| • Abandoned last race of 2023 costs Team F4V driver chance of title • Strong weekend for Nathan Anthony takes Masters battle down to wire • Elite Cup Masters Champion still happy with Championship campaign • Great performances across rain-lashed Brands event from Horley ace |
| Legends Cars Championship with allgrowth Ltd racer Nathan Anthony came within just 12 laps of celebrating a memorable double Masters Cup title win at Brands Hatch on Sunday, 5th November, with forces out of the Horley driver’s control costing him the chance of another 2023 crown. Nathan, who won the Masters Cup ‘Gerard McCosh Napoleon Award’ in the sister Legends Cars Elite Cup with JLM back in August, went into the final event of the Legends Cars Championship campaign at Brands’ 1.2-mile Indy Circuit heading the Masters standings for Team F4V. Winning a rain-lashed round seven in the Masters at his ‘home’ track on Saturday, 4th November, scoring a total of 300 points across the two Heats and Final, the First 4 Vans, Towergate Insurance, Blue Lizard, Blue Chip Warranty, Moove and Creative Funding Solutions backed driver aimed for more of the same on Sunday in round eight but his hopes were almost immediately dented. Contact on the opening lap of Heat One as he exited Druids Hairpin, a tangle with five-time former Legends Cars Champion John Mickel, resulted in instant retirement for the unmistakable yellow and blue No.29 Se-Van. Dropping Nathan 90 points behind chief Masters rival Rob Fountain ahead of Heat Two, in the second race he cut the gap to 70 points by finishing in ninth position. All was to play for in the 12-lap Final, but an accident in the preceding British Truck Racing Championship contest – which led to extensive barrier damage – meant the event was abandoned and so the Legends race didn’t happen. The weekend did begin well for Team F4V in the opening race on Saturday, which actually marked the first track time for the Legends Cars as a result of qualifying being cancelled due to extremely poor weather. Starting 10th from the grid draw ballot, Nathan put together a competitive eighth place finish in a race which was red-flagged on lap eight. For Heat Two, with rain arriving again, he lined-up 11th at the start and battled around the top 10 for the bulk of the encounter. Racing hard in very challenging conditions, an unfortunate moment on lap eight dropped him to an eventual finish of 17th place. Round seven’s Final, again on a very wet track and with continued rain, produced another good outing for Nathan. Beginning in seventh place, a superb start moved him up into the top five and on lap seven he sliced into fourth position. Although edged back to seventh before the lap 12 finish, it was a good result and netted the class win in the Masters. While round eight overall was disappointing for Nathan, not least the Final being cancelled, the 2023 season has still been a very successful one for Team F4V across the Championship and Elite Cup with outright podiums as well as the Elite Cup Masters crown. Additionally, three-time Legends Cars Champion Miles Rudman took Team F4V’s first ever outright race victory earlier in the year. Nathan Anthony: “We had a good run on Saturday, especially considering how bad the conditions were – it was very slippery out there and easy to make a mistake. I was pleased to win the day in the Masters, it was what we needed to do, and although the first race on Sunday was frustrating after being taken out, we still felt we had a decent chance of the title. “The second Heat kept that chance alive, but we’ll never know what might have happened! It’s obviously disappointing not to have been able to race the Final, but it was totally understandable after the accident in the truck race. I think I can speak for everyone in Legends Cars when I say we’re all just relieved the incident wasn’t worse. “It’s been a strong season for us, some ups and downs along the way, but the Team F4V Se-Van has been quick and competitive and we’re looking forward to coming back for more of the same next season. Time to recharge now over the winter!” Final Legends Cars Championship with allgrowth Ltd Driver Standings: 14th Nathan Anthony, 1720pts Final Legends Cars Championship ‘Masters Cup’ Standings: 2nd Nathan Anthony, 1720pts |
