Report - Round 2 - 2008 Pirelli Ferrari Hillclimb Championship - Club Racing Series'

It must have been with a profound sense of relief that the hillclimbers who had competed at the previous weekend's Ferrari classic race at Donington turned their rampante cavalli towards Prescott. Not only had that been circuit racing, but the weekend was bitterly cold and the paddock had the ambiente of an airport car park, complete with large jets leaving the UK for somewhere nicer. In total contrast, the weekend in prospect was England at its best, hillclimbing at lovely Prescott, complete with Bugattis, and it was mostly sunny, though a shower did affect the second runs, but unfortunately this is a race report and not romantic fiction.

The good news for the hillclimbers who have been nobly propping up classic is that it looks like their charity work has paid off and it can now stand on its own two feet, so they won't have to do it anymore. Surprisingly though one or two of them said they "enjoyed it" and they "would be doing it again". I suspect this is just misplaced loyalty to the Club but it provides yet further confirmation (should that be necessary) of just what nice people hillclimbers are. Mind you, having enjoyed the immense privilege of high speed rides with Gary Culver and Nicky Paul-Barron at the Silverstone Track Day, I can begin to see the attraction of the roundy-roundy stuff.

There was a cracking entry of 19 Ferraris at Prescott, though Charles Haynes had to withdraw due to work commitments. That's always bad, but must be even worse when work is playing golf....! Most of the usual suspects were there, but not RA or Richard Prior. I can't remember the last time I was at a meeting with neither Dick present, but fortunately Richard III was, Preece of that ilk, out for the first time in the superb ex-Nick Frost Championship winning 348GTC. Richard's presence also meant that Angela was on hand to do the times board, which meant there was every chance of it being right especially as the Series Co-ordinator was in attendance too.

Eight of the entries (44%) were 355s and it was to be expected that it would be from their ranks that the outright winner would come, with Nick Taylor in his 348GTC likely to provide the sole opposition. Other notable entries were Wendy Marshall, making her Series debut in the family 328m, which forced poor husband John to use his 430. With Pauline Goodwin and Tracey Haynes, Wendy's entry meant there were three lady drivers in the class.

Newcomer Sean Doyle was there in his immaculate 308GT4. A normally unreliable source told me that Sean, having saved up and achieved his life's ambition in buying a Ferrari, attracted the attention of the police for exercising it a bit too vigorously! This seems very unfair as the GT4 is a classic and there are some cars (Range Rover Sport, Audi Q7, Suzuki Wagon R etc.) where merely owning one should be sufficient grounds for an ASBO, if not a custodial sentence.

Nick Taylor was quickest in practice, with only him and Chris Butler (355) in the 50s. Phil Whitehead (355) was third on 51.55, with Andrew Holman (348tb) snapping at his heels with a 51.83. Of the other fancied runners David Tomlin (355) went straight off at Pardon on one run after "forgetting to brake", blaming the enervating effects of Man Flu. He scattered kitty litter everywhere, which must have made him popular. I'm told another highlight of practice day was Holman shouting "give it one, you big wussy" or similar at the driver of a Paganini Zonda who was doing a demo run. They didn't have to move the banks apart on the exit of Pardon to get the Blingybus up, but apparently it was a close thing.

As I was heading towards Prescott on Sunday it rained but cleared up the closer I got and that was how it stayed for most of the day. However, we weren't to know it, but it was to be the first run that counted for the majority of the field. The FOC's very own "Sheila's Wheels", all in 328s, led the class away and, as might be expected, it was the more experienced Pauline Goodwin who was comfortably quickest with a 54.08. Her car was well on the limiter between Ettores and Pardon and afterwards there was a bit of tiny foot-stamping as she hadn't got into the 53s. I've got "Tracey - PB" in my notes, which I thought meant personal best, but recourse to Brian Jackson's stats tells me that this wasn't so, but nonetheless it was her usual good drive, as was Wendy's, who, unlike the Zonda driver, certainly wasn't afraid to give it one!

A raucous howl announced the arrival of Mad Dog Holman. His car looked a bit oversteery, but more-or-less under control, clearly having benefited from Damax's ministrations over the winter; it stopped the clock on 52.33. Ex-Nick Frost's 348GTC was probably the best sounding Ferrari on the hills and it hasn't got any worse, though Ricardo Preece didn't seem to be using quite the same revs as the previous owner. He almost came to a stop in Pardon though his time of 53.72 was an immediate improvement over his best GT4 time and won him the Handicap Prize.

Barrie Wood was the first of the 355 horde, having found some new tyres at last. The newer tipo looked noticeably brisker coming out of Pardon and Barrie set his best time of the weekend, a 54.35. Colin Campbell (246GT) doubtless enjoyed himself, as did Peter Rogerson (355), bronzed, lid off in the sunshine and looking like an advert for the good life on his way to a 56.53. What better way is there to spend a Sunday afternoon?

Dave Tomlin was next up in his 355. This time he remembered to brake for Pardon, was on the power early getting out of it and it all flowed smoothly through the Esses. His time of 51.64 was BTD so far. It looked to me like Sean Doyle may have had gear selection issues In Pardon but otherwise it was a good run.

North Weald winner Mike Spicer was next up in his 355 and was just a tenth slower than the similarly mounted Tomlin. Phil Whitehead was next up in his red 355 and looked quicker than Spicer, which the clocks confirmed, his 51.55 being the new BTD. John Swift was apparently carrying out official tyre testing for Series' sponsor Pirelli. His 355 certainly looked like it had more grip than I remember on its way to a 53.23.

I just love seeing the 430 in the Series. They are big and brash and have got so much grunt! John Marshall's F1 looked softly sprung, I don't know what setting he had it in, though someone did tell me his technique for getting it off the line is to switch all of the gizmos off, boot it, back off the throttle and then nail it again. His 2.68 seconds over the first 64ft certainly compares better with manual cars, but is still a bit off. Gooders has applied a more fundamental approach to getting a 430 F1 off the line - he's chopped his F1 cabrio in against a manual berlinetta, though it does mean he's been stripped of his chiffon scarf. We look forward to seeing more of the tipo in both drivers' capable hands.

Another of the nice things about this Series is the wide range of tipi which compete, and next was a rapid rewind to 30 years ago or so and a 308, this one in the hands of Sergio Ransford. He flung the car up the hill with considerable brio to record 55.31. Geoff Dark is persevering with his 355 and lower profile, narrower rear tyres than some were evidence of his deep thinking. Geoff got down to 52.60, which is 1.39 off his personal best, which was set way back in 2002 in his trusty 308GTB. There is undoubtedly more to come from the new combo.

Practice form suggested that the battle for the win would be between the last two to run. Chris Butler and Nick Taylor. This proved to be the case with Butler recording 50.73. Nick Taylor's 50.50 second run was delightful piece of controlled aggression with his 348GTC never far from filling the friction circle. Affording particular pleasure were the little flicks into oversteer killing the tipo's inherent tendency to understeer [careful, our reports aren't meant to be serious - Ed.].

Unfortunately, the rest of the meeting was something of an anti-climax. It got cold, there was a rain shower and things dragged on a bit, the organisers having elected to have the Top 12 Run-Offs before the Fazzas. It transpired that most of the latter were overly cautious on their second runs. This isn't me saying this, on their return both Butler and Taylor stated that the track was fine. Chris was only five hundredths slower despite a missed gear in Pardon and Sean Doyle and Sergio actually improved their times.

So, Taylor's first run time of 50.50 gave him the outright win and the max. 20 points. He admitted he was relieved to return to winning ways after his Shelsley shunt last year; something we all heartily echo. Chris Butler was disappointed to be second (both outright and on PEPs). Fortunately Ali had elected to stay snug in bed very early on Saturday morning and so was spared the long, silent ride home. Phil Whitehead converted his practice form to an excellent third place overall, but with Holman taking the third placed points for the glory of Anglia Region.

It's all very close at the top of the Championship table and it looks like this could be a great year with a number of drivers in contention for the title. Roll on 10th May and Harewood.

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