Report - Round 4 - 2005 Ferrari Hillclimb Championship - Club Racing Series'

The May Harewood meeting always brings out a large class of Ferraris and with 21 starters this year was no exception. The creme de la creme of the Club's hillclimbers was all there, with the notable exception of Nick Taylor who was away on Cobra racing duties. John Swift joined up for his first hillclimb in many years in his newly acquired 355 and Charlie White was a late entrant with his 355 Spider.

Harewood is either bathed in glorious sunshine or horizontal rain and luckily it was the former that greeted the Ferraris as the paddock began to fill.

Morning practice had most people complain about lack of grip (the Ferraris were running as the first batch) but Championship leader Richard Prior (348ts) already dipped down into the 68 second bracket, with Jon Goodwin (355GTS) on 69, and then a whole bunch of drivers in the 70s led by Chris Butler (355), Richard Allen (355), Christian Mineeff (328) and Nick Frost (348GTC). Chris Hitchman (355) and Pauline Goodwin (328) both had wayward moments, although the latter continued and completed her run.

The second practice runs brought good improvements for most people and Nick Frost really threw down the gauntlet with a 67 second run, just ahead of Goodwin on a 68 and a lot in the 69s, including Butler, Prior, Mike Haigh (328), Mineeff and Geoff Dark (308).

The practice times were close, track conditions were getting better all the time and the competitive runs in the afternoon would surely see some close racing for both the overall positions and, once the PEP factors had been applied, those all-important Championship points.

With the programme running well within timetable it was fairly obvious that three competitive runs would be available for everyone so it was undoubtedly a case of setting a good banker on either of the first two runs before then going all out for glory on the third.

PG led the field away on the first afternoon run, stayed firmly on the track and subsequently knocked a massive five seconds off her practice runs to set a 75.25. Peter Rogerson (355) was just a smidgeon behind, as was Jos Van de Perre (308). The next runner, Lorraine Hitchman (328), had a wild spin at Quarry Corner and ended up stranded in the gravel, all of which helped Andy Grier (328) who had at the same time spun at the bottom of the hill but was given a re-run as a result of Lorraine's incident!

Dark was the first to dip below 70 seconds, with a 69.79, and a few cars later Butler dipped into the 68s before Prior then set a 67.69 to take a decisive lead. Nick Frost gave it everything but was two hundredths slower but then Goodwin, the last runner, wrested the lead away from Prior with a 66.91 to put himself at the top of the table. The second runs brought further improvements for some of the key runners. Goodwin maintained his lead with a 66.49 but Frost improved dramatically to a 66.66 to take over second position, with Butler slotting into third on 67.23, leaving Prior in fourth just four-hundredths ahead of Mineeff.

The third and final runs were eagerly awaited by some drivers but dreaded by others. This was always where either a stunning time or a spin was the result. Goodwin, not noted for being a third run specialist, surprised himself with a further improvement to a 66.11, which cemented his position at the top of the time sheets. Frost tried hard with his 348 but, feeling a little handicapped by his new tyres, was slower than on his previous run and thus had to content himself with second place. Chris Butler was also slightly slower but was nevertheless delighted that his second run time was easily the quickest he had ever done at Harewood. It must be that poofy in-car camera .....

And where did Chris Hitchman suddenly come from? He knocked over one and a half seconds off his previous best to leapfrog four places and gain a stunning fourth position. Both Prior and Mineeff were slower than previously and finished in fifth and sixth, ahead of another trio of drivers who used their third runs for further improvement; Haigh, Dark and Brian Jackson (308).

Charlie White slotted into tenth overall, followed by Chris England (308) and Phil Whitehead (355) who dipped into the 69s on their final runs. And then, would you believe a dead heat between two Club directors, Richard Allen and John Swift in their 355s who both set 70.02 seconds but Allen just got the nod because he set the time first. Both Peter Hitchman and Andy Grier had to rely on their first run times for their 15th and 16th positions, ahead of John Dobson (328), Peter Rogerson (355) and Jos Van de Perre, who brought his times down nicely on each run. The ladies' battle was won by Pauline Goodwin with her second run time in the 74s ahead of Lorraine Hitchman, who went quickest on her final run with a 78.

With PEP factors applied the maximum 20 Championship points went to Christian Mineeff, with Nick Frost gaining the 17 points for second place, ahead of Richard Prior who, with the 15 points, still stays nicely at the top of the 2005 Championship table with four out of the 14 rounds having taken place so far. Pauline Goodwin decimated her handicap target to win the Club's Handicap Award.

As always at Harewood, it had been a thoroughly enjoyable event and there were some welcome surprises at the top of the results. At the next round at MIRA Nick Taylor will be back with his new 348GTC and it will be interesting to see where he slots back into the order of things.