Cheever masters Silverstone race

Cheever passed early leader Stefan Johansson around the outside of Club Corner on the third lap before sprinting into the distance.

But going faster still was Eric van de Poele, who started from the back of the grid but, despite a spin, reeled in the American.

As Johansson faded further and further down the field, van de Poele swept around the outside of Cheever at Bridge Bend on the 12th lap of 28 to take the lead, but Cheever continued to challenge, and eight laps later he moved back in front into Copse Corner.

The gap remained less than a second, but then van de Poele had a hairy spin at Woodcote, and a further rotation at Vale for the Belgian forced him to settle for second.

Poleman Christian Danner spun with Derek Warwick at Luffield on the opening lap. He then had another off at Becketts, but charged back to take third place from Hans Stuck with six laps remaining. Warwick, meanwhile, retired to the pits.

Late entry Alex Caffi held off Riccardo Patrese in a battle for fifth, while Pierluigi Martini was the only other unlapped driver at the finish.

A mid-race battle for third between Jan Lammers and Andrea de Cesaris ended with the Italian clattering into the Dutchman at Becketts, removing his own front wing and Lammers's rear. De Cesaris pitted and recovered to finish 10th, behind Emerson Fittipaldi and Rene Arnoux.

There was huge disappointment for the more partisan members of the crowd. Not only did Warwick retire early, but a broken differential ruined Nigel Mansell's race. He managed just two laps, punctuated by spins, after starting from the pit lane, before returning to his garage.

Pos  Driver              Time
 1.  Eddie Cheever       1h01:08.625
 2.  Eric van de Poele   +    16.677
 3.  Christian Danner    +    36.555
 4.  Hans Stuck          +    53.514
 5.  Alex Caffi          +  1:03.023
 6.  Riccardo Patrese    +  1:06.867
 7.  Pierluigi Martini   +  1:46.355
 8.  Emerson Fittipaldi  +  1 Lap   
 9.  Rene Arnoux         +  1 Lap   
10.  Andrea de Cesaris   +  2 Laps  
11.  Patrick Tambay      +  3 Laps  

Did not finish:

     Driver             Laps
     Stefan Johansson    24
     Jan Lammers         15
     Eliseo Salazar       8
     Nigel Mansell        2
     Derek Warwick        2