Compres 089 by CompResults

FERRARICOMPETITIONRESULTS

CompRes

The Finish of the Season.

ISSUE 089 OCTOBER 2013

CompRes Chevy Chase, Leeds Road, Selby, North Yorkshire YO8 4JH T: +44 (0) 1757-702 053 F: +44 (0) 1757-290 547 E: cs.man@btinternet.com

CompRes is available by subscription and is published 10 times a year for the FERRARI OWNERS’ CLUB

FERRARICOMPETITIONRESULTS RA IS BACK! We are delighted that RA is feeling much better after his attack of the dreaded shingles virus, and well enough to hit the keys on his computer to resume production of his inimitable ‘RA Hill Comment’ feature. Last month, if you recall, we produced a little synopsis on the perils of shingles and this seems to have been of value to at least one reader. He rang to say “I didn’t get beyond page 1 of CompRes after reading the article at breakfast time. By lunch I had been to see the doctor and arranged to have the jab. Thanks very much indeed.” Perhaps we should make a Medical Column a regular feature!

PHIL STAFFORD

We are very sad to record the death of Phil Stafford, the proprietor of Rosneath Engineering and an enthusiastic supporter of the Club’s Pirelli Ferrari formula classic series. He prepared the 308GT4 that was so competently driven by his son, Richard. Phil passed away on 13th October after a 4-month battle with pancreatic cancer. His funeral was on 25th October at St Michael & All Angels Church, Withyham. John Day, who attended the service, told us that

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the church was packed with over 200 of his friends and relations to pay their last respects to an incredibly kind, modest and very gentle man. Meg, his wife, tells us that it was Phil’s wish that Rosneath Engineering should continue and this is her intention. We send our condolences to Meg and Richard at this sad time

LAST ORDERS FOR DINNER For those who need reminding, the cut-off date for the release of our block-booked accommodation at the Cotswold Water Park Hotel is Friday, 15th November. After this date the hotel may release any untaken rooms. Applications for tickets for the Presentation Dinner on 30th November are ticking along nicely but we can still take further bookings. There are lots of trophies to be awarded on the night and we do ask that if you are a likely recipient and are unable to attend, you nominate someone to pick up your prize. Finally, if you have mislaid the details and/or your ticket application form, please alert Anne as soon as possible and she will email you the pack. Her contact address is: annemswift@btinternet.com

HILLCLIMBERS DINNER The dust has now settled on yet another splendid End of Year Dinner at Moore Place. Everyone enjoyed the evening and it was expertly organised, as usual, by Richard Prior, Sally MaynardSmith and Richard Allen. Anne and I would like give thanks for the much appreciated array of gifts. The sublime bottles of red are coming up to room temperature nicely and will

be impaled by the corkscrew very soon. We have assembled the usual gallery of photographs from the evening and these are reproduced later in this issue. Richard Prior had his Championship winning F355 on display at the entrance to the hotel and we understand that at some point Caroline Cooper tried it for size. She pronounced that it fitted perfectly and we gather that a nice red one has now been added to the Cooper stable.

2014 REGULATIONS This is a busy time of the year for the Club’s various race and hillclimb regulatory committees. Next season’s rules are currently being formulated and we hope that the regulations will be with the printer sometime during December. In the case of the PFHC, which is an MSA championship, there may be a delay since our national governing body insists on giving their written approval before we are permitted to issue any documentation. So far as the Classic race series is concerned, the hot topic of conversation at the moment is what tyres we shall be using next year. After much discussion with our friends at Pirelli we can confirm that for 2014 we shall have the option of two control tyres, both of which will be suitable for the existing 17-in diameter Speedline wheels which Pirelli supplied this season. Option 1 will be the P Zero Rosso that was used in 2013. Option 2 will be an MSA List 1B treaded tyre. Full details are not yet available but will be published as soon as possible. Next season looks like being very interesting! 

RA’s HILLCOMMENT The 2013 PFHC Season drew to a close at the Midland AC’s Curborough meeting in October (reported in this issue), and once again there was a really impressive Ferrari turnout. Curborough is a strange place in that it appears to lack the charisma or ambience of the more notable venues, but consistently attracts very strong entries. Maybe it is a combination of several things: it is simple but challenging, and even technical, whatever that means! Reasonably safe, with good spectating facilities, and a relaxed atmosphere that all adds up to Curborough’s popularity. Years ago people remarked about never really looking forward to going there but always thoroughly enjoying the actual event – still very true today. Great Fun was had at the Prizegiving Dinner on October 26th. Always very relaxed and sociable, this year’s event was greatly enhanced by the hillclimb simulator that Richard Prior had organised for the teatime gathering of our boys and girls. This proved hugely popular and was set up to simulate Loton Park. Pretty soon there was a really hot competition going on for the fastest time. Richard Preece, inspired by his recent success at Curborough, put in a time that looked to be the winner but a late entry from none other than Chris Butler topped the chart. After all this excitement we settled in to the usual Moore Place PFHC Dinner routine and it all went very well – probably because I was not so much involved! Inevitably I had been able to spend less time than usual leading up to the event, and Richard Prior and Sally Maynard-Smith took over much of my responsibility. I thought

they did a great job and everybody attending seemed to enjoy themselves – there were even some compliments about the food! Matteo Torre as many of you will know has headed up Ferrari North Europe for the last few years. He was of course the architect of the sensational Guinness World Record we established at Ferrari Racing Days in September 2012, and has always been very supportive of our club. Now Matteo and his lovely wife Sofia (see pic with RA’s Nembo Spider) are moving back to Italy, where he is to be responsible for Sales and After Sales globally, reporting directly to the Ferrari SpA CEO. We wish them every success for the future. The PFHC Series Regulations were, as usual, given their annual review by the Technical & Regulatory Committee at Moore Place on the weekend of the Prizegiving Dinner. In case you don’t know who they are, the members on this committee are listed in

Ferrari News each year, namely Richard Prior, John Swift, Sally Maynard–Smith, Barrie Wood, Richard Allen, Gerry Walton and Anne Swift. We do as a matter of course look closely at the statistics relating to the season just completed as part of our determination of the upcoming season’s calendar, and what, if any, changes are needed to the Regulations. We also carefully go through any representations for improvement or change made by the participants. This year these were considerable in number but only came from two or three of the competitors, and inevitably mostly driven from their own position. Our policy over very many years is to keep the regulations as simple as we are able within the bounds of MSA requirements. Being a registered MSA Speed Championship the PFHC regulations have to be formatted to their requirements, which is invariably restrictive as you can imagine. We are unable, as has been suggested, to formalise the Classic Cup as a separate

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competition without considerable administrative complexity. Many of you will know that it has always been our policy to keep the cars entered as standard as possible to make it easy for Club members to enter the series. An apparent surfeit of obviously modified and hot cars would be off-putting, which is why we do not allow Challenge cars to enter. We have no intention of changing this policy, which has been the series ethos for many years. Its success is reflected by the consistently high entry levels. The changes for 2014 are few and none are likely to have an undue affect on your car or plans. My PFHC Season has been sparse to say the least, confined to just Harewood, Shelsley Walsh and the first Curborough - easily the least amount of rounds for me since the series started in the eighties. This year I knew would be difficult as besides clashes with Formula Classic there were other Club events, such as the Concours, that would take me out. What I did not know was that I would miss the last part of the season through illness. It seems a shame then that this coincided with both my F355 working properly at last, and immediately after I had given the 328 a serious seeing to, or more correctly Robin Ward at Damax did. Apart from oil and cam belt changes plus occasionally spark

plugs, the engine had seen no attention in thirteen years and that included valve adjustment. It was, though, leaking oil out of every known orifice and an embarrassment when in a circuit race garage – especially one with a marble floor! Anyway, Robin removed the engine and changed all the necessary seals and gaskets, plus suspect hoses. He also renewed the red crackle finish and generally spruced the engine bay up (see pic). It now looks terrific and is much faster too! New Steed for Caroline Cooper with a very nice red F355 added to the family stable. Jeff Cooper tells me they were looking around for a GTB variant for some time, eventually finding a suitable one that had been in Selby for many years nearby to the Swifts, who apparently had never seen the car. Anyway, John and Anne soon went along for a look, reporting back that the car seemed as good as new and even had a matching Ferrari luggage set! Caroline, who has shown great promise so far with the 360, should go very well – the 355 is an easier car to drive on the hills than the more nervous 360.

Old Steed for Jon Goodwin now he has taken delivery of his 250SWB replica built by GTO Engineering. If you are questioning the ‘old’ part then of course the bodywork will be new, but the mechanical components are refurbished sixties components. The car is inevitably red and with black interior, and you can be sure it will be superb - quite apart from Jon being very discerning, GTO Engineering are known to be amongst the best for this sort of project. We look RA’s 328GTB engine has been given forward to seeing Jon the concours treatment.

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in action with this 250GT next season. South Cerney is another blast from the past venue that old hands will remember - an airfield sprint course run by the Cirencester Car Club that we visited a few times in the late nineties. Typically this was a long perimeter track course with mediocre surface and its very high speed potential reduced by a few oil drum chicanes. At the time South Cerney was used by the army rather than the air force, and through the good offices of Lt Col Peter Everingham we held a couple of quite splendid dinners in the officers mess with all that entailed – pass the port (the correct way round) and so on. I have not heard of South Cerney lately and imagine it has now been closed for Health & Safety reasons. “My Favourite Hill” feature, so far covered by Richard Prior and Jon Goodwin you will recall, is open to any of you hillclimbers to submit yours - preferably up to 300 words. I have not attempted this and when deliberating it occurred to me that there are several favourites for me. I guess Loton is the best UK hill to drive, but then June Shelsley Walsh is easily the best hillclimb meeting, and then there are Bouley and Doune – terrifically exciting hills to drive and stunning scenery too. Longleat is simple but worth going to just for the view from the top paddock, and I could go on with this as there are many factors to take account when choosing your favourite hill, so please let us know which is yours soon! Having Done More Time on the hills than anyone is Club Comps Director John Swift. Here is his choice: I first went to Shelsley Walsh as a schoolboy and I was captivated straightaway. Never before had I seen such strange machinery, being driven at what

John Bolster’s famous ‘Bloody Mary’ was typical of all those incredible Shelsley Specials.

seemed to be suicidal speeds by drivers who appeared to have scant regard for their own safety. And the track was so steep, and narrow, and twisty that it could have been fashioned by the devil himself. But was it exciting! It was the days of heroes like Joe Fry, in his skeletal Freikaiserwagen, John Bolster and his twin-engined ‘Bloody Mary’, and, most exciting of all, Ted Lloyd-Jones’s Triangle Saucer, with its Daimler Scout chassis and rear mounted 21-litre Rolls-Royce aero engine. There were dozens of these weird and wonderful specials and even to this day I can almost smell that

delicious all-pervading aroma of Castrol R. I was fired up by the unique atmosphere which was quite different to anything I had experienced before. And I thought, maybe someday, if I’m lucky, I might even get the chance to drive up this famous hill myself. I got that chance in the seventies, when I entered my Dino 246GTS. I soon discovered that the hill is so steep and needs so much power that the little Dino, whilst effective at hills like Prescott, was a bit short of puff for Shelsley. Then I acquired the 308GTB that I still race today (‘Old Blue Thing’) and this was

immediately more suited to the job. My speed through Crossing was now 85mph, the same as the speed at the finish line, and my times came down into the 35s. Although in recent years I have concentrated on circuit racing I have never lost my love for the hill. And the reasons are manifold. There isn’t another hillclimb organisation as friendly and efficient as the MAC. From the President, John Moody – a dear friend of long standing – all the way down to the gateman (“And how are the grandchildren getting on?”) everybody is so pleasant and helpful. There is the minimum of hassle at the meetings. Practice is run to suit the competitors rather than the officials. You can turn up when it suits you, and the scrutineers have a refreshing absence of officiousness. The atmosphere in the paddock, with most of the cars parked in bays covered with corrugated iron roofing just as they were 50 years or more ago, is electric. It is exactly the same buzz that I got on my very first visit. For me, Shelsley Walsh is simply magic.

“The Dino was a bit short of puff for Shelsley.”

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PIRELLI FERRARI HILLCLIMB CHAMPIONSHIP: ROUND 14 CURBOROUGH 13th October 2013

fter a pleasant autumn day at the previous Shelsley round, a contrast in weather brought a few withdrawals from the final Curborough sprint in October reports RICHARD PRIOR. Colds and flu were taking their toll and even our Club chairman had to scratch (literally) his entry from the meeting. Arriving at the Lichfield track I saw most of the Ferrari competitors, damp and huddling under umbrellas, already had their Pirelli stickers and door panels on their cars; others were just completing their first practice run. I got delayed due to a misfire on start-up at home (and partly due to staying on the M6 Toll road for 10 miles too far) so sat this one out while dejectedly signing on and getting scrutineered. Fastest of the morning practice turned out to be Richard Preece in the F355. In P1 he was clearly quicker than rival 355 pilots Phil Whitehead and Andrew

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Holman by over a second, and also a tenth ahead of Nick Taylor (430). He was only usurped by Pauline Goodwin in the California who had a glorious 42.82 run. He completely turned the tables in P2 with 41.65 to beat all of them in the continuous wet conditions. Prior (355) took his only practice run and sat in 2nd place on 42.56. Iwan Attwood had the low point of the morning when he fishtailed out of the Fradley hairpin, getting on the gas too

early, and headed toward the outside grass bank with the front RH corner of the Dino making contact, spinning around, and also clouting the back corner in a similar way. Not bad enough to retire from the meeting and Iwan and father Tony both completed the rest of the meeting. Of the classic cars, Brian Jackson in the 308 GTB (46.03) was a tenth ahead of Sean Doyle in his GT4 but Shaun Smith was a gnat's ahead of both with 45.96 in P2 using the extra equine

Stuck with each other. Pauline Goodwin in her California set an identical fastest time to husband Jon with his 550 Maranello.

Looking a bit like the cow with the crumpled horn, the Attwood Dino needed some cosmetic attention to its front end after a little contretemps with the scenery early in the day.

energy of the 328 GTB. You needed to be gentle on the gas for a smart getaway over 64ft and Prior held back enough for the quickest in 2.73 seconds, the 355 suffering a slight cough at low revs helping to overcome any wheelspin. Accusations of engine mapping being used as a traction control system were fiercely denied by his close friend and neighbour, a Mr A. Newey who works in Milton Keynes. Jon

Goodwin had sneaked into the event when RA cancelled. He manfully sailed the big 550 Maranello around the soggy circuit in 45.33 during P1 but took a spin in P2, as did Holman who put all four wheels over the white line and received an 'F' for fail (or faulty, or floundering . . .) During the lunch break the weather didn't change, one shower after another kept the track soaking wet for the first

official run and it seemed there was no stopping Richard Preece with his amply treaded Pirelli tyres. He pushed the target to 41.81 seconds with great car control and a high finish speed of 91mph. Holman was close behind on 42.28, his starting technique of 3.17 second slightly poorer compared to Preece's 2.93 but he recovered enough for a similar 91mph at the chequered board. The top 3 after the first run was completed by a third 355 GTB as Prior was only a tenth behind Holman. Nick Taylor was struggling down in 4th place - but still in the low 43's - while Pauline Goodwin was just behind him with 43.62; husband Jon clocked 43.75 and Phil Whitehead kept them both in range on 43.85. In the 44's and all alone we found Shaun Smith, then there was a gap back to 46.27 for Brian Jackson, ahead of John Marshall in the more powerful 360 Challenge Stradale (46.47) more of a handicap in these conditions as a 3.72 second 064ft demonstrated. In the battle of the 360 Modenas, Jeff Cooper and Peter Hitchman were separated by just a hundredth of

Despite the damp weather the impressive gathering of Ferrari competitors were in good spirits.

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a second on 47.43 and 47.44 getting her 5th respectively, with Mark Wibberley place on the day. struggling to get traction on Mark Wibberley was 48.67 and a 4.54 second start. the quicker of all Caroline Cooper was better at the the 360s, his 45.69 beginning with 3.16 and a run of being enough to 50.23 seconds. Tony Attwood beat the Coopers, was enjoying the tricky Peter Hitchman, and conditions in the nimble 246 and even the CS version clocked 48.72, while Iwan was of John Marshall. still learning to cope in the wet Not bad for a first on 50.67. Sean Doyle started off appearance in a 1 well, his split time putting him lapper. midfield, but making a mess of Richard Preece the Molehill rewarded him with drove another the slowest time on R1 of 55.24. smooth and “Andrew Holman (F355) finally seemed to gather Wendy Ann Marshall guided controlled lap. His it all together when it was needed.” the 328 around in 53.33 but was 40.38 had the crowd struggling to get away from the gasping, especially start line, and only crossed the as Nick Taylor could only manage scratch and 17 points while Nick finish line at 54 mph with a 40.47 in the F430. Holman Taylor was 3rd and bagged 13 problem in her engine finally seemed to gather it all points. department. She elected to miss together when it was needed, his With Prior already confirmed her final run with the 328 now split time was ahead of Richard as 2013 Champion, and Nick lacking any meaningful power. Preece until the final hairpin Taylor in 2nd place, all eyes were Everyone else improved for where things didn't go to plan on the PEP scores for the next the 2nd official run as it was now and he ended up 1.2 seconds spot. Jon Goodwin scored 12 starting to dry out (apart points over Brian from John Marshall, who Jackson's 7, so it was over cooked the throttle confirmed as Jon on on the exit of the Molehill the final podium step in and lost a handful of the Championship by seconds). Iwan Attwood just 2 points. Brian knocked another two and Jackson had secured a half seconds off to the 2013 Classic Cup in finish closer to dad Tony the 308GTB so (on 48.14 & 47.18 congratulations to him seconds respectively), and BOB. Sean Doyle got a clean There were run when it mattered various reasons why with 44.85 ahead of Jon Goodwin bought a Brian Jackson's 45.96 bottle of fizz along, but not quick enough to maybe because it was catch Shaun Smith, who the last round of the moved up to 43.34. year, but we used it Peter Hitchman rounded partly to salute Richard the first corner smartly Preece's fantastic drive but the back end soon at the wettest meeting Showing more than a passing resemblance to tried to overtake the of the year, and partly Sebastian Vettel’s famous digital victory sign, 2013 front and he spun the to toast absent friends PFHC champion Richard Prior shows his delight in 360 harmlessly into the who we lost this winning the final round of the Championship. infield, bringing a short season. round of applause from the behind him. A nice thought indeed. sarcastic Ferrari spectators. Phil But Prior was quick; this Whitehead improved to 43.01 time a run without any of the and took 7th place on scratch, customary rear end twitching but a fantastic family feud earned him a 40.06, the win and between Jon and Pauline also the 20 points to make a Goodwin resulted in exactly the clean sweep of maximums over same time, 42.45, the result the 8 rounds that count. Richard going to PG courtesy of her first Preece finished off a splendid run time being quicker and day’s performance with 2nd on

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CURBOROUGH SPRINT 13 OCTOBER 2013 Pirelli Ferrari Hillclimb Championship Round 14 Driver

Tipo

Pract 1

Pract 2

Run 1

Run 2

64 ft

Split/ speed

PEP %

PEP time

Pts

Richard Prior

F355

42.56

---

42.38

40.06

2.79

27.01/ 91

0.0

40.06

Richard Preece

F355

43.10

41.65

41.81

40.38

2.95

27.61/ 92

0.0

40.38

430 Coupe

43.22

43.77

43.16

40.47

3.18

27.66/ 97

+2.0

41.28

Andrew Holman

F355

44.56

fail

42.28

41.20

3.13

27.37/ 93

0.0

41.20

Pauline Goodwin

California

42.82

43.89

43.62

42.45

3.12

29.77/ 95

0.0

42.45

Jon Goodwin

550 Mar

45.33

62.85

43.75

42.45

3.39

29.35/ 88

-1.0

42.03

F355

44.47

44.55

43.85

43.01

3.19

29.37/ 89

0.0

43.01

Shaun Smith

328GTB

fail

45.96

44.87

43.34

2.97

29.37/ 83

-3.0

42.04

Sean Doyle

308GT4

50.19

46.14

55.24

44.85

3.13

30.55/ 76

-4.5

42.83

360 Spider

50.64

48.86

48.67

45.69

3.66

31.50/ 89

+1.0

46.15

Brian Jackson

308GTB

47.37

46.03

46.27

45.96

3.12

31.41/ 79

-4.5

43.89

Jeff Cooper

360 Mod

50.00

48.24

47.43

46.14

3.47

31.82/ 84

+1.0

46.60

John Marshall

360 Ch Str

46.55

46.58

46.47

54.69

3.72

31.95/ 91

+4.0

48.33

Tony Attwood

246GT

49.13

48.84

48.72

47.18

3.25

32.18/ 75

-6.5

44.11

Peter Hitchman

550 Mar

49.20

48.65

47.44

fail

3.60

33.64/ 89

-1.0

46.97

Caroline Cooper

360 Mod

54.45

50.46

50.23

47.53

3.21

32.41/ 74

+1.0

48.01

246GT

fail

52.27

50.69

48.14

2.99

33.19/ 79

-6.5

45.01

328GTB

56.96

54.56

53.33

---

4.12

35.76/ 54

-3.0

51.73

Nick Taylor

Philip Whitehead

Mark Wibberley

Iwan Attwood Wendy A Marshall

64ft and stats for fastest run

MAC Class Awards: 1st Richard Prior

FINAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS Subject to confirmation

Classic competitors shown in blue

2nd Richard Preece

3rd Nick Taylor

Richard Prior

160

Mark Hargreaves

Nick Taylor

148

Iwan Attwood

Jon Goodwin

120

Jeff Cooper

Brian Jackson

118

Barrie Wood

Sean Doyle

100

Mark Wibberley

Pauline Goodwin

Peter Rogerson

Philip Whitehead

Jack Hargreaves

Richard Preece

Wendy Ann Marshall

Shaun Smith

Julian Playford

John Marshall

Chris Hitchman

Tony Attwood

Lorraine Hitchman

Mike Spicer

Peter Hitchman

Richard Allen

Sally Maynard-Smith

John Swift

Caroline Cooper

Andrew Holman

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RICHARD STAFFORD offers his 1976 308GT4 for sale Group 1 car raced for past 3 years in Ferrari Classic 1 Class win; 2 Thirds; 2 Class lap records Prepared by Rosneath Engineering and in great condition. An absolutely lovely car to drive. Fully road legal and recently driven to the Le Mans Classic without missing a beat. Genuine reason for reluctant sale

ÂŁ29,995 Please contact Richard on 07584-091308 or Email: richard60@hotmail.co.uk

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SNETTERTON 200 19th/20th October 2013

HE CURTAIN FINALLY came down on the 2013 Pirelli Ferrari Open at Snetterton on the weekend of 19th/20th October writes JOHN SWIFT. The track chosen by our hosts, the Classic Sports Car Club, was the shorter (2 mile) 200 layout which many competitors seem to prefer (it’s more like the original Snetterton circuit and doesn’t have the speed-sapping fiddly extension which adds an extra mile of tarmac to create the 300 option). Being England, and well into autumn, it might be expected that the weather could be unpredictable. And so it turned out, with squally rain alternating with occasional sunshine. Fortunately for the spectators, this fractiousness added an element of capriciousness that made forecasting the likely winners far from straightforward. The meeting attracted by far the smallest entry we have seen in PFO this year. Just nine competitors were listed in the

programme and this number was decimated when three drivers failed to turn up on the Saturday. It was acutely embarrassing, not only for our Ferrari Club but the organisers as well. The morning started off dry but with menacing black clouds already threatening that it wouldn’t remain so. Noise testing at Snetterton can sometimes be stringent but all the Ferraris sailed through

Photos: www.simonpics.co.uk

without trouble. By the time the cars had assembled in the collection area a steady drizzle had begun and all the cars, save for Graham Reeder’s exSimonsen 430 GT3, were on wet weather Pirellis. Slightly apprehensive was Simon Smeeth, who admitted to never having raced in the rain before. Clearly the conditions were difficult judging from the rooster tails of water spouting from the

David Mason looked safe and assured in the dreadful conditions of Sunday’s qualifying session.

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Top: Simon Smeeth (13) in his 430 Challenge drove like a pro to keep Graham Reeder (430 GT3) at bay for most of Saturday’s race. Centre: There was a fascinating 3-way battle for 4th place on Sunday. Here Tim Ingram Hill (430 Challenge) leads David Mason’s 458 Italia and Simon Smeeth’s 430 Challenge. Bottom: Paul Bailey (458 Challenge) indulges in water sports in Q2, missing pole by the blink of an eye.

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back of the cars. However, as the 20-minute session progressed the rain eased and the fastest laps were generally achieved at the end. The timesheets showed that Sam Smeeth had claimed pole (1:21.676) but by the slimmest of margins – just 0.163 seconds – from Paul Bailey’s similar 458 Challenge car. Smeeth’s car doesn’t have the aero appendages of Bailey’s machine but, certainly in Sam’s hands, that didn’t seem to be a handicap in these conditions. David Mason, whose 458 is run by FF Corse, slotted into 3rd fastest spot after a workmanlike run while Tim Ingram Hill was the quicker of the 430 drivers. Reeder had clearly made the wrong call with his choice of tyre and languished at the bottom of the list. The 430 GT3 has wider front rims than the 458s and this, combined with an extravagant camber setting, which meant that half the tread width didn’t seem to be in contact with the tarmac, resulted in an inability to get the rubber up to optimum temperature. Just before 4 o’clock the cars assembled for their 25-minute race. After clearing up during the lunch break the weather had reverted to light drizzle, insufficient to really soak the track but enough to raise doubts in the drivers’ minds as to which was the best tyre option. Wets would be the safer choice (opted for by the Balfe Motorsport and FF Corse teams) but slicks could be the better alternative if the circuit began to dry, as it might well do. The Reeder camp went for slicks and, with seconds to go in the assembly area, Stuart Bitmead’s crew switched Bailey’s 458 from rain to dry in what your scribe considered at the time was a master stroke. On the first lap after the rolling start, Ingram Hill spun at the chicane. Sam Smeeth, in contrast, had already gained a few seconds advantage on everyone else and it looked like my prediction was totally wrong. Even Bailey, in second, was being

challenged by the wet shod Mason. The pattern of the race seemed to be established. Smeeth was haring off into the distance with Bailey at an ever increasing distance behind. Then it was Mason, in 3rd, with a clear advantage over the battling duo of Simon Smeeth and Graham Reeder. Bringing up the rear was spinner Ingram Hill, who appeared to have gone into cruise mode. This situation continued until about lap 7, by which time Smeeth had created a massive lead of over 30 seconds. Surely that would be enough to secure the win by a handsome margin. But then things significantly changed. As the track dried so Bailey’s slick tyres started to work. Grip, that had been hard to find at the start, was now returning. Lap times compared with the leader were being matched and, by lap 10, were better by as much as 3 or 4 seconds. Whoop-de-do! Now we were in for a real race! Each lap, the gap between first and second decreased. By lap 11 it was down to 25 seconds, on lap 12 it was 21, and then on successive laps it was 16, then 12, then 10. By lap 17 there were only 5 seconds separating them and Bailey was looming large in Smeeth’s mirrors. While all this white knuckle stuff was going on at the front, the fight for 4th was also producing lots of excitement. Reeder, just like Bailey, was finding his slicks were beginning to bite and he closed right up to the tail of Simon Smeeth. For someone who had professed to never having raced in the rain before, Simon was driving like a pro. However, with three laps remaining, Reeder found a way past and moved his 430 GT3 ahead. All eyes were on the battle for outright victory. We all know it is one thing to catch the car in front but an entirely different kettle of fish to get past. As the pair exited Murrays on the very

Sam Smeeth made no mistakes in Sunday’s race, winning by a margin of 17 seconds and setting the fastest lap of the weekend.

last lap it seemed possible that Bailey might just catch the yellow 458 ahead. As it turned out he was perhaps a length behind, with Sam Smeeth taking victory by just 0.318 of a second. Another lap, and the positions might have been reversed, but the chequered flag had brought the hugely entertaining contest to an end with both drivers getting

the winners along with their bottles of Mumm champagne courtesy of viton-orings.co.uk. Sunday promised more of the same kind of weather except the threat of heavy downpours was more positive. The timing of the Ferrari action was similar to the previous day although the organisers, now mindful of the fact that the last race on their ambitious programme might well need headlights, endeavoured to speed things up. By the time the Ferraris were summoned to the track for their 20-minute qualifying session, the heavens had opened and it was tipping down. There was no question this time of an agonising tyre choice: if monsoon tyres had been available everyone would have fitted them. As on Saturday, it was a fascinating struggle between Bailey and Smeeth to grab pole position. First one would go faster only to be beaten a minute later by the other. As Paul Bailey, seen here with Selina at the rain eased marginally it Saturday’s presentation, came away was the last lap in each case with a pair of second place trophies. . that was the decider. It deserved applause from the appeared that Smeeth had made onlookers. an error by failing to drop back Paul Bailey set the fastest behind a couple of slower cars lap in 1:19.002 while Simon and find a clear lap but in the Smeeth, the C3 winner, was the event he managed to post the quickest in his class with quickest time (1:22.797) which 1:25.558. In the shelter of the trumped Bailey’s best effort by FF Corse truck’s awning, Selina 0.168 – just the blink of an eye Bailey presented the trophies to again!

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There was a great race-long scrap for class honours between Tim Ingram Hill and Simon Smeeth (12).

Third quickest was Mason, again looking safe and assured, while Ingram Hill took his 430 round over a second faster than Reeder in the 430 GT3, the latter still unable to get any meaningful heat into his tyres. It does seem that Graham will need to revise the wet weather set-up on his new acquisition. The timing of the Ferrari race was brought forward by almost an hour compared to the previous day. This was good because now the track was dry and looked like remaining so for the duration of the 25-minute race. All the cars, of course, were on slicks. When the pace car came in and the field was released it was Smeeth who blasted off into an immediate lead. Bailey tried manfully to stick in contention

while Mason took up station ahead of the two Parrot Racing team cars of Ingram Hill and Reeder. Reeder overtook Mason to take 3rd spot on the second lap and the latter fell into the clutches – and was passed one lap later– by Ingram Hill. Although running 6th, and last, Simon Smeeth had speeded up and closed in on the two cars immediately ahead. These three were to have the closest of battles throughout the rest of the race, just demonstrating that you can have really exciting racing even with a handful of cars. By mid-distance, Sam Smeeth had a comfortable cushion of around 10 seconds

from Bailey. Reeder, lapping some 4 to 5 seconds slower than the leaders, looked secure in 3rd. However, behind these three it was a real jousting match. Mason, probably cursing himself that he had lost a place early on, didn’t seem to be able to find a strategy to get past Ingram Hill. Simon S was sitting on their tails in case anything untoward were to happen that he could take advantage of. This battle for 4th overall lasted most of the rest of the race until, with three laps to go, Mason finally worked it out and slipped into 4th place. The improved lap times of his final laps confirmed that he had been held up for most of the race. Ingram Hill held on to 5th despite the ever present threat from Simon Smeeth. At the chequered flag a triumphant Sam Smeeth completed the weekend double, some 17 seconds ahead of Paul Bailey. He added the fastest race lap for good measure, in 1:12,622. We were privileged to have our President, Jack Sears, on hand to present the day’s trophies and champagne. I am sure that the great man’s presence was a special treat for all the Ferrari drivers. So what can we say about this final PFO meeting of the season? Well, although the final competitor numbers were bordering on disaster, the quality of the Ferrari racing was exceedingly high. There were no collisions, and spirits, despite the often nasty weather, were high. But there was at least one lesson to be learned: we shall never again arrange Ferrari Open races in Norfolk in October!

Jack Sears braved the elements on Sunday to present the prizes. Tim Ingram Hill collects his C3 trophy while Sam Smeeth takes the overall victor’s prize. Simon Smeeth takes charge of his son’s magnum of Mumm champagne.

CompRes 13

SNETTERTON 200 ROUNDS 10 & 11 19th/20th OCTOBER 2013 RACE 1: ROUND 10 Pos No

Driver

Tipo

Class

Laps

Time

Best Lap

Qualify

Pos

42 Sam Smeeth

458/Ch

26:21.233

1:21.860

1:21.676

28 Paul Bailey

458/Ch

26:21.551

1:19.002

1:21.839

26 David Mason

458/Ch

27:33.453

1:24.531

1:25.997

24 Graham Reeder

430GT3

26:44.359

1:24.570

1:35.600

13 Simon Smeeth

430/Ch

26:46.344

1:25.558

1:31.969

12 Tim Ingram Hill

430/Ch

27:25.417

1:30.060

1:27.548

C4 C3

Class Winners Sam Smeeth Simon Smeeth

C4 C3

Fastest Laps Paul Bailey 1:19.002 Simon Smeeth 1:25.558

90.40 mph 83.48 mph

RACE 2: ROUND 11 Pos No

Driver

Tipo

Class

Laps

Time

Best Lap

Qualify

Pos

Sam Smeeth

458/Ch

25:46.227

1:12.622

1:22.797

Paul Bailey

458/Ch

26:03.259

1:13.481

1:22.965

Graham Reeder

430GT3

26:46.350

1:17.491

1:29.797

David Mason

458/Ch

26:21.923

1:17.388

1:26.786

Tim Ingram Hill

430/Ch

26:40.634

1:19.156

1:28.287

Simon Smeeth

430/Ch

26:48.370

1:18.784

1:32.576

Class Winners

Fastest Laps

Sam Smeeth

1:12.622

98.35 mph

Tim Ingram Hill

Simon Smeeth

1:18.784

90.65 mph

Photo: SwiftyPix

TAILPIECE: “Who loves you, baby?”

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Steve Ta nd

y Fiona Tay lor 4 Ben Cartwrigh t 8 Henry Lawson 9 Chris Hitchman 10 Fred Honnor 11 Dav id W ard 12 Pete r Jenning s 18 Sean W inder 19 Geo ff Neal Mark McA llister Sam Sme eth 24 Phil Burton 31 Pau l Alexand er W itts

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