Nick Padmore was the man to beat in the FIA Masters Historic Formula One Championship at the Silverstone Classic (29-31 July) as he stormed to two convincing victories, as battles raged behind him.

Padmore, a four-times winner this season, started from pole position in the opener, but Ollie Hancock (Fittipaldi F5A) swept around the outside of his Williams FW07 to take the lead, followed by Martin Stretton (Tyrrell 012) and the demon-starting Loic Deman (Tyrrell 010), coming through from seventh on the grid. Padmore wasted no time in taking the lead back at Brooklands, and at the end of the first lap he led from Hancock, Deman and Greg Thornton (Lotus 91/5).

Hancock then dropped back, as Deman, Thornton and Stretton worked a way by as Padmore asserted himself into a five second lead.

Behind, Deman was taking Greg Thornton with him in pursuit of the leader as Christophe D’Ansembourg (Williams FW07) and Steve Hartley (Arrows A4) both passed Hancock, resuming their great battle for fifth.

Deman set fastest lap on lap five to close the lead gap to three seconds, with Greg Thornton hanging on less than a second behind. The lead gap ebbed and flowed with traffic but Thornton and Deman kept it fair in their pursuit. Meanwhile Ollie Hancock’s fall from grace continued as he was passed by Rob Hall (up from 11^th) and Mike Wrigley.

On lap 6, Hartley grabbed fifth from D’Ansembourg’s Williams but promptly slowed, leaving D’Ansembourg in a lonely fifth behind Stretton, as Padmore consolidated his lead up front. Martin Stretton pitted for a loose wheel nut lap 10, handing fourth to D’Ansembourg.

With one lap to go, Philip Hall passed Bill Coombs for third in Fittipaldi class, behind Derek Jones’s Hesketh in 10^th overall. Padmore’s lead was safe at six seconds but Greg Thornton pirouetted spectacularly on the way out of Abbey in his pursuit of Deman, rejoining and losing time but not his third place.

At the chequered flag, Nick Padmore took his fifth victory in a row from Loic Deman (who took fastest lap) and the dizzy Greg Thornton, with D’Ansembourg fourth and Mike Wrigley taking fifth from Rob Hall (Ligier JS11/17) in the final few corners. Ollie Hancock held on to seventh to win the Fittipaldi class, in front of Mike Cantillon’s Tyrrell 010 in the Invitation class. John Delane’s Tyrrell 001 took the Stewart class win.

At the rolling start of race two, Ollie Hancock took a deep breath and once again from fourth on the grid, surged around the outside line at Abbey to take the lead from Padmore, with Stretton, Wrigley, Thornton and Deman in his wake. Unlike race one though, he refused to buckle and led over the line to complete the first lap but Nick Padmore eventually made his way past at Village on lap two.

Martin Stretton was third, but was coming under pressure from Mike Wrigley, who passed at Stowe before Stretton then ran wide at Club and dropped to sixth behind Thornton and Deman, then lost a further place to D’Ansembourg
Ahead, Padmore was pulling away, with Mike Wrigley’s Williams FW07, Greg Thornton and Loic Deman now lining up behind Hancock, who was acting as the cork in the bottle, holding his pursuers behind. However, Hancock benefitted from overnight changes to the car and was able to watch the order change in his mirrors as Greg Thornton relieved Mike Wrigley for third into Brooklands. Behind, Deman was monstering the Wrigley Williams and passed him on lap five, moving up to menace Greg Thornton.

Now Padmore was pulling away at the front, with Hancock maintaining his composure to hold five charging competitors at bay – Thornton, Deman, and D’Ansembourg now in front of Wrigley with Martin Stretton joining the queue. Deman passed Thornton at Copse as Stretton passed Wrigley, but still nobody could touch Hancock, who was now 13 seconds behind the disappearing Padmore as the half way point came far too soon.

On lap eight, Wrigley dropped away to make it a battle of five cars for second, meanwhile Greg Thornton took third place off Loic Deman at Brooklands to have another go at the resilient Fittipaldi ahead. Martin Stretton passed D’Ansembourg at Aintree but Christophe spun in his continued defence of the position at Brooklands and dropped back from the peloton, which was now still headed by Hancock, ahead of Thornton, Deman and Stretton, all covered by little more than a second. It was akin to the 1981 Spanish GP at Jarama when Gilles Villeneuve kept a queue of cars at bay lap after lap: Hancock was turning in just such a performance, still managing to keep his head down and set personal best sectors.

Rob Hall, having had an awful first lap, was now seeing the competing group getting larger ahead and was closing in on Stretton by lap 10. Deman was snapping at Thornton, allowing Hancock some respite as the group scythed past back-markers onto lap 11.

With four minutes to go, the gang of five for second were all together, Thornton had a lunge at Hancock at the Loop, Martin Stretton went onto the grass and Rob Hall slotted into fifth place behind Deman.

Padmore, now more than 20 seconds clear, obligingly crossed the line two seconds before the time limit elapsed, giving spectators just want they wanted – one more lap! It would prove critical as Loic Deman and Rob Hall flew past Greg Thornton at Abbey while lapping the James Hagan Hesketh, giving Hancock a fresh challenger to hold off for the final lap.

Nick Padmore crossed the line for the chequered flag and a well-deserved sixth straight victory with a 30-second advantage as Hancock, Deman, Hall, Thornton, Stretton and now Simon Fish battled all the way around Silverstone.

Deman finally went around the outside of Hancock into Stowe to take second on the road but Hancock held on to third, winning his class by some considerable distance as well as the admiration of all who watched.

Padmore credited Hancock for a brilliant race, having had time to watch the battle unfold on the big screens while leading. Deman had what he admitted was his hardest race ever, winning that absorbing challenge for second place which covered just three seconds from second to seventh.

Mike Cantillon took the Invitation class win, Stretton won the Lauda class and John Delane won the Stewart class.

The next round of the FIA Masters Historic Formula One Championship is at Nuerburgring on August 12-14.