WIN AT BRANDS HATCH DEBUT FOR YOUNG JAPANESE STAR, YAMAUCHI
Report and Photography:
Jon Bunston and David Smith
Hideki Yamauchi won the FIA Historic Formula One race at Brands Hatch over the weekend driving a March 761 from John Wilson’s Tyrrell 011 and Richard Eyre’s Williams FW08.
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| Race Winner Hideki Yamauchi |
Peter Wuensch finished second in his class to give him enough points to move into the championship lead, a position he previously shared with Bobby Verdon Roe.Round 5 of the 2011 FIA Historic Formula One Championship saw Yamauchi make his debut in HFO driving the March 761 belonging to his mentor, Katsu Kubota.
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| 2nd Place John Wilson |
3rd Place Richard Eyre |
The young Japanese F3 racer, who was partnering Kubota in his Group C endeavours this weekend, was not expecting a ride in the March but took to the machinery with some style, setting a pole position time of 1.19.786 – some 2.5seconds faster than the returning John Wilson (Tyrrell 011) who impressed with his pace despite not having driven the car since last year.
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| John Delane in his immaculate, ex Jackie Stewart Tyrrell 02 |
The grid was significantly depleted following the late withdrawals of a number of competitors. From the front runners, Verdon Roe was still suffering on-going issues that plagued his McLaren MP4 at the previous round in Monza whilst Joaquin Folch, a stalwart of the Championship was expected with the Brabham BT49 but injury has forced him to sit out much of the season to date and he failed to recover for the meeting.
Peter Meyrick’s Arrows A5 suffered rear wing failure just days before the race and was withdrawn under safety considerations.
A number of other drivers were unable to participate due to commitments elsewhere and it robbed the strong Brands crowd of the usual high quality field of Historic Formula One cars that the event has come to expect.
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| Peter Wuensch (Wolf WR1) leads Richard Barber (Fittipaldi F5 A2) into Druids. |
The racers that were on display did not disappoint however and the grid included ‘new’ machinery in the shape of Laurent Fort’s Ensign MN180 in its first outing since restoration. The Esprit Motorsport team worked hard to get the car to the event and Laurent is set to compete ate future HFO races.
The car suffered from spark plug issues in qualifying and he was forced to retire from the race despite showing good potential. Likewise, Ian Simmonds in the pretty Tyrrell 012 was showing good pace in this his debut HFO outing in 2011 but at the end of the first lap of the race the car lost fourth gear and he pulled off at the top of Paddock Hill.
Simmonds’ Class D competition came in the form of Terry Sayles’ Osella FA1. Sayles has raced the car for many seasons having been with HFO for over a decade and despite fuel pump issues managed the car home to take class honours.
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| Yamauchi closes in on Terry Sayles drivng the Osella FA1 |
The oldest car on the grid was the ex Jackie Stewart Tyrrell 002 of John Delane. The American is an enthusiastic racer and supporter of the Championship and the crowd love seeing the Tyrrell in action. John battled with Terry Sayles’ Osella in the opening stages before pulling out a gap. He was close behind the Class B battle between Peter Wuensch’s Wolf WR2 and the Fittipaldi of Richard Barber for the opening skirmishes but the later era cars pulled away, their enthralling scrap seeing them run nose to tail for the duration.
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| Yamauchi leads the field in his March 761 through Paddock Hill |
Barber had qualified faster than Wuensch but a self-confessed ‘sloppy start’ saw the German get ahead and despite his best efforts, Barber could not pass.
Out front, Yamauchi was peerless, controlling the race pace comfortably. Eyre and Wilson gave chase, the two ground effect cars running close on track just over a second behind the March. Eyre looked close enough to challenge on several occasions but Wilson’s Tyrrell, prepared by Terry King, was well hooked-up and soon Eyre’s challenge faded, allowing Wilson to focus on the young Japanese ace.
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| Ian Simmonds in the Tyrrell 012 closely followed by John Wilson's Tyrrell 011 and Laurent Fort in the Ensign MN180 |
By lap thirteen of 18 the gap was down to just over a second and it seemed Wilson would be in with a chance but Yamauchi took all in his impressive stride, pulling out a 6 second gap over the last few tours to win his second race of the day having already picked up honours with Kubota in the Group C race.
Peter Wuensch leads the championship by three points from Delane with Verdon Roe a further three points back and Eyre and Sayles lying in 4th and 5th separated by a similar margin.
Once the summer break is over, HFO returns to the track at the Nurburgring on September 9-11.
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| OVERALL WINNERS |
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1st
HIDEKI YAMAUCHI
MARCH 761 |
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2nd
JOHN WILSON
TYRRELL 011 |
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3rd
RICHARD EYRE
WILLIAMS FW08 |
FIA HISTORIC FORMULA ONE - RESULT
BRANDS HATCH 03/07/2011 |
| 1 |
Hideki Yamauchi, March 761, 18 Laps |
| 2 |
John Wilson, Tyrrell 011, +6.730s
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| 3 |
Richard Eyre, Williams FW08, +29.339s |
| 4 |
Peter Wuensch, Wolf WR1, +52.841s |
| 5 |
Richard Barber, Fittipaldi F5 A2, +53.182s |
| 6 |
John Delane, Tyrrell 002, +1 lap |
| 7 |
Terry Sayles, Osella FA1, +2 laps |
UPCOMING HISTORIC FORMULA 1 EVENTS |
| MAY 13-15 |
RED BULL RING Austria, HFO Rd 2 & 3 |
| MAY 29-30 |
BRANDS HATCH UK, Masters Series
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| JUN 3-5 |
MONZA Italy, HFO Rd 4 |
| JUN 17-19 |
PORTO Portugal, Masters Series |
| JUL 1-3 |
BRANDS HATCH UK, HFO Rd 5 |
| JUL 22-24 |
SILVERSTONE UK, Silverstone Classic |
| AUG 12-14 |
NURBURGRING Germany, Masters Series |
| SEPT 2-4 |
DONINGTON UK, Masters Series |
| SEPT 9-11 |
NURBURGRING Germany, HFO RD 6 |
| SEPT 23-25 |
SPA Belgium, Masters Series |
| OCT 7-9 |
PAUL RICARD France, HFO Rd 7 & 8 |
| OCT 21-23 |
ALGARVE Portugal, HFO Rd 9 & 10 |
The FIA Historic Formula One Championship ™ is at the pinnacle of historic motorsport. Its fans get a taste of classic old school Formula 1 and thrill to the sights and sounds of the cars driven by legends such as Gilles Villeneuve, Nigel Mansell, Emerson Fittipaldi and Keke Rosberg.
The Championship features the great Grand Prix cars raced between 1966 and 1985 re-creating the spectacle of the legendary 3 litre Formula 1 era on the great Race Circuits of the World. |
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| RETRO FORMULA 1 HAS BEEN FEATURED IN |
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ALL MERCHANDISE IS DESIGNED AND HANDMADE IN GREAT BRITAIN BY RETRO FORMULA 1
Please bare this in mind when ordering as a gift. Due to demand, despatch can take 3 to 10 days. If you have any doubts that your garment may not arrive in time, please email us. |
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