PADDOCK STORIES

• Having paid double entry fees for two races, our drivers were rather miffed to find out that there was just one practice session which would count for both grids. It was not even a case of first race results deciding the grid for the second race as happened at Castle Combe.

• Nothing like gambling on a long shot. As the drizzle came steadily down at the start of Race 1, Ben Orza was the only one to leave his car on slicks - just in case we had a monsoon of sunshine. Unkinder souls, however, suggested that maybe lack of time to change to wets was the deciding factor, rather than strategic vision.

• Rosie's back! David Ingram-Hills' 328GTB, in which he made his GMFC debut at Silverstone, is rather a famous old car. It has already won the "O" class Championship in both 1991 (Robin Mortimer) and 1992 (Martin Shaw). David picked difficult weather conditions in which to make his debut and was lucky when the Clerk of the Course allowed him to start the race, having only completed two and seven eighths laps in practice following a spin at Luffield. Speaking of Mortimer, he intimated that he would return to the Series as team manager for no less than four cars in 2000.

• The scrutineering bay saw "O" class cars being checked with a laptop diagnostic system for ECU compliance. All were legal but, would you believe it, all were found to be well below optimum settings. One unkind person was heard to comment that it was time this lot whipped their cars round to a Ferrari dealer for a proper set up.

• Autosport magazine has suddenly re-discovered the GMFC and gave the race headline coverage. Pity the organisers didn't think about the tremendous attraction of two 35-grid Ferrari races when they allocated the Ferraris paddock spots in the back of beyond. The Porsches, in the meantime, were nicely in their dry pit garages.

• As usual the hospitality marquee was bustling with visitors. This time, however, there was little joy for those who crowded round the TV watching the peculiar events at the European GP. Eddie's three wheels would have been hilarious if it hadn't been so silly. Nice to see Minardi score a point before BAR, with umpteen times their budget, have ever done so.

• As throughout the season the number of starters in each of the three GMFC classes was fairly similar, it becomes a valid exercise to see who secured the most points and thus might be considered the overall champion. This table would be headed by Fred Moss (175 points), Marco Attard (144), Ian Hetherington (138), Colin Davids (137), Nicky Paul-Barron (123) and Shaun Powell (120). Good job then, wasn't it, that Freddie Moss was chosen as Pysgnosis Driver of the Year.

• The Guest of Honour at the prize-giving dinner on the Sunday night was Jack Sears. He also completed a few tremendous laps of the circuit demonstrating Peter Hardman's 330LMB similar to the one in which he finished fifth at Le Mans in 1963. The LMB was run in what was described as "full noise" trim and its wailing exhaust could be heard all around the circuit. Jack and his charming wife, Diana, clearly enjoyed themselves in the evening also!

• The infamous Mr. Big was finally exposed by Swifty at the prize-giving dinner - it turned out to be none other than Ray Ferguson. His cover name should have given us a clue. Speaking of Swifty, he had a thoroughly good race on Sunday. Having qualified down in 24th place, he got his blue 308 moving excellently when the conditions got difficult and drove his way up to an easy 16th overall and sixth in the "M" class.

• Paul Jarmyn and Carol Fairchild worked like trojans throughout the weekend to frame numerous pictures of the various GMFC competitors. The work is of exceptional quality and Paul has promised an amazing calendar covering the 1999 season if he can get 100 orders together. Contact him on paul.teejaygraphics@btinternet.com.

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