FERRARI formula classic

Last season the Club ran two trial races for so-called formula classics, which are essentially pre-348 tipos but excluding turbo cars like F40s and 288s. Both races went well and so for this season five races are planned. It is not a championship as such; there are no points and there are no champions. This is to try and encourage as many drivers as possible to dip in and out without the pressure of having to do a full championship season.

The formula seems to have worked, with the opening round at Donington having an excellent 27 car entry ranging from a Dino to a couple of Daytonas but with most cars being of the 308/328 series as well as a few Mondials.

Morning qualifying was mostly dry but the track was not perfect, with lap times being a couple of seconds or so slower than we would see in the race. It was of little surprise to see Graham Bryant's Daytona Competizione at the head of the field, having already won the formula classic race at Donington in the previous year.

But behind things were very close. William Jenkins (308 GTB) shared the front row, with Nicky Paul-Barron (328 GTB) and Jon Goodwin (Mondial) on the second row. David Wild (308 GTB) and Richard Allen (328 GTB) were next up ahead of another pair of the Club's hillclimbers - Nick Taylor (Mondial) and Mike Spicer (328 GTB). Indeed the hillclimbers were doing well, being 4th, 6th, 7th and 8th on this competitive grid, with a fair few more coming up behind. We were going to be in for a great race.

It was mid afternoon as the cars formed up on the grid for their 12 lapper. As the red lights went out Bryant's Daytona dragged into Redgate in a tenous lead from Jenkins and Nicky P-B, with Goodwin, Wild and Allen all following in grid order.

First time round the Daytona held a narrow lead ahead of his two pursuers with, behind, Goodwin and Wild equally close. Taylor's Mondial came by 6th and then Allen, locked in combat with Spicer, Mike Haigh (328 GTB) and John Swift (308 GTB) next. Then came another tight group led by Stuart Anderson (250 GTE/TRC), John Shirley (Mondial), Richard Chester (Daytona) and a blur of others.

For several laps things held steady, with all focus on the front three as they sized each other up. No position was safe there.

On the sixth lap Jenkins finally made a move on the leader: he tried to dive inside the Daytona but overdid it and ended up firmly in the gravel trap out of the race.

This put Paul-Barron up into second place and he immediately latched on to the back of the yellow Daytona watching for an opportunity to pass. Wild had settled into third place, pulling out a slight advantage over Goodwin, with Spicer, Allen and Taylor fiercely disputing places 5, 6 and 7.

The gap between the first two see-sawed a little and they pulled out a healthy lead over the Wild/Goodwin scrap for third which was soon joined by Spicer. Behind them Allen and Taylor were also hard at it until, on the final lap, Allen's 328 had a rear hub failure and the wheel fell off, leaving him stranded on the in-field grass.

Bryant's Daytona duly took the chequered flag ahead of Paul-Barron's 328, with Wild just holding on to third place ahead of Goodwin. Spicer, having lost his racing buddy Allen, finished fifth, with Taylor in sixth. The next cluster, consisting of Haigh/Swifty/John Marshall (328 GTB) and Richard Atkinson-Willes (308 GT4) were just a second apart, with Chester's Daytona crossing the line in 11th.

A great race for the spectators and, undoubtedly, for all the drivers, with some proper racing going on between cars that were all on road tyres. It all looks excellent for the remainder of the series - the next race takes place at Oulton Park on 26 June, where it will again share the bill with the other Ferraris in the PMFC.