Matthew Wrigley claimed pole position in the Masters Racing Legends for 1966-1985 F1 Cars series on the Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit this afternoon (Saturday). The British driver piloted his Tyrrell 011 to the top spot, edging out the Williams FW07C of Yutaka Toriba.
Wrigley set his fastest lap of a 1m21.289s early on in the session with the sun shining, setting an early benchmark that was not to be beaten. Behind him, the two Williams of Mike Cantillon and Yutaka Toriba traded times as they contested second place, with the former’s Williams FW08 provisionally in second before being bettered by the FW07C of Toriba, as the Japanese driver narrowed the margin to Wrigley to 0.277s.
Cantillon’s Williams will therefore line up third tomorrow, with the McLaren M29 of Warren Briggs in fourth. Established historic F1 racer Steve Hartley completed the top-five in his sublime McLaren MP4/1.
Steve Brooks (Lotus 91) was sixth, followed by James Hagan (Tyrrell 011B) and Mark Higson (McLaren MP4/1B) in seventh and eighth respectively. Valerio Leone (Arrows A6) finished in ninth, with Martin Bullock (Williams FW06) rounding out the top 10 ahead of tomorrow’s races.
In the other categories competing, the first Masters GT Trophy race of the weekend was dominated by the Lamborghini Gallardo GT3 of Craig Wilkins and Aaron Scott to claim victory, while the Masters Sports Cars Legends race was won by John Spiers and Nigel Greensall’s beautiful McLaren M1B. The day’s proceedings were completed by the first race for the Masters Gentleman Drivers, with the Lotus Elan of John Tordoff and Andrew Jordan taking the last win of the day.
Masters Racing Legends, Qualifying, Brands Hatch
- Matthew Wrigley, Tyrrell 011, 1m21.289s
- Yutaka Toriba, Williams FW07C, +0.277s
- Mike Cantillon, Williams FW08, +0.579s
- Warren Briggs, McLaren M29, +1.263s
- Steve Hartley, McLaren MP4/1, +2.516s
- Steve Brooks, Lotus 91, +2.590s
- James Hagan, Tyrrell 011B, +2.852s
- Mark Higson, McLaren MP4/1B, +3.825s
- Valerio Leone, Arrows A6, +4.037s
- Martin Bullock, Williams FW06, +4.090s
Click here to view full times from this event.