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| PIRELLI FERRARI HILLCLIMB CHAMPIONSHIP |
| 2008
SEASON STATISTICAL REVIEW by Graham Easter |
The 2008 Championship was back to 15 rounds at 11 venues, but this became
14 at 10 when Longleat was abandoned through bad weather. There always
seems to be something not quite right about this meeting and it does not
appear on the 2009 calendar, neither has it been counted as part of this
analysis. The Championship ventured north of the border again to Doune,
the "Mother of all Hills" and this time attracted an entry of
a dirty dozen (plus a guest). It stays in for 2009. There will be two
"overseas" rounds next year as the Easter falls at a suitable
time, so the hillclimbers can once again enjoy the delights of Jersey
and Bouley Bay in the Spring. In fact, it's hard to think of anywhere
the Series should go but doesn't, though I bet Chris Butler would like
go to Croft and I'm sure RA would love to swoop off a Brooklands' banking
again.
Most venues attracted strong entries, the average being 17.6 per meeting,
some again being limited by the event organisers. Credit most be given
to the Series organisers for securing so many places at the prestigious
National Prescott and Shelsley meetings. The largest entry was 24 at the
second Loton and the smallest, nine at Cadwell Park. This clashed with
formula classic at Oulton Park and at one point the entry was
so poor it meant that reduced points would have been awarded. This would
have been most unfair to those who had supported the Championship all
year and were still fighting for position and thanks are due to those
who rallied round to avoid this. Cadwell is a great venue, but for some
reason has never been particularly popular, maybe because it's a long
way east and awkward to get to. Also, history teaches that eastern invasions
with extended supply lines tend to become somewhat tricky. Whatever, it's
not on the 2009 calendar.
In terms of supporting the Series, Andrew Holman was this year's Banana
Superiore, competing in all 14 scoring meetings plus the aborted
Longleat. The average number of meetings per driver was up to again to
8.2 with 18 (60%) actually doing the magic 8 or more. In addition to Andrew,
the roll of honour reads Mike Spicer (who did 14), new Champion Jon Goodwin,
Chris Butler, Dave Tomlin, Richard Prior, Phil Whitehead, Richard Allen,
Geoff Dark, John Marshall, Pauline Goodwin, Barrie Wood, Ricardo Preece,
Sean Doyle, Tracey Haynes, Peter Rogerson, Charles Haynes and Wendy-Ann
Marshall.
As regular readers will know, we have a spreadsheet of the results for
the whole year, devised by Tony Cotton, that allows us to play "what
if?" games with the PEPs. With the whole structure having been revised
for 2009, with the 355 becoming the baseline, we've got something interesting
to get our teeth into. I must emphasise that, although this tool was used
to supply one set of figures early on in the PEPs revision process, it
was not called upon to any serious extent.
Last year's Championship was fought out between Jon Goodwin and Chris
Butler, and was unique in that, for the first time, someone (Gooders)
alternated between two tipi to maximum effect. Much has been said about
this, but it's unlikely ever to be repeated with a draconian change to
Lucy's PEP of plus 4.75% vs. the 355 (-7%/+2.25%
to -4.5%/0%). True, her PEP was a little on the squidgy side, but this
drastic change, which puts her on the same as a 308, will render her totally
uncompetitive. I calculate a change of +1.25% would have put her on par
with the 355, based on this year's results.
I can better understand the increase in the 430 PEP, which doubles its
disadvantage to the 355 from 1.25% to 2.5%. (3.5%/2.25% to 2.5%/0%). The
potential of this awesomely powerful tipo is yet to be fully realised
and no-one wants to see the Championship dominated by the latest (and
most expensive) toy. I reckon that this increase in PEP means that it
will still be competitive. For sure, its operators will have to work a
bit harder, but the good news is they are becoming increasingly cost-effective.
I couldn't understand why some tipi, like the 348, had been disadvantaged
by +0.25% vs. the 355. I sought an explanation and was informed
that the general consensus is that distances between PEPs on 348-to-348GTC-to-355
should be equally spaced based on power to weight ratios, rather than
the Hogwarts-based techniques previously employed.
However, my "Boys' Bumper Book of Fazzas" tells me that the
328GTB and 348tb have the same power-to-weight ratio, so shouldn't they
have the same PEP? Also, the Mondi t has a worse power-to- weight ratio
than both, so shouldn't it have a softer PEP? Tongue-in-cheek apart, if
you look at these scenarios, you
can see that apart from the effect on poor ol' Gooders, the thing that
makes the biggest single difference is the removal of the '08 Champ's
+1% from Richard Prior. This proves yet again that minor changes bring
about minor differences, and that the most important nut is the one that
holds the wheel.
Wrangling over PEPs aside, I have to agree with Andrew Holman, who said
in his review of the year
that Gooders drove brilliantly and thoroughly deserved his Championship
and that Chris Butler was a worthy runner-up. I can add that Andrew worked
hard for and thoroughly deserved the final podium place; also he and Richard
Prior brought the Pirelli Temple along to the meetings, where it was an
absolute life-saver given the weather last "summer". Mind you,
it'd be nice to have an espresso machine and maybe - a shrubbery.
And that's it - make of it what you will. Both on the track and in all
of the "metrics" it's the right people who were on top. As always
in racing, class shows.
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And Finally... |
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Click here to go to the full results.
Click here to go to the 2008 Pirelli Ferrari Hillclimb Championship page.
Click here to go to the 2009 Pirelli Ferrari Hillclimb Championship page.
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| Wet
weather was again a feature of the year and totally did for Longleat.
Bless the Pirelli Temple! |
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| Mad
Dog proudly shows off his 'Doune Stripes' |
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| Loton
II was the most popular meeting.... |
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| ....occasionally
racing interrupted lunch |
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| Cadwell was picturesque but unpopular |
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355 was Series' favourite and becomes PEPs baseline for '09 |
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| The Series was ultimately between these two |
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| Do draconian change to Lucy's PEP mean we will ever see her again? |
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| 430 drivers will just have to try a bit harder next year |
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Wendy-Ann
Marshall consistently demonstrated the Series' second most popular
tipo |
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Andrew
Duncan has lift-off in his annual outing in one of the Series' four
348GTCs |
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| The Series' only Dino gets a wash and brush up |
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| The driver is the single most important factor - though sometimes it's hard to believe |
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| 360 is disgracefully penalised for 2009 (it says here) |
Thanks to
all who supplied pics in 2008 |