PADDOCK STORIES

• On the road both of the PMFC races were won by guest driver Roberto Vaglieti in his incredibly raucous 360/Ch. He was the only one who fitted slicks for the first race and therefore had a tremendous advantage, whereas in the second race he only finished some four seconds ahead of our own John Seale.
  
  
• Phil Nuttall could not believe his eyes when Ben Orza's 355/Ch blasted past him in a ball of spray during qualifying. He assumed Ben had gone for some lessons but only later found out that it was, in fact, Fred Moss who was showing the car which way was up.
  
  
• Hard man of the weekend was undoubtedly Shaun Powell. He fell off his scooter on Thursday and then hobbled round the paddock in acute pain, drove two good races in his 355 and took his motorhome all the way back to England before seeing a doctor. It turned out he had not only a broken leg but a broken ankle and torn ligaments as well. Twelve weeks in plaster! Best wishes from all of us, Shaun....
  
  
• Whilst some drivers get their fun by winning the race, others get the same thrill by achieving their personal goals. Duncan McKay has long had the fantasy of finishing ahead of John Swift and he finally did it in Round 3, when he crossed the line some 12 seconds ahead. In Round 4, however, Swifty got his revenge and the roles were reversed.
  
  
• The podium prize-giving, which at Spa is a very opulent affair, nearly went wrong when the non-PMFC runners, who were called forward first, walked off with all the magnificent PMFC trophies leaving none for our own boys. Anne Swift was soon seen, steely-eyed with jack handle in hand, scouring the paddock for the missing trophies. Only one was retrieved, the others had already high-tailed it home.
  
  
• Often quiet and demure, racers' women can certainly show another side of their personality. As Simon Bartholomew was racing his way up through the field Susan was increasingly jumping up and down uttering encouragements and using words that brought many a red face to those around her. Still, it seemed to do the job.
  
  
• A little perplexing this: the quickest 360 Challenge lap in the PMFC race was 2:46 minutes but the European 360s in their race were down to 2:37 minutes. Where can the difference lie?
  
  
• After the wholesale destruction of wet-weather tyres during Saturday's race there was an immediate rush towards the Pirelli truck for new supplies in case Sunday was also wet. There were, however, no tyres available as preference was given to the European 360 runners, of which there were plenty. Some frantic efforts were made to try to borrow used wets but in the event the second race was dry and the problem went away.
  
  
• For his great drive during the first race, Simon Bartholomew was presented with the Wilkinson Driver of the Meeting award, and John Seale's lovely 360/Ch was awarded the Wine and Beer Trophy for Best Turned Out Car.
  
  
• What is the Prancing Horse Movement? They kidnapped Alan Cosby's much-loved Prancing Horse logo from his paddock mat and left behind a ransom note. Alan was not at all amused and all efforts at recovery have so far proved fruitless. Who's got it then??
  

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