The final round in the 2021 Pirelli Ferrari Hillclimb Championship was held at Curborough sprint track on Sunday, 10^th October.  Weather conditions in the autumn can be unpredictable but happily the gods smiled on us, and the sun shone for most of the day. 

There were eleven competitors taking part – a reasonable number in these days of health concerns and restrictions – and although the destination of the Championship’s premier award, the Frank Bott Trophy, had already been decided, there were several battles still to be fought.  In view of the favourable track conditions, there was also the chance that Nick Taylor’s record time could be under threat.

The Ferrari class was early in the day’s running order, and Tony Attwood set the ball rolling with a 76.60 secs in his 308GT4, quickly followed by Pauline Goodwin in the bright yellow 328GTB that Mike Spicer had driven to the tied Championship victory of 2019.  Fittingly, Mike had called in to Curborough to watch the fun and cheer on Pauline and his old car. Jon Goodwin had entered his 250 Lusso for this round but encountered some minor engine problems with it earlier in the week.  He therefore substituted his gorgeous 250SWB recreation at the last minute.  His P1 time of 73.33 just shaded Pauline’s by a couple of tenths. 

The Hitchman family usually go into action in threes and today was no exception.  Rain H. was having her second outing in her handsome black 430 Spider, closely followed by husband Chris in his F355GTS.  Then came Chris’s Dad, Peter, in his 430 Coupe.  Chris’s time set a target of 68.44.  John Kennedy, our American visitor, is becoming very accomplished this season in his California T and crossed the finish line at a rousing 101mph to record a sub-70 sec time.  Richard Preece’s dark silver 360 Modena is always beautifully turned out, but if you miss the glistening paintwork you are sure to notice its raucous exhaust note.  Richard posted a promising 70.41, a thought quicker than Mark Wibberley driving his Spider version of the same car. 

Peter Rogerson was one of the two drivers who were chosen as the best of those taking part in the Club’s Introduction Day at Curborough earlier in the week, and he recorded 76.06 (his fastest of the day) in his 360 Modena.  And then it was the inimitable Dave Snelson, our current champion, to show us what he could do in his trusty 430.  He stopped the clock at 64.63, fastest of course, but over a second shy of Nick Taylor’s record of 63.47.  A bit more work to do! 

Then there was an unusual occurrence involving Jon Goodwin’s car.  The scrutineer noticed that the driving seat wasn’t fitted with a head restraint and therefore appeared to breach current Blue Book safety regulations.  Jon was told that the car couldn’t take part.  Jon reasonably explained that the car would not have been fitted with them when new.  For heavens sakes, head restraints were not invented in 1961.  After some anxious moments, the Chief Scrutineer took charge and to Jon’s relief overruled his colleague. 

By late morning the Ferraris were back on track for their second practice runs.  Things were warming up in the sunshine and, for some, their times reflected this.  Those who significantly improved in P2 included Tony Attwood (74.77), John  Kennedy (67.84) and Mark Wibberley (70.64).  The meeting was running ahead of time due to few stoppages and the Clerk of the Course discussed with our PFHC Coordinator, Anne Swift, the possibility of having a third official run following the break for lunch, and this was agreed providing there were still no hold-ups. 

The catering ladies at Curborough are renowned for their canteen cooking, and everyone enjoys their bacon and brie sandwiches not to mention their triple-cooked chips.  I suppose, for the drivers, their fare doesn’t help with their run times but it certainly gives inner satisfaction. So, after the inner man was satisfied, the competitors returned to their cars to recommence battle. 

Of the official R1 times around half were an improvement on practice times.  Notably, Pauline G. achieved 71.15, Richard Preece 69.34 and John Kennedy 66.89.  And then the Clerk of the Course appeared again to tell Anne that the timing gear had developed a fault and the consequential delays meant no third official runs after all. 

When the R2 session finally arrived, the track temperature had fallen and it was therefore doubtful that there would be any last ditch drama to the R1 order, although Chris Hitchman had a harmless spin going into Flagpole Corner in a vain effort to beat Mr Kennedy.  So the final pecking order showed that Dave Snelson had taken the scratch win and the important 20 Championship points to boot.  And to his obvious delight, Peter Hitchman (who this year is honoured with the title of Sheriff of Lichfield) was the winner of the Club Handicap. 

The accompanying results table shows all the statistics together with the 2021 season’s most successful competitors.  We congratulate Dave Snelson on being this year’s top man, and once again showing unbeatable determination and skill.  And we must also salute John Kennedy for showing impressive progress in his first season of speed hillclimbing.  Finally, your reporter gives thanks to all the Ferrari competitors who took part in this year’s Championship as well as those who organised it, in spite of the very difficult conditions.  Forza Ferrari!

There’s lots more pictures of the day on our Club’s Flickr pages.

Of all the venues that are regular staple rounds of our Championship, Shelsley Walsh is the oldest and perhaps the most magical.  It is set in the lovely wooded hills of rural Worcestershire and literally exudes its long history.  Nearly all its infrastructure is just as it was before WW2: its barns, rows of timber framed pit areas, the Vox Villa commentary box.  And if you half-close your eyes you might imagine the presence of those famous hillclimbers of the past – Henry Seagrave, Raymond Mays, our own Peter Stubberfield, Ken Wharton, Roy Lane, together with those fearless ‘Shelsley Specials’ drivers – Joe Fry, Basil Davenport, John Bolster. . .  I really consider it a great privilege to be able to compete at this wonderful hill and I truly hope that Ferrari drivers of the future will continue to enjoy it just as much as I have. 

But enough of these wistful recollections and back to the present.  Sunday, 19 September was the final hillclimb of the 2021 PFHC Championship, with only the sprint event at Curborough to come.  We might have expected a bumper Ferrari entry but, for various reasons, only 7 of our competitors turned out.  The weather prospects were not good as rain was forecast for most of the day.  Thankfully, the predictions were wrong, and although there was some overnight rain, this cleared and by early morning the sun was shining brightly and rapidly drying the damp track.

There is new management at the hill, with Annie Goodyear (ex-Loton Park) now the competition manager.  She is well versed in sorting things out (she quickly had trespassers’ cars moved out of our allotted paddock space) and in no time at all we were lined up for P1.  Despite the warm sunshine we were a bit chary about the possibility of dampness under the trees, which was evident from the times.  John Kennedy took his shapely California T to a strong 36.20 to take the lead.  The electronics in Dave Snelson’s 430 decided to switch to ‘get home slowly’ mode but he managed to reach the top of the hill.  P2 saw a significant improvement for most, with Dave’s car now restored to health after a period of rest.  He was now quickest with a time of 34-seconds dead, which is only a quarter of a second shy of his quickest ever time here.

There was quite a lot of chitchat between those of us who had experienced disappointment with their previous night’s accommodation, with Mark Wibberley complaining of being served breakfast, including porridge, in a paper bag.  Perhaps we need to produce a list of near-by Cordon Bleu establishments.  Tony Attwood’s beautiful little Dino 246GT was chosen as the ‘best turned-out Ferrari’ after careful inspection.  And our Championship Coordinator, Anne Swift issued the Club handicap times – easy this time as most of the cars had previous form. 

After a little scare, when rain drops fell during the lunch break, R1 was tackled in totally dry conditions, although Wibberley reported lots of wheel spin and fishtailing away from the start line, and both Kennedy and Snelson told of some leery moments in the Esses. The interesting ‘Attwood versus Attwood’ battle gave Tony’s Dino the edge (39.71) with Iwan half a second slower in the bigger engined 308GT4. Curiously, the two quickest cars (the 430 and the California) replicated their P2 times precisely: 34.00 and 34.99 seconds respectively.  It was also interesting that the speed at the finish line varied by almost exactly 10mph dependent on whether you had a sub-3-litre engine (76mph), a 3½-litre engine (86mph) or a 4.3-litre motor (96mph).

Then it was the final assault, R2.  The track had cooled a little by this time, and times were generally slower than in R1.  But as the results table shows, it was Dave Snelson who pocketed the maximum 20 Championship points as well as the class FTD, with John Kennedy in a deserving 2^nd spot.  Tony Attwood won the Club handicap award.  Looking at the current Championship points table, with only one round to go, Dave Snelson appears to have an unassailable lead, with John Kennedy, Tony Attwood and Pauline Goodwin vying for 2^nd place.  Don’t miss Curborough on 10^th October to see the outcome!             

Last time the Ferrari Owners’ Club visited Hethel was in 2015, when only three competitors made an appearance. This time six made their way across the cabbage, carrot and grain plains of Norfolk to a track that sits next to the Lotus Factory.

The flat north-to-south circuit is sited on an old airfield. It is very fast, with some beautiful flowing corners that allow space for the cars to move about on the edge of grip, without the fear of imminent disaster.

Pauline Goodwin turned up in her blue California, and this was perfectly colour-coordinated with her blue and cream race suit.  It is possible that this influenced the scrutineers, who decided that Pauline deserved the Paddock Cup for the best turned out car.  Brian Jackson opted for his eye-catching burgundy Portofino, while Jeff Cooper arrived in his trusty 360.   Paul Booth was in his 458 Spider, John Kennedy in his California T, and David Snelson in his usual F430.

When competitors first arrived, it was windswept and cold with tractors toiling in the distance, bringing a powerful agricultural aroma to the track.  Booth regretted bringing his new, thin racesuit, as the old, thick, warm one was definitely the better choice.  Pauline was unhappy with her choice of car, as its boot, containing essential items, was stuck; it only opened after various attempts by a number of helpful people.

The practice run saw Jackson struggling to keep to the tarmac, Booth and Cooper guessing at the route around the track, and Snelson spinning on the first set of bends.  Kennedy and Goodwin, however, benefitted from being the only ones with the wisdom to walk the track in the morning, with Kennedy a full 10 seconds faster than Booth’s 458.

The format for this very well-run meeting was one practice run, and four timed runs.  Yet, with just one practice, not all of the competitors really knew the circuit.  In the first timed run both Cooper and Booth braked far too early for the first chicane, while Jackson and Booth were convinced that the second chicane was really the last turn before the race for home.   Only a large grass bank prevented their intended short cut.  Snelson, Jackson and Goodwin, however, all put in impressive runs, with Snelson on 90.91 and Kennedy just behind on 92.40.

The second timed run saw Kennedy over-cook the chicane, clip the grass and spin, but everyone else improved.  Snelson took 0.7 seconds off his already fast time while Jackson and Goodwin both took over three seconds off their times.  Cooper was a full 6 seconds faster than his practice, while Booth knocked almost 5 seconds off his first timed run to slip into second place on scratch, 0.42 seconds behind Snelson.

The third timed runs went less well for Cooper and Booth.  The latter made up time on the straights with better braking points, but went too deep on the corners.  Cooper initially went well, until the prancing horse under the bonnet decided to refuse at the chicane.  According to his horse with its overly-intrusive safety electronics, Cooper deserved only half-power, and this was clearly reflected in his much slower time.  Goodwin and Jackson also struggled to improve, both posting slightly slower times.  Kennedy and Snelson, on the other hand, were the improvers, with the latter posting an impressive 88.75, while Kennedy managed 90.77, just 0.15 seconds slower than Booth.

Lunch came and went quickly at this well-organised meeting.   After each run the competitors discovered their times and started to relax, only to find themselves readied for the next run.  Now, just the last run remained. Jackson, Goodwin and Booth were looking to improve their cornering. Jackson had twice crossed the finishing line at 113.5mph and thought a significant improvement in time was possible.  Cooper was hoping he had calmed his temperamental prancing horse, and some suspected he might be fitting blinkers.  Snelson was intent on extending his lead, while Kennedy had Snelson’s time in his sights.

Unfortunately, the long-promised rain then arrived, essentially destroying any chance of improvement following the dry sunshine of previous runs.  The drivers in the Lotus group of cars all declined run R4, and Snelson joined them and decided not to compete.  The rest of the Ferrari class decided to race, and Booth even completed his lap with the roof down as the rain had eased, for which he received a minor reprimand, as he had not checked this with the scrutineers.

Snelson took the scratch and PEP win with another impressive drive.  Booth took the handicap, mainly by being so slow on the first timed run, from which the handicap baselines were set.  Overall, it was a fun day on in the cabbage plains of Norfolk.

[editor’s note: photography is not permitted at Hethel]

Sunday dawned fine and warm, and any rain that might spoil things was forecast for late in the afternoon.  The Ferrari class was now short of Phil Whitehead, who had managed to reach home successfully the day before despite a non-working alternator, and yesterday’s giant killer, Brian Jackson.  Some of the entry arrived late to the displeasure of the organisers.  It was good to see Tony Attwood on time in the paddock despite having to sort out his front tyre problem from Saturday. 

With five competitors missing the batch call-up, only three Ferraris were permitted in P1.  The two Attwoods recorded almost identical times – both faster than yesterday – and Jon Goodwin clocked a fairly leisurely 73.75. P2 was delayed when a single-seater made a comprehensive attack on one of the tyre barriers, and it seemed to take forever to rebuild it.  Eventually the Ferraris were lined up – all eight of them – and most were slightly quicker than the day before.  As expected, Snelson led the field in his 430 from the California T of Kennedy, Jon Goodwin shaved a couple of seconds off his P1 time, and Rogerson wound up his 360 Modena to a 70.22.  Swift, out of practice due to the pandemic restrictions, was a woeful 6½ seconds slower than his previous best time here with the F355. 

Dave Snelson’s zippy daughter, Daisy, had taken over photographic duties from yesterday’s Dave Rose (both competent snappers) and we hoped for the usual excellent images.  The lunch break is normally when we retreat to the end of the paddock to enjoy a splendid barbecue provided by our friends from the local Hand and Diamond pub.  Not this year, sadly, due to the dreaded lurgy restrictions. 

When the course reopened for business, the temperature was decidedly hot and most of the Ferraristi sought shelter under the trees.  Dave produced some loaded water pistols and vigorously attacked his rivals. ‘Sante’, John Kennedy’s mom over from Florida for a short holiday, was cajoled into selecting the best-turned-out Ferrari.  It was no surprise that it was Jon’s superb Lusso that she picked. 

The first official runs revealed no surprises, although Rogerson was now sub-70 seconds to his obvious delight, and the Attwood v Attwood contest was going Tony’s way with a splendid 65.86 – just reward for all his early morning tyre repair efforts.  Pauline G’s normally unbeatable 0-64 ft time was just (by 0.02 seconds) bettered by Kennedy.  Snelson’s 60.15 run time almost guaranteed the scratch win. 

And then something strange happened.  We saw that the whole of the Triumph class was packing up for home and therefore missing R2.  “Oh yes”, one of their drivers explained.  “It’s the 2020 Cup Final on the telly and we’ve got to get back home to watch.”  Oh dear.  Someone mentioned that Richard Branson’s trip into space was also broadcast, so Jon Goodwin also skipped his final run. 

With rain threatened to arrive at 5.00pm we just managed to get lined up for R2 while the track was dry.  Iwan Attwood (66.22) tried hard but couldn’t quite beat his father’s first run time in the shared 308GT4.  Pauline G. put in her fastest time of the weekend (66.23), almost identical to Iwan. For good measure, Tony Attwood was the winner of the Club’s handicap award.  And the top prize, for the winner on Scratch, was won by Dave Snelson, who also took home the 40 Championship points accrued from his weekend’s efforts.   Coordinator Anne Swift calculated the points, they were checked by the visiting Richard Preece, and Championship Steward Paul Skinner (taking over from John Warner) presented the prizes.  Then the rain arrived with a vengeance, we all got wet, and happily headed for home.   

Following a year’s absence due to the pandemic, Loton Park in Shropshire was open for business (but no spectators) on Saturday, 10 July.  It was a welcome return for the Ferraris to this normally very popular track.  Those familiar with it would probably give it a ‘5 out of 5’ for complexity (with ultra-high velocity Shelsley Walsh rating perhaps a ‘2’).  Disagreements with this assessment on a postcard please.

Just to remind you of the layout of the hill, you launch your car off the start-line in the direction of the out-of-sight 90⁰ tight left-hand corner (named Hall, and with no run-off to speak of).  The course then heads off slightly downhill via a couple of swoopy left-hand swerves: Loggerheads and Fletchers Dellow, which reward precision if you are not to veer into the undergrowth and perhaps startle a somnolent deer.  Then you see the famous Triangle confronting you, delaying your braking for the 90⁰ right-hander as long as your nerve permits.  From here it is max. acceleration through the wiggle called Keepers, which demands lots of kerb-hopping in order to straight-line it as much as possible.  Then, perhaps to your relief, you are into the fastest (perhaps 80+ mph) part of the course.  This is misleadingly called Cedar Straight – misleading because straight it is not, as it incorporates a fast sweep to the left.  Ahead you see Fallow – a slow left-hand elbow – fast approaching and you must gauge your braking point to a nicety if you are to get your car pointing generally in the right direction for a quick burst of power to the final right-hander, Museum.  If you have managed to keep everything together you should be quickly on the throttle to accelerate to the Finish line. Glance at the display on your right to check your run time, and you react with elation or bitter disappointment, as the case may be. 

The Ferrari dramatis personae numbered 10, with the Attwoods (Tony and Iwan) sharing the former’s  rosso rubino 308GT4.  In no particular order, Phil Whitehead had popped over the border with Wales in his rosso chiaro F355, joining the similar car of your reporter in nero metallica (with, unusually, a hint of marrone – delicious!).  Brian Jackson was in his famous giallo 308GTB, and Pauline Goodwin was driving her 328GTB of similar fly-attracting hue.  Everyone’s favourite Ferrari – Jon Goodwin’s delightful 250 Lusso, now in its original factory pale blu livery – was on parade.  More modern machinery was the Tour de France blue 360 of Peter Rogerson and the mafia black California T of John Kennedy.  Finally, current PFHC joint champion, Dave Snelson had brought not one but two Ferraris: his regular 430 (to compete in) and his latest Pista (to drool over) – both in racing red but of slightly different shades.  The reason I have dwelt on the Italian colour palette is that they made a lovely rainbow-like sight as the cars were lined up in the paddock.

The track was slightly wet for first practice, so everyone drove with circumspection to gauge the amount of grip.  Most drivers clocked over 70 secs except Snelson (66.23). By the time P2 arrived, just before the lunch break, conditions had significantly improved and times fell accordingly.  John Kennedy got slightly crossed up as he exited the left-hander at Fletchers, so he neatly turned left instead of right at Triangle and returned to the paddock.  Peter Rogerson was baffled to find his second run time was significantly slower than his first.  “It definitely felt faster” he mumbled.  With a 6 second advantage on his nearest rival, Snelson could look forward to an easy afternoon.

Official timed runs showed some improvements on practice.  Kennedy got the hang of Triangle this time, posting a competitive 65.03, followed by Jackson who really got his trotter to work to record an outstanding 65.97, some 2 seconds ahead of Pauline Goodwin’s similar (but younger) yellow peril machine.  Phil Whitehead had the misfortune to have his 355’s alternator warning light flash ‘danger’.  He slowed down, mistaking it for his brake warning light.  Snelson had a good tilt at Nick Taylor’s class record of 58.28 but was just 1.53 secs shy. 

Pauline G. got her act together (66.89), but still short of Brian Jackson’s 308GTB times.  Iwan Attwood was quick (67.70) but reported that the 308GT4’s steering felt heavy as he returned down the hill.  He had apparently run over some debris and had suffered a puncture.  Sadly, his dad became an enforced non-starter for R2.  So, as the results sheet shows, Dave Snelson collected the 20 Championship points, with Brian Jackson in his venerable 308GTB capturing 17 for second spot.  Pauline Goodwin was rewarded with the Club’s handicap award, and Dave Snelson the special Loton Park Alfonso de Portago trophy (for the fastest Ferrari scratch time on the Saturday).  This was presented by Jon Goodwin, who gave us a resume of the exploits of one of the most colourful characters ever to have been seen in motor racing.

Most of us returned to the Albrighton Hotel at Abberley for our traditional post-Loton Ferrari Dinner.  Numbers were a bit down on the usual, the service a touch hit-and-miss due to the pandemic, the pre-dinner Pimms lacked the essential fruit, and a slightly bizarre fire alarm had us all running to the car park and a prolonged roll-call, when some equipment in the kitchens decided to explode.  But we all managed to return safely to the second course of our dinner and enjoy one another’s company.  Next year, we said, it will be all back to normal.  I certainly hope so.   

The rolling beauty of the Wiltshire countryside in midsummer was only slightly lessened by the relentlessly wet weather. Yet, despite the damp, there was still a cheery post-lockdown mood amongst competitors and marshals.

Dave Snelson had considered using his 488 Pista, but the drizzle saw the return of his trusty F430. Paul Booth was in his usual 458 spider, Pauline Goodwin arrived in her bright yellow 328, while husband Jon turned up in his beautiful blue 250 GT Lusso.  Tony and son ‘Kimi’ Attwood opted to share their Dino 308 GT4.  One disappointment was John Kennedy’s absence from the starting line. After gearbox issues forced John to return his previous California T, his new car (a more recent California T) had not yet been delivered in time for the meeting.

The Gurston course starts with a dive downhill into a valley, called Hollow, followed by a great sweeping bend where competitors cling on and pray for adhesion.  Starting and gathering speed are rarely problems, but the wet weather for first practice saw most of the Ferrari class spinning their wheels at the start, all of which led to a corresponding loss of courage as the worst fears about levels of grip were confirmed.  Jon Goodwin’s appeal to be allowed to start from the bottom of Hollow, on the grounds that hill climbs should only go up, fell on deaf ears.

First practice was described universally as “slippery”, “awful” by Pauline, and even “worrying” by Dave, with Paul’s 458 managing only 45.2 mph across the finish line.  More worry arrived in the form of scrutineers, who wished to photograph Dave and his HANS device.  They believed the way he used it should be outlawed, and were keen to send photographs to the MSA.  As Dave has no reflection in some mirrors, most were concerned that he simply would not show up in their photographs.

Second practice saw a rise in collective courage, with everyone crossing the slippery finish line at over 60 mph, and all improving their times, most by three seconds or more.  Dave and Paul were both recorded at Hollow at 87.0 mph, with Dave gaining further speed in the corners.  Jon bemoaned his “Sainsburys car park” start, while Kimi could be heard to mutter something about being “squirmy” through Deer’s Leap.

After a lunch break in the splendid cafe, marshals arrived to admire Jon’s truly beautiful 250 GT Lusso.  Jon’s silver helmet and orange visor added to the 1960s astronaut look.  It was unmistakably stylish but sinister Bond-villain territory, and this might explain why the scrutineers now leave him well alone and focus upon Dave instead.

With the start of real, timed runs, the track seemed marginally less wet.  Competitors in all classes became more confident, and consequently started sliding off the course, leading to a number of delays.

Pauline was not having the best of days, and although she would go on to record the fastest start time of the day, her 3.13 time to 64ft in the first timed run was very slow by her high standards. Dave took another 1.5 seconds off his time, with Paul 1.9 seconds further back. Jon was almost a second faster than his last practice run, and his 1960s 250 GT only 4.79 seconds slower than Paul’s much more powerful and modern 458, which works out at roughly a one second per decade difference.

One unsurprising aspect of the first run was the reignition of the rivalry between Kimi and his father, with the latter going faster by just 100th of a second.  Tony was all smiles; Kimi was silent.

Then the clouds parted, the sun appeared, and the track began to dry in earnest.  Tony Attwood joined the rest of Batch 1 for his run in the car he shared with Kimi, only to reappear just a little later with a facial expression he probably stole from the Cheshire Cat.  He had knocked 1.25 seconds off his previously quick time, and now the rain had resumed just as the main Ferrari contingent was getting ready.  Kimi Attwood looked gloomy and became uncharacteristically talkative.

Tony’s improvement on his already impressive first run time placed him first on PEP.  It was raining harder than ever, and Paul advised Dave not to chance his car in an attempt to regain the PEP lead. Jon advised Dave to “go for it”.  Paul then ignored his own advice and went just over a second faster. Dave was slower through Hollow than Paul, and only marginally faster over the finish line, and yet managed to be 1.43 seconds faster overall, undoubtedly due to better cornering.

Almost everyone went faster in the very wet second run than in the first, even if Kimi was heard to complain that it was more like boating than driving.  Pauline put in her fastest start (2.67 sec), and Paul stopped spinning the wheels on the straights.

Tony Attwood took the handicap prize with his excellent second run. He was also an impressive second on PEP, but the day belonged to Dave Snelson, as he delivered a superb, controlled drive to snatch the maximum 20 points on a misty, rain-soaked, slippery, worrying, but nevertheless enjoyable track.

Looking at the Championship positions, Dave Snelson continues at the top of the table with 94 points, pursued by Pauline Goodwin (65) and Nick Taylor (40).  The next rounds are at Loton Park on 10^th and 11^th of July.

Shelsley Walsh, that grandaddy of all speed hillclimb venues, was the destination of competitors in this year’s Pirelli Ferrari Hillclimb Championship.  Although the pandemic has obviously had a serious effect on entry numbers this year, this event suffered a double whammy by the unfortunate date clash with the Club’s monster National Ferrari Day at Sywell.  Nevertheless, seven stalwarts made an appearance for this 4^th round of the Championship and, judging from the comments, they enjoyed a lot of fun and beautiful sunny weather. 

Taking a look at the Ferrari entry, championship leader Dave Snelson was on parade in his familiar F430 (his brand new Pista is yet to appear from his armoury).  New York’s John Kennedy was having his second outing with his smart California T, while John Shirley from Roy Bridge in the Highlands was taking advantage of the easing of restrictions to crossing the border.  John was driving his long-time favourite F355.  There was a full turnout of Attwoods – father Tony and apprentice Iwan – sharing the former’s 308GT4.  Completing the Ferrari septet were Jon and Pauline Goodwin.  Jon had brought his lovely 250GT Lusso (now in its original blue livery) while Pauline was at the wheel of her quick 328GTB (the sun glinting on its bright giallo paintwork).  It was a disparate collection of tipos, which hopefully our PEP time adjustments would take care of.

The first practice runs, with perfect track conditions, confirmed that Dave Snelson meant business with a  34.59 secs.  Best of the rest was John Shirley, with an exploratory 38.77.  Pauline confessed to being disappointed (but then, aren’t we all at some time!) with her 39.18, although it was a bit quicker than Kennedy’s time (but then he hadn’t seen the hill until earlier that morning).  One of Ferrari hillclimbers’ interests is to predict who will be the winner in the fascinating duel between members of the Attwood family, and in P1 father was ahead by two whole seconds.  Jon Goodwin took the final slot, elegantly taking his sonorous V12 up the hill in 45.25.

P2 saw a general improvement in times: Snelson snipped a second off his P1 figure; Kennedy two seconds; Iwan Attwood 2.5.  And Jon Goodwin, with Rolex-like accuracy, replicated his P1 figure exactly.  The weather was getting hotter as the lunch break neared.  Led by Dave S. there was some sporadic water pistol fighting: Dave fired at Jon who retaliated by throwing a bucket of water at his assailant. Apparently no one was hurt in the skirmish but most were a bit cooler. 

The serious bit began in the afternoon with the start of the official runs. Tony Attwood maintained his 2-second advantage over Iwan (what happened to his Kimi Räikkönen reputation?); Kennedy improved to 36.14 (taking him to 2^nd place on scratch) and Jon Goodwin put in his fastest time of the day (40.28).  Then, after a long pause for reflection, the final R2 runs commenced.  The two Attwoods were slower than in R1; John Shirley made a significant improvement (to 36.65) to close on but not better Kennedy’s R1 time.  And the last to run was Dave Snelson who fired his 430 up in a consummate 33.73 secs to take the scratch victory as well as the important 20 Championship points.  John Shirley snatched the 17 points from John Kennedy, while the third John/Jon – Goodwin – pocketed the Club’s handicap award. 

Dave Snelson now leads the 2021 Championship (with 74 points) from Pauline Goodwin (53) and Nick Taylor (40).  The next round is at Gurston Down on 20^th June. 

I am indebted to Dave Snelson for his (soggy) notes on the event.

Day 2 of the Harewood Hillclimb weekend started in a far more promising fashion than Saturday’s deluge.  Some light rain in the early hours dried up, the skies lightened, and we all hoped that the forecasters’ promise of fine weather would be accurate.

Paul Booth was certainly more optimistic.  Yesterday’s Alpine rubber Wellingtons had been replaced by very smart traditional leather racing boots, which solicited envious looks.  John Kennedy was suitably dressed in case the rains were to unexpectedly reappear.  Business-like jacket and a woolly hat made him look indistinguishable from a time-served Yorkshire farmer.  Pauline washed her 328 in an effort to catch the Paddock Cup judge’s (Sandra Dickinson’s) eye.  In no time at all we were ready for the fray, because to be the first class to run in the morning was a rare treat for us Ferrari drivers.

The track was still quite damp for P1 and needed treating with respect.  Nick Taylor opened the batting with 71.92 – a second quicker than Dave Snelson,  Tony Attwood (80.45) had a wobble as he rounded Orchard and Pauline (78.81) similarly went off course at some point.  For the others, it was just a question of testing the grip levels for later.  P2, which came up remarkably quickly, saw everyone’s time improve.  Now, Snelson (having finished last night’s pizza) just edged out Taylor’s time by 0.12 secs (shades of Hamilton vs Verstappen) while Tim Dickinson carved seconds of his previous numbers.  Pauline, likewise, was tidier and faster.

With few hold-ups the meeting was already running way ahead of schedule and it was decided to run the first of the ‘officials’ prior to the lunch break.  Again, times were generally an improvement on P2 with the exception of Pauline, who made a dog’s breakfast of her run when she again briefly left the track.  Snelson was the pick of the crop (66.51 and 0.31 secs quicker than Taylor) with Dickinson nicely in touch a further second adrift.  The best of the rest was Booth, with Kennedy (74.48) breathing down his neck.  Attwood, Swift and Jon Goodwin were all much of a muchness.

It was on R2 that your reporter provided much of the afternoon’s entertainment.  As his F355 accelerated out of Farmhouse and up the final straight to the finish it clipped the grass verge on the right.  Although the track was dry the outfield was still soaking wet and on full throttle the back end snapped out of line.  The car vaulted into the air, hit the barriers on each side, and then dropped back on the track. It was slowly driven to the finish, Swifty cursing his rotten luck but thinking things could have been far worse.  Inspection revealed a badly damaged front bumper and a pair of smashed side/indicator lights, but mercifully not much else.  Swifty has experienced misfortune before at Harewood so perhaps there is a demon at work.  The other Ferrari drivers were enormously helpful in removing damaged bits from the car and retrieving miscellaneous parts scattered on the track.

 Meanwhile, the show went on. This time Snelson made an error, so that Tim Dickinson was now in charge with a best-so-far 66.01.  Nick Taylor, however, was only 0.35 secs behind.  An ecstatic Kennedy posted an outstanding 71.15 to move into 4^th fastest overall to beat the handicapper.  

 But it was only mid-afternoon and the BARC team on the hill offered us a third official timed run if we wished.  Naturally we accepted the offer and the remaining eight drivers steeled themselves for a final assault.  Of the three likely FTD candidates, Dickinson went first: a spectacular 66.23.  Dave Snelson is nothing if not a trouper in the best tradition.  He gritted his teeth, sat slightly lower in the seat, and tore up in 65.85.  And then it was the turn of the record holder, Nick Taylor.  He tried his hardest, he really did, but the watches stopped at 65.94 – a tiny deficit of 0.11.

As the attached results show, Nick Taylor was again the winner on PEP, with Dave Snelson taking the 17 points and Tim Dickinson the 15.  Pauline’s second run brought her 13 valuable points.  John Kennedy well deserved his handicap award on this first outing, and Pauline, by virtue of that early morning car wash, was adjudged to have the best turned out Ferrari.

Despite the nasty weather on the Saturday and all the hassle associated with the pandemic, I believe that for most of us (with one exception!) can mark Harewood 2021 as a success.        

The traditional early May, 2-day Harewood meeting rolled into action on a very wet Saturday morning.  Heavy rain was forecast for the entire day and, unusually these days, the met office prognosticators were dead right.  We couldn’t remember a wetter Harewood.  The usual Covid-19 restrictions applied: no spectators, no catering (other than a coffee kiosk), no posted results sheets, no scrutineers, no prizes, and no hugging.

Because of the dire weather quite a number of competitors stayed at home but to our credit all 9 of the Ferrari entries were on parade, driving a representative mix of tipos.  Paul Booth (F458 Spider) is only a shortish drive from his home in North Lincolnshire and was the first to arrive.  Current PFHC champion Dave Snelson’s F430 was looking very smart after a lot of coachwork TLC over the winter and he arrived in company with our latest recruit, John Kennedy, at the wheel of a very nice silver California T which he has just purchased.  John hails from Brooklyn, New York, and is over here for six months to compete in our 2021 hillclimb championship.

Tony Attwood was in his familiar plum-coloured 308GT4 although son Iwan (aka Kimi) had decided to sit this one out.  Other early arrivals were Sandra and Tim Dickinson, who had clearly planned everything with military precision.  Accompanying their Mafia-black F458 Spider was a range Rover back-up vehicle and two sizeable mini marquees clad in army olive-brown drab. 

Tim has a predilection for military armed vehicles with a superb collection – many of them armed – back at home.  The queen of the collection is a Chieftain tank, and it’s interesting to compare its vital statistics with Tim’s other pride and joy, the 458.  On power output the tank wins, with 650 bhp compared with the Ferrari’s 570 bhp, although this is produced by only 4.5 litres against a more substantial 19 litres.  On the weighbridge, the Ferrari reads 1.54 tonnes but the Chieftain would show a vastly more portly 54 tons.  As you might expect with all that armour the tank’s maximum speed is about the same as a quick bicycle – 25mph – whereas Italy’s finest can accelerate to a hysterical 210 mph.  By having two such magnificent vehicles, Tim gets the best of both worlds.

Pauline and Jon Goodwin arrived in tandem: Pauline in her bright yellow ex-Spicer 328GTB and Jon in his 250 Lusso.  The delectable Lusso looks superb; it is now in its original blue factory livery.  Anne and John Swift were in their F355, which probably knows its own way up Harewood, and last to arrive (not unusual) was Nick Taylor with his class record holding 430.  Nick has just returned from Monaco Historics where he finished on the podium with his Lotus 18.

With the track awash and standing water in several places the Ferrari class was the first to tackle P1.  Extreme caution was clearly the watchword. Taylor was marginally quickest, at 77.22, a couple of seconds or so faster than Snelson.   With a depleted field, it wasn’t long before the second practice was called and although everyone improved their time it was still Taylor who was quickest (74.57).  Since his record stands at 64.61 it is easy to gauge how wet it was.

There were some quite long delays during the day, as (mostly) single-seaters either broke down or skidded off the track and into the wet undergrowth.  Eventually the first official runs were called up and we all tried a bit harder.  Pauline impressed with a 80.47, just behind Kennedy’s 80.18 – impressive with an unfamiliar car in a foreign continent!  Tony Attwood looked good (82.30) and a possible candidate for the handicap award.  At the front, Nick Taylor (71.57) still kept his advantage over arch rival Snelson.

And then, although it was only the middle of the afternoon, the Ferraris trickled down to the start for the second and final run.  Substantial improvements were made by Attwood, Booth, Pauline Goodwin, and Dickinson.  But at the pointy end of the spectrum, Dave Snelson really got his head down and stopped the clocks at 71.23, a time that just shaded Nick’s by 0.39 secs.  

When Anne Swift had completed all her calculations, she declared that it was Nick Taylor who had collected the precious 20 Championship points, with Pauline a ‘highly commended’ 15.  The handicap winner was Tony Attwood, who had driven with purpose all day. 

It was a wonderful and yet disappointing start to 2021. Perfect weather, great company, blossom on the Prescott trees, and yet so many friends missing.  The hillclimb community had responded to the easing of lockdown by crowding into the first Prescott meeting like cocker-spaniels released from a car boot.  The meeting was over-subscribed.  Despite entering well before the closing date, Phil Whitehead, Jon and Pauline Goodwin, Tony Atwood and John Kennedy all had their entries cancelled.  It was all the organisers, Bugatti Owners Club, could do under the circumstances, but it felt very unfair. The pandemic-inspired limits on accommodation prevented others from attending, including John Swift and Tim Dickinson.  The unfortunate John Shirley also had to pull out due to the embargo on crossing the Scottish/English border.

Just six competitors were left, but this reduced to five once poor Mark Wibberley fell ill.  Pauline Goodwin, through a mixture of charm and relentless determination, managed to get the organisers to accept her as a replacement for Mark, and so we were back to an entry list of six.

The first practice in the cool morning air was described as “slippery” by Iwan Attwood and Richard Preece, “shocking” by Pauline, “good” according to Dave Snelson, and “confusing” by Martin Jones and Paul Booth. The latter two both believed the Prescott owners had sneakily added corners they could not remember.

The track began to dry in time for the second practice, and this saw Dave Snelson take more than a second off his already very fast time, dipping below the 50-second mark.  Pauline had a fright at semi-circle when the turn- in was better than she expected, and she took her foot off the throttle.  This led to a worrying wobble although she still went faster than her first practice.  Martin tried a different approach to Pardon corner, and was consequently half a second slower.

The first real run in anger of 2021 saw Dave, Pauline, Iwan and Richard all going faster than in practice.  Iwan was going so well he seemed to lose the power of speech, and could only shrug in the style of Kimi Raikkonen.  Martin appeared to have adjusted his technique again, and was three seconds slower.  Paul, despite having the most powerful and modern car present, also lost time by messing up the gears after Pardon, which is quite an achievement in a paddle-shift Ferrari!

The second and final run came quickly after the first.  Martin put his technique issues behind him as he knocked a staggering 4.4 seconds off his first-run time.  Kimi Attwood reduced his already fast time by an impressive 1.4 seconds; clearly the wild, alcohol-soaked weekends have not affected his focus.  Only Pauline was (marginally) slower.

Richard knocked almost a second off his first-run time, coming third on PEP behind Attwood, as well as second on scratch, powering his 360 up the hill faster than Paul Booth’s 458 Spider.  Richard also provided the most notable event of the day, when he hit a bank, which fortunately left only mud on the sides of his wheels and tyres. This was not during a run up the hill but on the 10mph return journey.

It was Dave Snelson who stood out.  He was not only the fastest by quite a margin, but also the most consistent. His times fell in a neat line from first practice to last run, putting him first on scratch and the collection of the 20 valuable Championship points.  As a further accolade, Dave was also adjudged to have the best turned-out Ferrari in the Paddock Cup assessment by Angela Preece and Kimi’s father, Tony Attwood.