RACES 8&9 : ZANDVOORT: 5/6 SEPTEMBER 2009
report by Nicky Paul-Barron & Chris Butler

Prologue - NP-B

I have always regarded overseas races as very special. The pinnacle of club racing in fact. I have tried to get my enthusiasm across to my fellow racers over the years so that they can share the fun and reward. When we arrived at Zandvoort on Thursday I wondered if I had completely lost the plot. The wind was so high that you could hardly stand up. The rain was horizontal. When it did stop raining the sand (the circuit is by the sea, right in the dunes) was blown at such a rate as to sandblast everything in its way. The town was shut. There were warning notices in the sea front hotel “Do not open the windows” My goodness it was horrid!

On Friday there were two free practice sessions available. Most of the very decent entry of 'Open' and formula classic cars were there by then. Whilst the weather was still very poor we did get two sessions on a dry track. The modern Zandvoort track is a hoot to drive: lots of elevation changes, fast corners, slow corners, infuriating corners (two in fact), a thumping long straight. It’s got the lot.

Friday evening was our group night out at our favourite Italian restaurant in town, La Fontanella, run by a crazy Italian with a somewhat outgoing personality. The walls are covered with signed photos of race drivers past and present. They have now been joined by some FOC stickers of course. Birthday boy John Shirley was late arriving, as he had been lying in a puddle changing the exhaust on his 355/Ch. (he had failed a noise test). His somewhat bedraggled arrival brought a round of applause, and a rendition of "Happy Birthday". Most of the Ferrari traveling circus were there and enjoyed excellent food and service.

The meeting was a round of the Dutch GT4 championship as well as the Dutch Supercar series. By Saturday things were starting to warm up at the track. The wind had finally dropped but there were still some very heavy showers around. For our first qualifying session (for race 1) the paddock was wet and many 355/Chs had wet tyres fitted. Some, however, had looked at the track and noted a dry line in places. They fitted slicks and hoped. In formula classic we have no such decisions to make as we all use either P Zero C or P Zero Corsa Pirelli road tyres. When we were released onto the track it was clear that, as long as you stayed on line, it was dry. Dave Tomlin grabbed pole position in 'Open' with myself in pole position for classic. Graham Reeder was the first of the 'Open' runners with wet tyres in fifth position.

Qualifying session two (for race 2) was variable but wet, and frankly was not a lot of fun. Evers managed to visit the gravel at Tarzan which brought the session to a slightly premature close. Pole position for race two was won by Graham Reeder in 'Open' and Ben Cartwright in classic.

Saturday night was another excellent evening, some went back to out friendly Italian restaurant but we ended up in a Laurel & Hardy themed bar in the town.

On Sunday all the special nature of racing overseas was suddenly there. The grandstands were full and the paddock was mayhem. There were grid girls, bikini car wash girls, scooters and quads trying to run you over, dogs – yes, dogs at race meetings, booming music, cameras everywhere. The place was buzzing. This is nothing like Silverstone – it has real atmosphere. The races are shown on big screens and on televisions in the excellent bar/cafe. The circuit web site has live coverage which can be seen anywhere in the world. There was live timing too and the results were posted instantly. UK circuit owners truly have a lot to learn about entertainment.

Race One - CB

Scuderias Cartwright, Tomlin, Shirley, Butler and Pirelli’s Shaun Marriott had been a little more adventurous on Saturday night and headed off on an intrepid expedition to see the bright lights of Amsterdam! A lovely meal followed by a half of local brew were followed by an innocent but enlightening stroll around the canals and smokey (!!) alleyways with the odd bit of window shopping for good measure.....

An early and abstemious night was essential as Race One took place at the unearthly hour of 08.45 and with the withdrawal of the unfortunate Mark I’Anson due to battery and starter problems, it was Dave Tomlin who was awake enough to snatch the lead in the 'Open' race on the run down to Tarzan Corner. It was a lead that he would keep for the entire race but behind him Graham Reeder was making rapid progress from the third row of the grid to overtake both Mick Dwayne and Lee Moulden to ultimately finish just ahead of Lee in second place.

Tim Mogridge was also charging hard and despite starting from row five of the grid he passed Nigel Jenkins and Wayne Marrs to secure fifth place by the end. John Shirley could not maintain his excellent qualifying pace but he did manage to just stay ahead of a chasing Dave Hathaway with the pair finishing eighth and ninth respectively. Barry Carpenter was the only retirement from the race with an unfortunate puncture just 4 laps in. (All 'Open' cars were 355/Ch.s).

The classic race saw Nicky Paul-Barron lead off from pole position with Chris Butler passing both Ben Cartwright and Peter Everingham (all 328s) to challenge momentarily for the lead into Tarzan but Nicky took a wider and faster line to emerge from it in the lead. These four front runners remained close together for the first couple of laps while behind them Nick Taylor in his Mondial t was making rapid progress through the field, passing Nick Cartwright (328), John Day (328) and Chris Rea (308GT4) to move up to fifth.

Peter Fisk in his Mondial QV was not having much luck and retired from the race and the weekend with a rear hub failure. The 308GT4 battle between Richard Fenny and William Morwood was won in the former’s favour with his modified car making the most of the long start/finish straight. Peter Everingham dropped out of the race with a couple of laps to go leaving Ben Cartwright to find a way past Butler but despite Ben looking for an opportunity at almost every bend in the final few laps it was not to be. Nicky Paul-Barron led the whole race and took the chequered flag for a well deserved win followed by Butler and Cartwright who were separated by just 0.3 of a second as they raced to the line out of the final bend. Similar close finishes were also seen between Taylor and Chris Rea as well as Day and Nick Cartwright.

Race Two - NP-B

Race two was very nearly an all time classic formula classic race. Pete Evers, myself, Ben Cartwright and Chris Butler were all basically on the same pace. For the first few laps we were really close. It was great to be involved in this tussle. Whilst hard it was all very fair. Unfortunately we lost Evers with an oil leak, which left Ben, Chris & myself in that order.

Ben was going really well and might have won himself. Unfortunately his clutch went, which left just us two. I hounded Chris as hard as I could, and most of the time there was barely a fag paper between the cars. But it was finally a great Butler win, which was thoroughly deserved. Chris was so overjoyed and it was a thrill to be a part of it all. The 'Open' race was also a close affair with several cars on a similar pace. However it was Dave Tomlin who won. , He drove a mature and measured race throughout, racing his way up through the field from eighth at the start to take his second win of the weekend.

Epilogue - CB

With the Ferrari contingent all saying their goodbyes and heading off happily to the Docks and the Tunnel, there was time to reflect on what had been a fantastic weekend. Racing around such celebrated circuits like Zandvoort is not something you do every day of the week and it was a privilege to be there. Our Ferraris drew a huge amount of interest in the paddock with many of them the subject of endless photos taken by the locals.

It is difficult to put into words what it feels like to have your throttle pedal flat to the floor in fourth gear, bumper to bumper with other Ferraris at over 100mph through Zandvoort’s final bend, fully committed and focused on running out to the exit kerb to ensure your speed is maximised onto the start/finish straight where you are now doing over 120mph and changing up into fifth as you race along in front of huge Grandstands full of thousands of people.

With fierce but fair competition right through the respective grids it was an unforgettable experience that will hopefully see our Club series' return again soon. Thanks as ever must go to John and Anne Swift for all their hard work in organising such a fantastic event.