F1-Masters at Le Castellet: Two great battles Brabham-Williams

Words and picture: Roman Klemm

For those who are not impressed with this year's FIA F1 World Championship, last weekend delivered: as part of the Grand Prix de France Historique at the Paul Ricard circuit, the classic Formula 1 Masters championship started its season. Both races offered 170,000 fans (according to the organizer, for the whole weekend!) along the track two thrilling races. Each time, Werner DŽAnsembourg's Brabham BT49 narrowly beat Yutaka Torida's Williams FW07C.

Qualification: 

27 participants with F1 cars built up to 1986 arrived in the south of France. In a very fiercely contested qualifying session, which had to be ended early due to a mutual crash between Michael Fitzgerald (Tyrrell 011) and Laurent Fort (Ensign 180B) and an accident involving Guillaume Roman (Ensign N175), the young Belgian Werner D'Ansembourg prevailed. However, the rapidly improving Japanese driver Yutaka Toriba, indicated with his second fastest time, what would happen in the races. Jamie Constable (Tyrrell 011), Dan Eagling (Fittipaldi F8B), Mike Cantillon (Williams FW08), Valerio Leone (Arrows A6), the pole-setter's father Christophe (Williams FW07C), and the somewhat wild Warren Briggs (McLaren M29) also reported their ambitions for top placements with good times. 

After a long winter, observers noted two real "novelties": Italian Marco Fumagalli qualified his in the best sense of the word "unseen" Riviera-Ford F.1 170 with a sensational 15th time, and professional Andy Soucek placed his ATS-Ford D3 in 24th place.

Saturdays race:  
The weather was optimal, but a strong breeze was blowing from the sea (the straight at Le Castellet is not called Mistral for nothing), as current F1 driver Isack Hadjar sent the cars onto the warm-up lap in front of the sold-out (!) grandstands. After a quick start, the tightly packed pair D'Ansembourg-Toriba quickly pulled ahead, while a few seconds behind them, the trio Eagling-Cantillon-Constable entertained the audience with a battle for third position.

At the end of the race former Japanese F4 and Super-GT pilot Toriba noticeably increased his pressure on the leader. D'Ansebourg indeed made a mistake in the slower section of the circuit and cut one corner. However, the Japanese driver behind him also twice left the ideal line, and the Belgian thus crossed the finish line 1.2 seconds ahead as the winner. Overjoyed with his result, Toriba disregarded the protest: 'Sure, his cutting was not correct. In Monaco, he would have ended up in the barriers after such a mistake. But we'll leave the result as it is...' Third place went to the excellent Eagling.

Fumagalli kept his „Miami-blue" Riviera-F1 in an excellent 11th position when, 3 laps before the end, he stopped due to a shifting problem. Soucek's so far unraced ATS ("This event is practically our first test.") did not survive the warm-up lap...

Result Saturday:

1. Werner DŽAnsembourg, Brabham BT49

2. Yutaka Toriba, Williams FW07C

3. Dan Eagling, Fittipaldi F8B

4. Mike Cantillon, Williams FW08

5. Christophe DŽAnsembourg, Williams FW07C

6. Valerio Leone, Arrows A6 

7. Fabrice Lheritier, Tyrrell 009

8. Warren Briggs, McLaren M29

9. Paul Lafargue, March 821

10. Guillaume Roman, Ensign N175

Sundays race:  
Sunday's pole position went to the seventh-place finisher from Saturday, Fabrice Lheritier, while favorites DŽAnsebourg and Toriba started only from positions 6 and 7. After David Coulthard waved the cars into the race, home driver Lheritier in the ex-Pironi Tyrrell had no intention of giving up first place without a fight. At this stage, DŽAnsembourg was performing more skillfully than the reserved Toriba. From the 4th lap, the Belgian was leading, while the Japanese driver lost about 3 seconds behind the defensive Lheritier. In the end, however, Saturday's constellation repeated itself: Toriba was on DŽAnsembourg's "bumper" and together they were "picking off" the backmarkers. The white Parmalat-Brabham handled the traffic a bit better and again managed to beat the Japanese driver's Williams by a second. Eagling once again competently brought his Fittipaldi to 3rd place, while the motivated Lheritier saved 5th position.  
Both new cars did not perform better this time than on Saturday: the Riviera and ATS were again not classified.

Result Sunday:

1. Werner DŽAnsembourg, Brabham BT49

2. Yutaka Toriba, Williams FW07C

3. Dan Eagling, Fittipaldi F8B

4. Mike Cantillon, Williams FW08

5. Fabrice Lheritier, Tyrrell 009

6. Jamie Constable, Tyrrell 011

7. Christophe DŽAnsembourg, Williams FW07C

8. Warren Briggs, McLaren M29

9. Paul Lafargue, March 821

10. James Hagan, Tyrrell 011B

  F1-Masters at Le Castellet: Two great battles Brabham-Williams

Words and picture: Roman Klemm

For those who are not impressed with this year's FIA F1 World Championship, last weekend delivered: as part of the Grand Prix de France Historique at the Paul Ricard circuit, the classic Formula 1 Masters championship started its season. Both races offered 170,000 fans (according to the organizer, for the whole weekend!) along the track two thrilling races. Each time, Werner DŽAnsembourg's Brabham BT49 narrowly beat Yutaka Torida's Williams FW07C.

Qualification: 

27 participants with F1 cars built up to 1986 arrived in the south of France. In a very fiercely contested qualifying session, which had to be ended early due to a mutual crash between Michael Fitzgerald (Tyrrell 011) and Laurent Fort (Ensign 180B) and an accident involving Guillaume Roman (Ensign N175), the young Belgian Werner D'Ansembourg prevailed. However, the rapidly improving Japanese driver Yutaka Toriba, indicated with his second fastest time, what would happen in the races. Jamie Constable (Tyrrell 011), Dan Eagling (Fittipaldi F8B), Mike Cantillon (Williams FW08), Valerio Leone (Arrows A6), the pole-setter's father Christophe (Williams FW07C), and the somewhat wild Warren Briggs (McLaren M29) also reported their ambitions for top placements with good times. 

After a long winter, observers noted two real "novelties": Italian Marco Fumagalli qualified his in the best sense of the word "unseen" Riviera-Ford F.1 170 with a sensational 15th time, and professional Andy Soucek placed his ATS-Ford D3 in 24th place.

Saturdays race:  
The weather was optimal, but a strong breeze was blowing from the sea (the straight at Le Castellet is not called Mistral for nothing), as current F1 driver Isack Hadjar sent the cars onto the warm-up lap in front of the sold-out (!) grandstands. After a quick start, the tightly packed pair D'Ansembourg-Toriba quickly pulled ahead, while a few seconds behind them, the trio Eagling-Cantillon-Constable entertained the audience with a battle for third position.

At the end of the race former Japanese F4 and Super-GT pilot Toriba noticeably increased his pressure on the leader. D'Ansebourg indeed made a mistake in the slower section of the circuit and cut one corner. However, the Japanese driver behind him also twice left the ideal line, and the Belgian thus crossed the finish line 1.2 seconds ahead as the winner. Overjoyed with his result, Toriba disregarded the protest: 'Sure, his cutting was not correct. In Monaco, he would have ended up in the barriers after such a mistake. But we'll leave the result as it is...' Third place went to the excellent Eagling.

Fumagalli kept his „Miami-blue" Riviera-F1 in an excellent 11th position when, 3 laps before the end, he stopped due to a shifting problem. Soucek's so far unraced ATS ("This event is practically our first test.") did not survive the warm-up lap...

Result Saturday:

1. Werner DŽAnsembourg, Brabham BT49

2. Yutaka Toriba, Williams FW07C

3. Dan Eagling, Fittipaldi F8B

4. Mike Cantillon, Williams FW08

5. Christophe DŽAnsembourg, Williams FW07C

6. Valerio Leone, Arrows A6 

7. Fabrice Lheritier, Tyrrell 009

8. Warren Briggs, McLaren M29

9. Paul Lafargue, March 821

10. Guillaume Roman, Ensign N175

Sundays race:  
Sunday's pole position went to the seventh-place finisher from Saturday, Fabrice Lheritier, while favorites DŽAnsebourg and Toriba started only from positions 6 and 7. After David Coulthard waved the cars into the race, home driver Lheritier in the ex-Pironi Tyrrell had no intention of giving up first place without a fight. At this stage, DŽAnsembourg was performing more skillfully than the reserved Toriba. From the 4th lap, the Belgian was leading, while the Japanese driver lost about 3 seconds behind the defensive Lheritier. In the end, however, Saturday's constellation repeated itself: Toriba was on DŽAnsembourg's "bumper" and together they were "picking off" the backmarkers. The white Parmalat-Brabham handled the traffic a bit better and again managed to beat the Japanese driver's Williams by a second. Eagling once again competently brought his Fittipaldi to 3rd place, while the motivated Lheritier saved 5th position.  
Both new cars did not perform better this time than on Saturday: the Riviera and ATS were again not classified.

Result Sunday:

1. Werner DŽAnsembourg, Brabham BT49

2. Yutaka Toriba, Williams FW07C

3. Dan Eagling, Fittipaldi F8B

4. Mike Cantillon, Williams FW08

5. Fabrice Lheritier, Tyrrell 009

6. Jamie Constable, Tyrrell 011

7. Christophe DŽAnsembourg, Williams FW07C

8. Warren Briggs, McLaren M29

9. Paul Lafargue, March 821

10. James Hagan, Tyrrell 011B