Super new Cooper

BRDC HSCC Silverstone

The BRDC historic sports car championship season opened on Silverstone’s Historic GP track during mid-May and was marked by a win for Frank Sytner’s newly-restored ex-Stirling Moss Cooper Monaco. His task was eased by the absence of Gary Pearson’s Lister-Jaguar after it suffered a broken wheel in qualifying, but Peter Hardman’s Ferrari Dino 246S remained a threat throughout.

Sytner’s Cooper, fresh from Simon Hadfield’s workshop, was always likely to set the pace, but an oily track made the race closer than expected. AlaniVlinshaw’s Maserati Birdcage was the unwitting cause of the slippery track, which sent the Listers of Nick Linney and Stuart Graham into early spins. For much of the race, Hardman gave spirited chase, sliding the Ferrari around with great verve as he harried the more nimble Cooper. It was only in the closing laps that Sytner was able to edge clear. PL