Report & Gallery: the 10th edition of the Historic Grand Prix Zandvoort

By Marcel Hundscheid / Speed-O-Graphica

Buckle up for a comprehensive report about the 10th edition of the Historic Grand Prix at Zandvoort in the Netherlands, including the results over the action-packed racing weekend.

In mid-July, the 10th edition of the Historic Grand Prix was held at the Zandvoort circuit in the Netherlands. It marked the return of the Historic Grand Prix, with the event having been canceled in 2021. Over the course of a sun-drenched weekend, about 25,000 spectators found their way to the circuit in the dunes along the North Sea coast, where the Grand Prix for Formula 1 cars has also been held since last year.

The vast majority of the participating historic championships were from the UK, led by Masters Historic Racing. With the arrival of Masters Racing Legends for historic F1 cars, Masters Sports Car Legends, Masters Endurance Legends, Masters Gentlemen Drivers and Masters Pre-66 Touring Cars, the range of single-seaters, sports cars, touring cars and GTs was impressive.

The program was completed by historic grand prix cars under the flag of the Historic Grand Prix Car Association, the official FIA Historic F3 European Cup and the touring cars and GTs from the HARC 82-90 and RECO NK GT&TC championship. Demonstrations were provided by Force F1 Legends and a tribute to Le Mans cars from the period between 1958 and 1962.

In Masters Sports Car Legends it was the DHG Racing Lola T70 Mk. IIIB of home heroes David and Olivier Hart who won the single race on Saturday afternoon. Until the very last minute it was Tom Bradshaw who lead the race in his Chevron B19. Initially David Hart followed Bradshaw but couldn’t make the pass. After the mandatory pit stop, Olivier Hart was partly helped by a safety car. With about 15 minutes left on the clock Hart Jr. made the pass and in the end saw the chequered flag 5.4 of a second in front of Bradshaw.

Masters Endurance Legends was dominated by Steve Tandy and former Le Mans winner Marco Werner. Tandy drove his Peugeot 90X twice to a commanding victory. Werner had to settle for third place on Saturday when FIA F3 driver Pepe Marti proved much faster in a Ligier LMP3.

On Sunday, the experienced Werner turned the tables and finished second. Keith Frieser finally relegated Marti to fourth in the standings.

Marco Werner left his mark on both historic F1 races in Masters Racing Legends, the former Le Mans winner outpacing the competition in both races in a Lotus 87B. In the first race on Saturday he was followed by GT ace Frank Stippler in a very nice Alfa Romeo 182. In the 7th lap, however, the Alfa gave up, putting Stippler out of the way with the Italian Thoroughbred. As a result, Michael Lyons and Steve Brooks moved up in a Lotus 92 and a Lotus 91 respectively, leaving the podium completely black and gold.

After an absence of two years, the Historic Formula 3 European Cup returned to Zandvoort. Davide Leone started from pole position in the first race of the weekend and drove without a single threat to victory. His closest competitor Frederic Rouvier tried to get as close a possible. After the race the Frenchman was disqualified due to a too large restrictor.

Rouvier was unleashed on Sunday’s race and steadily worked his way from fourth to the top of the standings. Leone finished second but managed to score enough points to give him the European championship in the division up to 1979.

Besides the several Masters series, lots of other interesting series participated. GP cars until 1966 were gathered into the Historic Grand Prix Car Association. Briton Will Nuthall dominated the first race in his Cooper T53.

On Sunday Rüdiger Friedrichs grabbed the honours in a Cooper T53. Demos with Formula 1 cars from a recent era were hosted by The Force F1 Legends. Demo runs on Saturday and Sunday included, amongst others, an Arrows A10, a Simtek S941 and a Forti FG-03.

Let’s take a closer look on some of the remarkable cars that could be seen over the weekend.

Ferrari launched the 246SP in 1961 as their first mid-engined car. Carlo Chiti designed the car equipped with a pinched-out-of-the-Dino 2417 cc V6. At Zandvoort Jason Wright’s replica ‘0790R’ appeared in the Le Mans 1958-1962 demo run as the car was driven by former Formula 1 driver Arturo Merzario.

Forti Corse designed the Forti FG03 for the 1996 Formula 1 season. Chris Radage and Riccardo de Marco designed the car that was equipped with a Ford Zetec-R ECA V8. Although the FG03 was an improved version of the earlier FG01, both Luca Badoer only managed to finish at the debut race at Imola.

Another highlight was this genuine and splendid looking Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta Lusso from the Mr. Steel Collection. It was the first production car carrying chassis number 4213 and delivered to Ecurie Spa Francorchamps in 1962 designed by Pininfarina. The Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta Lusso was the final model of the 250 GT family. At Zandvoort the car was raced by his present owner.

Results Historic Grand Prix Zandvoort 2022

Dutch Vintage Sports Car Club

RT1