest opposition to the Lambos, while David Harrison’s Porsche 991.2 Cup took a brace of Cup class wins. In a hotly contested GT4 class, Jasver Sapra’s BMW M3 GT4 won on Saturday, while Peter Montague and Stuart Hall and their Aston Martin Vantage GT4 came through for victory on Sunday.

Masters Pre66 Touring Cars

The first day of the meeting ended in spectacular fashion with the one-hour Masters Pre-66 Touring Car race. While Sam Tordoff continued his unbeaten run in the Ford Falcon, the gloves were off in the fight for second place. In the end, John Spiers and Nigel Greensall came through in their Ford Mustang, as Greensall vanquished Cortina class winner Mike Simpson and fellow Mustang driver John Davison right at the end.

Masters Gentlemen Drivers

Davison starred again in Sunday’s final race, the 90-minute Masters Gentlemen Drivers enduro, as his TVR Griffith led for the most part. However, losing second gear after the stops meant that Davison was defenceless against the comeback drive from the TVR campaigned by John Spiers and Nigel Greensall, who after a run of bad luck with the Griffith returned to their winning ways. Mike Whitaker and Harry Barton completed a remarkable TVR 1-2-3-4, while John Tordoff and Andrew Jordan bagged the CLP class win in their Lotus Elan.