Following an exciting 2023 season that started at Donington Park in April and finished at Portimao last weekend, Masters Historic Racing is proud to announce the champions and series winners for each of the six Masters grids that travelled across Europe and the UK this year.

After the final round of competition at Portimão, it was great to see some familiar faces taking the top positions, as well as some brand new names taking the honours this year! Congratulations to all our drivers who took part this year – we have witnessed some stunning racing!

Masters Racing Legends for 1966/1985 F1 Cars

The headline Masters Racing Legends series for 1966-’85 Formula One cars produced a fairytale story when Ken Tyrrell managed to come full circle by not just winning his first F1 races in a car constructed by his legendary namesake, but also by storming off to a well-deserved title in the Head and Lauda classes that comprise the post-78 section of the series. In only his third full season, the American began the season taking his first pole positions before laying the foundation of his title run by claiming a breakthrough win at Zandvoort and immediately following that up with more wins at Zandvoort (again), Silverstone and Portimão. This ensured that he remained out of reach for closest rivals Michael Lyons and Mike Cantillon.

Head & Lauda classes

• 1st – Ken Tyrrell (Tyrrell 011), Head class winner


• 2nd – Michael Lyons (Lotus 92), Lauda class winner


• 3rd – Mike Cantillon (Williams FW07C)

Meanwhile, among the pre-78 competitors in the Fittipaldi and Stewart classes, Nick Padmore wrote history by running out to his fourth title in historic Formula One cars, adding one more to his 2015, 2016 and 2018 championships and thereby emulating Alain Prost’s achievement in the modern equivalent championship. Despite facing incredible opposition from Matthew Wrigley, who claimed several poles and wins, Padmore hung on to notch up no less than nine class wins that, remarkably, also included overall wins. In third, top Stewart-class competitor Ewen Sergison shone by hauling the oldest car in the field up into places where it shouldn’t be to gain a well-deserved overall third in the championship.

Stewart & Fittipaldi classes

• 1st – Nick Padmore (Lotus 77), Fittipaldi class winner


• 2nd – Matthew Wrigley (Penske PC3)


• 3rd – Ewen Sergison (Surtees TS9B), Stewart class winner

Masters Endurance Legends

In Masters Endurance Legends, sheer consistency delivered the title to P3 class competitor and Masters supremo, Ron Maydon (Ligier JSP3), who takes the title solo as teammate, Craig Davies, missed a round to nonetheless end up second in the championship. The fastest car in the series often proved inconsistent, resulting in Stuart Wiltshire remaining in third in the standings despite a strong run of overall wins and podiums.

Prototype classes

• 1st – Ron Maydon (Ligier-Nissan JSP3), P3 class winner


• 2nd – Craig Davies (Ligier-Nissan JSP3)


• 3rd – Stuart Wiltshire (Peugeot 90X), P1 class winner

Among the Masters Endurance Legends GTs, a similar story developed with Günther Alth consistently racking up the points with steady placings and the occasional class win. This allowed the Austrian to keep Claude Bovet & David McDonald and Colin Sowter at bay, all three invariably showing up at the top at every round that they took part in.

GT classes

• 1st – Günther Alth (Aston Martin Vantage GT3)


• 2nd – Claude Bovet & David McDonald (Aston Martin Vantage GT3)


• 3rd – Colin Sowter (Ferrari 458 GT3)

Masters Sports Car Legends

Stephan Jöbstl and teammate Andy Willis, reigning champion, made a mid-season switch from their trusty open-top Lola to a Lola coupé to this time win the title as a team in Masters Sports Car Legends, claiming three class wins in the process. A particularly strong campaign in the pre-65 Hulme class for John Spiers & Nigel Greensall resulted in second place in the overall standings while old-hand Jason Wright proved he still had what it takes by lifting a shared second in the final classification, ending the season equal on points with Spiers and Greensall.

Masters Sports Car Legends Overall

• 1st – Stephan Jöbstl & Andy Willis (Lola T210 & Lola T70 Mk3B)


• Joint 2nd – John Spiers & Nigel Greensall (McLaren M1B) & Jason Wright (Lola T70 Mk3B)

Masters GT Trophy

Meanwhile in our newest series, Craig Wilkins proved untouchable as he bagged five overall wins to become the Masters GT Trophy’s undisputed inaugural champion. Several cases of bad luck prevented Neil Glover from truly challenging Wilkins but he still grabbed second place in the final standings, just ahead of George Haynes & Adam Sharpe who in the process did well to win their class against more recent GT4 machinery.

Masters GT Trophy - Overall

• 1st – Craig Wilkins (Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo Evo), Corse class winner


• 2nd  – Neil Glover (Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo Evo)


• 3rd – George Haynes & Adam Sharpe (BMW M3 GT4), GT4 class winners

Masters Gentlemen Drivers

In our classic Masters Gentlemen Drivers series for pre-66 GT cars, it was hard to bet against the Spiers & Greensall pairing, the two combining a spate of pole positions with three wins to be crowned the 2023 champions. Still, it was extremely tight at the top of the overall points table, as the remarkable Giles Dawson shone against the bigger cars whenever he put his nippy CLP class car on a Gent Drivers grid this year. The same applied to outgoing champion Robin Ward who with Ron Maydon took a close overall third in the final standings.

Masters Gentlemen Drivers - Overall

• 1st – John Spiers & Nigel Greensall (TVR Griffith)


• 2nd – Giles Dawson (Lotus Elan), CLP class winner


• 3rd – Ron Maydon & Robin Ward (Ginetta G4R)

Masters Pre-66 Touring Cars

Repeating his 2022 title run, Sam Tordoff once again proved to be the man to beat in Masters Pre-66 Touring Cars, as the former BTCC driver ran off to four wins from four participations, enough to comfortably lift the crown for the second year running. Often mixing it with the well-prepared Cortinas, Harry Barton did well to claim second place in the overall championship while a Spa win cemented third in the standings for the Stephen Mawhinney & James Hagan pairing.

Masters Pre-66 Touring Cars - Overall

• 1st – Sam Tordoff (Ford Falcon)


• 2nd – Harry Barton (BMW 1800 tiSA)


• 3rd – James Hagan & Stephen Mawhinney (Ford Lotus Cortina)

Congratulations to all our 2023 Champions and Winners, as well as all of those who gave them some great battles through the season.  Each and every Masters driver played their part by joining in the fun and camaraderie of the historic racing paddock.  It’s been a privilege to watch the battles unfold!