The two day meeting at Shelsley is always a bit of an enigmatic one.  Everyone loves the hugely historic venue but waiting around for two days just to get four runs tries everyone’s patience.

Still, there are always plenty of other attractions at this busy meeting. It’s a British Championship event  so all the big boys are there with their spectacular machinery, and this year there was also a 40th anniversary celebration for the Jaguar E-type (or was it 50, I forget, and I never liked them anyway). Celebs like David Franklin and Barrie Williams did some very quick runs in various historic E-types (and C- and D-types).

As for the Ferrari lot there was a good entry as always at Shelsley, with no less than 17 in the programme although we had one non-starter when Sean Doyle didn’t turn up. All this season’s front runners were there: championship leader Nick Taylor (348GTC), Richard Prior (355),  Chris Butler (355) and Andrew Holman (355), with Mike Spicer hoping to add to his points total in his yellow 328 that’s been creeping up the league table with some good PEP placings. Further down it was good to see three 360 in the entry list, with newcomer Steve Routledge being joined by old hands Jeff Cooper and Peter Rogerson

The weather outlook wasn’t great but for Saturday’s practice runs the track stayed dry. The curious batch system at Shelsley meant that the Ferraris went up in willy-nilly fashion but track conditions were very similar and gave a representative picture of who was hot and who not.

After P1 it was Prior who was in front, on an exceptionally quick time of 34.73 secs but just a smidgeon behind was Butler (34.91). Phil Whitehead (355) was a surprise third on 35.87 ahead of Nick Taylor on 36.01.

The second practice runs confirmed the form. Prior was again quickest, on a 33.50, knocking almost on class-record time, with Butler speeding up to a 34.20 and Holman now slotting into third on 35.07. Spicer set a remarkable 36.15 and was beginning to look good for some big points if he could keep this up on Sunday.....

And then, rubbish weather on the day when it mattered! Dark clouds soon brought on and off drizzle, the track varied from wet to damp several times during the day, and the already daunting Shelsley track would require an extra lot of bravery to cope with these slithery conditions.

As ever, the class seeding at Shelsley was bizarre and one wonders why they don’t get it right [our organisers always offer but are seldom taken up on it - Ed]. Chris Butler was running fifth in the order and Colin Campbell second to last in the little underpowered Dino. We hoped that the varying weather would not produce a freak result but in the end it was the same for everyone.

By the time of the first Ferrari runs the meeting was running perilously late with a number of ‘offs’ in the tricky conditions. The single seaters in particular were finding it hard to stay on the black stuff, possibly because the damp track got everyone confused as to whether slicks, intermediates or wet tyres should be used. Some used a combination of them!

No such worries for the Ferraris as they lined up on their standard road tyres. First away was Tracy Haynes (328) who had no reference point about track conditions ahead of her, so she recorded a steady 47-sec run just to check things out. Steve Routledge went a second quicker in his 360 as did Jeff Cooper, but Rogerson found it a bit too daunting and did a 48.

And then, to confirm the daft running order, we had potentially the quickest runner, Chris Butler, who set a tremendously brave time of 41.11 without knowing the true track conditions. Prior, running next, had the benefit of this and set a mighty 40.26 to move to the top of the standings. Whitehead, next up, also took faith from the previous quick times to set a 40.94 and moved into second place. John Swift (355) was not quite in this league but did a spirited 43.63 whilst Andy Duncan (348GTC) did a 45.81.

Richard Allen was next up and also set a stunning time – 40.89 and into second place but this didn’t last long as Taylor then howled the GTC up in 40.30 to take second, just four hundreds behind class leader Prior. Pauline Goodwin, in her circuit racing 328 this time, was also very quick on a 42.63 but Spicer’s 328 was able to shade this with a 41.61. Sergio Ransford (308), his car struggling a little on this steep power hill, went up in 44.05 before we then had the little Dino of Colin Campbell. This took over a minute to get to the top which, if O-level maths still serves me, is an average speed of about 33 mph.

And then the final runner, Holman in the noisy 355, who set another excellent time in the conditions – 40.58 and into third slot. So in the lead after the first runs was Prior ahead of Taylor and Holman, with Butler ruing his caution and languishing down in sixth.

The on-off drizzle continued into the afternoon although by the time the Ferraris came out for their second runs there appeared to be a small dry line on the track. The times of the early runners were a second or two quicker than on their first runs and this gave Butler the confidence he needed.  Taking his courage firmly in both hands he stormed up the still slithery track in 37.96, over three seconds quicker than on his first run, and into the lead. Prior, running next, improved by over two seconds but it was just not enough to stay ahead and he slotted into second.

Whitehead failed to improve on his first run time and dropped down the results, and it was left to the Allen/Taylor/Holman trio to settle the remaining places behind Butler and Prior. Taylor narrowly squeaked into third on a 39.04 ahead of Holman on 39.19 and Allen on 39.81, all courageous times in very tricky conditions.  Swifty slotted into an excellent sixth place, having improved by over three seconds from his first run time.

Such was the margin of Butler’s win that, despite his champion’s extra one percent handicap, he still took the 20 points once the PEPs had been applied, with Prior on 17 and Taylor on 15. The latter continues to lead the championship after six rounds from Prior.

Click here for (unofficial) results and points.

Click here for (unofficial) Championship positions.

Next up: Doune : 18/19th June.

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