After dominating the first Grand Prix Masters race of the weekend, Andy Meyrick added another win in his March 761 in the series’ second race at the Silverstone Classic weekend.
However, whereas Saturday's race was a problem free romp to the flag – the advantage over 30 seconds, in the second race Meyrick had to drive around a slipping clutch that developed during the race.
The problem stopped the lead from ballooning, and kept the battle for second almost permanently in sight of the race leader. With Rob Austin's Arrows a non-starter after it's race one retirement it was left to Steve Hartley to lead the way for the A4 chassis, as he was once more battling for the podium.
Hartley completed the opening lap in fourth, taking third away from Ollie Hancock on lap two and latching onto the rear of Bill Coombs' Tyrrell. Coombs was displaced with a move on lap six at Luffield. Coombs, driving a 1979 Tyrrell formerly driven by Eddie Cheever took the standard defensive line on the inside to Brooklands, inviting Hartley to take the outside line, which he willingly took.
With Hartley fully alongside the Tyrrell on the short squirt out of Brooklands towards Luffield the outside Coombs had given up so readily became the inside line, leaving him powerless to stop Hartley taking second place.
With second place his Hartley kept the pressure on Meyrick, but was always a safe distance from the rear of the March – quite literally safe as Hartley had already clipped the rear of Coombs Tyrrell through Chapel, damaging the Arrows' front wing.
Though Meyrick lost over half his advantage in the final laps, he still took the checkered flag with two seconds to spare over the chasing Hartley, who won his class – GP Masters classes are based on the age of the cars – over Coombs
Hancock finished fourth in a Surtess TS19, with Richard Meins fifth in the Williams Alan Jones took to victory at Ceasars Palace, Las Vegas in 1981. Both men ran solitary races, behind the battle for second and ahead of another fight for sixth between Mark Dwyer and Steve Allen.
Behind them, and from the rear of the grid after his race one DNF was Manfredo Rossi de Montelera in the Martini liveried Brabham, another class winner.
Michael Lyons, another who retired from the first race of the weekend was not so fortunate, a technical problem preventing the Essex-based driver from taking the start in his Hesketh.
