Cosby Edges Up

Snetterton is not always the most popular venue and this, together with a few car casualties from earlier races, meant that the PMFC field was a little light in quantity but pretty good on quality.

The overall win, however, was clearly going to be disputed by the two 12-cylinder cars of Ian Hetherington (F50) and Alan Cosby (F512M), who are making the Category "S" battle into quite a feature of this year's Ferrari Challenge.

Hetherington duly took pole positions in Sunday morning's qualifying but only narrowly ahead of Cosby. Third quickest, albeit a couple of seconds in arrears, was David Ashburn, who was having his first-ever drive in a 355/Ch rented from Martin Barrett. Normally one of the best of the "O" class pilots, Ashburn had to forsake his own 355 after its big off at the Thruxton race. Graham Reeder (355/Ch) and Peter Lowe (308GT4) were next, just a whisker ahead of Phil Nuttall (355/Ch) and John Avery (355/Ch).

In the "O" class Gary Culver (F355) took the quickest time ahead of the similar tipos of Shaun Powell and series returnee Simon Bartholomew.

The race start was due at 2.00 p.m. and a few large summer rain drops began to fall, but luckily they disappeared and the race remained dry. When the lights turned to green Hetherington's F50 hesitated and Cosby took the lead ahead of Ashburn's Challenge, then the F50 and then the two further Challenge cars of Reeder and Avery. By the next lap, however, Hetherington sailed passed Ashburn and set off after the leading Cosby.

Whilst the position amongst the two leading cars remained static to the finish the battle behind between the four 355/Chs of Ashburn, Reeder, Avery and Nuttall became close and exciting. Ashburn managed to hang on to the class win and third overall, with Avery somehow managing to keep Reeder behind and Nuttall eventually finishing in sixth place, just ahead of Lowe's 308.

The "O" class had a turn up for the books when Shaun Powell initially took the lead from Culver but after two separate spins he retired into the pits with a blowing exhaust manifold, leaving Culver as the winner but with Bartholomew not all that far behind.

Cosby's win has further decreased the gap between himself and Hetherington in the championship table and only 12 points now separate them, which is less than the 16 points available for a win. In the other two classes the leadership positions are much clearer, with Culver handily ahead of Powell and Ashburn in the "O" class, and Reeder similarly having a good lead over Avery and Nuttall in the Challenge class.

The next round of the Championship takes place at Croft on 19th/20th August.