ROUND 13 : HAREWOOD: 19 SEPTEMBER 2009
by Graham Easter

First of all I must say a very big thank you to all those who let me drive their cars at the Prescott Picnic - what a privilege! I also enjoyed a number of rides including one with John Marshall in the fantastic 430 Scud. This was everything and more than you could expect and John was kept busier than one of the rides at Alton Towers, taking a constant stream of people up the track, fellow competitors generally emerging with a huge smile on their faces and shaking their heads in disbelief.

With this and a number of rides at the recent Curborough practice day, I now have a much better insight as to what goes on. The only problem is that I no longer feel worthy to offer criticism or advice, as I think you're all heroes! One thing I will say, though, is easier PEPs for GT4s!!

There won't be much punditry in this report anyway as three cars on the hill makes observation difficult. This was also hindered by the comedy commentators who came forth with a constant stream of fatuous remarks, some of it attempting to take the mick out of the Ferraris in a humorous way, but which just came over as chip-on-shoulder rubbish and just plain rude. This was a real shame as Harewood is a wonderful venue, the event was well organised, and this time the sun shone, well, for most of the day....

Nearly all the usual suspects were there. Nick Taylor had tied up the Championship at the previous round, but there were a number of final placings to be settled, including second between Chris Butler and Richard Prior. Christian Mineeff had a lucky escape at the Prescott picnic as a driveshaft broke. If he hadn't gone there it would certainly have broken at Harewood. As it was, he was quickest in practice, ahead on both runs, dipping into the 65s on P2, with a 65.80, the only one to do so and only the third Ferrari ever. Chris Butler was second, nine-tenths behind, with Nick Taylor a couple of tenths behind him. The Scud was down in seventh place on 69.06, but all in front were very wary that John would shoot through the order as he matched the car to the the hill, as has happened before.

During the lunch break we admired the Monaco kartists' suits, discussed 1B tyres and winced at people's wounds; poor old Sergio Ransford had come off second best in an exchange with a bonfire, sympathetic work colleagues had christened him "Scorchio" and RA had managed to shut his thumb in the door of his 575! Mind you, a bandaged hand looks like it's the thing to have in the celeb world.

The first competitive runs passed off without incident and a surprising number of competitors recorded what was to be their best time, including Wendy Marshall (328), Julian Playford (355) and Pauline Goodwin (328). Richard Preece (348GTC) was showing more aggression as of late, on a run that saw him again in the leading group. His 68.78 was just seven-hundredths behind RA, whose poorly thumb didn't seem to keep him off the kerbs.

"Mild Dog" Holman (355) carried good speed around Farmhouse bend to record a 68.30 that would see him seventh after R1, but eighth at the end of the day. Phil Whitehead (355) got a couple of wheels onto the grass on the exit to Orchard, but his 68.15 would be his best. John Marshall kept it off the kerbs, but had a bit of a squirrel into Quarry. He recorded 67.94 and would not improve, though no-one would have anticipated this at the time.

Richard Prior (348ts) was fourth on 67.70, just one-hundredth behind Mike Spicer (355). Nick Taylor went off on the outside of Chippy's. Chris Butler (355) was the only one in the 66s, however, his 66.47 was not as good as Prior's 66.35 after PEPs, which gave the latter the advantage in the championship. In a clear lead though after an aggressive but controlled and tidy run of 65.97 was Christian Mineeff.

The Harewood course finishes with what is effectively a 180 degree corner after a fast straight and the finishing line is actually on the final bend itself before a short, straight return road to the paddock. The Ferraris were parked alongside this straight, the other side of Armco. As we waited, there was regularly a screech of tyres and silence, sometimes followed by a crunch as car after car went off, some connecting with the crash barriers.

The most spectacular of these was a Renault Clio which ended up on its roof; the driver was OK and even won his class, picking his award up at the (freezing) prizegiving. At one time it seemed that almost every car was going off. Swifty went to see the Clerk of the Course, who said the marshals had had a good look at the corner and had found nothing untoward, though a car had come up earlier smelling of hot oil.

Unfortunately, Sergio Ransford was to fall foul of this corner on R2, his 308 understeering off before spinning across the road and clattering the barrier on the other side. This was a sad end to his season, but he got a time and his 71.40 not only made him fastest tortoise, but also gave him the "classic" class win! Swifty (355), Peter Rogerson (360), Tracey Haynes (328), Jeff Cooper (360) and Sean Doyle (GT4) were to record their best times on R2. Sean closed to just over a tenth off PG, which will have pleased him greatly.

Richard Prior went straight on at Orchard and there was a long delay whilst the marshals worked out how to get him out without grounding on the kerbs. John Marshall must have had a moment as he was down in the 70s. Nick Taylor made no mistake on his second run. His 66.29 would give him second overall and the 20 points after PEPs, meaning that he has a perfect score for the season, 160 points (20 x 8 rounds) to count. Chris Butler overshot at the bottom of the hill and was slower, but Mineeff was quicker, extending his lead with a 65.79.

The weather gradually changed as the day went on and it was cold and windy when the Ferraris' third runs started at 16.45 after long delays with many offs at the final corner. Richard Allen and Mike Furness, guesting in Nick Taylor's car (sorry no pic) improved, but sadly Mike Spicer was another victim of the last corner, crunching the front of his car. After waiting for ever on the start line for all this to sort itself out, Christian Mineeff still improved, though by just five hundredths and then had to wait to see if Taylor or Butler could beat him. To make it worse, Spicer's incident meant that John Marshall was flagged and would get a re-run!

Taylor stopped the clocks on 66.62, Butler was slower on 67.48, so now there was only the mighty Scud..... 68.93, nowhere near, so Mineeff took his first ever win in the PFHC. As it turned out, he'd crossed the line with two wheels over the kerb, so his final run time was disallowed, but either of the two earlier runs would have done the job.

An analysis of the PEPs shows just how close much of it was, with Mineeff in third just two-hundredths quicker than Butler. For 7-10th place Preece was 0.06 ahead of Whitehead, who was 0.04 ahead of Ransford, who was 0.11 ahead of Holman. Prior got the 17 points for second and this means that the battle for second place in the Championship between him and Butler would go down to the final round.