A battle royal was in prospect for the final round of the 2019 Championship, at Curborough on the 12^th of October.  Perhaps it wouldn’t go down in history like those of Naseby, Edge Hill or Otterburn, but a notable battle it was sure to be.  The two principal protagonists – Dave Snelson and Mike Spicer – had been locked in combat for the previous 11 rounds.  They had come to Curborough almost level pegging, with Dave just two slender points ahead of Mike.  It was inconceivable that either driver would willingly concede defeat at this final remaining skirmish; it would have to be a last, unblinking, balls-out effort.

The course at Curborough for this sprint contest was the ‘Two Lapper’, a layout that we last used some six years ago.  It perhaps favours power over dexterity compared with the more popular ‘Crossover’ arrangement.  Some competitors thought it could be a test of memory as they feared they might, out of habit, take the wrong direction in the middle of the first lap (none did).

Of course the day wasn’t only about the two Ferrari drivers at the top of the Championship table.  There were other scores to settle.  Mark Wibberley was under threat from Richard Preece as to who would be the master of the 360 Modenas, and local-man Chris Hitchman – who knows the track like the back of his hand – was expected to be a threat to everyone with his scarlet F355GTS.  Pauline Goodwin (328GTB) was high up the leader board and the leading lady driver, but this time was challenged by Lorraine Hitchman in her potentially quicker 360.  Paul Booth’s 458 Spider was the most youthful Ferrari in the class while Mark Hargreaves’s 1978 308GT4 was the most mature.  In all, we fielded 11 cars, making the Ferrari class the second biggest at this HSA meeting.

The weather prophets had forecast a dry day which, in a period of seemingly continual rain, was a relief.  A nasty accident early in the day on the southbound M1 had closed the motorway, causing Peter Rogerson (360) to be an unavoidable late arrival although he managed to sneak into first practice.

P1 saw most drivers treating the reportedly slightly slippery track with respect, although the two fastest, Snelson (63.61) and Spicer (67.36) were clearly on song straight off the blocks.  Richard Preece was well over a second slower than rival Mark Wibberley due to an inexplicably slow 65mph over the finish line (Mark was timed at 92mph).  “I backed off,” he explained.  “You don’t want to show your hand to the opposition.”

Times were much quicker in P2; the early morning condensation had evaporated and grip levels were obviously coming up to normal. Snelson was again the fastest with an almost identical time to his first effort; Pauline dipped under 70 seconds, Chris Hitchman stopped the clocks at 65.88 to put his F355 into second spot, and Paul Booth shot across the finishing line at a stirring 107mph.  Mike Spicer, trying very hard, locked up his 328 at the Molehill wiggle on the first lap and then went off track at the Fradley Hairpin, resulting in an ignominious ‘Fail’.

The break for lunch allowed Spicer to carry out some minor repairs to the nose of his car and perhaps re-concentrate on what he had to do in the afternoon, when it really mattered. Dave Snelson admitted to feeling unwell, which is no surprise considering the number of redeye flights he has made to the US in recent weeks.  Otherwise, everything seemed to be normal, and the busy Curborough diner was a popular port of call for a hearty Staffordshire burger and mug of tea.

The Ferrari class was the last one on the card, so it was quite some time before the cars were out for the first of their two official timed runs.  Booth led off with a workmanlike 66.55, followed by a determined Pauline who typically shot off the start line in a class-beating 0-64ft time of 2.43 secs.  Chris Hitchman clocked a very capable-looking 65.65 to take the scratch lead while Mark Hargreaves continued with his ever-improving times with a 72.65 – not bad when you consider it was his first outing of the season with the GT4.

Lorraine H. just failed to equal Pauline’s time by a twitch (0.36 sec) and Preece stopped teasing us by crossing the finish line at a serious 95mph to record a splendid 66.80.  Dave Snelson was a little slower than he had been in practice while Mike Spicer posted an identical time to his P1 figure. Finally, Mark Wibberley failed to better the Preece 360 time, again flagging up 95mph at the finish which suggests all the 360 Modenas are stuck on that finishing speed at Curborough, regardless of who is driving them.

And then we came to the final runs.  Anne Swift, our busy Championship Co-ordinator, had placed the results board for all to see.  Fingers danced over computer keys to work out what needed to be done to achieve ultimate success.  The tense faces of the drivers reflected the seriousness of the moment.  Total concentration, no errors, no early braking, max attack.  It was all crystal clear.

Booth’s time flashed up: slightly slower.  Was the track temperature cooling and affecting all R2 times?  Pauline annoyingly out-braked herself into Flagpole Corner and ruined her run.  Then Hargreaves got out of shape at Molehill and spun his GT4.  What was happening?

Service returned to normal with a faultless performance by Chris Hitchman.  His time of 64.46 was to be the second fastest of the class and pocketed the full 20 Championship points.  Lorraine H. was untidy this time (73.34) but father-in-law Peter (F430) got his head down and recorded his best of the day, as did Peter Rogerson.

Then it was the turn of the two stars of the show.  Dave Snelson was a soupçon slower than his practice runs, at 63.66, while Mike Spicer made no mistakes to post 66.62.  It was just enough to score 17 points to his rival’s 15. Out came the calculators and the result we were all waiting for was that Dave and Mike had finished up with exactly the same number of points.  It was a unique situation in the history of the Ferrari Hillclimb Championship, and Anne needed to carefully and accurately establish what the result would be having followed the prescriptions of the Regulations.

Unfortunately, excitement got the better of one person, who thoughtlessly dashed off to the commentators box to tell them that Mike Spicer had won the Championship, even while the last competitor was taking his run.  This fake news unimpressed the Motorsport UK steward and we were appropriately reprimanded.  The lesson, we hope, has been learned that only our appointed Club officials are empowered to manage the Championship.

When the dust had settled on all this kerfuffle, and the outcome of the event had been properly assessed in accord with the rules, it was declared that the Championship was a tie, and that the 2019 winners are jointly Dave Snelson and Mike Spicer. I doubt they will ever forget this Saturday at Curborough.  Hats off to them both!

After a glorious week of sunshine the rumbling of thunderstorms over the Worcestershire countryside ushered in race day at Shelsley. It was clear all competitors were prepared for the worst, with everyone turning up with plenty of time to get ready; indeed, everyone was at the track and ready for scrutineering before the first batch practice got under way.

There was, thankfully, a respite from the overnight storms as the paddock prepared – adhesive tape actually managed to stay put when applied to number backgrounds! With more rain predicted, everyone was aware this would be a small window. With the cars prepared attention turned to ensuring the competitors was also suitability set, Anne Swift was seen struggling to slip husband John into a rubber and eventually managed it before turning her attention to the second galosh. There was debate if the extra grip of the rubber soles would make tackling the hill easier or not. Paul Booth was also keen to understand how the PEP would be modified to racing in his wellies.

As first practice rolled round the clouds were definitely building once more, predictions of rain for the middle of the day proving to be accurate. Traction off the line at Shelsley can be a problem even in good conditions given the steep ramp; in the wet it proved extremely challenging.  None of the Ferrari class managed to get below 3 seconds for the 64ft split, with the best time of 3.27 seconds being recorded by Mike Spicer (328GTB) and the slowest, of 4.33, by Mark Wibberley (360 Spider). The shock of just how hard getting the power down was clearly reflected in the times at the top of the hill and all times posted were well into the 40 second bracket, topped by David Snelson in his bellowing 430 at 42.06. Richard Preece (360 Modena) was quite happy with his run, at least on artistic merit. He claimed it would have made Torvill and Dean proud.

The threatening rain almost held off for second practice but as our batch lined up at the start there were spots of rain to be seen on the windscreens. Times were improved across the board, with Paul Booth (458 Spider) managing to be the first to go sub-3 seconds at the 64ft mark. Mood at the top of the hill was very subdued as everyone hid in their cars from the now pouring rain. The rain kept on falling over the lunch break but clearly provided an ample supply to run the Shelsley water wheel, which was up and running.

After lunch the main band of rain had passed and the track, while a long way from dry, was improving for the Ferrari timed runs. Times were coming down fast but the conditions were still treacherous as Iwan Attwood (308GT4) discovered coming out of top Ess, with the back end slipping out leading to a spectacular contact between the N/S rear tyre and the mud bank. Although Iwan continued to the finish line the track was red flagged for Mark’s 360 and he was given an extra chance to get the start right. All the other Ferraris made it to the finish without further incident, posting much improved times. Snelson was still in the lead on scratch followed closely by championship leader Spicer and then Booth. It was, however, clear that Iwan’s impact with the bank had unseated the tyre from the wheel and it was losing pressure rapidly. End of batch, and with all cars returned to the paddock, showed the true spirit of the PFHC with assistance offered all round to help Iwan clean the mud from the bead of the tyre that was stubbornly refusing to seal. Even with the combined weight of Mike and Mark bouncing on the tyre, it proved a futile exercise and ultimately Iwan had to abandon his final run.

With the Championship in the balance going into the final timed run things were very tense, with PEP-adjusted times favouring Spicer on the basis of his first timed run. With the track conditions rapidly improving with use, and the rain holding off, the final runs showed some dramatically improved times. Wibberley, first off the line, went 1.5 seconds faster but it was Richard Preece who made an astonishing leap forward, taking nearly 5 seconds out of his previous best.  That demonstrated just how he is getting to grips with his 360, enough to secure him third on scratch. Booth and Swifty shaved their times a little more which left the two Championship contenders at the sharp end. Snelson put in a blistering 34.76, improving by 2.5 seconds, and turning up the pressure on Spicer who in turn managed to post a 1.9 second improvement at 36.77.

The top three competitors on scratch were the same as those on PEP-adjusted times. Snelson took the 20 championship points, and the fairly hefty bar bill that goes with it.  The excitement of the Championship rolls onto the final round at Curborough on 12th October…

There are few finer venues than Prescott: to look down on the scene from the Bugatti Terrace, watching all the drivers fettle their cars, the constant stream of competitors going to and from the top paddock, and the roar of high-performance cars as they blast off the line. It’s also rather handy for the catering and other facilities.

What we could have done with was some sunshine.  There was a distinctively autumnal twinge to the air, with the cloud and low temperatures not really heating up the track and making it overly exciting for many later in the day. It was also notable that only 50% of the 12 Ferraris assembled, which ranged from Jon Goodwin’s 275GTS and Tony Attwood’s Dino 246GT from the earlier days through to Paul Booth’s up-to-the-minute 458 Spider, were painted in definitive red. In total, 8 tipos were represented, so clearly anyone can have a go, no matter what model of Ferrari they own.

First practice at about 9:30 passed without a great deal of incident. All drivers simply got on with re-familiarisation, with Jon Goodwin especially pleased to run as he was refused a scrut’s ticket in the Spring meeting due to minor age (of the car) related infringements. Wife Pauline felt her clutch was on its way out but actually ignored it subsequently to return to her usual blistering starts. It’s rare to see PG’s starts on a par with us mere mortals!

Mike Spicer hit the hill at pace, recording the fastest small car time since 2001 with a 50.93 – a personal best, possibly due to warm tyres, having had a second go at starting, but nonetheless impressing all. Martin Jones had preceded him, though didn’t come off at all so we were quizzical about the red flag for Mike. Martin made steady progress through the day from his initial 61.28 in the Oakley-liveried 360 which delighted many passers-by. Martin ended the day with the biggest smile, which of course is what it’s all about – set your own targets, and then beat them.

Dave Snelson, as usual, set the fastest time: a sub-50, not bad considering he’d flown in on the Red Eye from the US again. Paul Booth found the weight and stopping distances of his 458 a handful compared to his featherweight F3 car, highlighting the addictive nature of motorsport and the fact that many PFHC competitors also compete on circuits.

Second practice was just before lunch, as the field was huge, being practice for a round of the British Hillclimb Championship the following day. It was just too much for Dave Snelson, who retired to his tent after a torrid run, and Richard Preece spoke for all the 360 drivers who found the track greasy and plagued by ASR coming on at multiple points. None of this group of four drivers enjoyed the run, though all bar your author managed to improve their times a little. Jon Goodwin also had a seat of the pants run, with the original servo on his venerable steed proving barely adequate in stopping him at Pardon Hairpin – ‘brakes have come on a lot since 1967’ he remarked. It’s worth noting the disparity of speeds under the Bridge too – 45-70 mph even amongst the 360 drivers, though few know where the actual speed trap is. I can confirm that 70mph is perhaps a bit too much to carry round the next corner without a little light anchor deployment.

So began lunch and a near 5-hour wait for the game proper. With so many cars practising for Sunday there were actually only two classes completing their efforts on this single day, and we ran after the Q Classes T1 and T2s were complete. This undoubtedly gave us warm tyres but with less than 5 minutes to analyse, fettle, recompose and start again, many felt uncomfortable with the arrangement. Drive up, drive down, queue up and go again, such that the last Ferrari up signalled the end of the day’s action.

After plenty of time for what we do most of – chat, car washing, ice creams, naps – there were competition times to put down. With no time to gain feedback from drivers between runs for your reporter, it largely comes down to the results after two incident-free final runs.

Big Dave was once again fastest, with Mike Spicer second in his 328 – no mean feat with Paul Booth breathing down your neck/clinging on with twice the horsepower.  Mark Wibberley squeezed home 4^th in a pack of drivers in the 53 second band – Preece, Jackson and Swift, in that order, were all under 54 seconds. Pauline had clearly forgotten about any lingering clutch issues, with 2.59 off the line and a best of 54.69, following from a PB in the previous round. Her best time was on the second run – so maybe warm tyres is what it takes?

Martin Jones hit his target of under 60 seconds with a final run 59.14 and resultant huge grin, Doc Attwood slung his beautiful Dino over the finish line in 59.13 (yes, it’s as little as 1/100^th of a second to separate some drivers, folks) and Jon Goodwin stroked his 275 home in a best time of 61.89 on his final run. Peter Rogerson was one of the five drivers who peaked at R1 (at 61.77), so the debate is very much on as to whether thinking time beats warm tyres. Everyone agreed that sunshine really does help, with many drivers as much as 2 seconds slower than in the perfect conditions of this year’s Spring meeting.

Prize-giving included a smattering of Prescott Breweries ales – ‘Hillclimb’ sounds much preferable to ‘Pit Stop’ I have to say.

The Championship is now poised on a knife edge. Dave Snelson yet again gallantly paid for a round of drinks as scratch winner while Mike Spicer took the maximum Championship points. The feeling is that his single point advantage at the top of the table may not outlast Shelsley Walsh where the power of the F430 should give its driver not only beer-buying honours but crucially also the maximum 20 points.

If so, a tense final round at Curborough, on 17 October, beckons . . .

Our first visit to Curborough this year for the annual Reliant Owners Club event attracted 15 Ferrari drivers. Although unloved by some, this small Midlands sprint track always sees a good attendance from our hillclimbers, the ‘figure of eight’ circuit being popular.  Following a rather unsettled week weather-wise, we were expecting showers to dampen proceedings; however luckily only a few spots fell from time to time and competition was not affected.

At sign-on, Jeff & Caroline Cooper found they had forgotten to bring their comp licences with them.  A declaration had to be signed and a fine paid before they were allowed to take part. This was not to be their only unexpected cost of the day.

Following a pep talk at Loton Park at the end of July regarding late arrival at events, we were all signed-on and ready in time for first practice, just!  We noted Diamond Dave was especially early by his standards.  Pauline Goodwin was showing off her Union Jack socks and Peter Hitchman, making his first appearance of the season, had forsaken his Mayoral robes for the requisite fireproofs.

A new two-storey commentary box has been installed this year prompting Eddie Walder to complain about having to climb the steps to reach his microphone.

First practice got under way and there were no major dramas, although Dave Snelson in his 430 caused the marshals to do a little track sweeping after his run.  Tim Dickinson seemed to have a good run in his 458 but for some reason failed to get a time.

The usual suspects, all below 70 seconds, headed the field: Nick Taylor’s 430 ahead of Dave, and then Mike Spicer’s 328GTB followed by local-man Chris Hitchman’s F355.

Second practice saw Tim recording 67.20, which moved him up ahead of Chris on 68.03.  The top three remained the same: Taylor on 64.29, Snelson 65.24, and Spicer 67.04.  Mark Wyman, in his black-over-red 458, made a good improvement to 70.02 but then blotted his copybook slightly by taking out the marker post after the finish line.  Others chasing hard and in the 70 second band were Pauline G’s 328GTB on 70.28, Brian Jackson’s 308GTB on 70.83, and Richard Preece’s smart 360 Modena on 70.85.

A short light shower passed over after P2 but the track soon dried and it remained dry for the rest of the day.

Our hardy supporters came along to cheer us on. Championship steward Sue Skinner and Paul were in their 308GTB and the Swifts made a welcome appearance – John was on camera duty as a change to competing while Anne logged all the results.  After lunch at the busy Curborough diner it was on to the official runs.

First away was Jeff Cooper in his 360 recording a steady 74.72. This was enough to head Peter Hitchman’s 430 (75.99) and Jon Goodwin’s superb 275GTS  (77.68). Jon almost took the cross-over course again on his second lap but corrected himself just in time to continue along the finish straight.  Tony Attwood’s 308GT4 recorded a fail on this run (4-wheels off) to bring up the rear of the class.

Mark Wyman had a twitchy run and couldn’t match his P2 time, his 70.91 good enough for 9^th.  Lorraine Hitchman’s 360 was next on 72.31, and then it was the shared similar car of Caroline (73.63).

At the sharp end Taylor remained ahead, his 63.76 setting a new class record. Snelson remained in the 65’s on all his runs, not happy with the grip from his tyres.  In 3^rd & 4^th Spicer and Dickinson were still in the 67’s, slightly slower than their practice times.  After a near spin at the 90⁰ Flagpole Corner, Chris Hichman also failed to improve on his practice times, recording  68.65.  Richard Preece carved 2 seconds off to bag 6^th with a 68.78. Pauline G and Brian Jackson both improved with almost identical times of 69.88 and 69.90 respectively.

Jeff Cooper led away again for the second runs and made a good improvement to 72.03 giving him 11^th in class and 5 points.  Richard Preece failed to improve, so ending up 6^th with 9 points. Tony Attwood’s 73.71 was his best time of the day netting him 13^th and 8 points. Mike Spicer’s first run time was good enough for 4^th and a bountiful 17 points. Jon Goodwin got down to 76.81, his lovely Ferrari perhaps more suited to bowling down to the South of France on a warm summer’s day than charging round Curborough’s intricate twists and turns; his 6 Championship points were well deserved. Pauline Goodwin chipped another half second off for a new PB, her 69.39 giving her 7^th and 12 valuable points.  Nick Taylor remarkably took another couple of tenths off his new record to set a new fastest time of 63.47, easily taking the win and the maximum 20 points.   Dave Snelson had his best run of the day with a 65.06, then by way of celebration took out the marker post after the finish line. 2^nd on scratch and 13 points were his.  Brian Jackson failed to improve and so ended up 8^th with a useful 15 points. Peter Hitchman improved by well over a second, getting down to 74.30  (14^th and 2 points).  Tim Dickinson’s 65.77 in his 458 was 2 seconds quicker than his first run, so he jumped up to 3^rd and 10 points.  Chris Hitchman also improved to 67.75 (5^th and 11 points). Last of the Hitchman clan, Lorraine recorded an impressive 70.93 to capture 10^th spot and 7 points. Mark Wyman’s 458 seemed to be a bit of a handful again and he failed to improve, ending up 9^th with 4 points.

Our final runner in class was Caroline Cooper. Her 360 was going well until the car got sideways exiting the Molehill. The car continued to rotate and took to the grass; it only came to a halt when contact was made with the unyielding barriers.  Happily Caroline was fine and the car was still drivable, but the 360’s rear quarter panel and bumper require quite a bit of TLC before her next outing.  It was an unfortunate end to the day.

So, with dropped scores now coming into play, the Championship is getting interesting.  Dave Snelson and Mike Spicer are tied on aggregates of 136 points, but the menacing Nick Taylor is only 4 points behind them and can add one more score before dropping any scores.

The second part of our Loton Park long weekend – Round 8 of the 2019 Championship – swelled to a very healthy 15 competitors with the arrival of the Coopers (Jeff and Caroline) and Brian Jackson.  Dave Snelson arrived late again, to the irritation of the organisers, and the previous day’s record breaker, Nick Taylor, went AWOL when he called on Sir Michael Leighton to have his de Portago biography, one of the prizes of his yesterday’s success, autographed.

The weather, after overnight rain, was now fine but hot and humid.  Times in P1 were generally a bit off the pace of the previous day. Jon Goodwin’s lovely 275GTS now complied with all the Motorsport UK strictures (after having been excluded at Prescott at the end of May) in respect of locking seat back rests, headrests, and catch tank details.  All the scrut’s requirements had been incorporated in ingenious and exemplary ways, a credit to the resolve of the car’s owner.  Jon was red-flagged at the start-line to allow a family of young ducks to waddle across the track to their pond in the infield.

My notes show that the superstitious Pauline G declined to remove bird droppings from her 328 – probably a good decision because she rocketed away from the line with a 0-64ft time of 2.42 secs and an untroubled 67.11.  Caroline was concerned that husband Jeff had switched off the ABS on the shared 360 Modena.  Championship contender Spicer was immediately on the case, slotting his shiny yellow 328 into third behind the warring 430s of Snelson (60.29) and Taylor (59.17).

A feature of Loton Park is that all noise ceases at 10am while the morning service is held at the little church just across the road, the silence a slightly eerie experience.  About this time our Championship steward, John Warner, arrived with Marjorie after having enjoyed the Ferrari dinner at the Albrighton Hotel the previous evening.  Our dedicated eligibility scrutineer, Gerry Walton, should also have been on parade but sadly he was taken to hospital a few days before; we wish him a speedy recovery.  The esteemed editor of Ferrari magazine, Richard Dredge, also made an appearance, weighed down by a bewildering assortment of Canon bodies and long-range lenses.

For P2 there was a slight drizzle but it didn’t adversely affect the times.  Snelson clipped half-a-second off to close on Taylor’s effort, and Mark Wibberley was clocked at a blistering 87mph up Cedar Straight – virtually the fastest of anyone – in his effort to keep rival Richard Preece at arm’s length.  Swift slashed 3 seconds off his F355’s time but was still shy of his PB of a few season’s before.  Peter Rogerson admitted to total confusion: he braked a thought too late for Fallow, the car lurched sideways, and then he frantically tried to change gears with the dip switch stalk.  OMG!  Another driver unable to match his PB was Mike Spicer despite a terrific time of 63.37.

Then it was time for our barbecue.  Today there was a change of menu and a significant increase in customers.  Anne coped valiantly in dealing with those who had forgotten to bring their tickets, although eventually the food ran out for the unfortunate few.  The pub with whom we arrange the catering are to be applauded because a few days earlier their premises were under water after a serious flood.

Appropriately refreshed, the Ferrari drivers got into action again for the first official runs although it wasn’t until mid-afternoon that our class was called up.  Iwan Attwood pedaled the family 308GT4 to good purpose, with a 66.31- some 6 seconds ahead of his Dad in the beautiful Dino 246GT.  Jackson returned a 66.16 in a workmanlike climb in his immaculate 308 (‘BOB’).  In contrast Spicer entered the final corner, Museum, too fast and paid the price by coming to a sudden halt.  Nick Taylor, his black 430 being the small boys’ favourite Ferrari because of the all the noise, smoke and sheer drama at launch on the start, returned a very fast 58.60 to retain his scratch lead, with rival Snelson a second or so in arrears.

After what seemed a very short interval, it was time for the final fling.  Now we would get everything right, all the other runs were just preparation.  Jeff Cooper had the idea: 2 seconds quicker.  Caroline an even better notion and improved by 3½ secs.  Iwan took the second-place handicap award with an outstanding 65.32 and Tony an almost equally impressive 71.07 in the little Dino.  Rogerson used the proper paddles this time while your scribe breathed a sigh of relief that he had outpaced Pauline for a change – but not Brian Jackson.  Wibberley harvested 11 Championship points with a 62.52, marginally quicker than Paul Booth’s time with his 458 Spider.

And then we waited for Preece to join us at the top of the hill.  But he didn’t.  A very strange thing had happened.  After safely negotiating Triangle, Richard later explained that he had swallowed a fly!  Not any old fly, but a lively horsefly.  In the oral mayhem that followed he put a wheel over the kerb and the car slewed sideways to an involuntary stop.  The damage was inconsequential but the run, of course, was ruined.  The moral of the story is clear: when hillclimbing, leave old ladies to swallow the flies.

Proceedings shortly resumed, with Spicer bravely equaling Booth’s time, and Nick Taylor putting his seal on things with an unbeaten 58.43 to take the H&DLCC Class award and, once again, the 20 points. 

The current position of the Championship continues to be on a knife edge, with Dave Snelson still hanging on to the lead by just 2 points from Mike Spicer, with Nick Taylor now much closer in third.

The next round is a sprint for a change, at Curborough on 18^th August.  Don’t miss it!   

9For more pictures go to our Flickr page).

The weekend double-header at Loton Park, in an English parish bordering Wales to the west of Shrewsbury, is perhaps the highlight of the PFHC competition year.

The hill itself is tight, fast, challenging and complex. It demands knowledge of yourself, your car and the hill, and utter precision. It’s narrow, especially in critical and often high-speed segments and contains the forbiddingly blind Museum corner to catch you out when you think you’ve done a fine job so far. It’s the kick in the pants that competitors often experience when they think its almost all over.

Add in a strong field every year, a splendid dinner on the Saturday evening preceded by Pimms on the lawn and the odd cooling beer, as it’s often very warm being in July. It is not one to miss. There is also a striking and coveted Cavallino-like trophy awarded by Sir Michael Leighton , the owner of the estate in which the hill sits, to reflect his Ferrari-racing forbear the Marquis de Portago and awarded to the fastest Ferrari driver on the Saturday.

So, without further ado, Saturday’s first practice. An absence of only a few days greeted some of our competitors, but seven years in Caroline and Jeff Cooper’s case (although the Coopers had actually scratched from Saturday’s event but were due to commence battle on Sunday). Practice times reflected reticence and unpreparedness in some cases on a slightly patchy course that demanded circumspection.

So, Messrs. Booth and Attwood, in the newest and oldest cars out to play, had instantly forgettable runs – slow and steady mind you – and Richard Preece would rather have forgotten his excruciatingly slow start and a slight ‘off’ too. John Swift lifted off with incorrect suspension settings, which gnaws at the mind when wrestling with an awkward car, though he’d had a fine trial run on his way to the hill and should have known better. Peter Rogerson and Dave Snelson arrived late (though the latter had only come 8 miles and had no excuses). Mark Wibberley put in a scrappy, squealy run (from the tyres, not the driver) but daringly put in the fastest top speed (83mph), though not time, of the first batch. Nick Taylor hit the ground running with a pleasing 61.36.  So – the usual mixed bag then.

Second practice, on what was supposed to be a showery day but which actually did nothing but warm the track, saw off-road excursions from Mark Wibberley at Loggerheads, and Tony Attwood at both Triangle and Fallow. And again, on his re-run! Admirable consistency or repeated lunacy? Anyway, no damage to report, fortunately.  Everyone else made progress – which is what Practice is for. Notables were both Taylor and Snelson, getting into the 59s, Mike Spicer almost at his Personal Best, Messrs Preece, Swift, Booth, Iwan Attwood and the Goodwins all getting the hang of it. Peter Rogerson went below 70 seconds too, and the top speed merchants struck 86mph.

So, come the first run that counts, following an excellent BBQ lunch arranged, as usual, with the pub down the road. Of the early runners, Peter Rogerson benefitted from a re-run on warmed tyres due to Tony Attwood’s Dino leaving the track again – at the same place – but neither had anything to write home about. Richard Preece took pleasure in segments of his first competition run here in his newly acquired 360 Modena to record 63.34 and Mike Spicer  recorded the fastest ‘small car’ time, at 61.98, in over 15 years. Wibberley tried too hard to make up for coming off last time, though had developed a distinct Scandi Flick at the top of the ‘Isn’t’ – the straight that isn’t really – for a decent 65.14. Others felt generally OK, having put down a decent banker; Booth, Attwood Jnr knowing they needed to just go a little faster next time. Our defending Champion put in a fast but not quite fast enough 60.09, so definitely needed to work his new tyres harder. He was followed by Nick Taylor who threw down the gauntlet with a perfect run to record a new Class Record of 58.28. As the existing record holder, Nick clearly likes this venue!

So, a clear leader and perfect track conditions on a very warm day when we were called for the final time. Could Snelson snatch the class win and mega trophy? Could others learn their lessons on line and cornering, and where the black stuff is, to change the order? Could Pauline Goodwin rediscover her blistering starts, and Jon in his beautiful 275, driven with the top down and cigar at the ready, wring any more power from its glorious V12?

The answer was, in summary, no. Most drivers were actually slower – the past Champions of Snelson, Taylor and Spicer were, also marginally Mr & Mrs Goodwin. But Peter Rogerson took over 3 seconds off for a 68.52, Tony Attwood went much better, principally by staying on the track, John Swift improved to 66.17 and Paul Booth beat his PB by almost a second to take 3^rd place on scratch with 61.69. A slight improvement on the PB of Mark Wibberley, to 62.41, saw him take the Handicap prize, but major honours for the day went to the irrepressible Nick Taylor, with a Class record, 20 Championship points, and that great trophy.

(For more pictures go to our Flick page).

The BARC South West’s Gurston Down hillclimb is the PFHC’s most southerly event.  It is not as famous or historical as, say, Shelsley or Prescott, but it does have a unique, almost friendly, feel to it. The paddock is a working farmyard and, bizarrely for a hillclimb, it starts by going downhill.  But make no mistake: this is a fast and potentially dangerous hill. In fact, whenever I am facing the dentist or undergoing surgery, as a distraction I remind myself of the hair-raising passage through the first bend, Hollow, which few would argue is the most fearsome on British hillclimb tracks.

Ten Ferraris were entered but only eight arrived.  Mark Hargreaves was unable to make it and poor Richard Preece was still suffering with the flappy gear-change problem on his 360 Modena.  However, we were pleased to welcome two new drivers to our fold.  Tim Dickinson (who had shown serious form when he made his baptism of fire at the recent Harewood event) was in his potent 458 Italia and Jeff Orford, who had just returned from a Mediterranean sailing race – which ended at what must be the ultimate finishing point for yachts: Monaco harbour.  On arrival at Gurston, he might have found the wet paddock a bit of a culture shock after the sunshine of Monte Carlo.  Jeff has a nice blue F355 which, because he was late, was pounced upon by most of the other Ferrari competitors to help with stickers, numbers, an improvised timing strut, and all the other essential bits and pieces that need to be fitted prior to scrutineering.

First practice, which was damp (and minus latecomers Dave Snelson and Jeff Orford) was led by Spicer, very closely followed by Dickinson and then Pauline Goodwin and Jeff.  Snelson arrived before P2 and practised on a drying track, shooting up to his customary place at the top of our group in his 430.  He tells me that he feels he has bought the Gurston Down Hillclimb School as he is there so often!

Second practice assumed a more natural order with Dave now at the top of the leader board, having knocked almost a second off his P1 time, but now followed by Dickinson with a time of 37.99.  Now, I know the 458 (incidentally it sounded superb doing the noise test) is a serious piece of kit but sub-38 seconds is very impressive indeed. Spicer was third, and in fourth, another recent school pupil, Tony Attwood, his excellent 18.47 to the first split yielding a strong 41.99.

John Swift (F355), with identical speeds at both speed traps returned a cautious but tidy 45.55, Pauline took nearly four seconds off her P1 time and Orford (whom we had guessed does have some ‘previous’) did a decent 43.58.  This was Impressive on his first visit to a hillclimb and particularly at one of this magnitude.  Iwan Attwood, in the shared 308GT4, was in the guardsman’s van but this is not indicative of his skill; it was just not his day.

After a fairly lengthy lunch break, the weather picked up and we were away on the first timed run.  The order remained just the same as before except Jeff leap-frogged Pauline, despite her vigorous adjustment of tyre pressures on her 328GTB.  Tony Attwood improved by a large margin, bettering his PB by almost a second. Snelson, to the chagrin of his fellow drivers, went yet faster with 36.39 (and equalling John Marshall’s all-time finish line speed of 103 mph).  We remember, of course, that Marshall had a 360 Scuderia on MSA Gp 1B tyres.  Spicer did a 39.22 and was looking forward to driving properly in the second official run, but . . .

One of the quicker single-seaters shot off the line like a scalded cat but sadly didn’t make it past Hollow when it suffered a very heavy accident (the unfortunate driver escaped injury).  The recovery of the car was made difficult by the fact that both front corners were knocked off so it could not be moved until a JCB with hay bale lifting equipment was brought in to lift the stricken vehicle.  This all took such a time that the meeting now risked running beyond the curfew hour.  The organisers deliberated and decided, much to everyone’s disappointment, to abandon the meeting.  The results were therefore declared on the basis of one official run only

And so to the results.  Dave Snelson was the scratch winner, his time being the third quickest-ever Ferrari time at this venue.  Tim Dickinson took the 2^nd scratch place with Spicer in third.  Snelson also captured the 20 Championship points with Spicer on 17 and Dickinson a very useful 15.

Mike Spicer, who had been neck-and-neck with Dave for the Championship lead prior to Gurston, reflected that he would have had to better the hill’s record time for 328s, on the now scrapped second run, by half a second which perhaps was unlikely.  In the Club handicap competition, Tony Attwood took the award.

As we look forward to the next rounds of PFHC, the double header at Loton Park in July, the Championship is now led by Dave Snelson with Mike Spicer nibbling at his heels by a mere 3 points.  So there is still all to play for!

Following hot on the heels of Prescott came our first 2019 outing to Shelsley Walsh.  Round 5 of this year’s PFHC Championship was at the Midland Automobile Club’s (MAC) meeting on 1^st June, which they titled ‘Best of British’.  This was a bit of a misnomer when the bumper entry in our class were all driving the Best of Italian . . . !  In my previous report I explained how the Bug Club are this year celebrating the 90^th Anniversary of their formation.  However, this impressive period seems small beer when we consider that the MAC was founded as long ago as 1901 – 118 years ago, when Queen Victoria was on the throne – and Shelsley Walsh hill was first used a staggering 114 years back, making it the granddaddy of all the world’s motorsport venues.

Comparing these two venerable tracks – still considered by many to be the finest in the country – is interesting because of their clear dissimilarity.  Prescott is a technical exercise that rewards skill and dexterity rather than sheer power, gung-ho and, dare I say, more than a basinful of bravery that is a prerequisite for Shelsley.  This was clear to me many years ago when I hillclimbed my Dino 246 Spider, a beautifully balanced Ferrari.  The car was competitive in Gloucestershire but lacked the grunt needed for Worcestershire.

But, while I eulogised Prescott in my last report, I also love Shelsley for all sorts of different reasons.  Since the place has changed little over the years you can half close your eyes and imagine you were back in the day with all the old hillclimb ‘greats’.  Since the track is more or less as it always was, you can compare your times with those of the old champions.  How do your times compare with those of the masters?  Think Witney Straight, Raymond Mays, Hans Stuck, Ken Wharton, Joe Fry: their ghosts are all here.  The MAC are to be applauded for the fact that the paddock is carefully preserved as it always was.

Enough of this nostalgia, let’s get back to 2019.  I said that the Ferrari class had a bumper entry: 15 drivers was excellent and was one of the biggest in recent years – not so long ago the MAC limited us to 12 cars. Sadly, shortly before the date of the meeting Peter and Chris Hitchman were obliged to withdraw due to family health problems.  However, on the bright side we were happy that regular competitor Pauline Goodwin was eventually included following a glitch by the MAC.

Most of the regular Ferrari contenders were on parade, with Nick Taylor ready to do battle with Dave Snelson to see who could get their F430 to the top in the quickest time.  And Championship leader Mike Spicer was eager to show again that power isn’t everything.  The weather was perfect, with warm sunshine throughout the day.  Combine this with very few hitches to the smooth running of proceedings, we seemed to be in luck.

Practice started promptly.  Jeff Cooper, an absentee from Shelsley for the last season or two, led the line up in his 360 – a tipo that has now seemed to have taken the place of the F355 as the Ferrari of choice.  He was followed by the F430 battling duo of Dave Snelson and Nick Taylor, of which Snelson (35.09) was just a quarter of a second the faster.  Tony Attwood took the first drive in the shared 308GT4 followed by Richard Preece’s 360 Modena in a useful 36.96, a time immediately bettered by Mike Spicer.  Swift took his nero metallica F355 to an investigative 40.03.  Peter Rogerson (another 360) played himself in with a rather unhurried 46.16 while Martin Jones, having a last outing in the UK for the time being before returning to Germany, introduced his racy 360 to the hill with a 45.73.  Paul Booth’s 458 Spider looked to be just the car in which to enjoy the sunshine (although he closes the lid electronically just before blast-off) – he recorded 38.12.  Mark Wibberley (38.01) was the last of the 5-car 360 Modena turn-out before Pauline Goodwin’s 328GTB completed the Ferrari field, leaving Iwan Attwood to beat his Dad by 1½ secs.

P2 saw generally much improved Ferrari times.  Still well in front on scratch times were Snelson and Taylor, with Dave now 0.60 secs shy of Marshall’s class record with the 430 Scud, set some 5 years earlier (albeit on List 1b tyres).  Booth clocked 100mph over the finishing line, the quickest Ferrari speed of the day.  Martin Jones improved by over 3 seconds but admitted he had a   ”wobble” when his 360 stepped out of line at one point.  Tony Attwood asserted parental control by closing up to Iwan’s time.  And Wibberley showed his 360 Spider’s paces by clocking 36.64.

Then it was a long lunch break before the Ferraris were in the arena again.  There was a comic touch when the commentators managed to lock themselves out of their commentary box.  The four gentlemen were seen desperately trying to open the door with the aid of knives and other weapons before they finally gained access.  We noticed that Pauline G’s 328 had been bombed by an incontinent bird.  However, she declined our offer to clean it up: “It’s good luck!” she said.  An examination of the parked cars in the paddock established that Booth’s immaculate 458 was deemed to be the winner of the ‘Best Turned-out Ferrari’.  Our regular Club steward, Sue Skinner, paid a welcome visit with husband Paul in their nice 308, which we managed to accommodate in the Ferrari area in the paddock.

R1 for the Ferraris saw Jeff Cooper again making headway, with a time close to his PB and therefore handicap time.  Snelson was again fastest of all (33.27) despite Taylor entertaining us with the most spectacular tyre-warming routine in the start area.  It is interesting that Jeff Cooper, without any drama at all, was consistently faster off the line in his 360!

Tony Attwood reported a misfire (a fouled plug?) with his GT4 although the times weren’t noticeably affected.  Spicer chopped his time down by a second to almost his best ever while Booth did the same, to go faster than ever before. Swift got close to Preece’s time while Pauline’s ‘good luck’ omen on her 328’s paintwork didn’t seem to be working.

With little time to catch our breath we were called up for the final official runs of the day. Snelson went slightly slower, Taylor slightly quicker, and the gap therefore was slightly smaller.  The result, however, was the same, with Dave taking the scratch win.  Tony Attwood aborted his run shortly after the start, fearing he would be unable to make it home with a misfiring GT4.  Iwan therefore decided it best not to take his final run.  Preece found he was unable to get his 360 out of 2^nd gear and toured up to the finish causing consternation from the following Mike Spicer who was swiftly catching him up!   Martin Jones was delighted to beat his handicap by 0.03 secs and take second place, with Mark Wibberley easily beating his previous PB to take first.  Swift and Goodwin almost replicated their R1 times in the manner of a super-accurate Rolex watch.

When all the calculations had been done, Championship Co-ordinator Anne Swift declared that Dave Snelson had captured the 20 Championship points from Nick Taylor, with Mike Spicer picking up 3^rd spot, and 15.  This result means that, going into the next round at Gurston Down on 16^th June, Spicer and Snelson are level-pegging at 83 points apiece.  Exciting stuff!      

Pirelli Ferrari Hillclimb Championship competitors visit some pretty nice venues during the season.  But I am sure most would agree that Prescott, in the Spring, takes some beating.  The blossom on the paddock trees, the sun filtering through the leaves, the exciting reek of Castrol R wafting from the ERAs warming their transmissions – jacked up rear wheels spinning and engines blipping.  For the hillclimb aficionado it is sheer bliss.  This year, 2019, is extra special since it celebrates the 90^th Anniversary of the formation of the Bugatti Owners’ Club (BOC). 

It was a joy and a privilege to be part of the meeting on Saturday, 25 May – dubbed ‘La Vita Rossa’ by our hosts. The idea is that this first day of the 2-day event is focused on Italy, while the following day celebrates all things French, and in particular La Belle Bugatti.  The BOC treated us royally by allocating the Ferraris to the Bugatti Terrace, perhaps the plumiest spot in the paddock.  An excellent entry of twelve (mostly red) cars occupied this hallowed space – there were 13 Ferrari drivers as the Attwood 308GT4 was shared, as usual, by father, Tony, and son, Iwan.

The PFHC class was almost the last on the list, so the usual early-morning panic to get the cars ready for practice wasn’t so acute.  The last to arrive was the GT4 – Tony A was delayed when a fuel spillage at a filling station en route caused a minor panic.  Paul Booth gave us detailed info about his race suit.  He had been testing his F3 car at Oulton Park the previous day when, due to an over-fueling problem, he found himself sitting in the cockpit in a puddle of high-octane petrol.  It didn’t do his overalls any favours (nor, for that matter, his backside).

Jon Goodwin was here with his lovely 275GTS that had graced our earlier events at Bouley Bay and Harewood.  Unfortunately, the eagle-eyed scrutineers spotted some minor contraventions to the car’s compliance with the Motorsport UK’s ‘Blue Book’ tome of rules.  No amount of discussion could change their decision and sadly Jon’s car failed to get the essential scrut’s sticker to enable it to take part.

The two immaculate giallo fly Ferraris of Brian Jackson (308GTB) and Championship leader Mike Spicer (328GTB) glinted in the sun, their lovely classic shapes contrasting with the more recent Italian machinery.  Mark Wyman, who joined us this season at Bouley Bay, and Paul Booth had the most modern tipo, the 458 Italia.

Practice 1 got off to a flying start, with Spicer immediately on the pace with a 52.05 and Mark Wibberley (360 Modena) not far behind at 53.11. Dave Snelson was also quick, taking his F430 up the hill in 49.85 – a personal best.  Richard Preece was having some difficulties with his 360’s mode-selection system which seemed to be misbehaving.  P2 saw times generally come down, Spicer getting off the line in an incredible 0-64ft time of 2.39 secs to knock a second off his P1 effort and record a new PB of 51.05.  Iwan Attwood, in the shared 308GT4, was also impressive, with 56.57 looking good for possible handicap honours.

During the lunch break there was lots to see in the busy paddock. Apart from the fascinating collections of hugely interesting cars, there were lofty stilt walkers, opera singers, can-can dancers, pseudo gendarmes, and stalls galore offering French and Italian delicacies.  Dave Snelson, not one of your shy, retiring characters, joined in the fun by dancing with one of the contraltos and, as an encore, drenching her partner with a water pistol that he just happened to have hidden in his trouser pocket.  It was all great fun.

There were a number of small collections of specialist cars on the outside of the track.  We came across Bernard Worth and his wife, with their precious Ferrari 166 they have owned for what seems like forever.  We managed to get PHR member Francis Newman included in the Ferrari cavalcade making an ascent of the hill; he and his 308GT4 had just returned from Italy and the annual Mille Miglia celebrations.

Following all this jollity, the serious matter of official runs got underway – the sun still beating down to make track conditions ideal.  Again, Ferrari times showed some improvement.  Tony Attwood carved a couple of seconds off P2 but then Iwan went even quicker to retain a 2-second advantage.  Jackson – always impressive here – did a useful 53.61 but felt he could go quicker.  Pauline Goodwin was unhappy with her 328’s below-par performance but Martin Jones, in his racy 360 Modena, was grinning from ear to ear as each of his runs was quicker than the last.  In contrast, your scribe, despite all his efforts, was unable to find that second or so to get his F355 down to its previous Prescott times.

Dave Snelson, no doubt invigorated by his musical experience, blasted his 430 up the hill in a time of 48.97, a second quicker than ever before and only 0.81 seconds off Nick Taylor’s existing record.  His nearest rival was Mark Wyman, in 51.52.

And then, quite quickly, it was time for our final assault, R2.  Those who managed to up their game included Jackson (53.26), Wibberley (51.99), Preece (52.72) and Iwan Attwood (55.26).  However, perhaps the most significant was Spicer, who persuaded his flying yellow 328 to stop the clocks at a remarkable 51.25 (2.38 0-64ft time!) to lift the top Championship score of 20 points.  Dave Snelson’s R1 time secured the 17 pts with Brian Jackson rewarded with 15.  In the Club’s handicap competition, as predicted Iwan Attwood took the first prize and Richard Preece the second.

Scratch victor Dave generously treated his fellow Ferraristi to drinks at the bar prior to joining the rest of the day’s competitors for the official prizegiving.  He was complimented on his choice of summer shorts – some wit suggested that Enzo may have had a similar pair, but we weren’t too sure.

The May Prescott proved to have been greatly enjoyable and lots of fun – which is, after all, what it’s all about!            

Here’s an Easter recipe to rival any contrived by Mary Berry: book a fast ferry to the lovely island of Jersey, reserve a room with breakfast and dinner (at a demon price) at a brilliant hotel in St Helier, enter the challenging hillclimb at Bouley Bay on Easter Monday, and just relax and have fun in the sunshine with all your Ferrari pals.  That’s the menu chosen by ten competitors, three FOC officials, and their friends and relations to kick-start the 2019 Pirelli Ferrari Hillclimb Championship season.

 Most of our party set sail from the port of Poole on Good Friday on the high-speed Condor Liberation, a powerful vessel that aims to be a Formula One of ferry ships.  But there were exceptions: Dave Snelson missed the embarkation time because of exceedingly high holiday traffic congestion, and your scribe and Mrs Swift were prevented from boarding because Anne hadn’t brought any photographic evidence that she was who she said she was – a new regulation brought out the previous month as a result of the dreaded Brexit palaver.  No amount of negotiation with the port officials could change the situation, so we had no alternative but to point the 355 back to North Yorkshire to collect the required evidence.  It was a grueling trip of around 600 miles – the equivalent of three Formula 1 races!  So it was early on Saturday evening before we and the tardy David S reached Jersey’s Elizabeth Port.

This report isn’t meant to be a travelogue so I won’t dwell on all the pre-hillclimb fun we got up to, save to say that on Sunday morning we met up on the west of the island with a group of Jersey Ferrari owners, together with their friends with other high-speed machinery (McLaren, Alfa Romeo Duetto, Lancia Delta Integrale, Lotus, etc) for coffee and a natter.  Not, I should mention, before Anne had given each of our Ferraristi a mini Italian Easter egg.

The Bouley Bay event is held on a public road so competitors had to be up at crack of dawn to sign-on before the hill was closed to traffic.  The Ferrari class – now down to nine cars after Paul Booth (458 Spider) was obliged to return home to sort out a minor family problem.  Paul suffered another bit of ill luck when a careless local truck driver attacked his Ferrari’s wing mirror.  Also causing concern was the beautiful 275GTS of Jon Goodwin, which the night before had had a fit of the sulks and gone onto 10 of its 12 cylinders.  The best efforts of Mike Spicer failed to coax the recalcitrant pots into life, so it was touch and go as to whether Jon would be able to compete.

 The Ferraris were allocated paddock space at the top of the hill, which was a relief to those, like me, who had suffered damage to our cars in previous years when negotiating the return road to Radio Corner. A drivers’ briefing revealed that, in accordance with new 2019 Motorsport UK rules, there would be only one practice run, the good news being that instead we would have an extra official timed run.  The Clerk of the Course said she hoped the first runs would start at 09.30 but that hope was dashed when a recovery truck wiped out the overhead timing cables below the Finish banner with his loaded recovered vehicle.  This was a prelude to constant timing problems which afflicted the meeting throughout the day.

An hour late, the meeting got underway. In reverse number order, Pauline led the Ferrari attack, giving the spectators at the start line her full tyre-warming display. Husband Jon had decided to see if his 275 would clear its throat – it didn’t but was a joy to behold as it was wafted up the hill with its hood down.  Nick Taylor’s raucous 430 was next, with a useful 51.93 (Nick is the current record holder at 49.82) but was beaten by Mike Spicer at 51.58 in a glorious tyre-smoking ascent in his bright yellow 328GTB.  Chris and Lorraine Hitchman (F355GTS and F360 Modena respectively) set times 1½ seconds apart while Mark Wyman, having his very first taste of speed hillclimbing, slotted his 458 in at 55.10.  Swift was next, in a leisurely 57.37, his marathon 900 miles in 24 hours seemingly having blunted his performance.  Finally, our current Hillclimb Champion, Dave Snelson, showed he was out for blood, blasting his 430 up the hill in a time of 50.14 secs.

Run 2 resulted in most drivers improving their times, notably Mark Wyman who shaved off over 2 seconds from R1.  Also Jon knocked a couple of seconds off his time, in spite of which he decided to retire the car.  “I’m not really enjoying it when I’m unable to get the best out of the car” he explained.

It was on R3 that the real troubles with timing equipment manifested themselves.  The display at the top of the hill hadn’t worked from the start, robbing us of vital information on each competitor’s time.  Now, both Pauline and Nick repeatedly failed to record a time.  In total, Pauline had 7 re-runs and Nick an amazing 9 – surely some sort of record for a speed hillclimb event.  To their credit, the organisers worked ceaselessly to keep the meeting going and make sure everyone had their quota of runs.  All the while this re-run nonsense was unfolding, we were kept amused by our very favourite commentators, James and Darryl, whose quick-witted repartee is simply priceless.

The meeting went on well after the normal finish time but in recompense the weather was wonderful and everyone I spoke to seemed to have had an enjoyable time.  At eventual close of play, Dave Snelson took the scratch win at 50.14 (his first run time), with runners-up Nick Taylor (51.06) and, incredibly, Mike Spicer on 51.58.  The Handicap proved to be a Hitchman bonanza, with Chris winning and Lorraine the runner-up.  In the all-important PEP contest which determines Championship points, the winner was the redoubtable Mike Spicer (20 pts) from Dave Snelson (17) and Nick Taylor (15).  All the results are shown on the accompanying table although the only stats available to us were the 0-64 ft times.

The Monday evening dinner back at the Hampshire was a bit special: our final night together and an occasion to reward our successful Ferrari pilots. Normally the organising club provides prizes for the winning competitors on scratch but, knowing this was unlikely on Jersey, Anne and I had brought some silverware with us from England.  Mr Snelson was dining elsewhere with his family and friends so was unable to receive his winner’s trophy.  However, Nick Taylor and Mike Spicer were able to collect their 2^nd and 3^rd place cups amid enthusiastic applause.  We also were able to thank those loyal FOC officials who had joined us on this trip: Championship Stewards Sue Skinner and John Warner, together with our Eligibility Scrutineer Gerry Walton.

 A happy conclusion to the evening was that we were able to announce that we are invited by the Jersey M&LC Club to return to Bouley Bay next year for their 100^th Anniversary, when again the date of Easter Monday is quite late (April 13^th) and therefore promises good weather.  We hope that dicky timing equipment will be replaced by then . . . 

Day 2 at Harewood was a bit more relaxed than the previous day had been.  It wasn’t necessary to have the cars re-scruted, we all knew where we were positioned in the paddock, and most important of all, the sun was shining.  In fact in contrast to Saturday’s miserable rain, it promised to be a fine, warm and dry day once the early morning moisture had evaporated from the track.

All yesterday’s competitors reported for duty.  Also reporting for duty was our third Championship steward, Sue Skinner with husband Paul, so that we had a full complement of our Club officials for this Yorkshire weekend – a nice treat!  Martin Jones secured a loose air duct on his 360 Modena but apart from that it was all about a quick wash and a polish for the cars.  The marshals were prompt in getting P1 off the ground although the Coopers and Jones decided to sit it out until the tarmac was totally dry.  The two 430s of Dave Snelson and Nick Taylor were the quickest Ferraris whilst most of the rest of us put in modest sighting shots.  “We don’t want to peak too early!” said one driver.

P2 followed fairly quickly since there were few hold-ups from the racing car classes.  This time the Ferraris were driven with more purpose and generally times were much faster.  Paul Booth agonized as to which setting to use on his 458 spider’s manettino.  Peter Hayman, with the first 488GTB we have seen on the hills, had no such dilemma.  “Full Race,” he said.  “It’s the only setting that gives me complete car control”.  Clearly he was right because he immediately seared up the hill in 63.97 – a second or so under Nick Taylor’s existing class record of 64.82.  The other big hitters were not far behind, with Nick on 65.70, Snelson on 66.89, and Tim Dickinson on 67.35 – the latter clearly getting the hang of this hillclimbing business.  Not to be left out, Mike Spicer confidently popped in a sub-70 second ascent in his 33 year-old 328GTB.

We were then told that since the meeting was running early we could have a third practice run.  I had a quick chat with Championship Coordinator, Mrs Swift, and we both thought that if it were possible, competitors might prefer an extra official run instead of a third practice.  At Bouley Bay the previous month they had cut practice to just one run and given an extra official instead, all in accordance with new Motorsport UK guidelines.  A quick straw poll of the Ferrari competitors all agreed this was preferable and so I had a meeting with the clerk of the course.  “Sorry, it’s impossible,” he said.  “The timing system has to be re-set for official runs.”  This didn’t seem to me to be a very plausible reason. However you can only argue with clerks at your peril so Practice 3 it had to be.

The times in this third run were generally an improvement on P2, although no one got down to Hayman’s previous scintillating numbers.  Tony Attwood was going great guns in the 308GT4 until a mistake at Orchard, resulting in an excursion into the gravel and red flags, ruined his time.  Also worth mentioning was that Richard Preece was now closing in on Mark Wibberley’s times in the battle of the 360 Modenas.

The organisers changed the running order for the afternoon so that the Ferraris, instead of being in batch 1, were reallocated to batch 7.  The result of this was that we were kicking our heels for quite some time after the lunch break.  Eventually we were called up for R1.  The track was now in tip-top condition and we anticipated some exciting competition.  Iwan Attwood started things off by beating his dad by 5/100ths of a second, which brought a wide grin.  In the 360 brigade, Caroline speeded up; Jeff Cooper (75.03) got the better of Peter Rogerson and Martin Jones; and Richard Preece was a second off Mark Wibberley’s time, who had dipped into the sub-70s.

Brian Jackson (308GTB), sniffing some high Championship points were in the offing, recorded 71.19 while Mike Spicer (328GTB), with a similar sense of smell, stopped the clocks at a very competitive 68.74.  These yellow cars were just going sublimely well.  Pauline G, in her 328, wasn’t quite on this pace but her sensational 0-64ft time (2.41 secs!) was unbeatable by anyone.

Writing about 0-64ft start times, I should mention that BARC – who run Harewood – prohibit any tyre warming or wheel spinning at the line.   Despite this, I believe all the Ferraris were just as quick – as witness Pauline’s time – as they are with all that spectacular smoke and tyre burning that is a regular feature at other venues.  So perhaps we should give our tyres and transmissions some respite and abandon all those start-line fireworks in future.

Your scribe, in the only F355, thought he tried hard but clearly not hard enough.  Paul Booth looked tidy on a 70.36 which beat his previous best time with the 458 spider.  And then we concentrated on the really fast boys and their more potent machinery.  Dave Snelson opened the batting with a slightly disappointing 66.55;  next, Dickinson  and Taylor vied with each other for runner-up spot at 65.18 and 65.08 respectively.  But then the gorgeous 488 of Peter Hayman took R1 honours with a spectacular time of 64.85.

Clearly Peter’s time had the effect of concentrating the top runners’ minds, as everyone trundled down to the start line for their final effort, in R2.  A small mistake by Jeff Cooper meant that Caroline’s 77.26 run time was quicker.  Tony Attwood speeded up (75.48) but not as much as Iwan, who clocked a magnificent 73.04 in the shared 308GT4.  Mark Wibberley kept ahead of Richard Preece’s 360 and Pauline G competently beat my F355 time by 2/100ths of a second.  The battle for top dog still raged at the front with Nick Taylor trying all he knew in the 430 to finish on 64.61, just 0.09 seconds off Peter Hayman’s winning time of 64.52 – a new class record.

Looking at the results, Nick Taylor went home with the 20 Championship points in his pocket, with hero Brian Jackson trousering 17 and Mike Spicer a very useful 15.  On handicap, the top award was deservedly won by Martin Jones from runners up Iwan Attwood and a delighted Mark Wibberley.

The 2019 Harewood meeting will go down in the PFHC annals as one of the very best.  We shall remember that friendly but knife edge competition, and the remarkable debuts of some fine drivers.  And now to Prescott and a completely different set of challenges.            

Harewood has always been a favourite with Ferrari hillclimbers, but this season we seem to have seen a resurgence of interest.  The entry for Saturday’s event – Round 2 of the 2019 Championship – was a thundering 18 drivers, and almost back to figures we had in the ‘good old days’.  It would have been 19 if Jeff Orford, our airline pilot, had managed to secure an entry with his F355.

Many of the cars and drivers were familiar friends from last season so let us concentrate on the new faces and/or cars. Tim Dickinson comes from Halifax with his sharp-looking 458 spider finished in mafia black.  Tim had absolutely no previous experience of speed hillclimbing but in years gone by he was pretty handy on racing motorcycles.  He was offered ‘guest’ status for the day: if he liked what he experienced he could subsequently register for the Championship.  Tim had prudently sampled the Harewood drivers school to help him on his first essay.

 Another newcomer was Martin Jones, who is based in Cologne.  He arrived with an old friend of ours in the shape of a 360 Modena which, back in 2002, was campaigned with great success in the ‘O’ class of Pirelli Maranello Ferrari Challenge by John Taylor.  The car is still in the livery it was dressed in that year, with the extravagant yellow flashes on its flanks that were the signature of Steve Farthing’s Wren Classics.  Again, Martin is new to hillclimbing but bubbling with enthusiasm.  He tells me he still has every copy of Ferrari Competition News and his very favourite Ferrari was his Dino 246GTS – all good news to my ears!

It was a great pleasure to welcome Peter Hayman with a scarlet 488GTB.  Peter made his debut with our hillclimb Championship on 16 April 2002 at Gurston Down, driving a formidable silver 512 TR.  He made his first appearance at Harewood 18 years ago in that same car, vying with Nick Frost for FTD in the class.  He returns to America in a few week’s time to do a gig in Nashville where he plays piano with rock ‘n’ roll legend Gerry Lee Lewis.

Richard Preece arrived in his newly acquired 360 Modena, a very smart dark metallic grey car that wouldn’t disgrace a concours. Jon Goodwin’s weapon of choice was his lovely 275GTS which had aficionados’ cameras clicking.  The Coopers – Caroline and Jeff – made a welcome return in their shared 360 Modena after a short break last season.  Caroline tells me she is back in the saddle in  competitive equestrianism (but thankfully not riding that disfunctional steed that caused all her problems!).

So, having sorted out the dramatis personae, let’s get on with the action.  As predicted by the weather prophets, the morning started off fine but gradually deteriorated to dismal rain of varying intensity.  Jon Goodwin, with the hood unfurled on his 275GTS, got into trouble with the marshals for not having a visor or wearing goggles – an oversight that was easily corrected.  Pauline’s 328GTB was on new Pirellis having comprehensively flat-spotted her previous set at Bouley Bay.  Jeff Cooper confided that it was just 5 years since his debut at Harewood, a fact trumped by Mike Spicer who admitted to a yeomanly 20 years.

For most, P1 was a bit tentative except for our current champion, Dave Snelson (F430) who scorched up in 66.85 (rumour had it that he had recently done a refresher at the Harewood school).  Peter Hayman was driving the very first Ferrari 488 we have seen on the hills and his time of 67.14 was a pointer to the car’s potential.  The two glorious bright yellow 3-series machines were immediately on song, with Brian Jackson (72.74) marginally quicker than Mike Spicer (73.13).  P2 times were generally faster, with the Hayman car now quickest overall at 65.01, a soupçon short of Nick Taylor’s official Ferrari record of 64.82 set nine years previously.  Of the rest, worthy of note was Spicer’s 70.49, newcomer Dickinson’s 68.91, and Nick Taylor’s new personal best with the 430 of 65.91.

The best place to be following the P2 runs was the tented cafeteria where we enjoyed a variety of hot lunch dishes, safe from the heavy downpour of rain outside. It was still raining quite heavily when we were called up for the first of our official runs.  Now it was Taylor who led the field on scratch, with Snelson a little over a second in arrears.  Most of us saw little point in chancing fate in the nasty conditions, hoping that the weather would improve for the final runs later on.

 By the time R2 arrived the course was substantially dry although a few damp patches were an inhibiting factor.  Tony Attwood was now in control of things in the shared 308GT4 at 78.09.  In the battle of the 360 Modenas, Mark Wibberley (71.98) held the fort from Richard Preece, who was quickly getting to grips with his new wheels.  Mike Spicer put in another herculean performance in his 328 (70.79) to move into 5^th on scratch although Brian Jackson skillfully drove his older 308 into 6^th spot, only a second slower.

 At the pointy end of the list the two 430s, the 458 of Dickinson, and the 488, slogged it out with gusto.  In the final analysis it was Nick Taylor who found that fractional split second to take the scratch victory on 65.87, with Dave Snelson right on his heels (66.30).  In third place, the 488 of Peter Hayman stopped the clocks at 69.06 just in front of Tim Dickinson’s maiden 69.77 – a great achievement by both drivers.  Nick was also rewarded with the 20 Championship points, ahead of Dave on 17 and Brian with 15.  Richard Preece beat the handicappers ahead of Mark Wibberley and Tim Dickinson.

Most of us loaded up our soggy belongings and repaired to our weekend headquarters at nearby Hazlewood Castle for our traditional Hillclimb Dinner and a comfortable bed.  We were able to give our thanks to our two Club stewards of the day, Jeff Simpson and John Warner, and applaud the day’s successful pilots.  There was lots to chat about and, judging from the laughter and tinkling of  glasses, everyone had an enjoyable time.