The D-Series race, sponsored by Sir Jackie Stewart (12 laps) was exclusive to F1 cars from the 1966 to 1972 seasons, equipped with naturally-aspirated 3-litre engines. Michael Lyons, who started from pole position, looked set to resume his winning ways in the Principality, at the wheel of a pretty 1971 Surtees TS9, but a mechanical problem at the Rascasse forced the Englishman to return to the pits, passing the lead to Katsuaki Kubota (Lotus 72). The 62-year-old Japanese driver, who had already won here in 2014, was very emotional after passing the finish line: “I think a lot about my father today, because he passed away at the end of April. He helped me a lot to become a driver“, said the winner before climbing onto the podium, like Ronnie Peterson in the same car, in Monaco, in 1973 (3^rd). He was joined on the podium by Britain’s Matthew Wrigley (March 721), who started on the second row, and ‘Mr John of B’, in a superb Matra MS120 with a V12 engine. A special mention goes to Adrian Newey, the brilliant engineer from Red Bull Racing, who finished a superb 4^th, just off the podium, in a red 1968 Lotus 49B built ten years after he was born. Time flies…