Report - Round 8 - 2007 Pirelli Ferrari Hillclimb Championship - Club Racing Series'

Bang up against the Welsh border and pretty for it too, Loton Park is everyone’s favourite hill, everyone who has been there that is. Lacking the facilities of Prescott and Shelsley, Loton more than makes up with being a really great drive, rated by many as the best in the UK [apart from the King of Hills, that is - Ed]. It proved popular amongst the Ferrari hillclimbers with yet another record entry, easily the biggest seen here . Many members too were having their first taste of this challenging course. After a week of very wet indifferent weather the sun was out Saturday morning and it was to remain nice all day.

The Ferrari class record here was set way back in 2002, when a fired up Jon Goodwin in his 355 slaughtered the opposition on his way to winning the championship. The time he set of 59.98 still looks inaccessible, with only Chris Butler (F355) getting near it a couple of years ago. To make matters worse the course is a little slower now as at Fletcher's Dellow, the left hand kink after Loggerheads, could previously be straight lined by putting the nearside of the car on the grass, but they have now inserted some plastic posts to discourage this shortcut - loosing maybe half a second or more.

The Ferrari entry offered an interesting selection, with a couple of oldies – the 246 of Colin Campbell and the splendid 250GT Lusso of Jon Goodwin, plus all the usual F355s and 348 derivatives, and it was nice to see four 308s as well. The class win looked likely to go the way of Chris Butler - he has held sway at Loton in recent events with his F355. Maybe Nick Taylor could challenge with his 348GTC, but after these two there would be some good competition all the way, especially with both Richard Prior (348ts) and Geoff Dark (308) hot on the points trail. Newcomers to Loton were Tracey and Charles Haynes, Richard Preece, Andrew Holman and Edward Briscoe, whilst unfortunately we lost John Marshall after he encountered a tyre problem on his 328. He along with wife Wendy arrived late and decided to compete on the following day's meeting instead.

Practice was dry, though the track was not really up to speed. David Tomlin (F355) was fastest at first but it was Richard Prior who topped out these practice sessions by lunchtime. He was on 62.60, just ahead of Tomlin’s 62.63, with the fancied Chris Butler next on 62.85. Others showing good pace were Geoff Dark at 64.55 and Pauline Goodwin (328) on 65.39 - hugely quicker than she had been here before. Amazing too was Sergio Ransford, taking his 308GTB up in a rousing 66.84, a time that was to sadly remain out of reach for him on the official runs.

Andrew Holman was also impressive, and not just noise wise – remarkably he did 66.90 on only his second run here. Jon Goodwin was as usual wringing the neck of his 250GT Lusso and was on 66.74, a time he would not better in the afternoon. Nick Taylor meanwhile was not up to speed with his 348GTC, and neither was your reporter, with a particularly wayward second practice, the F355 spending much time on the grass after exiting Fallow corner.

During the lunch break the ice cream van proved popular, whilst PFHC Eligibilty Scrutineer Gerry Walton checked the Ferraris for catalytic converters, or rather that those which are supposed to have them do! Richard Prior was happy, besides having the fastest practice time he was looking good for a twenty pointer but of course anything could happen over the two afternoon competitive runs.

On the first run Chris Butler piled on the pace with 61.40, well clear of his nearest pursuer Nick Taylor at 62.43. Tomlin was slower on 63.11 whilst Richard Prior had an exciting ride with rather too much sideways stuff that was to cost him dear on 64.05, behind Geoff Dark's 308GTB on 63.33. Andrew Holman was in full kamikaze mode, losing his 348 exiting Loggerheads at impossible speed and he was lucky not to collect any solid scenery.

Looking through the Ferrari class over these afternoon runs, we had Colin Campbell with the 246GT – his first at 83.31 a little faster than his previous Loton times. Tracey Haynes improved with each run to finish on 74.55 with her 328GTB, not enough to catch next man Edward Briscoe – he was out with his nice maroon or Marone 308GT4, improving to 71.43 on his first, only to make a mess of his last run. Charles Haynes worked hard with is 348GTC, notching his run times down steadily to a final 70.32.

Richard Preece similarly showed a good improvement curve. He started with his 308GT4 at 76.54, a time that fooled the handicappers completely. He then finished at a creditable 69.86, winning the club handicap by a country mile. Peter Rogerson has been here before with his left-hooker F355GTS, and at a best of 68.94 he gnawed a bit off previous form. Next up was the 348ts of David Hathaway - his time of 68.69 was a bit shy of his second practice and not enough to catch Sergio Ransford. He took the 308GTB up in 68.26, which he must have been less than chuffed with after that 66 second practice time!

Jon Goodwin as usual was a revelation with the Lusso – you could tell he was extracting the last drop out of this venerable machine that makes do with just four gears - he put in a bunch of 66 second runs to finish well ahead of many more modern faster tipi. His skill and determination with the Lusso earning a very well deserved seventeen points. John Swift was smooth enough with his F355, but was a little down on his practice time with his final run on 66.52. Andrew Holman undeterred by his big moment with the 348 pushed on hard for 66.39 – a fine result for a first timer here.

Charlie White looked great in his F355 spider – the car is not too bad either, but he should have gone a little faster on his second time at Loton. His 65.53 was just shaded by the impressive Pauline Goodwin. Her previous best here had been 67.57, and attacking the hill with great determination her 328 passed over the line on 65.42 on the first run, then spoiled the last, but no matter! I had an enjoyable but lurid time with my F355, should have been in the sixty twos, but was off pace with 63.43. Geoff Dark as you would expect was not far off the front runners more powerful tipos with his 308GTB at 63.23.

The last four runners were of course the fastest and they all went for it on this final run. I was in the middle of the class and consequently able to watch from the top paddock (the best viewing place on the hill). All these Ferraris looked and sounded impressive as you would expect. David Tomlin was a little slow on his first run but improved to 62.39 finishing fourth, whilst Richard Prior really driving the wheels off his 348 took just 62.10 seconds. This was good enough to take the 20 points and third overall. Nick Taylor next up with the 348GTC was going for it too and he just shaded Richard with 62.04, but it was Chris Butler, already with a winning time in the bank, who showed how to climb Loton Park. Like the others he looked fast, but was very neat and smooth by comparison. His time for the Ferrari class win and fifteen points was a rousing 61.07 So that was one meeting down, but we'd got to do it all again the next day!