Report - Round 15 - 2008 Pirelli Ferrari Hillclimb Championship - Club Racing Series'

I was looking forward to Curborough very much, so I set off eagerly from home and soon after crested the A461 in Brownhills. However the rolling plains of Staffordshire before me were totally obscured by torrential rain and the spires of Lichfield Cathedral were hidden in the cloud. I paused only to wonder “This is bad enough in my Skoda, so what the chuff is it going to be like in a Ferrari?".

The Series had been to the Midlands' venue in August for a two-lapper, but the final round of the PFHC was one of the most difficult challenges in motorsport - the Curborough single lap. 21 Ferraris were entered but only 17 turned up, which was a bit disturbing as only Chris Butler had sent his apologies - his 355 had absolutely refused to start in the morning.

More worrying yet was the fact that only two WAGS were in attendance - Fiona Taylor and Liz Malone. Fiona is the first winner of the website's "WAG of the Year" for standing by her man all season long and wins a dinner for one at Curboro's famous Tammy Wynette Paddock Diner. Sean Doyle had brought along his younger daughter Bethany to introduce her to the glamour of top-level international motorsport.

Despite the absentees, it was still a cracking entry. We had our full complement of Wilsons, Adrian and Peter, though I was desolated to learn that neither of them was in the Beach Boys. RA was back from making the Factory an offer they could not refuse and his Media Spokesperson told me that after a wild ride at the previous Curborough, Damax had adjusted the suspension of his 355 so that it was more compatible with track work than lawn mowing. Christian Mineeff was there for his second event in his new 360. With David Tomlin not entering, Andrew Holman was confirmed as the final "podium position" man in this year's Championship.

Conditions for the first practice runs were vile. There were four spinners including Sean Doyle, who astonishingly had actually listened to some of the advice offered in this column and fitted new shocks. RA was reveling in the newly-tweaked handling of his 355 and went quickest with a 42.05 secs run. Conditions were little better for the second runs and this time Richard Prior made best use of his newish tyres and went quickest on a 40.78.

Tracey Haynes in her 328 was delighted to be 2.63 seconds quicker than Gooders in the 430. He had tried full computer assist and reported that it was just hopeless, not letting him do anything he wanted. It makes one wonder whether the system is just not programmed to cope with something as extreme as a wet Curborough. Tracey was a second quicker than Mineeff who had also tried computer assistance and he reported that the more primitive ASR in the 360 was no help either and that the car was diabolical, the rear end breaking away with the slightest provocation. Digiexcuses apart, it could be that Tracey just drove better.....

During the break, miracle of miracles, the rain stopped, a small patch of blue appeared in the sky and soon it turned into a bright and beautiful Autumn day! Gooders was telling the tale of the bike ride he had just completed, Geneva to Nice on the course that the Tour de France takes over 16 mountains - 720km! He said one bit was uphill for 36 miles and another downhill for 48 where they were freewheeling at 50mph! A terrific achievement for anyone, but unbelievable for a pensioner.

Whether it was this, or the hectic social life he had been leading in the low dives of the Potteries since his return, Jon was off the pace on his first competition run, his 37.80 left him in third place, but worse was yet to come for him. RA took the lead at one point, but dropped to second when Mineeff put in the best run of 37.19.

The sunshine and a stiff breeze meant that the course had dried rapidly throughout the first runs and this had undoubtedly helped the later runners, and it was completely dry for Run 2, and everyone improved. The improved conditions were made clear when the first runner, Pauline Goodwin (328), knocked the best part of four seconds off her first run time to record 37.51. Racey Tracey improved by slightly more to end up on 39.98 and Prior knocked 1.81 seconds off in a determined 36.61 second run which included lots of kerb and an oversteery lurch at the Mole Hill.

Andrew Holman was next up with a typically aggressive run, it was a bit "thruppenny bitty", especially at the top corner, but the hard-used 348 stopped the clocks on 36.05 seconds, 3.06 secs faster than his first run, to burst through from seventh place into the lead! Pete Wilson was next up in another 348 and he too improved to 39.91. This was substantially better than his previous personal best at the venue, which was a nice way to finish the season.

RA was next up and the run didn't look like it would be quick enough, but the clock stopped at 35.99 to give him the lead by six hundredths! Geoff Dark just did not look comfortable in his 355 and indeed 37.88 left him in tenth place.Let us hope for better things for the Essex veteran next year.

Nick Taylor was next up and drove hard and well as usual, though the 348GTC displayed prodigious understeer at the exit of the top corner. His 36.33 would give him fifth place overall, but third on PEPs and the 15 points thus accrued meant he had the same championship total as Prior, fifth place going to the latter has Nick only did seven rounds and had no scores to drop.

Adrian Wilson (355) delivered a nice smooth run to record 38.10, a highly respectable time for his first Curborough single-lapper. Charles Haynes (348GTC) was a bit too cautious. Barrie Wood (308) was another who ran wide out of the top. Phil Whitehead was next up to finish off a season which I think sees him the most improved driver of the year. Mike Spicer (355) was trying hard and sent one of the first corner course markers flying on his way to a 36.20 second run, just a quarter of a second off RA's winning time.

First run leader Christian Mineeff was being too cautious and this was confirmed when the clock stopped on 36.17, which dropped him down to third place. Jeff Cooper was next in another 360, this time an F1 which always sounds fabulous and howled home to a 38.30. Then came Gooders, his run looked OK, lines were correct and there was even a dab of oppo exiting the top corner, but the time was no gooders, 37.01 leaving the '08 Champ way down in seventh. Jon said he just couldn't get his head round it and was blaming his recent exertions, but I reckon there could be an argument for softening the 430's PEP as it is clearly not easy to drive.

Sean Doyle had the honour of completing the last PFHC run of 2008. With two spins in practice it looked like he might be assuming Mad Dog's collar and this run was hairy too with a tail-out lurch in the Mole Hill where the GT4 nearly came to a halt and an untidy assault on the top corner. Despite this he recorded a 40.45 to finish a good first year in the PFHC. The raw speed is clearly there, technique will come with experience.

So ended another fantastic year of fun motorsport. Richard Allen was a delighted winner, the first for a long time for the founder of the Series and former Champion. Also, how nice that the Chairman of the Club should win one of its competition events. Andrew Holman, already very pleased to finish third in the Championship on his first serious attempt, was ecstatic to grab the PEPs win, his first of the year.

Now all that's left is the Prizegiving Dinner. I'll soon be crunching out stats and after that it won't be long before the whole happy thing starts up again.