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MASTERS HISTORIC FESTIVAL 2025

4 exceptional races at Brands Hatch !

The Formula Classic Interseries enjoyed two days of intense qualifying and racing on the Brands Hatch GP Track.

In F2 Classic – Cat 1. 2000cc, Britain’s James Lay now leads the championship ahead of Italy’s Mandredo Rossi Di Montelera !

In Cat 2. 1600cc and Cat. 3 Atlantic, the leading trio remained unchanged, but Roland Wiltschegg moved up one place to second.

In F3 Classic, the Italians are on a roll ! Davide Leone left Brands Hatch in style with a double victory. He is now in 2nd place in the championship. Manfredo Rossi Di Montelera kept 1st place, however, finishing 2nd in every race.

Races results

1. F2 Classic INTERSERIES : RACE 1

On Sunday, the lights went out and the race was on! The start went off without a hitch, but the first lap quickly became animated. Martin Wood (March 73B) went off the track at turn 8, “Stirlings Bend”, and had to retire. Nick Pink experienced mechanical problems with his Lola 360 and was forced to pit on the very first lap.

At the front, the leading trio battled hard for the first four laps. Mark Charteris managed to hold on to the lead, keeping his rivals in his rear-view mirrors. On the fifth lap, James Lay (March 762) overtook Martin Stretton, whose March 742 suffered an electrical failure. Forced to retire, Stretton handed over third place to Italy’s Manfredo Rossi Di Montelera.

In the Atlantic class, Keith White (March 76B) retained his lead over Roland Wiltschegg. In the 1600cc class, Julian Stokes (Brabham BT30) set the pace against Paul Bason (March 712) and Marc Sydow (Lotus 69).

On the ninth lap, Swiss driver Christian Vaglio-Giors lost control of his Ralt RT1, locked the wheels and ran violently off the track. The safety car then had to intervene, neutralizing the race until the chequered flag.

A clear victory for Mark Charteris !

Top 5 : 1.Charteris (March 782), 2.Lay (March 762), 3.Rossi Di Montelera (March 762), 4.Vallery-Masson (March 77B), 5.White (March 76B).

2. F3 Classic INTERSERIES : RACE 1

After losing pole position to Manfredo Rossi Di Montelera by a tenth of a second at the French Historic Grand Prix, Italian Davide Leone (March 783) took his revenge at Brands Hatch by dominating the times! This time, he beat his compatriot by 0.445 seconds. Behind them, Britain’s Chris Hodgen (Chevron B38), in 1:31.893, and Alex Ames (Argo JM6), in 1:31.332, completed the tight qualifying standings.

On Sunday, from the start of Race 1, Alex Ames went on the attack, gaining one position on Hodgen on the first lap. Duels soon ensued, with each finding his opponent : Monaco’s Fred Lajoux (March 793) and France’s Eric Martin (Martini MK39) engaged in an intense battle. A little further on, Fraser Gray and Stephen Barlow (both on Ralt RT3s) battled it out until lap 8, when Barlow was forced to retire.

Germany’s Daniel Hornung (Ralt RT3) made a superb comeback from 12th to 7th place, before Christian Vaglio-Giors (March 783) overtook him on lap 7, also demonstrating his talent. On the following lap, however, the British driver Alex Ames went off the track at Turn 10, the famous “Stirlings Bend”. The Safety Car was deployed.

On the restart, the leading trio consisted of Leone, Rossi and Hodgen. However, Hodgen, having overtaken Simon Bayers before the restart, received a 30-second penalty and was relegated to 12th place.

The chequered flag fell on Davide Leone, who had been imperious during this first race !

Top 5 : 1.Leone (March 783), 2. Rossi Di Montelera (Ralt RT3), 3.Lajoux (March 793), 4.Martin (Martini MK39), 5. Vaglio-Giors (March 783).

3. F2 Classic INTERSERIES : RACE 2

On the very first lap, race leader Mark Charteris (March 782) lost the lead when he widened too much at Turn 7. James Lay and Manfredo Rossi Di Montelera immediately took advantage of the situation to seize the first two positions.

In the first three laps, Britain’s Martin Stretton made the biggest comeback of the weekend, moving up from 12th to 4th place ! Following in his wake were Frenchman Laurent Vallery-Masson (March 77B) and Greg Caton (March 742).

Within the leading trio, Mark Charteris took 2nd place from Manfredo Rossi Di Montelera on lap 4. Meanwhile, James Lay broke away at the front, leaving no opening for his pursuers. Unfortunately, the bad luck continued for Martin Stretton : on Lap 7, he was forced to retire at Turn 3. Greg Caton took 4th place, followed by Laurent Vallery-Masson.

On lap 11, reigning champion Mark Charteris was forced to pit, abandoning his hopes of a podium finish.

In the 1600cc class, the scenario repeated itself: Julian Stokes (Brabham BT30) drove a perfect race, leaving his rivals Paul Bason and Marc Sydow no chance.

In Formula Atlantic, Keith White (March 76B) once again confirmed his domination of the class.

The chequered flag is lowered on James Lay, imperious, more than 26 seconds ahead of his pursuers !

Top 5 : 1.Lay (March 762), 2.Rossi Di Montelera (March 762), 3.Caton (March 742), 4.Vallery-Masson (March 77B), 5.White (March 76B).

4. F3 Classic INTERSERIES : RACE 2

Eric Martin (Martini MK39) got off to an excellent start and took the lead from Monegasque Fred Lajoux in the opening laps. Determined to reverse the trend of Race 1, the two British drivers Alex Ames (Argo JM6) and Chris Hodgen (Chevron B38) went on the attack : one gained 10 positions, the other 6! The public witnessed a veritable festival on the track.

In the pack, the two Ralt RT3s of Daniel Hornung and Laurent Vallery-Masson put up a fierce fight for 8th place. The Frenchman managed to overtake his rival on lap 7, but the German regained the lead in the closing stages of the race.

At the front, the quartet of Leone, Rossi, Martin and Lajoux seemed untouchable… except for Hodgen, who continued his incredible comeback. He snatched 4th place from Lajoux on lap 11, at the end of the pit straight. Just behind him, Christian Vaglio-Giors got to grips with Alex Ames and took 6th place on the same lap !

At the end of a breathless duel between Italians Davide Leone and Manfredo Rossi, it was Leone who crossed the finish line victorious, with the same determination as in Race 1. This second consecutive victory enabled him to climb provisionally to 2nd place in the championship.

Top 5 : 1.Leone (March 783), 2. Rossi Di Montelera (Ralt RT3), 3.Martin (Martini MK39), 4. Hodgen (Chevron B38), 5.Lajoux (March 793).

RELIVE THE MASTERS HISTORIC FESTIVAL

For those who want to relive the highlights of the weekend, several online resources offer photo and video galleries :