2025 Masters Historic Festival report
Give me Brands on a sunny spring day
Author
- Mattijs Diepraam
Date
- June 3, 2025
Related articles
- Brands Hatch - Brands Heat, 2017 Brands Hatch Masters Festival report, by Mattijs Diepraam
- Brands Hatch - Spring surprise, 2018 Brands Hatch Masters Festival report, by Mattijs Diepraam
- Brands Hatch & Donington Park - A British doubleheader, 2019 Brands Hatch Masters Historic Festival & Donington Masters Race Weekend report, by Mattijs Diepraam
- Brands Hatch - Whitsunshine action, 2023 Brands Hatch Masters Festival report, by Mattijs Diepraam
- Brands Hatch - Double winners, 2024 Brands Hatch Masters Festival report, by Mattijs Diepraam
Who?Yutaka Toriba What?Williams-Cosworth FW07C Where?Brands Hatch When?2025 Masters Historic Festival (May 2, 202`5) |
 |
Why?
Conditions were perfect for the traditional end-of-May Masters Historic Festival at Brands Hatch, which was blessed by three sunny spring days that made the on-track and off-track experience of the old-school circuit snaking its way through the Kentish hills all the more enjoyable for drivers and spectators alike. It was a shame that the date clashed with the HSCC’s BRDC International Trophy at Silverstone, though, wearing the entry thin across a number of grids.
In the third round of the Masters Racing Legends for historic F1 cars from the 3-litre era, the victories were shared between Yutaka Toriba and Warren Briggs. For Toriba, it was his debut victory, while Briggs added a win to the victory he achieved at Hockenheim. That win in Germany was also Briggs’ first victory, which meant that the championship welcomed two new winners in three weeks.
Matt Wrigley stuck his Tyrrell 011 on pole, but failed to convert it into the pair of wins he netted in 2024. (photo 8W)
After qualifying, reigning champion Matt Wrigley seemed to hold the best cards, as the Brit put his Tyrrell 011 on pole, determined to repeat his double victory of 2024. It was not to be. In the first race, Toriba – who had been improving steadily last season with his Williams FW07C – took the lead after just two laps to never relinquish it. Wrigley eventually dropped further back, hampered by a failing third gear, leaving Mike Cantillon (Williams FW08) as the main threat to Toriba’s victory, but the Japanese driver held on until the chequered flag.
Briggs finished third, allowing his McLaren M29 to start from the front row in the second race, as they lined up on a reverse grid for the top four from the first race. The Kiwi didn’t need to be told twice. Within a lap, he had overtaken pole sitter Steve Hartley’s McLaren MP4/1, after which he dictated the pace from the front. Once again, Cantillon piled on the pressure, but the Irishman had to abandon the chase when he clipped his front wing on the rear wheel of the M29. Then it was Toriba’s turn to turn up the heat, but his attack – and the entire race – came to a premature end when the Japanese driver departed into the gravel at Clearways. Wrigley moved up to second place, while Cantillon’s battered Williams managed to salvage third.
Having only just become a historic Formula One race winner, Briggs immediately added a second victory to his tally. (photo 8W)
Meanwhile, Australian Martin Bullock was unstoppable in the pre-78 class, as his Williams FW06 convincingly took both class wins. Twice he was chased home by Peter Williams in the Lec CRP1. While he put pressure on the Australian in the first race, he couldn’t catch a glimpse of the FW06 in the second race. Both times John Spiers completed the podium on his debut run in the ex-Ronnie Peterson, 1976 Italian GP-winning March 761.
The HVM-run historic F2 and F3 series were both part of the supporting programme this time, following on their joint appearance with F1 at the Grand Prix de France Historique. In Formula 2, the victories were shared between Mark Charteris (March 782) and James Lay (March 762). Lay was Charteris’ main pursuer in the first race and kept Charteris’ 782 behind in the second race until that was forced to retire. In both races, Manfredo Rossi (March 762) followed hot on Lay’s heels, resulting in a third and second place for the Italian. Meanwhile in the 1600cc class, Julian Stokes proved untouchable yet again, as his Brabham BT30 added two more class wins to the pair accumulated at Paul Ricard.
Davide Leone ruled in historic Formula 3, twice vanquishing his compatriot Manfredo Rossi. (photo 8W)
Rossi also just missed out in Formula 3, as his Ralt-Volkswagen RT3 twice fell short of beating his compatriot Davide Leone’s March-Toyota 783. In the first race, Chris Hodgen’s Chevron-Toyota B38 seemed to have claimed the final podium spot, but he was hit by a 30-second time penalty for passing under the safety car. This handed third to Fred Lajoux’s Warsteiner-liveried March-Volkswagen 793, but the Monegasque driver failed to repeat that performance in the afternoon race, with both Hodgen and Eric Martin in the Marlboro-coloured Martini-Alfa Romeo MK39 getting ahead. Martin eventually took the spoils.
In the poorly supported Masters Sports Car Legends for Le Mans sports cars up to 1976, John Spiers and Nigel Greensall were handed the opportunity to dominate twice in their pre-67 McLaren M1A. On both occasions, Swede Georg Kjallgren shone by clinching the runner-up spot in the little Daren Mk2. On Saturday, the Keith Ahlers/Billy Bellinger Cooper Monaco ‘King Cobra’ profited from the demise of the two March 75S machines of Paul Cope and Kevin Cooke to nick an unexpected third overall, but on Sunday, Cooke came from the back to claim third ahead of the Steve Seaman/Andy Newall Lola T70 Mk2 Spyder that in Newall’s hands proved to be the only car capable of pressuring Spiers in the McLaren M1A.
Craig Wilkins and Aaron Scott dominated Masters GT Trophy in their Gallardo GT3, a change from the Huracán Super Trofeo Evo in which Wilkins became a double champion in the series. (photo 8W)
Craig Wilkins and Aaron Scott demonstrated similar dominance in the Masters GT Trophy for older GT3s, GT4s and cup GTs, as their 2012 Lamborghini Gallardo GT3 won both races with relative ease. The similar Neil Glover/Luke Reade example would have been up there as well, but they lost ground through an additional pitstop required for securing a loose fire extinguisher. On the back foot for race 2, they nevertheless recovered to second place, fighting with the Darren Howell/Sean Doyle Ferrari 488 Challenge Evo that had taken second place the day before. The Ginetta G55s of Dan Morris/Carlito Miracco and Dan Lavery/Darren Turner shared the GT4 wins, with the former also claiming third overall on Saturday.
In the Masters Gentlemen Drivers, two TVR Griffiths took on a swarm of Lotus Elans, with the AC Cobras, Shelby Mustangs and Jaguar E-types all playing a supporting role. The TVRs initially battled it out between themselves until they both had to deal with brake pedals that grew ever longer. The Spiers/Greensall car dropped to fifth place as a result, although it was impressive that Greensall managed to get the car to the finish line purely on engine braking. Mike Whitaker and Sam Hancock’s Griffith lasted longer, but Hancock was ultimately powerless against John Tordoff’s Elan, which multiple BTCC champion Andrew Jordan was able to drive flat out for his entire stint. As a result, Tordoff and Jordan’s little Elan defeated the American V8-engined TVRs. Third and fourth places went to the Elans of Mooney/Kay and Quintero.
John Spiers and Nigel Greensall looked set to repeat their title-winning form in Masters Gent Drivers, only for their TVR Griffith to suffer from brake failure. (photo 8W)
In the concluding Masters Pre-66 Touring Cars race, Tom Sharp and his sole Ford Falcon took on a mighty horde of Mustangs that included several current and former BTCC stars on its driver rostrum. Sharp’s goal was to win this race at Brands Hatch at least once – and this time he succeeded with flying colours. He failed to cross the finish line in first, though, leading him to believe that all was lost after having made a mistake on the very last lap to see the Robert Ross/Matt Johnson Mustang flying past. However, when they received a five-second time penalty for track limits, Sharp was declared the winner after all. The penalty helped Alex Taylor’s Mustang to secure second place, but Ross and Johnson just managed to hang on to the podium.