FERRARI HILL CLIMB CHAMPIONSHIP
REPORT : ROUND 6 : LECONFIELD : 23 JUNE 2002
by Brian Jackson

This sprint venue is new to us, on MoD property a little north of the Humber Bridge. As is usual with flat airfield circuits it was bleak and windswept but at least the forecast of rain proved to be inaccurate and we saw plenty of sun. It was even quite warm if you could escape the constant wind.

The course itself was laid out on smooth, reasonably grippy tarmac, marked out by cones and straw bales. Quite confusing at first as you try to guess on which side of the cones you should be when approaching corners at speed!

This was undoubtedly a power circuit, the four long straights allowing a 355 to stay 3 or 4 seconds ahead of a 348, and 7 or 8 seconds ahead of a 308.

Jon Goodwin headed up the Ferrari class with his 355. Chris Dixon, Richard Prior, and Peter Hayman fielded 348s (Peter's 512 still awaiting parts), while new recruit Nick Taylor brought along his Mondial t. John Dobson and Brian Jackson were in their familiar 308s, with Jackson's 308's being the only non-red car in the class.

Practice saw Jon Goodwin, pushing hard, heading the times on 80.24secs ahead of Richard Prior, Chris Dixon and Brian Jackson. Peter Hayman, still unfamiliar with his 348, came next and then Nick Taylor and John Dobson bringing up the rear separated by 0.36 seconds.

The first two competitive runs went off without incident. Jon Goodwin dipped below 80 seconds to remain out in front, while Chris Dixon went ahead of Richard Prior by just half a second. Jackson remained just ahead of Hayman, while Nick Taylor closed in to be just one second behind this pair.

Then came the third runs.Goodwin was red flagged halfway round and came back for an immediate re-run He used his warm tyres to good effect taking another second off to stop the clock at 78.39. Dixon needed to find another two seconds or so for max points on PEP, but he tried a little too hard and spun off on the final bend. Richard Prior took advantage and slipped ahead to take second place on 82.30. Peter Hayman finally got the hang of the 348 with an 84.17, passing Jackson who lost time going wide at the first bend.

An interesting venue then, best suited to the faster cars. Not so good for spectators, though, as only the paddock and start straight are accessible. In the Championship, Jon Goodwin now leads by a healthy margin but second place is close between Prior who has just moved ahead of Dark. There's still a long way to go.........

RESULTS :

POINTS STANDING AFTER ROUND 6:

Pos.	Driver	Tipo	Points
1.	Jon Goodwin	F355GTS	89
2.	Richard Prior	348ts	63
3.	Geoff Dark	308GTB	61
4.	Mike Spicer	308GTB	48
5.	Brian Jackson	308GTB	39
6.	Christopher England	308GTS	35
6.=	Nick Frost	348GTC	35
8.	Richard Allen	F355	32
9.	John Marshall	328GTB	28
9.=.	Chris Dixon	348tb	28
11.	Peter Hayman	512TR	24
12.	Terry Esom	F355	23
13.	Keith Maddox	328GTS	18
14.	Geoffrey Rollason	360 Modena	17
15.	Andrew Duncan	328GTS	16
16.	Philip Whitehead	328GTB	14
17.	Jeff Simpson	246GT	13
18.	Kevin Engelbrecht	308GT4	9
18.=	John Dobson	308GT4	9
20.	Simon Burn	308GTB	8
21.	Steve Target	308GT4	7
21.=	Nick Taylor	Mondial 3.4t	7
23.	Jos Van de Perre	308GTS	6
24.	Peter Rogerson	F355	4

Click here to return to the Ferrari Hill Climb Championship page.

A wide-open track, confusing in places

Confering in the paddock: Dobson, Prior and Dixon

pics by Brian Jackson