And another season arrives with some early action at this cold and windy airfield venue. In 2003 it had been amazingly warm and sunny, but this time around it was very blustery and unsettled, though with some sunshine in between. A respectable entry of thirteen Ferraris turned out to be a dozen on the day as Nick Taylor (Mondial 3.4t) had withdrawn.

The course was quite different from last time, longer, faster and definitely favouring the more powerful tipos. There were three-long range F355s on hand, and of these 2002 Champion Jon Goodwin looked favourite for the class win, though 2003 "Newcomer of the Year" Chris Butler could be there too. Chris had come down to Essex all the way from his home which as I recall is somewhere well Up North where England is running out. Philip Whitehead, the other F355 pilot, had come a long way too, from one of those unpronounceable places in Wales. A couple of 348s looked to be in with a chance, particularly the determined Richard Prior, Championship runner-up in 2003. The other one was in the hands of Chris Dixon, and it was great to see him and Simon Burn (308 GTBi) rejoining the fray after their absence in the second half of 2003.

Elsewhere, there was the inevitable Geoff Dark (308GTB) and Richard Allen (328GTB), and a brace of Damax-prepared 328GTBs driven by John Marshall and Mike Spicer. This was to be Mike's first outing in the ex-Mike Furness “O” class PMFC car, a machine that always went very well when I encountered it out on the circuit. You have to use standard road springs in “O” class, and Mike had found it a bit soft after the his ex-Robin Ward blue 308. He has had Damax fit some Scammel springs and now all is well!

The Ferrari class was running last on the programme meaning a leisurely start. Scrutineering was fairly lax, though the chap checking my car usefully found that there was no bolt on the drivers side securing the safety harness cross bar. I had removed it a few months ago and forgotten to put it back - on the way there I had not used the belts and consequently this went unnoticed. Simon Burn obligingly lent me a bolt from his car to get the OK.

The practice sessions went off without incident, though some of the Ferrari drivers went the wrong way – easily done as much of the course is marked by cones, and very difficult to determine just where you are meant to be going. Although the timing chart shows your reporter's 328 with the fastest practice, there is no doubt that a timing error occurred. Ignore this and Jon Goodwin on 78.64secs looked very good from Chris Butler on 79.70 with Richard Prior close behind at 79.87. Even though we were watching from a long way away they looked fast, with Butler the neatest. Of the rest, Andy Grier was the star turn with his 328, turning in a very quick 81.82, comfortably ahead of the similar cars of the very experienced Marshall and Spicer.

Philip Whitehead finished the practice with lots of Shell coming out of his 355 engine from underneath somewhere. He decided to withdraw from the meeting to avoid risk of engine damage, but we had a look around and it seemed to be from one of the flexible hoses from the oil tank. Geoff Dark found an enormous spanner and Philip did some tightening and hey presto it was cured! He put his numbers back on and was soon ready for the official timed runs in the afternoon.

Whilst hanging around waiting to go on track a few club members joined us, including new FHCC recruit Marc Pullen, and Sam Whitmore, who bought the Blue Car from Mike Spicer. He is entering the Formula Classic series and may come out on the hills too. He would be very welcome, the more the merrier!

The first dry run of the afternoon was to prove decisive for the Ferraris as the second started slightly wet and became exceedingly wet, ensuring the second half of our running order had a tough time. Jon Goodwin squeezed some more out of the F355 with an impressive run of 77.52 to win the class fairly comfortably. He was not quite fast enough though for the maximum points – these went to a very pleased Richard Prior, not just because of the points that he had his sights on, but his 79.64 took second overall as Chris Butler slipped down to 80.21. Chris Dixon was shining too, making a big improvement over his practice times to get his 348 up the chart to fourth overall on 81.10, half a second ahead of Philip Whitehead's F355.

These first five cars were predictably the bigger, more powerful tipos. Richard Allen was next up with his trusty 328 very closely followed by Geoff Dark's 308, both in the high 81 second bracket. John Marshall was a little slower on 82.85, with a useful margin over Mike Spicer, still getting acclimatised to his new mount. Simon Burn pulled his 308 clear of Jeremy Stubbs Mondial 3.4t, with a rather unfortunate Andy Grier slipping to the bottom of the chart – not only had he gone slower than practice, but he collected a five second penalty for striking a marker cone.

The final run did not make any difference to the official results, though it did cause some consternation at the time. When Andy Grier running at the head of the class left the start line it was beginning to rain. When Richard Prior at the back end started it was torrential and nearly impossible. As some consolation for his first run disappointment, Andy made the fastest time - a very good effort, but he did have the most favourable conditions! Simon Burn and Richard Allen both spun and Philip Whitehead too was missing for longer than seemed possible. Nobody got anywhere near their dry times, except for “Padrone Della Pioggia” Jeremy Stubbs. If you believe the timekeepers, he did 75.68, but took out a cone. Plus 5 seconds and he was down to fourth overall, which was not bad really – especially when you realise he was running right at the back with your reporter and Richard Prior!

Our Championship Co-ordinator Sally Maynard-Smith took issue with the Clerk of the Course and they went and checked, insisting that it was correct even though highly improbable. Jeremy was duly awarded the fourth place award and looked very happy, even though he knew he could not go faster in the wet than Jon Goodwin could in the dry. For the official results they have decided that it was a timing malfunction and Jeremy is down as N/T – no time. He gets to keep the trophy though !

The next round on April 12th takes us from the windswept wastes of Essex to beautiful Bouley Bay on Jersey. Join the FHCC and see the world!

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Chris Butler was a long way from home and civilisation

A "determined" and ultra-streamlined Richard Prior (l) with "rainmaster" Jeremy Stubbs

Simon Burn (308 GTBi) rejoined the fray

Marc Pullen joins soon - at 19, about one third the average age for the Series

"Red Leader to Red Squadron, here we go chaps"

Philip Whitehead's 355 needed some minor paddock fettling

Gooders was back with a vengence

Mike Spicer debuted his ex-Mike Furness 'O' class 328

Veteran Geoff Dark was back for another bash...

...as were RA and his trusty 328 - on their home turf

Prior took max points by 0.01 secs!

The time keeping was a touch eccentric

"Jeremy's quicker in the wet than Gooders in the dry??"

pics by Ali Butler & Richard Allen