David Hart made an impressive impression during the twelfth running of the Monaco Grand Prix Historique. With his recently restored Maserati 300S, the debutant was at the front of the field on the streets of Monaco during both free practice and qualifying, and the DHG Racing driver was untouchable throughout the race, until technical problems threw a wrench in the works.

On Friday, a short thirty-minute free practice session was held in the C class, for sports cars from 1952 to 1957. This marked the first encounter with the Monaco circuit for both DHG Racing and David himself. However, David’s lack of track knowledge didn’t seem to faze him, as with an average speed of over 95 kilometers per hour and a lap time of 2:06.304, the Maserati 300S finished in second place, just behind a similar car driven by the Spaniard Fierro-Eleta and well ahead of the rest of the strong field.

Qualifying was scheduled a day later, and the drivers were greeted not only
by beautiful weather but also by thousands of fans in the stands, possibly due to the organizers’
coronavirus regulations.

In qualifying, the drivers continued to familiarize themselves with the Monaco circuit and the Maserati,
and David consistently improved. With a time of 2:04.492, he was considerably faster than
during free practice. This time earned him second place on the starting grid, again
behind Fierro-Eleta and just ahead of Austrian Halusa in a Jaguar D-Type.

The race was then held on Sunday, and from the standing start, David had by far the best
take, leading the race into the legendary first corner, Sainte Dévote.

With Halusa initially in his wake, it was immediately clear that David was the fastest on the track, a fact underscored by the 3.5-second lead he built up on the
opening lap. Unfortunately, his Maserati adventure ended there. A
technical fault, likely a gearbox problem, put an end to
a strong race for the DHG Racing driver, who retired from the lead.

But although he didn’t finish, the impression David left on the streets of Monaco in the former Juan Manuel
Fangio Maserati 300S was indelible.