ROUND 7 : Doune : 19/20 June 2010

by Sean Doyle

The Hydro Dunblane was a welcome sight to the hardcore hillclimbers on Friday afternoon as they arrived from various parts of the globe. Doyle thought he travelled the furthest coming from Surrey but was beaten by Mad Dog Holman (again) who flew in from Berlin. Andrew was joined in Scotland by his wife Yvonne as just like the Royal family, they travelled separately.

The weather was superb and, with the cars parked in front of the very impressive hotel, the world looked good from where we were. Sprits were high, with many hoping the English football team would kick start the weekend against the Algerians. Sadly not even the RAC could get the team going, so after quickly putting that disappointing performance behind us we built ourselves up for the first of many big events over the weekend “THE CURRY” which I’m pleased to say more than filled our expectations and stomachs. After a wee dram in the hotel bar it was off to bed.

Fantastic weather greeted us in the morning at breakfast, followed by the short drive to Doune. After the briefing it was a mad scramble to get a seat in a 4x4 driven by one of the marshals to see which way the track goes. We all managed to fit into one vehicle for a reminder why hillclimbers love to scare themselves every few weeks. Various gems of advice were offered by most: this needs to be taken flat, don’t brake here etc. Doyle who was on his first visit was strangely quiet, a rare treat for everyone. With car preparations and scrutineering completed without problems, practice was about to start. Among the regulars was the welcome sight of locals Gavin and John Shirley in their 355.

Practice 1 was completed without drama with Butler (355) up to speed, eager to demonstrate that he meant business, Taylor (348GTC) a little over 2 seconds behind, followed by Prior. P2 saw the improvements expected, Butler maintaining his grip on the lead with his usual neat and very fast driving style. Taylor mentioned his “Sticky Paws“ (1B tyres) were starting to warm up, with the ever-improving Prior in his ex-Spicer 355 starting to look like his old spectacular self. Gooders was making the 550 look thunderous in the narrow tunnel-like track whilst both the Shirley boys were going very well in the family 355.

The final practice session of the day saw a big improvement in confidence for all, with Taylor edging young Butler, followed by Prior. Mad Dog gave his army of fans plenty to cheer about with a 2 second improvement, while Pauline Goodwin kept Doyle well behind her by also going a couple of seconds quicker. Whilst all this was going on Richard Allen couldn’t decide what best combination to use regarding his glasses. He tried driving with/without his driving/reading glasses and although he claimed not to have noticed any difference he still managed to improve considerably with every run.

So with Saturday practice successfully completed we headed back to the splendid facilities of the Dunblane Hydro to prepare for the tough night ahead. Some went swimming whilst others just relaxed in the pleasant surroundings, enjoying the fantastic weather. As is normal we all gathered in the bar before dinner joined by a large fun group of Scottish Club members who brought along some lovely Ferraris, helping to make the parking out front look very impressive. The food and drink bestowed upon us was excellent, creating a great atmosphere which led to a good time being had by all.

Sunday again provided fantastic weather, with everyone excited about the day ahead. One more practice run saw times improved for most people, the exception being Mr & Mrs Goodwin. Butler again pipped Taylor, with Prior well in the groove with a 52.85 with Allen behind. Holman did improve but was disappointed with his time. Doyle broke into the 59s with PG slightly slower but her best was yet to come.

Approaching midday, the moment we’ve all being waiting for, the first timed run. The Scottish Area boys and girls had turned out in force creating a brilliant display of cars in the adjoining car park. Their owners lined the banks of the bottom esses to urge us on - no pressure then!

Pauline was away first, stopping the clock on 57.69, her best of the weekend, a good performance showing what a fierce competitor she always is! Jon was to follow in the massive 550 up holding family honour by again going quicker. Nobody knows what Prior had for breakfast but the boy just got better with a 52.53 and he emerged rom his car with a big smile just in time to see Butler fly up the hill in 51.58 to really up the temperature. The back end of the Butler 355 stepped out a few times which isn’t his normal style, but showed just how hard he was trying.

Holman was a little off his best, probably due to pressure caused by the large number of fans who turned up to watch him. Doyle managed to throw the old GT4 up the hill in 58.45 which was not enough to catch arch rival PG. Next up was Nick Taylor who set the hill on fire with a scintillating 51.34 followed by RA setting his best time of 55.25 in the Specsavers Rat 328 to comfortably take the "Classic Cup". Gavin Shirley knocked 2.5 seconds off his previous time to record 54.98, whilst John went quicker by over a second to stop the clock on 53.65.

During the long lunch break after the first Top 12 runoff, the meeting organisers had kindly agreed to Chris Butler’s idea of a convoy run up the hill of all the Ferraris present including the impressive turn out from the Scottish Area Groups. All passenger seats were filled as spectators and marshals were eager to see what the daunting and narrow hill looked liked from inside the cars and although at much slower speeds it provided a great perspective for the non-competitors.

The second timed run saw few improvements, with Prior again putting in a fearless performance with a 52.13 along with slightly better times from Gavin (54.72) and Mad Dog (56.39).

So Nick Taylor took the scratch win but Butler, who was second o/a, maintaining his vice-like grip on the Championship by going away with the 20 points. Prior was third o/a and took second placed (17) points, Taylor taking the third place 15. Everyone left Doune having enjoyed a truly memorable weekend helped by the hospitality received from the Lothian Car Club, which was second to none. To those regular hillclimbers who have not yet ventured north of the Border this is without doubt the best example of why we love participating in this sport.

Carlsberg don’t do Hillclimb venues, but if they did………………………..