During a changeable weekend at the Oldtimer Grand Prix at Germany’s legendary Nürburgring, Martin Stretton crossed the line first three times — on one occasion sharing the win with Diogo Ferrão — but he was only allowed to keep two of his victories. His disqualification from the first FIA Masters Historic Formula One race gave Michael Lyons another win, while Michael Gans and Andy Wolfe triumphed in the Gentlemen Drivers race.
In FIA Masters Historic Formula One, Stretton was first on the road twice, but had his first win taken away when his Tyrrell 012-Ford (above, Michael Krause photo courtesy of Masters Historic Racing) failed post-race scrutineering. This handed the win to championship leader Michael Lyons, whose Williams FW07B-Ford limped across the line with a broken gearbox casing. Lyons was unable to compete in Sunday’s race, when Stretton made amends by claiming a straightforward victory from Loïc Deman (Tyrrell 010-Ford), who took home two 2nd-place finishes from the weekend. Max Smith-Hilliard claimed pre-78 honors with his Fittipaldi F5A-Ford on Saturday, but was unable to finish on Sunday after contact on track, allowing Nick Padmore’s Shadow DN5-Ford to sneak through for the win.
Sharing with Ferrão, Stretton (Lola T292) repeated their Magny-Cours win with another FIA Masters Historic Sports Car victory. Ferrão tracked Michael Gans’ Lola T290 for his entire stint, after which Stretton found a way past Gans, who put up a stern defense. Jason Wright took 3rd despite a drive-through penalty, in the process entertaining the crowds by dicing with fellow Lola T70 Mk3B driver Mike Donovan. Keith Ahlers and Billy Bellinger (Cooper Monaco King Cobra) took an easy win in the Hulme class.
On Sunday morning, Gans and Andy Wolfe (AC Cobra) shrugged off the challenge from Julian Thomas’s Jaguar E-Type to claim another victory in the Stena Line Masters Gentlemen Drivers. In his Lotus Elan, Denmark’s Nicolai Kjaergaard sprung a surprise by taking 3rd overall, beating CLP class regulars Andrew Haddon/Mark Martin and David Pittard/Graham Wilson. For complete information please visit www.mastershistoricracing.com/oldtimer-grand-prix/event/
