Despite the doom and gloom of the financial world we had optimistically lined up the usual venues for the 2009 Pirelli Ferrari Hillclimb Championship season. Some of the venue/clubs were unsure of breaking even and some were having trouble over agreements with landowners hence we couldn't commit Cadwell or Longleat to the calendar.

But despite this small setback we still had 14 rounds to look forward to, starting with the traditional sprint in the cold/rain/sleet/ice-cold wind (delete as necessary) of North Weald in deepest Essex. It may not be the most inspiring of tracks but we rarely find any alternatives this early in the year, and it makes a good shakedown event to blow the cobwebs away. Two new competitors had joined in the championship this year, Joe Billingham turned out in his 360 and Julian Playford was entered but unfortunately didn’t have his 355 ready for combat until later in the season.

Andrew Holman started with high championship aspirations (aiming to beat his third place in 2008) along with help and advice from his management team of Richard Allen. He started well, taking the 20 points from North Weald, but his exuberance came to an abrupt end with a frightening accident when in the next round he left the tarmac in a big way at Bouley Bay. Thankfully he was in good condition, alas the car wasn’t so lucky....

The event was also memorable for having the class record broken by three Ferrari drivers on the same run, and the two quickest had exactly the same time! The record is now held jointly by John Marshall (430 Scuderia) and Richard Prior in the 348 ts. Unfortunately we won’t be able to return to Bouley Bay until 2011, but the scenery should have grown back at the Goodwin/Holman curve by then.

Round 3 at Harewood saw the debut  of Julian Playford in the 355 and Peter Rogerson had brought his 360 Modena out for its first run on a hill.  Chris Butler (355) snatched the scratch win from John Marshall in the 430 Scuderia by just 0.18 of a second and started his championship campaign with 15 points. Prior took his second 20 pointer in a row and was moving slowly away from Nick Taylor (348GTC) who was in the runner up spot.

This wasn’t to last, as Nick found his form from the next round at Prescott and continued collecting the max. 20 points per event for most of the rest of the season.....

The entertainment at this one day Prescott meeting is unrivalled. "La Vie en Bleu" is a celebration of all things French, from strolling accordion players, mime artists and Can-Can dancers, and of course the range of French cars from almost 100 Bugattis to classic Renaults and Citroens. The non-French attractions included a Battle of Britain memorial flypast in the lunch break and of course the PFHC competitors! This is an unmissable weekend and anyone who enjoys the Goodwood Revival and Festival of Speed will certainly feel at home here.

John Marshall had more than his fair share of class wins this year but perhaps not surprisingly with the most advanced Ferrari road car in the series. He took the first place trophy not only at Prescott, but Shelsley Walsh, the dry Loton Round and the Curborough 2 lapper. The 430 Scuderia really is a formidable car, taking class records at these venues and sure to add to them next season under John’s excellent driving.

The optimistic weather forecasters had predicted a summer of BBQ-ing conditions and that we'd all be holidaying in the UK. They were partly right, as the only wet round this year was in July at the first Loton, where Brian Jackson excelled in the conditions which suited the 308 GTB’s moderate power and agile handling perfectly.

Mike Spicer (355) hasn’t finished in a championship trophy position yet, but again came as close as possible by a fine 4th place (snatched from Andrew Holman - 355) by a deciding factor when they tied on 102 points each) Mike’s best score was at Gurston Down with 17 points and a class win despite the competition from Nick Taylor, Holman and Prior. Mike will be missed during 2010 as he takes a break from the series after more than 10 years of friendly competition, as will Barrie Wood who has also been taking a sabbatical for most of this year.

The close competition continued up until the last round at the October Curborough where, even though Nick Taylor had the title sewn up before the meeting, all the drivers were trying as hard as possible. This shows in the personal best times set by Christian Mineeff (360M - who took the class win) Holman, Marshall, Taylor, Spicer, Butler, Prior, Whitehead (355), Richard Preece (348GTC) and Sean Doyle (308GT4).

Sean’s driving has improved this year thanks to the enhanced suspension set-up on his car, really making the difference on cornering, but his remarkable 0 to 64ft time of 2.20 seconds at Harewood must come from his natural ability of driving around London from traffic light to traffic light. What a shame the record was taken back by Mike Spicer just 2 weeks later at Curborough and now stands at 2.19 seconds - the fastest ever time for a Ferrari road car in the championship’s history.

Curborough also saw the welcome return of the Hitchmans. Lorraine turned out in her 328 which had been used rarely in the last couple of years when not competing, but soon found her form and enthusiasm once she took to the track. Lorraine and Chris made up the fourth husband and wife partnership of the season, joining Tracey and Charles Haynes, Wendy and John Marshall, and Pauline and Jon Goodwin.

Jon Goodwin carried his 1% champions PEP this season, and turned out mostly in the 550 Maranello to cruise to the events but once on the track drove with as much determination as ever, throwing the big car around with his usual skill and flair.

Nick Taylor thoroughly deserved the winner’s title, and competed in every one of the 14 rounds, and despite starting the season with just 10 points from his first outing he soon had the GTC performing exceptionally, to take the maximum possible from the 8 scores making up the championship table.

Other committed competitors deserving a mention include Richard Prior who also took part in 14 rounds, and Pauline Goodwin with 13 rounds who only missing the final round at Curborough due to a date clash with her son’s wedding, but finished in her highest place of 8th in the championship.

Mike Spicer competed in 12 events , Andrew Holman and Sean Doyle in 11, and Chris Butler, Christian Mineeff, John Marshall and Wendy Marshall all finished the season with 10 rounds on the scoreboard.

Thank you to all who competed and followed the series in 2009, and to the comprehensive coverage that Graham Easter and Christian Mineeff have given the series on the website during the year. This wouldn’t be possible without the contributions from the photographers and budding reporters (here we must mention especially Dave Clark) who have submitted material promptly for each and every event, long may it continue as enthusiastically for next season.  Richard and Angela Preece have also been a great help with the scoreboard and instant calculations on the PEPs thanks to Richard’s spreadsheet on the laptop, saving much work at the end of the competitive runs when everyone wants to see the results as soon as possible.

We must give a huge thanks to our hardworking championship coordinator Anne Swift and to the continued support from our title sponsor Pirelli, who have ensured that the championship is presented professionally and that we are kept in tyres for the wide range of Tipo used in the series.

Next up: North Weald : 14 March 2010.

Click here for (official) championship positions.

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