Having greatly enjoyed the last two hillclimb reports, which kept me enthralled and entertained from beginning to end, I felt the pressure on for this one from as soon as I was asked to write it.

Where to find inspiration? Fiona Taylor is a woman who knows how words are strung together, peering over her shoulder I read “Luigi screeched his Ferrari to a halt, flung the door open and climbed out of the damp carbon seats, the sun glistened off his sweaty brow as he strode manfully towards her.....”

Attempt 2 with more fact, “It seems the Tipster was right not to write off Mike Spicer from the Gurston Down podium, but I don’t think he quite realised the size of his cojones....”. Clearly this wasn’t going to work, so I’ll tell it like it was.

This was the Tony Marsh Memorial Meeting. Tony was an amazing all round sportsman and hillclimber, winning the RAC Championship six times in the 50s and 60s. He was known to many of us in the paddock, as he continued racing until last year! He also competed in Formula 2 and drove an F1 BRM to victory in the 60s. Four of his cars were out at Gurston, driven mostly by his sons. He died in May aged 77.

Gurston had a low turnout of just six Ferraris, for a variety of reasons including the classic race at Snetterton on the same day. Being a hillclimber, I had wondered why this would take precedence and so, seeking a better understanding, I went up to the track to meet Chris Butler when he was testing on the Friday.

The first issue I found troublesome was what seemed like over-strict scrutineering, which left Ben Cartwright unable to get on track with just 1 decibel over the limit. Chris got on, in the pouring rain, with a track full of very fast GT cars, and the odd 2CV, leaving little chance of a clear run. It did eventually dry and Chris managed to get his times down. Give me hillclimbing, with its more reasonable costs, great camaraderie and friendly officials any day!

Gurston is a long way south for most of us. This means a journey down the night before or a very early start. I opted for the latter and got a good fast run down, but got there only just in time to get unpacked, sorted, signed on and scutineered before it was time to go out in batch one. My scrute correctly identified a problem I had noticed on the way down, the Club Track Day at Rockingham had loosened my new steering wheel boss, but he was happy for me to have a first practice before seeking a large socket to get it sorted. There were some early birds, but the nearest hotel residents were of course last, as Nick and Fiona Taylor leisurely enjoyed their cooked breakfast and only just managed to tack on at the end of the first practice run.

Fortunately a rule change last year meant there were maximum championship points available for the event, despite the low turnout, a change made so as to not penalise those who prioritise their hillclimbing and are seriously chasing position.

Seeing the chance of a point or two the Haynes' had tried to get a last minute entry, but any spare spaces had been quickly filled at this popular (with others that is) venue. Sean Doyle had seen the opportunity to leap up the points table by picking up an easy 11 points for being sixth. He talked about missing the Tartaruga Group [explanation to follow shortly - Ed] down ‘his’ end of the paddock, but was pleased when we let him sit with us in the breaks. He had got up early enough to walk the course and described the going as ‘greasy’ and his first run as “absolutely b..... awful”.

PG in the 328 felt she had “got to go faster”, clearly chatting up all the Abarth guys was taking its toll. So first practice runs had Holman (355) fastest on 39.34 followed by Taylor (348GTC), Prior (348ts), Spicer (355), Goodwin and Doyle. Interestingly, the speed trap over the line clocked the Spicer 2.7 machine at a terminal velocity of 97 mph knocking the previous best of 94 into a cocked hat, and he said he lifted!

P2 saw improvements all round, although Holman less than others. Having seen Mike's speed the others were determined to do better and we saw Taylor and Holman clock 93 with Prior just behind on 91. Was the timing equipment suspect we wondered? Well Mike showed us that it was not, with a cracker at 98, hitting the limiter as he did so. As ever, he was also quick off the line with 2.27 seconds over the first 64ft. Taylor complained about going wide out of Ashes, but had got ahead with a 37.70, with Prior and Spicer also leapfrogging Holman. PG was still in the 40s but looking good, according to her scouts anyway, and Doyle knocked a second off.

Lunch break saw us all stock up in the pleasantly staffed on-site restaurant, but would Holman’s risotto and chips slow him down? A farmer came over to ask us about an eBay 308 he had bought cheaply. It had gone onto four cylinders quite quickly after purchase on the long run back down from Morpeth. We hoped it hadn't been sold by anyone we know, but as it was a 2 valve we doubted it. I turned out he owns the place, so I'm glad we were friendly, although I forgot to ask about some practice time there.

The day was being run with the usual Gurston efficiency, although a few offs held matters up a bit. The afternoon started on time however and saw the paddock fill up with spectators. On the first run we saw Taylor and Spicer lay their cards down with 37 second runs just 0.15 apart. Prior was up there and looking mean on a low 38.11, managing a new PB, Holman was a bit behind but had got to grips with the terminal speed issue with a 95 mph.

PG was very pleased to get under 40 with a nice 39.81. Although Taylor was ahead, it was Spicer who was breaking records with a stonking 2.20 off the line. We all wondered how he did this, Nick suggested it was something to do with his ‘burn out shimmy’. This involves moving the steering sharply from side to side whilst spinning the rear wheels. Not something the inexperienced want to try in case the rears do find sudden grip but was something we were all going to have a go at on the final run!

The rain had threatened on and off all day but managed to stay dry for our final sally-forth, despite darkening clouds. Sean went a bit slower on 42.82, but had managed to be pretty consistent with his times and speeds and went home with his 11 points. PG was also delighted with her improved time of 39.56, a great 2.24 off the line and 91 over the line.

Holman was determined to go faster through Hollow, this lasted from the start line all through the changes up into 2nd and 3rd but he found yet again his right foot gave way before the corner to give the brake pedal a bit of a dab, losing him a second, though he still managed a final time of 38.47, another PB.

And so onto the top three. They had seen the track was fast and points were at stake. Spicer couldn’t really go quicker at the start or finish, but he could try to match Taylor's sub 20 second split. In the end he was marginally slower off the line and failed to match Taylor's split. His speeds remained as they had done from the second practice at 89 and 98, but he did manage to improve on the second half of the hill and clocked a great time of 37.19 for his efforts, this being over a second faster than his PB. 

Tension was mounting in the top paddock as our motley crew clustered around the ticker-tape machine. Prior was next up and had decided to try not lifting through Hollow, his bottle was greater than Holman’s and he managed to keep his foot down, but also managed to get very sideways as a result! Luckily he somehow found room on the 12ft wide tarmac to recover his car, however the time was lost and he went marginally slower at 38.41.

So it was all for Taylor to do. He knew the times and what was expected and again got a sub 20 split. He was, however slower all round to Midway. He was also very sideways through Ashes but this, if anything this seemed to give him the boost of speed he needed, as he crossed the line faster at 95 but stopped the clock at 37.23, over ½ second better than he had been here before and just 0.04 seconds behind our scratch winner Mike Spicer.

So after PEPs were applied back down on the electronic score board that is Richard Prior's felt tip, we saw Taylor had secured the 20 points, with Spicer fast enough to hold Prior off for the 17. PG was rather pleased to jump ahead of the wussy lifter Holman who finished just ahead of smiling sixth placed Sean.

Finally,  as the Tipster had it, this is a ballsy track that showed some very determined driving from those drivers, particularly their commitment in the daunting Hollow corner. This Championship just gets more and more competitive, the top three are becoming clearer, but can anyone stop Nick Taylor now?

The upcoming gap of a couple of weeks may give some time to take stock and prepare for the final four rounds of this exciting championship battle.

Next Round: Curborough 16th August.

Click here for the (unofficial) results and points.

Click here for the (unofficial) Championship positions.

Click here to return to the Pirelli Ferrari Hillclimb Championship page.