Aussie Davison impresses from the back in 1980 Lotus
Katsu Kubota and James Davison were the victors in the two evocative Masters Historic Formula 1 races, both affected by safety cars.
After Australian James Davison parked the race-leading Lotus 81 with a suspected broken driveshaft, Steve Hartley’s ex-john Watson Mclaren MP4/1 inherited the lead of the opener, coping with a lengthy safety car period, but a charging Kubota hauled his Lotus 91/7 on to the tail of Hartley and the Japanese ace made his move at Vale on the last lap to win by just seventenths of a second from Hartley and ex-f1 racer Jean-denis Deletraz (ATS D4). Jordan Grogor’s Arrows A3 was fourth, just fending off Henry Fletcher’s Jagermeister-liveried March 761 and Jamie Constable’s ex-michele Alboreto Tyrrell 011.
Two safety car periods affected the second stanza, the first after early leader Jamie Constable’s Tyrrell 011 stopped at Club with a suspected broken wheel after contact, and the second after Nicky Pastorelli’s March 761 ground to a halt at Village. After Constable’s demise, Fletcher took over the lead, until the flying Davison arrived on the scene. The Australian, up from 15th, charged into the lead while Deletraz battled up to second ahead of Kubota. Hartley, who was delayed in the incident with Constable, battled home fourth from earlyleader Henry Fletcher (March 761) and former Mclaren mechanic Warren Briggs (Mclaren M29). With Johnny Herbert’s Ensign N180 withdrawn after engine failure in testing, fans turned to Adrian Newey who was delayed in a tangle with Mark Martin (Hesketh 308) in the opener but who secured 10th in race two.
Results
Race 1: 1 Katsu Kubota (Lotus 91/7); 2 Steve Hartley (Mclaren MP4/1) +0.747s; 3 Jean-denis Deletraz (ATS D4); 4 Jordan Grogor (Arrows A3); 5 Henry Fletcher (March 761); 6 Jamie Constable (Tyrrell 011); 7 Warren Briggs (Mclaren M29); 8 Ian Simmonds (Tyrrell 012); 9 Nicky Pastorelli (March 761); 10 David Shaw (Eiffelland Type 21). FL: Kubota 1m55.466s (114.13mph). P: James
Davison (Lotus 81). S: 22.
Race 2: 1 Davison; 2 Deletraz +3.659s; 3 Kubota; 4 Hartley; 5 Fletcher; 6 Briggs; 7 Gregor Fisken (Shadow DN5); 8 Shaw; 9 Pierre Brice-mena (Shadow DN8); 10 Adrian Newey (Lotus 49). FL: Davison 1m52.951s (116.67mph). P: Simmonds. S: 21.