This event provided a sort of PFHC sandwich: a wide, flat, open sprint between two narrow, steep and twisty hillclimbs, Shelsley and Doune. Not that they could be likened to bread really, or even the proving ground circuit to cheese, but you get what I mean - it was a contrast.

Anyway, I drove the Skoda right into the paddock and found a parking spot originally intended for Nick Taylor right in the middle of the 18 Ferraris, so in I reversed and there I stayed. It was very gratifying to win the "Paddock Cup" for the best prepared car. This set me thinking, maybe there should be a PFHC under-class for us PHR members, though I guess it'd have to be in Fiats really...

M.I.R.A. has traditionally been a happy hunting ground for 355 owners, though Gooders did knick the max. points a couple of years ago with Lucy the Lusso, but it was generally expected that it would be his 430 coupé that would spoil their fun this time. 355 pilota Mike Spicer was also sharing a Caterham with his son James. There was mild consternation when someone vaguely remembered something about being ineligible for PFHC points if you drive two entries at the same meeting, but Richard Prior looked it up and this is only the case if it's two entries in a Ferrari. I believe this regulation was introduced because the website editor once used the (then legal) ploy to assist him to the Ferrari record at Harewood, which stood for so many years.

The day was bright and sunny and glinted suitably off the Fazzas as they proudly rolled out for their first practice run. A marshal did ask me if I was going out, but sadly no licence. One of the features of the track is a fast 90 degree-ish corner, Tower, which follows a fast straight and many were braking too early at first. Dave Tomlin's 355 was misfiring which turned out to be fuel starvation. In an effort to save weight he'd run it with the fuel warning light on for 86 miles! After duly gaining the permission of the Clerk of the Course he nipped out to get some more gas. Chris Butler and Phil Whitehead, both in 355s, were very fast through the speed trap, but it was Mad Dog Holman who had the quickest run in his 348tb. What was amazing about this was that he'd installed his 4th/5th gear-blocker as per normal and you need 4th here! Gooders was slow and the 430 looked a bit wayward, but he found that his tyre pressures were too high.

When P2 came around there was a veritable heat haze shimmering over the track. As is common on airfield circuits a lark was singing its heart out. I first noticed this at Pembrey in 1984, I wonder if it's the same one? Sean Doyle was one who'd braked too early for Tower on P1 and obviously was determined not to do it next time. He cranked his GT4 up to 97mph through the speed trap, had to really stand on the brakes and round she went! Fortunately M.I.R.A. is just the place for that sort of thing as most of the scenery is a long way from the track. Fireman Sean told me the story of his acquiring the beautiful car, which was the realisation of a life-long dream to own a Ferrari. This was made more so because he'd first come across this particular car some years before when it was owned by someone else. He fancied it but never thought he would be able to buy it. Just goes to show what you can do if you have sufficient determination and that Ferrari life is not the exclusive preserve of the few.

Mad Dog had the use of 4th gear this time, but there was a large gap in between the howl announcing his departure from the start line and his arrival at Tower, it turned out he'd spun. As Clarkie said "Must have had too big a bowl of Spinalot for his breakfast, man". In the event, it was Tommo who was quickest with both Butler and Gooders left scratching their heads.

During lunch Angela Preece asked why there was no Handicap. "Because we don't have one at sprints" came the answer "Why not?" says she "Because we don't" came the informed answer, there being no Elders present. In the end we settled on an unofficial "quickest through the Esses" award which was won by Dave Tomlin. By now everyone was worrying what had happened to Nick Taylor, so Richard Prior phoned him. "Where are you Nick?" "I'm at Nice airport about to fly back to do M.I.R.A. tomorrow." No-one laughed of course....

The first competitive runs came around with Holman the first major contender. He hit 100mph through the speed trap and possibly braked too hard for Tower, which may have unsettled the car; whatever, he was still slower than P1 - more head scratching. He was not alone in this as the track is more difficult than at first seems. It looked like the correct technique for the Tower complex was to brake fairly gently, change down smoothly and to get the throttle open again before the fast right hander. Some 'bike engined Westfields were taking it in a big tail-out slide, fantastic! Jeff Cooper's 360 emitted a lovely blip-up on changing down, which he told me was his dexterous heel-and-toeing and nothing at all to do with the F1 electronics. The left hand exit of the complex was tighter than it looked, most using second gear. It surprised a few including Adrian Wilson (355) who got into a bit of a tank-slapper on R1, but he held it all together well to record 61.36, his best time.

Richard Preece (348GTC) went very well to end the first run seventh overall and was absolutely delighted to head Richard Prior (348ts). Phil Whitehead hurtled through the speed trap fastest of all at 112 mph. when Tommo asked him how he'd done it he said "I don't know, I just shut my eyes". Spicer and Butler looked quick, but Tommo looked quicker, carrying lots of speed into Tower. The clocks confirmed the impression, stopping on 54 seconds dead, knocking four tenths of Chris Butler's record. All waited for Gooders in the 430, the run didn't look comfortable - 54.76, over three-quarters of a second slower than the 355!

Colin Campbell's 246 Dino, still the only six cylinder car in the field, led away for R2 and he beat his best M.I.R.A. time by 1.5 seconds. Sean Doyle's GT4 looked a bit lively and he confirmed the impression that the shockers probably need some attention, this being the first place fast enough to really show it up. Nevertheless he improved by over 2 seconds to 64.55. Tracey Haynes too improved well to 65.83, chopping a whopping 4.5 seconds off her previous best M.I.R.A. time. The back end of PG's similar 328 stepped well out in the right-hander, she caught it well, but had to do it all again due to timing gear problems. On her re-run she drove equally vigorously to record her best time of 58.56.

Mad Dog borrowed one of Tomlin's excuses - fuel starvation, so was delighted to get a re-run. This may have become a run too far as he was well sideways in both corners of the Tower complex, which was highly entertaining and he still improved to 56.73. Richard Prior made a big improvement to 56.21, which after Pete Wilson had improved to 61.95, Richard Preece could do nothing about but modestly said "Every dog has his day and this was my 10 minutes". Geoff Dark recorded 111mph through the speed trap, but was a tad slower than his first run, as seems to be the norm for him. Phil Whitehead must have had his eyes open on this run as both his trap speed and run times were slightly worse, though to him goes the honour of a new entry in the "Racing Driver's Book of Excuses". Ladies and Gentlemen I give you "I was mobbed by a pair of Swallows". Barrie Wood (355) didn't improve, unlike Charles Haynes (348GTC), who chopped off over 2 seconds.

Chris Butler braked smoothly for the right-hander and hard for the left in a typically well controlled run, but at 54.46 it just wasn't good enough to challenge Tommo. Mike Spicer braked too hard for Tower and had to accelerate into the corner and his first run time was his best. But, as his second run was better than Geoff Dark's, with whom he'd tied on the first run, this gave him the place. Mike also had the best 64ft time of 2.26 seconds and we wondered if this was the best ever in the PFHC. Anyone know? [2.23 - Ed]

On his second run Dave Tomlin hurtled through the speed trap fastest of all at 114mph. He looked a bit ragged, but still vaguely under control, after all he is an ex-karter. Even though the run was nine-hundredths slower surely the win was in the bag? Gooders was seen heading towards his 430 for R2 with furrowed brow. On the run he looked to be keeping the 500 prancing horses on a tight rein, somehow as if there was less grip for him than the others. He "only" did 109mph through the speed trap and the complex was well under control, but the clock said 53.26, beating Tommo by nearly three-quarters of a second.

Jon said afterwards that the furrowed brow was because he was having to think about all this, which he wasn't used to and it hurt. His first conclusion was to switch off the 430's brain and use D.I.Y. mode. He accepts that this might not actually be optimal but it works for him "because I'm old". His fully manual, "Sainsbury's car park" start technique gave him a 64ft time of 2.58 seconds, not great but acceptable. Then he'd taken the first never-ending left-hander slower because otherwise the car pushed and it was an age before he could get the throttle open for the straight. This all worked superbly with a net result of 53.26 seconds and another "triple" - the record, outright win and max. points. However, as you can see this was no pushover, Gooders stating that it's much harder to get the best out of a 430 than a 355, which is more user-friendly and can be driven with gay abandon. Having had a ride in Jon's 430 at the recent Oulton Park Track Day, I suspect that on track its performance is really a bit too much for List 1A tyres.

Gooders was a delighted winner and Tommo a disappointed second, but he must have been consoled by second place points giving him the Championship lead. In consecutive meetings the third placed driver outright was also third on PEPs, this time Chris Butler. All in all another highly enjoyable day of great sport and conviviality in the sunshine - shame you missed it Nick!

Many thanks to Dave Clark for his invaluable observations in the compiling of this report. It's not all made up you know.


Click here for the (unofficial) results.

Click here for the (unofficial) cumulative Championship scores.

Click here for the (official) results (including lots of data) and Championship positions.

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

No cameras allowed at M.I.R.A. folks, so...

The F190 Skud hot for PFHC action...

...or even?

Meanwhile, at Nice Airport

Gooders had a birthday in the week after M.I.R.A., which entitles him to free chauffeur driven travel for life!

That night, Ricardo dreamed of leaping ahead of Prior...

...only for him to sneak up and spoil everything

pics by Skuderia Classic, Ricardo Preece & unknown