2022 Zandvoort Historic Grand Prix report
The boys were back in town
Author
- Mattijs Diepraam
Date
- July 26, 2022
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Who?Michael Lyons What?Lotus-Cosworth 92 Where?Zandvoort When?2022 Historic Grand Prix (July 15, 2022) |
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Why?
Ever since the Historic Grand Prix at Zandvoort was revived a decade ago, with the proper Masters F1 and HGPCA Grand Prix cars bringing back the Formula One noise levels of the circuit’s illustrious past, the organisers have used a Thin Lizzy tune to commemorate the joyful fact of actual Grand Prix machines returning to the dunes to race. Even though event management changed hands from the combined efforts of the circuit itself and Holland’s historic motorsport club HARC to the modern-day Dutch Grand Prix organisation, ‘The Boys Are Back In Town’ was one of the few things carried through after a Covid-induced one-year hiatus in which everything had changed.
Within the space of a winter, Zandvoort was transformed into a modern Grand Prix facility, with the DGP organisation set up to host the return of a proper Dutch Grand Prix that would celebrate the first Dutch multiple Grand Prix winner. While the 2020 Historic Grand Prix happily dropped into a blessed restriction-free Covid period and went on like nothing had happened, the Dutch Grand Prix itself was cancelled early on. In 2021, however, it would be the other way around, as the first Dutch Grand Prix since 1985 saw Max Verstappen grab his home win on his way to clinching his first title in controversial circumstances, while the Historic Grand Prix lost its main grid suppliers from Britain – Masters, the HGPCA and HSCC F2 – due to travel restrictions, forcing the organisers to call up their German neighbours as replacements and rename the event to Zandvoort Race Classics. To add insult to injury, the event had to run behind closed doors.
Mark Dwyer's ex-Jeremy Sayles Osella FA1D was a brand new addition to the Masters Racing Legends field. (photo 8W)
So in 2022, DGP using that old ‘The Boys Are Back In Town’ tune in their event marketing was more than justified, as the Historic Grand Prix returned to its former glory, with Masters and the HGPCA headlining the show as usual. The mid-July date was new, however, as the Historic GP’s traditional early-September weekend had by now been snapped up by the modern GP. Nevertheless, the attendance of 25,000 – well above the earlier two modern GT World Challenge and ADAC GT events – was further proof of the fact that the Dutch had very much missed their historic racing. The teams and drivers loved the event just as much, especially as the crowd helped to create a party atmosphere in Zandvoort’s tight paddock. What’s more, its grandstand was packed to capacity all through Saturday and Sunday.
Continuing the positive note, Formula One entries were well up on the previous meeting at the Red Bull Ring, where an all-time low was recorded for the combination of the Masters Racing Legends F1 and HGPCA grids, the pair of them unable to reach 20 cars. Although not quite there yet, this time, a 17-car MRL and 39-car HGPCA grid looked much more like the old days.
In his crowd-pulling Tyrrell P34 recreation, Jonathan Holtzman took a double win in the pre-78 class. Here he leads Georg Hallau's Theodore N183 and Marco Coppini's March 761 in the banked Arie Luyendykbocht. (photo 8W)
Marco Werner controlled proceedings in Masters’ F1 races, winning the first one from the front before coming through from a reversed grid for Saturday’s first five to win on Sunday too. In the first race, his Lotus 87B headed home a JPS Lotus 1-2-3, as the German led Michael Lyons’ Lotus 92 and Steve Brooks’ Lotus 91. Werner was initially chased by his countryman Frank Stippler, as the F1 field was proudly headed by a multiple Le Mans winner and an experienced GT ace, but when the Thomas Steinke-owned Alfa Romeo 182 faltered, Werner was clear for the win. Sunday was marked by Lukas Halusa’s valiant charge up the field, to finish second in his Williams FW08 after a fine duel with Lyons who picked up a vibration in the end.
Meanwhile, in his Cooper-Climax T53, Will Nuthall trounced the opposition in the first of two pre-66 HGPCA races, as he ran away with the win in the fashion that has become known of him. Included in his opposition was Michael Gans in the much newer T79, but coming from the back and then being baulked by a few backmarkers the American gave up the chase to focus on bringing it home. Both Nuthall and Gans were absent the next day, which allowed Rüdi Friedrichs to hand the Cooper T53 design a second win on the weekend, with local hero Michel Kuiper (Brabham BT4) holding off Andy Middlehurst (Lotus 18) for second. Kuiper fluffed his front-row start on Saturday and salvaged no more than sixth but he avenged himself well on Sunday. John Spiers (Maserati 250F) and Richard Wilson (Ferrari 246 Dino) split the front-engined wins.
Bob Blain bursting into view in his ex-ESM LMP2 HPD-Honda ARX-03b. (photo 8W)
The FIA Historic Formula 3 European Cup was the event’s other headline, as it returned to Zandvoort after a two-year absence. A slightly disappointing 17 cars appeared but the races in front of thousands of enthusiasts were entertaining and will probably attract more F3 runners back for next year. Frédéric Rouvier (March 783) was odds-on favourite for one of two Cup titles for pre-79 and ’79-’84 cars, but the Frenchman ran into trouble in qualifying, forcing him to start from sixth on the grid. This allowed Davide Leone in a similar 783 to win race 1, the Italian towards the end doing well to hold off the fast-arriving Rouvier, who was later penalised for a restrictor infringement. Despite his relegation to the back for the second race, Rouvier proved unstoppable on Sunday, as he charged all the way up to the front to pass Leone halfway into the race. With second place, however, Leone had done more than enough to lift the pre-79 Cup.
Monegasque Frédéric Lajoux (March 793) looked set to win the ’79-’84 Cup, having finished third on Saturday, but the next day became entangled in an unfortunate incident with Michael Ringstrøm, the Dane who had qualified his Martini MK42 on the first row but lost out in the first race by going off track on the opening lap. Trying to make up for it, Ringstrøm outbraked himself into Tarzan, his Martini mounting Lajoux’s March, forcing both out on the spot. Even though the outcome was sad for the hapless Fred Lajoux, the weekend still produced a feel-good story for the eventual ’79-’84 Cup winner, as David Thorburn ran home two P4s to claim the spoils after he had severely damaged his Ralt RT3 in a sizeable practice shunt that also involved Keith White’s RT1. Their mechanics proved to be miracle workers, though, as the RT3 was back into action for qualifying while White’s car was patched up in time for race 1.
Moral support for Rob Moores in his ex-Derek Daly Chevron B38. (photo 8W)
In effort to also present some post-1985 Grand Prix cars, the Zandvoort organisers had invited the Maxx Formula series, but they produced just two recent F1 cars of which the Toro Rosso STR8 stumbled in practice. This left Sauber C29 driver Peter Göllner to defend F1 honours against the Dallara GP2-11 of Felix Grosse-Aschoff. In fact, Göllner was made to work hard for both wins, and eventually lost the first one to Grosse-Aschoff because of a penalty for overtaking under the safety car.
The two Masters Endurance Legends races for 1995-2017 Le Mans prototypes and GTs were dominated by Steve Tandy’s Peugeot 90X. On Saturday, the Briton’s closest rival was a surprise competitor in the person of FIA F3 driver Pepe Martí clocking up the mileage in an LMP3 Norma M30, the Spanish adolescent demonstrating his youthful speed by beating Marco Werner’s LMP2 Lola-Lotus B12/80 and Keith Frieser’s LMP1 Zytek 09S, but on Sunday the German and the Canadian hit back to take second and third from the Spaniard. In Ferrari 458 GT3s, Christopher Stahl/Michael Lyons and Jason Wright shared the GT wins.
No-one could touch Steve Tandy in the Peugeot 90X. (photo 8W)
The 60-minute Masters Sports Car Legends race was probably the most tense of all, with Tom Bradshaw leading away from pole in his Chevron B19 but kept in sight by David Hart’s Lola T70 Mk3B. When David handed over to son Olivier, this pitched two very quick youngsters well versed in historics against each other. Lap after lap, Oli nibbled away at Tom’s advantage ahead of the ensuing duel for the lead that lasted close to four laps before Hart Jr finally found a way past. Mark Hazell and Martin O’Connell finished a distant third in their B19 while Chris Jolly and Steve Farthing’s Cooper Monaco T61M cornered the pre-66 Hulme class win, Jolly nipping past Richard McAlpine’s McLaren M1B right after a safety-car restart.
In the 90-minute Masters Gentlemen Drivers race, Julian Thomas and Calum Lockie proved to be in a class of their own, their Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupé finishing some 2 minutes and 28 seconds ahead of its Dutch rivals, the Bernhard van Oranje/Tom Coronel Daytona Cobra ahead of the David & Olivier Hart Bizzarrini 5300 GT, the Bizza delayed by a slow puncture. Meanwhile, the John Spiers/Nigel Greensall TVR Griffith was on course for a podium finish when Greensall was forced to retire the car from second place.
The TVR Griffith shared by John Spiers and Nigel Greensall was in contention until it faltered at two-thirds' distance. (photo 8W)
The 60-minute Masters Pre-66 Touring Car race ran concurrently with the Gent Drivers, and here it was Sam Tordoff whose Ford Falcon led all the way from Thomas – who combined a touring-car stint with a GT stint – and Andy Wolfe in a similar Falcon. Reigning champion Richard Dutton took third in his Lotus Cortina, but a long way back.
Two Dutch national championships added to the programme, with the Harts each winning a race in the NK GTTC, the Dutch championship for 1966-’81 GTs and touring cars. In a one-off entry in their Ferrari 512 BBLM, they left the regular competition for dead, even though that was led by a seven-strong phalanx of Porsche 911 Carreras in either RS or RSR spec.
Aided by their IMSA GTP Ferrari 512 BBLM, father and son David and Olivier Hart were in a race of their own against the opposition in the Dutch championship for 1966-'81 GTs and touring cars. (photo 8W)
In the Dutch championship for 1982-’90 cars, Dane Steffen Lykke Gregersen dominated in his BMW M3, both times chased home by Ko Koppejan’s Mercedes 190 2.3-16, while Pieter Bikker led the BMW E30 325i Group A ranks.