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Lotus made its mark on the first morning of free practice for the 14th Grand Prix de Monaco Historique, taking the first two spots in the “Graham Hill” B-Series reserved to single-seaters with 1500cc engines from 1961 to 1965. A B-Series packed with front-runners, in fact, with 33 very well-equipped competitors. Notably American Joseph Colasacco, the winner in 2004 and, more recently, in 2022, in his extremely rare 1964 Ferrari 1512 (ex-John Surtees and Lorenzo Bandini). But the excellent ‘Joe’ had to be content with 3rd place in this first session, behind two wild Lotus drivers: Andy Middlehurst in a 1962 Type-25, ahead of Mark Shaw in a 1961 Type-21. These two Climax-powered Racing Green cars, sliding on all four-wheels at La Piscine and elsewhere, delighted the fans, who were already out in force for a Friday (free admission).
A little earlier, in the ‘Louis Chiron’ A1-Series, which includes pre-war Grand Prix cars and pre-war voiturettes, the battle raged for 30 minutes between several drivers from across the Channel. And it was Ireland’s Paddins Dowling, in a 1936 ERA R5B, who laid the foundations for an eventual pole position on Saturday, ahead of two Britons, Jonathan Bailey (Bugatti 35C) and Michael Birch (Maserati 4CM), thanks to a very respectable time of 2:15.184 for such old cars. The top five in this first session, contested by 16 competitors, also included a German, Mark Winter (Maserati 6CM), and a Canadian, Brad Baker (ERA R10B).
The ‘Juan Manuel Fangio’ A2-Series also featured a strong field: 25 front-engined Grand Prix cars built before 1961, including a dozen Maseratis, the blue Gordini of Jean-Jacques Bally, a regular at the Monegasque event, and of course the superb Ferrari 246 Dino of Claudia Hürtgen, the former German GT racing star and Monegasque resident. There was also a Franco-Belgian actor, Stéphane de Groodt, in a 1958 Maserati 250F, delighted to reconnect with his old passion, as when he raced in Formula 3 before becoming an actor. And Marino Franchitti, the brother of the three-time Indycar winner at Indianapolis, in a Maserati too. The two best times were posted by a couple of Lotus Type-16 dating back to 1958, ahead of three Maseratis.
