The penultimate round of the 2005 FHCC was at Longleat in Wiltshire and the day dawned bright and sunny although a little misty first thing.

A few of us walked the track before the event got underway. There is quite a steep slope in places but as you turn to look at your line the view of the house and beautiful valley below is breathtaking and can take your mind off the job for a minute or two.

The surface seemed quite slippery, especially the stretch between Hope Rise and Prospect Bend which is the most difficult part of the course. This would be something to bear in mind as the Ferraris were in the second practice batch and the track would not have much time for the sun to improve its adhesive qualities.

Twelve originally, but only eleven Ferraris appeared as Nick Taylor – last years champion – had dropped out due to the conflicting Formula Classic race at Brands Hatch. We will never know what the noise test man would have made of Nick’s Tubi equipped 348 GTC and, as things turned out at Brands, he'd have been better off coming to Longleat!

[Roll mouse over pic for caption, click to enlarge]

The men to watch would be Richard Prior and Geoff Dark, both after the Championship laurels - Richard trying hard for his first Championship and Geoff, with many under his belt, equally resolved to stop him.

First practice started and right away Chris Butler in his 355 (the furthest travelled on the day) put the cat amongst the pigeons with a 43.57 second run followed by Geoff (308 GTB) on 44.77 and Richard (348ts) on 45.09. This was sorting out the pecking order.

Behind the fast men the rest were in the high 48s as people got to grips with the slippery centre section. The hairpin was proving awkward as some competitors thought the best way to attack it was to hold second gear, others hooking first, with a variance of ideas on a tight or wide line.

Three of our number were new to Longleat and newish to the series: David Tomlin (355), Andrew Holman (Mondial QV) and John Day (328 GTB). David, careful on his first practice, dramatically improved on the second to 45.06 seconds putting him in theoretical third position.

With the second practice everyone went faster as the track improved. The only area to remain damp was under the trees at Syretts Leap which is flat out in first, second, and third. No-one reported any problems with this. A pity there are no speed traps at this course though.

During lunch many of the Ferrari competitors made use of the catering facilities of the main house, the organisers not opting for a marquee in the paddock like last year. Perhaps the very wet weather we had last year put them off.

The first competitive runs of the afternoon got off to a hesitant start when David Tomlin was red flagged by some confused marshals just after the start line, but he was able to reverse back and start again. This mishap didn’t rattle him as he completed a very good 43.40 sec run closely followed by Geoff Dark in the running order who managed two tyre warming sessions thanks to David’s two starts. I don’t know if this was an advantage, but Geoff knocked a second off his best practice time to record a 43.52.

Chris Butler must have put rocket fuel into his 355 and did a cracking 41.68, the best Ferrari time, and enough to take the twenty points off Richard and Geoff, despite their best efforts. Richard’s best time was also on the first run at 42.75. This was enough to fend off Geoff and take second place. Geoff improved a little in the second run and finished on 43.41 and in third place, which was enough to move him into the lead of the Championship by one point from Richard.

Your reporter spent the day trying to stay in touch with Andy Grier but in the end Andy recorded a best time of 44.87, enough to beat my best of 46.31, PEP or no PEP. Mark Hargreaves was out again in the 308 GT4 and ended on 47.65 and took seventh position.

Andrew Holman and John Day were having their own competition throughout the day and enjoying every minute of it. Swapping best times between them, they ended up on 47.65 and 47.82 respectively. Jos van de Perre gradually improved during the day and managed to pip Peter Rogerson to get seven points.

So the scene is set for a tense final round at Cadwell where Richard must win to take the title. If he does so and Geoff finishes third or lower, then Richard will get it, but If Richard wins and Geoff finishes second they will tie on points and have the same number of wins - sort that lot out RA!

Click here for the results and points.

Click here for the Championship positions.

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

Jos pipped Peter Rogerson for the seven points...

...though Peter finished ahead of him "on the road"

John Day was just 0.14 seconds behind...

...Mark Hargreaves, who was just 0.03 seconds behind

...Andy Holman!

Barry Wood improved on R2

Andy Grier got himself into the Championship Top Ten

Third place points were enough to give Geoff Dark the Championship lead

David Tomlin got on the podium again

Richard Prior lost out on the 20 points...

... by just four-hundredths from Chris Butler, who took the outright win too

pics by Ali Dixon