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 FERRARI HILL CLIMB CHAMPIONSHIP This seemed like a double header as we took in the Hagley & District Light Car Clubs “Loton Park Motor Sport Festival” on the Saturday followed by the Aston Martin Owners Club Hill Climb meeting on Sunday. The Saturday meeting was a non competitive charity fund raising event - it was also a good way of getting in loads of practice! Sunday dawned dry and not at all bad weather-wise, the track conditions being perfect. A strong Ferrari entry featured a good number of our newer players, most of whom had learned something about Loton the day before. A complex hill with many twists, turns and ingredients, all of which you need to get right to be in the money. It is also great fun and situated in beautiful countryside a few hundred yards from the Welsh border. The class win looked like a straight contest between Jon Goodwin (F355) and Geoffrey Rollason (360 Modena). After that there were any number of permutations, with a remarkably varied assortment of tipos. Fancying something comfortable for the weekend I had brought along my 550Maranello – great round Silverstone, but usually an armful on a hill. New man Nick Taylor also had something unwieldy - a left hooker 3.4 Mondial, whilst Peter Hayman, still without his 512TR, had elected to run his BMW 750i in another class – how’s that for dedication! It was past 1pm before the Ferraris completed two practice runs. Geoffrey Rollason, quickest on the first, was overhauled by Jon Goodwin – his 60.42 half a second or so off his own class record. Geoff Dark (308GTB) and Richard Prior (348ts) were next tied on 63.85, with the Allen 550 close behind. Simon Burn brought some drama to these runs as he brain-faded his 308GTB straight on at Fallow Corner right in front of the rest of the Ferrari drivers waiting in the top assembly area. Maybe they were trying too hard, but both Jon Goodwin and Geoffrey Rollason were slower in the afternoons competitive runs, well off their previous best Loton times. Jon won the class with 60.81 and maximum Championship points too. Geoffrey, meanwhile, made a poor start first time out and was not much better for the second. He clocked a best of 61.38. Brian Jackson, running his points-ineligible 355Ch, took third with 62.72, whilst Geoff Dark once again eclipsed his previous best taking just 63.08, a remarkably fast time on his first run with the 308. He tried even harder on his second and locked up going in to Fallow, overshooting and needing reverse to get back on track. I never managed to get the 550 off the line properly, and was typically half a second slower than the other cars over 0-64ft. A run of 63.25 did not look so bad if you deducted half a second! Richard Prior was the only other car to break 64 with a faster final run on 63.52, netting third on PEP factored time and a useful 15 points. Mike Spicer ran his 308GTB well ahead of the rest with 64.19, a time that looks really good against the other cars if you ignore Geoff Dark! Chris Dixon, going a little too hard, went off at Triangle to spoil his first run, but got a grip on the second with 65.17 to head off his rival, Nick Taylor. Despite zero previous Loton experience Nick took his Mondial with the West End tiller up in an impressive 65.30. Close on these two was Phillip Whitehead having his first outing with his choice red F355B - he dialled up 65.90, to just finish a few hundredths ahead of John Marshall, treating his 328 with a lot more respect nowadays! A game Simon Burn, on 70.28, was never going to keep up with the pace of these cars. His 308GTB has the least power and he is on those metric TRX type wheels with duff rubber too. Strangely his first practice at 69.58 was his best and looked pretty good at the time. RESULTS :
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