PIRELLI MARANELLO FERRARI CHALLENGE

• The PMFC schedule has been a touch hectic of late and with less than a week’s interval between the Oulton Park and the Brands races, the crews who keep the racing Ferraris running deserve a thought - but as they are mostly hardened professionals - it’s this: it could be MUCH WORSE lads - it could be F3 with all those young drivers’ Dads shouting at you.…

• Taking shelter under the JMH awning, in case it rained, was Bo McCormick’s "Silver Dream Machine" – a Harley Davidson of epic proportions, which Bo bravely rides for fun when the sun is shining. It created almost as much spectator interest as the Ferraris. He now just needs a Spitfire, a Riva and a Supermodel to complete the ultimate collection of “Big Boys Toys”.

• The scrutineers confiscated Kevin Riley’s historic orange overalls, which they found to be well past their sell-by date and he was obliged to borrow an up-to-date race suit from Damax team principal, Robin Ward. It is believed that the Donington Collection is destined to be the final resting place for Riley’s overalls.

• On Saturday morning the weather was quite nice, but a gust of wind caught out Team Gamski as they attempted to erect their huge white marquee in the paddock. As they desperately hung on to the canvas, the framework was instantly transformed into a twisted pile of useless metal tubes. They were rudely exposed to the elements for the rest of the meeting. Pluckily they made the best of it, smiling at the end of the day as they poured en masse into an American open coupé of gargantuan proportions, but probably smaller engine capacity than Bo’s Harley.

• Pirelli’s Pete Hopkinson was having a relatively easy time for a change after working flat out on tyre supply the previous two weekends. The damp conditions had meant that race tyres weren’t being worn out as fast as normal. Pirelli’s shares fell by 10% when the Borsa Milano opened on Monday.

• The Williamson/Charneca 355 had the honour of being the loudest in the noise test. At 105 deciBonkers it outdid all the normally throatier 360s, but nevertheless was passed fit for racing. Could it be that the silencer, repaired by Phil “Blue Peter” Nuttall at Donington, has finally given up the ghost? If so, the loudest howling in the PMFC will come from all these Yorkshire blokes faced with the prospect of forking out for a new one.

• When the cars returned to parc fermé Eligibility Scrutineer, John May, carried out a thorough check on electronics. The presence of a “Spin” cycle in the boxes explains a lot. Apparently, they were Zanussi surplus stock and that bit of the program was supposed to have been disabled.

• Peter Sowerby’s pole time of 50.721 seconds beat J*hn P*gs*n’s ‘M’ class record of 51.63, set in 1999 with an F40, which shows just how quick the sophisticated 360/Ch is compared to the more powerful but primitive older tipo. However, the Category ‘C’ quickest time of 52.763, recorded by Witt Gamski, was just a bit shy of Nicky Paul-Barron’s existing 355/Ch record of 52.47 (again set in 1999), so maybe the 355/Chs are beginning to get a bit tired.

• As usual, the prize giving took place in the Club marquee, with the presentations made by Viv P-B (the thinking tifoso's crumpet). The Wilkinson Trophy was won by Ted Reddick for his heroic climb through the field to victory in Race 1. Ted’s pleasure was dampened somewhat by the news that he may have broken his engine’s crankshaft during R2.

• With three rounds to go, the Championship points table makes interesting reading. In Category ‘S’, Peter Sowerby’s reign at the top of the table has come to an end, with Phil Burton taking over the lead by just one point. Firmly in third and only 11 points in arrears is Marco Attard who scored well at Brands. In ‘C’ class, Ted Reddick is looking almost uncatchable with a 48 point advantage over second placed man Witt Gamski. Almost together on near equal points are the next four drivers: David Dove, Mike Reeder, Vince Woodman and Les Charneca, any one of whom could finish in third, or even second position by the end of the season.

Click here to return to the Pirelli Maranello Ferrari Challenge page.

Dove's a funny name really ...

...for a bloke that'll have a go at anything that moves

Williamson/Charneca 355 was the loudest car in the field

Ted Reddick had a mixed weekend, but looks uncatchable in the 'C' Class title race...

...but the rest of it is wide open

pics by Paul/Fotografia Corse