Compres 091 by CompResults

FERRARICOMPETITIONRESULTS

CompRes

Fernando Alonso shakes down the 2014 F1 car in Bahrain .

ISSUE 091 JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2014

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 WELCOME! A warm welcome to the first issue of the season of CompRes. We shall strive to report in accurate detail on all the many competitive events that are planned in the busy 2014 Club calendar and provide help and guidance in a hopefully entertaining way for those who still enjoy the written word. As well as the other in our little team Miss Tonks has come to the end of her clubbing and wine bar engagements and is raring to go. We hope you will enjoy success and great pleasure in all that is planned for you and your Ferrari this year.

GRAHAM EASTER (24 May 1956 – 11 Feb 2014) An Appreciation by Christian Mineeff

Trying to write a few lines about someone who became your best friend over 30 years is a hopeless task. Where on earth do you start, let alone finish? I now wish I’d asked Graham to write them himself – he would have produced a clever, witty and probably disrespectful piece full of humour, insight, and with a

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few well-hidden but razor-sharp digs at things around him he did not like. I first met him in about 1984 in a paddock somewhere. I was trying to hillclimb a Lancia Stratos at the time and he would wander over, have a clearly disdainful look at it, and wander away again. He considered himself a hill climbing ‘purist’, having come up the Cooper 500 route. Eventually we got chatting and I was immediately captivated by his wit and his humour and his never-ending knowledge and strong opinion about most things on earth, some useful, some clearly not! He was the perfect “phone-a-friend” when the pub quiz wanted to know who was the drummer in Mott The Hoople. Born in 1956 as a Kingswinsford lad, he went to Brierley Hill Grammar School and then to UMIST in Manchester where he gained a BSc in Management Science in 1977. He then joined GKN Technology with whom he stayed for most of his working life. He learnt his practical engineering knowledge there, and many a spare part for one of his fragile racing cars was quickly produced during lunch time, using the cutting-edge machinery and assembled manpower of one of the UK’s biggest engineering conglomerates. His first race car was a Cooper Mk 6 in which he went on to win the 500 Championship, but not entirely without incident. He constantly fiddled and fettled it and one meeting at Loton Park he tried to push start it when it backfired and the resulting explosion blew the carburettor off. “Bastard thing!” he shouted as he picked up the bits which had landed at the feet of another competitor who was to become a

huge feature in his life – Ray Rowan. The two of them became strong friends and Graham had a significant role in the development of a Toleman TG280 into the Roman with which Ray won the British Hill Climb Championship in 1989. The Rowan team subsequently went circuit racing with Formula Vauxhall Junior, Vauxhall Lotus and WRC2 with a Pilbeam, all driven by Ray’s nephew Martin O’Connell, and Graham was the man on the data -logger, spending endless hours in analysing and interpreting the data and acting as coach and debriefer to Martin. Graham was in his element, he could use his highly analytical brain but did not have to do any of the dangerous stuff. His own racing career came to an abrupt end driving a VixenImp when, in his own words, he “ran out of skill and money” halfway round a tricky Shelsley Walsh corner. He did have a few more goes, in Tony Cotton’s FMS 500, but that was mainly as a class-filler for another mate of his who was championship chasing and needed the extra points. By 2003 he had had enough of the constraints of his job at GKN Technology and he applied for redundancy and took various part-time jobs, some deadly dull, including a hilarious episode in a call-centre, being the only male in a vast office of women, but the one he enjoyed most was being with the Ferrari Owners’ Club as Website Assistant. He had noticed for a couple of years that I had been struggling with the ever-increasing volume of website postings and he took over all the day-to-day postings and updates. He joined our PHR section and started putting his considerable writing skills to good

use for the Club, writing numerous racing and hill climbing reports of our own series, and he was awarded the Writer Of The Year trophy in 2009. He wrote clearly and concisely, warts and all, and those of a pompous disposition winced when they saw him walk into the paddock. His affection for all things Ferrari grew rapidly. He was fortunate to be a guest of Shell for a few Monaco GPs, in the Ferrari Paddock Club, and there he rubbed shoulders with the best of them: Schumacher, Barrichello, Todt, and he was at ease in their company and swapped stories from his huge fund of knowledge. I watched him there chatting to an oil-rich Saudi prince and his entourage, politely turning down an invitation to join him on his super -yacht that evening because “I don’t like them things that bob up and down”. Was it perhaps inevitable that his considerable intelligence left him feeling exposed elsewhere? He refused to believe in his own qualities and would not recognise the fun, interest and stimulation he brought to other people. He had a keen and appreciative eye for the ladies yet never found his own soul-mate to share his life with. He became disillusioned and introspective about his own role on earth. Despite all the efforts of his brother Jonathan, his parents and his closest friends, Ray, Tony and myself, we were unable to turn him away from the thing he increasingly found comfort in, what he jokingly called vino collapso. It took its toll on him and on the 11 February, aged 57, his body could cope no more. So, ciao for now Graham, but never to be forgotten. One day, with the rest of the gang, we’ll be leaning over that track-side fence again, quick on criticism and long on advice!

PRE-SEASON KART RACING With this issue we are including an info sheet and entry form for our traditional preseason 2-hour team endurance

race. The date is Saturday, 29th March and as usual the venue is the superb Thruxton kart track. Pirelli are our generous hosts and will be entering at least one team themselves in an attempt to take top honours. This event is always highly popular so we recommend that you get your entry in without delay.

HILLCLIMB RECORDS In this issue we publish the existing Ferrari Hillclimb Championship record times at the 39 courses, or variation of courses, that we have competed at in recent times. Although perhaps influenced by the generally grotty weather we had last summer, as you will see from the chart, last season there was only one new record established – at the new sprint venue at Blyton. It is fitting that the driver concerned was Jon Goodwin, who has been a tower of strength for so many years in our Championship and whose name appears far more times in the roll of record holders than any other competitor.

COMPETITION CALENDAR We are including with this edition of CompRes the Club’s calendar for all our competitions on the race circuits and the hills. It is a packed programme and must be the envy of most Ferrari clubs throughout the world. Please remember that occasionally dates have to be amended so it is important that you check as we go through the season. We try our best to avoid date clashes, but with motor sport occupying around just seven months of the year it isn’t always possible.

MOUNT MURRAY We were horrified to learn of a serious fire that has destroyed part of the Mount Murray hotel on the Isle of Man. It will cost several million pounds to rebuild

The flames pouring out of the Mount Murray Hotel.

the damaged building. The hotel was used on a couple of occasions when we competed at the island’s hillclimbs and they even sponsored us with excellent discounts on our bills. For those who stayed there it will have fond memories. To remind readers of what we used to get up to on the Isle of Man we are reproducing later in this issue a report from this magazine’s predecessor, Ferrari Competition News.

SPONSORSHIP Our ambitious programme of competition events would not be possible without the generous support of our sponsors. We are therefore very grateful to our principal sponsor, Pirelli, who do so much to assist us in so many ways. I am delighted that they have confirmed their continuing help for the 2014 season to all our series: the Pirelli Ferrari formula classic, the Pirelli Ferrari Open, and the Pirelli Ferrari Hillclimb Championship. We also welcome back FF Corse who once again will be supporting our PFO series. Anthony Cheshire’s ultraprofessional racing operation gives so many drivers the opportunity to drive their race Ferrari safely and competitively and we are privileged to have their support. We are also indebted to Superformance, the leading supplier of specialised parts for Ferrari. They will be supporting our Classic series once again. The company’s principal, Colin Sowter, is an unashamed fan of Ferrari competition and we hope to see him taking part himself during the course of the season. In addition to these sponsors, as reported in the

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Christmas edition we shall enjoy the invaluable help from RnR performance Cars and Prestige Estates MK Ltd, who will be providing trophies for the successful Drivers of the Day in our Classic and PFO series respectively.

FERRARIS AT BRANDS The first outing for our PFfc and PFO cars will be at the 2-day race meeting at Brands Hatch on Saturday/Sunday 3/4 May. On the Sunday we shall be trying out a new innovation in the PFO series – a compulsory pit stop. In response to requests, the race will be a much longer one than usual, of 45 minutes duration. This means that for the first time a car can be shared between two registered drivers. Of course, those drivers who elect to drive the race singlehanded will still need to make a pit stop of the same specified length. Another feature of this race meeting will be the presence of the local Kent Area Group who, with the Club’s help, will be arranging hospitality. Full details of the Brands Hatch meeting will be given in the next issue of CompRes.

ZANDVOORT Although the race meeting at Zandvoort is not until 6th to 9th June, we are giving some preliminary details in good time to enable competitors to make their travel and accommodation arrangements early. This is an important holiday weekend and big crowds of spectators are expected at the circuit. Although run on similar lines to our usual events, the races at Zandvoort will be titled ‘The European Ferrari Trophy’. It is expected that a number of non -UK Ferrari drivers will be entering. Free testing and qualifying will be held on the Friday, with the first of the double-header events on Saturday. Sunday is a ‘rest day’ perhaps spent on the beach or in nearby Amsterdam. The second race day is on the Monday (it is a Bank Holiday in

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Holland). We have arranged that the Ferrari race on the Monday will be sufficiently early to allow our competitors to reach the ferries in good time to make the crossing in the evening. Zandvoort is a lively town, particularly at holiday time, and we hope to arrange the usual Ferrari Dinner on the Friday evening. We plan to book the best Italian restaurant in town for this always-memorable night out. Because of the Dutch holiday we strongly advise early accommodation booking. There are a number of good hotels and we suggest you use one of the on -line agencies to make your selection.

instructors include former British Hillclimb champion Roger Moran together with Dave Parr, Dave Wilson, Joy Hoyle, Tim Cross and Dave West, all of whom have considerable experience in a variety of cars. The aim is to give as many runs up the hill as possible, with a flow of information on where improvements can be made. From experience, the regular competitors who attend the schools more than once can only be testimony to the benefits they receive. If you wish to receive the school’s 2014 brochure and an application form you need to contact the secretary, Martyn Silcox at clubsec@hdlcc.com

SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS

BIRTHDAYS IN MARCH

Arrangements are well in hand for our annual pilgrimage to the finest circuit in Europe: Spa. The date is 18th to 20th July and qualifying will be on the Friday with the first race on Saturday and the second on Sunday. The organisers have advised that there is no testing on the Thursday. As always, our hotel of choice will be the Hotel de la Source which is located almost on the circuit itself and has served us so well in the past. We shall be block-booking all the available rooms for Ferrari competitors. On the Friday evening we shall be organising the traditional gastronomic Ferrari Dinner preceded by pre-dinner drinks. Full details a little nearer the time but if you wish to make your travel arrangements it might be a good idea to do this early to obtain the best rates.

Congratulations to all these Ferraristi who celebrate their birthdays in March.

LOTON PARK DRIVERS’ SCHOOL As Ferrari hillclimbers may know, the organisers of Loton Park, the Hagley & District Light Car Club, run three Drivers’ Schools each year. These are intended for everyone, from the absolute beginner to those regular competitors wishing to refine their skills. This year’s

RA’s HILLCOMMENT A Frisson of excitement is in the air with the 2014 PFHC opener at North Weald on March 16th very soon now. Time to put the canoe away and unearth your possibly waterlogged, and certainly oxidised electrics, Ferrari. At the time of writing the rain continues relentlessly and another gale is due later today, but we will soon be on the beach in Jersey at Easter. By now you should have entered for Bouley Bay, and of course booked your ferry and hotel accommodation. Meanwhile the Club’s circuit racers are still scratching around waiting for a later than usual start at Brands Hatch in early May. Event Entries you need to be thinking about as even last year, when there was much economic gloom around, hillclimbing still proved popular and several of our competitors were unable to get entries. You will by now have received the 2014 Regs and details on all this.

Chris Butler, Mike Spicer and Sean Doyle were smartly turned out in period for an outing to the Goodwood Revival last year.

Most of the organising clubs now have on-line entering systems. Even if you do not actually want to enter on-line you will need to access their site and print off the form.

Butler back in the saddle but maybe not on the hills just yet. The new owner of his Formula Classic 328GTB has offered Chris some shared drives during the 2014 season. Most of the Formula Classic races are double headers - this lending well to this kind of thing, and I must remind Chris that it is impolite to go faster than the owner unless, of course, you are a professional driver brought in with that in mind!

Tatler leftover pics from last year surfaced when I was going through heaps of stuff that form part of the scenery in my makeshift home office. I thought these interesting and worthy of CompRes, as I hope you will agree. The one of the three old chaps, who look somewhat agricultural, shows Chris Butler, Mike Spicer and Sean Doyle entering in to the spirit of things at the Goodwood Revival last September. The other photo was taken by Club circuit racer John Shirley at the David Jackson-organised Scottish Christmas function at Gleneagles. John’s Snapped at the Scottish Christmas event at wife Olga is to the Gleneagles in December. See the article left and Matteo for who’s who. Torre and his wife A Small World as they say Sofia are to the right. You should know the others. when I bumped in to an exFerrari hillclimber down Dartmoor Monaco Historic GP, way, some 300 miles from usually the week before the Suffolk. I was attending my serious F1 GP, is a really top sister-in-law’s funeral early notch event as you would January in Tavistock when I met imagine, and probably a better this chap who looked vaguely bet for many of us to attend – far familiar. Turned out he was less crowding but with the same Kevin Wilson. who did a couple of weather, ambience, food and seasons with us in the late drink. Sounds irresistible and it nineties. He was running a red must be, with sometime resident 328GTB in what was then titled Nick Taylor being joined by Chris simply the Ferrari Hillclimb Butler, Richard Prior, Mike Spicer Championship, the series sponsor and Sean Doyle for the 2014 at that time being Ferrari UK. Historic. We shall really miss Nowadays Kevin is out of cars then when we are at Harewood in and into game shooting. May!

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3D Printers are all the rage as you may have noticed, with everything from components for the new Typhoon fighter jet to human body parts being knocked up by these wonders of modern technology. Whilst car crankshafts could be tricky, these printers could easily produce those Ferrari light units that are now unobtainable, and we can only hope that Richard Prior invests in a 3D Printer soon! Car Manufacturers right across the board, from the producers of humble everyday machinery to exotica, continue to amaze with the pace of their new developments, no doubt driven by competitive market pressures. I am sure we are all hugely impressed by most of this, excepting the levels of electronic technology that goes with it. Modern cars are very well built and mechanically outstanding, but we all know the durability of the electronic gizmos does not match – especially when aligned with repair costs to them when the car is older. In the good old days we used to have one or two warning lights, and if the red light came on you knew the alternator or generator was not charging. If the green oil light was on you needed to stop. Now we have an abundance of these lights for all sorts of stuff, and most of the time when they come on there is nothing much wrong with the car. More likely it is the sensor or associated control system that is faulty, and the car is perfectly okay. Seems to me that just one light with a wallet symbol would do. When it comes on just keep going and get your wallet ready!

Ooh, missus. All these warning lights are driving RA up the wall.

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Value Added Snacks. Shelsley Walsh is one of several hillclimb venues that have enhanced their facilities with a decent restaurant and other paddock improvements.

Future of Future Classics will be an interesting aspect of these concerns, and there is no doubt that right now classic cars are popular not just because of investment potential, but also their relative simplicity and the ease with which they can be fettled. It is difficult to understand how today’s new cars will survive in ten or twenty year’s time. Maybe a whole new skill set and industry will emerge to cope with dealing with what is current, and indeed future levels of electronic technology. Classic values/repair costs will be affected no doubt as it is unlikely that electronics will ever be an easy DIY for owners. The other scourge apparent now is that escalation of classic values tends to drag reparation costs along at the same time. Someone I know was charged nearly £30k to have a total rebuild on his classic sports car’s De Dion axle differential – most probably because the car concerned was worth two or three million. The same applies to body repairs, and if your classic Ferrari is worth £200k and has a bent wing or two, the best place for repairs is your local

bodyshop – assuming, of course, they are competent. No “My Favourite Hill” for this issue, but there will be one next month. After some 30 years I thought it would be opportune to look at what has changed on the hills we frequent. Trackwise there has been very little, apart from occasional resurfacing about the only exception being Harewood where the course was extensively lengthened about twenty years ago. The big changes have been paddock improvements, much more sophisticated timing apparatus, and of course catering facilities. Originally Prescott clearly had the best facilities, but in recent times Shelsley Walsh has really come up trumps with their new restaurant and recreational area. Gurston Down, always a bit agricultural, now has a nice dining facility and you can be sure Harewood must be thinking about it, and maybe even Loton Park too! 2014 Prizegiving Dinner for the PFHC is one week later than usual on Saturday, 1st November so you have plenty of time to get this noted in your diary.

FERRARI HILLCLIMB CHAMPIONSHIP: CLASS RECORDS to 2013 HILL OR SPRINT

DATE

PEP

DRIVER

BLYTON SPRINT

16-06-13

0.0%

Jon Goodwin

California

75.41

BOULEY BAY

13-04-09

-2.00%

Richard Prior

348ts

49.84

48.84

13-04-09

+4.50% John Marshall

430 Scud

49.84

52.08

CADWELL PARK

17-06-06

2.50%

Chris Butler

F355

102.46

105.02

CORNBURY PARK

15-09-96

3.50%

Richard Allen

F355

42.29

43.77

CREG NY BAA

27-05-00

3.00%

Jon Goodwin

F355GTS

41.84

43.10

CRUAGH

02-05.92

0.00%

Brian Jackson

308GTB

52.24

CURBOROUGH (1 lap)

02-10-11

4.00%

Jon Goodwin

458 Italia

33.46

35.98

CURBOROUGH (2 laps)

21-08-11

4.00%

Jon Goodwin

458 Italia

60.50

62.92

DOUNE

21-06-09

0.00%

Chris Butler

F355

51.33

GOODWOOD

24-04-10

5.00%

John Marshall

430 Scud

92.22

96.83

GURSTON DOWN

18-07-10

5.00%

John Marshall

430 Scud

35.22

36.98

HAREWOOD (short course)

21-05-88

4.50%

Tony Birch

308GTS

46.60

48.70

HAREWOOD (long course)

14-05-10

2.50%

Nick Taylor

348GTC

64.15

66.73

HETHEL

07-08-05

2.50%

Nick Taylor

348GTC

78.01

79.96

HETHEL 2

08-08-10

5.00%

John Marshall

430 Scud

72.83

76.47

LARAGH

03-05-92

-1.50%

Brian Jackson

308GTB

83.39

82.14

LLANDOW

18-06-05

2.5%

Chris Butler

F355

87.07

LHERGY FRISSEL (5Km)

15-05-97

2.00%

Jon Goodwin

Mondial t

140.39

143.20

LHERGY FRISSEL (2 2Km)

25-05-00

3.00%

Jon Goodwin

F355GTS

72.93

75.12

LONGLEAT

22-09-02

2.75%

Jon Goodwin

F355GTS

41.25

42.38

LOTON PARK

09-07-11

4.00%

John Goodwin

458 Italia

58.83

61.18

MILLBROOK

02-05-94

2.00%

Jon Goodwin

Mondial t

89.39

91.18

MIRA

14-05-08

3.50%

Jon Goodwin

F430

53.26

55.12

NORTH WEALD 10th

18-03-12

0.00%

Andrew Holman

F355

79.88

NORTH WEALD 3rd

24-03-02

2.75%

Jon Goodwin

F355GTS

59.44

61.07

NORTH WEALD 4

23-03-03

1.50%

Nick Frost

348GTC

64.76

65.73

NORTH WEALD 9th

15-03-09

0.00%

David Tomlin

F355

75.53

NORTH WEALD 5th

19-03-06

1.00%

Richard Prior

348ts

56.83

57.40

PRESCOTT (long)

28-06.09

4.50%

John Marshall

430 Scud

48.43

50.61

PRESCOTT (cross over)

02-09-90

2.50%

John Swift

308GTB

51.70

52.99

RAGLEY HALL

27-03-88

-0.50%

Geoff Dark

308GT4

25.99

25.86

ROTHERFIELD PARK

10-06-90

-0.50%

Richard Allen

308GTB

28.57

28.43

SHELSLEY WALSH

19-09-10

5.00%

John Marshall

430 Scud

32.98

34.63

SLOC

26-05-00

3.00%

Jon Goodwin

F355GTS

41.93

43.19

SOUTH CERNEY

15-10-94

2.00%

Jon Goodwin

Mondial t

78.30

79.87

THORESBY PARK

18-09-94

2.00%

Jon Goodwin

Mondial t

42.16

43.00

WEST MALLING

26-03-89

0.00%

Jeff Simpson

328GTB

77.30

WISCOMBE

08-09-96

2.50%

Geoffrey Rollason F355GTS

47.44

48.63

WROUGHTON

25-07-99

-0.50%

Robin Ward

109.34

108.79

= new record

TIPO

308GTB

TIME

PEP TIME

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TALES FROM THE ARCHIVES

Three Days of Fun on the Isle of Man INE FERRARIS (two were on the island already) joined the queue for loading at Heysham docks on a sunny Wednesday afternoon writes JOHN SWIFT. After the miserably wet conditions that had spoiled the Harewood hillclimb meeting three days before, things could surely only get better for our appearance on the Isle of Man. The tide was high that afternoon, so getting the low slung cars down the ramps and into the belly of the King Orly was as easy as it could get. Brian Jackson's F355 Challenge car needed some extra assistance to negotiate the humps and hollows, and the lowest car of all, your scribe's 308GTB, had to be driven in reverse into the ship. But eventually all was secured and the ship pulled out of its berth spot on time. The two Ferraris that had gone on ahead the day before were those of Isle of Man first timers Christopher England (308GTS) and Terry Esom (328GTB). Making their maiden voyage on the Wednesday were Geoff Dark (308GTB), Scott Winnard (328GTB) and Mike Haigh (328GTB). The rest of our contingent comprised last year's double winner Jon Goodwin (Mondial t), Richard Baker (308GT4), Robin Ashley (forsaking yellow Dino spyder for yellow

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The sad news that the Mount Murray Hotel, on the Isle of Man, has been seriously damaged by fire prompted us to dive into our archives to recall the happenings when the Ferraristi last stayed there. This is the story of our hillclimbing adventures way back in 1997. With a little spare space available in this issue, here is a reprint of the report from CompNews of June that year. And, re-reading the story and again savouring the fun we had, perhaps thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a case for returning to the Isle of Man in the future. 308GTB), Ed Stratton (F355GTS), Brian Jackson in the aforesaid Challenge car, and the writer. Richard Baker introduced his `mechanic', Hugo. Close questioning revealed that Hugo had no proper tools and knew absolutely nothing about things mechanical, but he did admit to an insatiable thirst â&#x20AC;&#x201D; just what one needs for a trip of this sort. As last year, Jon Goodwin was accompanied by his ever smiling friend, John, who is also able to handle a pint or two without

difficulty. Scott Winnard had brought along lifelong pal Andy principally, we suspected later, so that he could give him a sound thrashing on the tennis court each day. Ed Stratton had his wife, Julie, on board together with his faithful dog, Fred. Dogs and motor sport are poor bedfellows so Fred and Julie were to be housed in a cottage in Ramsey while Ed, for the duration of the hillclimbs and, dare we say it, to collect the hotel's generous sponsorship money, based himself with the rest of us at the other end of the island at the prestigious Mount Murray Hotel, at Santon. As is well known, Robin Ashley has a predilection for the colour yellow. This could be getting out of hand. This year Robin didn't stop at yellow trousers, socks and underpants. It went further, encompassing a yellow racing seat, a batty yellow mobile phone and a colour co-ordinated copy of Autocar which he dipped into at free moments. One day, and don't be surprised when it happens, he might well appear with bright ochre hair and a completely bilious yellow makeover. But at least we'll know where he's coming from. Getting the cars off when we arrived at Douglas was not as straightforward as loading had been. The stevedores' ingenuity was tested to the limit but we all made it in the end. The only car that suffered any damage, surprisingly, was Ed's totally

Scott Winnard was in good form on his first visit to the Isle of Man, both with his 328GTB and also his tennis racket.

standard F355, which grounded its front spoiler. We were met at the quay by Manx Motor Club supremo Dixie Deane. Earlier in the year I had made arrangements with Dixie to draw Super Unleaded fuel from the only pump on the island dispensing the stuff, located at the back of the motor cycle grandstand. Dixie insisted on leading us all in convoy to see The Pump, choosing, for reasons that escaped us, some short cuts with fiercesome sleeping policemen that even the highest of our Ferraris would fail to negotiate. Later that evening we congregated for dinner in the Mount Murray restaurant. The first topic of conversation was the reported Bad Experience in the hotel's bistro by the Englands the night before. We heard tales of tough chicken, uneatable puddings, and slow, uncaring service. This was a bitter blow to Robin Ashley, who last year had established a certain rapport with the bistro manageress, even to the extent of demonstrating to her his Dino's maximum speed at the dead of night on the road to the airport. It seemed the bistro admin was now in other

hands and we resolved to give the place a big miss and eat in the restaurant from now on. Having exhausted the subject of the hotel's bistro problems, and primed with several bottles of a rather nice red that our travelling sommelier, Richard Baker, had picked out of the carte, the subject of the eligibility of Brian Jackson's F355 Challenge car came up on the agenda. It seemed to present a problem and the more wine we drank, the more of a problem it seemed to present. The Ferrari Hillclimb Championship Co-ordinator, Olly Dark, was in a tricky position. She had been given no proper direction by those back in Essex in charge of complicated things like PEPs. So to give a ruling on legality or anything else to do with Brian's car was asking rather too much. Each of us had a solution but every one was different. As anyone who knows something about these Challenge cars will tell you (and I investigated the matter pretty fully when I contemplated, but later rejected, the idea of buying one myself for use on the road and the track), the vehicles are simply not street legal. Ferrari UK will confirm that the car is

built specifically for the track and cannot, because of its noncompliance with emissions and brake regulations, be legally registered for the road. Perhaps, we thought, Brian hadn't done his homework before he had parted with his money. And wasn't he being a little naĂŻve to think that running his car on full competition wets was within the FHCC regulations, which are quite specific about what tyres are permissible? So there was the problem without, it seemed, an authoritative solution. One sympathised with Brian, of course, having brought his car all the way across the water. Perhaps the question of its legality should have been sorted out much earlier. The next morning there were other more immediate things to concern us. Most of us left the hotel early to make sure that we reached Ramsey well before the mountain road was closed at the 9.30am curfew time. It was noticeable, as we motored through the outskirts of Douglas, that the maintenance men had chosen this week to dig up most of the roads on the island. There were traffic lights, coned-off lanes and pot holes everywhere. The 'old hands' familiarised

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themselves with the course, albeit backwards as we descended the hill in the early morning sunshine. Terry Esom and Christopher England told us that they had walked the course on the Wednesday and we suspected they must be intimately familiar with every blade of grass, rock and boulder. Our 'paddock' was the same street as we had been allocated the previous year although it was noted that Robin Ashley, having driven over the mountain in his (yellow) race overalls, was not needful of the changing room so helpfully put at his disposal last time by a certain young local lady. Perhaps the smartest car in the impressive eleven Ferrari line -up was Ed Stratton's F355GTS. Close examination revealed that, despite the same registration plate (F355 GTS) the car was a slightly different shade of blue from the car Ed used in '96. It was, in fact, brand new, and Ed reported that it incorporated some subtle but useful improvements over last year's model. Unlike last year, when an errant Chevron dropped all its oil on the course and so severely delayed practice, this time there was no such difficulty. The first practice showed that the current 5km Ferrari champion, Jon Goodwin, was immediately on the pace, with a time some 4 seconds quicker than his record. Only a couple of seconds behind Jon was Terry Esom, who had clearly put his previous day's familiarisation walk to good use. On the second practice runs Terry went even quicker, to close within less than a second of the master. Brian Jackson was getting the hang of his Challenge machine and moved into second fastest place. Of the others, Richard Baker was impressively quick and Swift was having difficulty with the carburation on his 308GTB. He reported a 'fluffiness' below 3,800rpm, which made it difficult to accelerate cleanly out of the hairpin and the slower bends.

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Terry immediately christened the car Fluffy, a name which will stick with the car until something is done to improve matters. In the afternoon, when it really mattered, Jackson posted the quickest time which no-one could do much about. Goodwin chased gamely, but was over two seconds behind, and in a commendable third, well clear of the rest, was the sensational Esom. Richard Baker logged all the times into his little computer, stabbed a couple of buttons, and hey presto the positions on PEP adjustment were displayed. Jackson had been given a token PEP of 9, since Richard's answer to Deep Blue cannot handle twodigit PEPs. On adjusted times, Goodwin was the winner from runners-up Esom and Winnard. After the final runs we adjourned to what had become the Ferrari base camp: the Britannia pub in Ramsey. Sitting outside, sipping the local ale in the sunshine (even though it was still only 3 o'clock!) it seemed to be a far better place to be than in 'the office'. Back at the hotel, some of us went swimming in the Mount Murray pool. Rules dictate that bathing caps must be worn to keep the hair out of contact with the water. We were tickled by the strange sight of a little man covered completely with thick body hair. When he removed his cap, we saw his head was completely bald. So much for rules. Friday was practice day for the 2.2km hill. Swift picked up his Super Unleaded from the previously mentioned pump, in accompany with a number of TVR drivers who were having an owners rally on the island. Again, the weather was sunny and warm and we touched wood to make sure it would last at least until Saturday. Armed with the previous day's knowledge of the hill â&#x20AC;&#x201D; the shorter climb uses just the first section of the longer hill â&#x20AC;&#x201D; everyone got progressively

quicker as the day went on. When we had completed the last of our four runs the timesheets showed Jackson again well clear of everyone else and almost four seconds inside last year's record. In second, but a couple of seconds slower, was Goodwin, with the mercurial Esom third. Mike Haigh and Scott Winnard seemed to be having a side wager between themselves involving bottles of Krug but the working details of the bet were obscure. The day's times were exhaustively analysed and dissected in the Britannia, as were the merits and disadvantages of London, as opposed to Dublin-brewed, Guinness. Later, the Ferrari swimmers again took to the water at the Mount Murray. Hugo commented that the three Ferraristi wearing yellow bathing caps looked like angry boils while his bright green hat made him look like ET. Saturday dawned cooler and overcast. The mists swirled around as we drove over the mountain. In the eerie conditions you could almost sense the presence of the ghosts of motor cycle heroes from the past. Jimmy Gutherie, Freddie Frith, Les Graham, Mike Hailwood, all were there that spooky morning. It wasn't until we descended into Ramsey that visibility improved. Even then, there was a bank of cloud hovering around Water Works and the Gooseneck. An old lady in our paddock street explained about the mists. "It is said that the mists are the way our god, Manannan, greets royalty. You Ferrari drivers must be specially favoured!" The mist didn't clear until mid-day, and it was only then that the clerk of the course deemed it safe to commence the meeting. Overnight rain had not yet dried out and the course was quite wet at the hairpin and the lower reaches of the hill. All the first run times were adversely affected by the

slippery conditions. A couple of the Jedis - these are ultra light single-seaters powered by 800cc Suzuki motor bike engines developing an astonishing 150bhp – destroyed themselves on the banking after the hairpin, and it wasn't until the final runs of the afternoon that it was possible to safely give the Ferraris the gun. Ashley and Stratton posted identical times, although Ed was 6mph quicker over the line than Robin's 20year older machine. Uncle Christopher England turned the tables on nephew Mike Haigh, the white 308 spider gaining almost a second's advantage over the 328. Geoff Dark was always impressive in his 308 although he couldn't quite match the pace of the more powerful 328s of Winnard (5th) and Esom (4th). Swift had managed to adapt his driving technique to compensate for Fluffy's recalcitrance and managed to grab second place from Goodwin. Uncatchable was Jackson in the F355 Ch, who hit 92 mph over the finish line, a speed only equalled by your scribe. On PEP adjusted times, Deep

Blue's screen indicated that the maximum 20 points had gone to Dark. Just to make things more interesting, instead of the usual handicap your scribe had suggested a sweepstake. The evening before, each driver had specified his predicted best time on the hill. It was a competition everybody could join in, and many noncompetitors enthusiastically put down a fiver to pre-estimate the time of a particular competitor. When all was over, and our best shots of the afternoon had been logged, we adjourned to the Britannia to see who had collected the £85 pot. It was close. Scott Winnard was 0.19 seconds off his forecast time, but pipping him, with 0.18, was Geoff Dark. Geoff did the decent thing and bought his fellow contenders a round of drinks. Not a cheap round but that's the price of success. That night we were collected by a bus, courtesy of the Manx Motor racing Club and their President, Peter Bolton, and taken to the Grand Island Hotel at Ramsey for the prize-giving

PRIORITIES We were pleased to hear from our controlling body, the MSA, that our 2014 PFHC Regulations have been signed off at last, and given an official Championship permit number. They approved our regs in unusually rapid order this time. The ratified Regulations have now been posted to all competitors and although the changes from last year are few, it may be worth noting some of the main amendments. With 15 rounds on the 2014 calendar, the number of rounds to count for Championship points is now 9 (instead of last season’s

8). Some amendments have been made to the PEPs applied to the California, 430 Scuderia and 360 Challenge Stradale. The application of the +1% PEP ‘loading’ for past champions has been reviewed. In order to make things more equitable, this loading will be applied retrospectively for 5 years. Previous PFHC champions will now discard the PEP plusage in their 6th year after their most recent success. After much debate it has been decided to accept pre-1964 ‘recreations’ subject to examination by the Eligibility

dinner. The bus travelled the mountain route and you may imagine what problems the driver had when encouraged to take the best racing lines by eleven out-of-control Ferrari drivers. The evening was a lot of fun. Jon Goodwin caused some consternation with one of the young waitresses when, asked if there was anything else he would need that evening, said he could do with a couple of Villagers. Jon meant cigars, the waitress suspected something altogether different. On Sunday morning, as we departed for Douglas, the King Orly, and home, the heavens opened to give us a sample of the weather we might have had if Manannan and the other gods hadn't smiled on us. But it was too late. Our visit hadn't been spoiled and I can safely say that everyone had enjoyed themselves immensely. Here's to next year!

rprior348@yahoo.co.uk Scrutineer and approval by the T&RC. To further clarify 3.2.2 of the Regulations we are now allowing uprated suspension bushes (for cars built prior to the F355) instead of simply uprated anti-roll bar bushes as these are now considered a necessary replacement on older cars. Among these changes you will be relieved to hear that there is no plan to adopt the F1 idea of double points at the last round of the season. If we did we might have to buy new tyres, brake pads and goodness knows what else before the last event at Curborough! 

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HAD WANTED TO GET BACK into racing for about 20 years and when I saw a Mondial for sale in Ferrari News I was instantly interested. The car belonged to Mick Dwane, and his son Jack had campaigned it in the Classic series the previous season. It needed work, quite a lot of work as it turned out, but it had all the modifications needed to race in Group 1 already done to it, and it was for sale at a fair price. I told Mick that I would take the car but he had to store it until the season got underway. This would give me a little time to break it to my wife Lorrie that I was heading back to the track, and with one thing or another the next time I saw the car was at Snetterton on the Friday before the first race weekend of the season. I had not raced at Snetterton previously so I had no idea what to expect. I certainly had no idea where the track went; there seemed to be bend after bend. Visibility was not good as it was persisting it down with rain and the circuit was completely awash. Small streams of water crossed the track in parts, the cockpit was steaming up, and the brakes were absolutely awful. They seemed to have two modes: either locking up at every opportunity or shaking the car to death. That evening in my local B+B I wondered what I had let myself in for.

Snetterton Race 1 Qualifying Race day came, and with the car fuelled up for the practice session I made my way to the

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Photo: www.simonpics.co.uk

First time out, at Snetterton, and the Mondial was plagued by problems.

assembly area. Once there I decided to keep the engine running to get some temperature into the engine and gearbox. A marshal wandered up and opened my door and said, “Do you know your car is pissing water from everywhere?” I got out, the marshal produced a torch, and very quickly the problem was identified as a leaking expansion tank with steamy water springing from at least two places. The engine was seriously overheating and I decided not to risk taking it out onto the track to do my mandatory three qualifying laps just in case. It was more than a little disheartening watching all the other drivers head out onto the track whilst all I could do was wait until they were all gone and take the car back to the pits. Mick suggested that I go and see the Clerk of the Course whilst his mechanics fixed the leaks in the expansion tank. The Clerk was very understanding; he told me to fix

the leaks first, then come and see him again. He said that if we got the leaks fixed before lunchtime, he would let me go out behind the safety car during the break to get my three laps in. Meanwhile the expansion tank had been removed they found that it had been repaired nine times previously and had three new leaks. It was like a sieve! With about ten minutes to spare I took the car down to race control and, true to his word, the Clerk let me follow the safety car to get my three laps in, to allow me to start at the back of the grid.

Snetterton Race 1 And that’s what I did. I started at the back of the grid. I don’t remember much of my first race on Snetterton 300 circuit but do I remember I made a good start and got past a slow starting John Swift and hooked up onto the back of William Moorwood. It wasn’t long before John got past me and over the race distance I found that I just could not keep

Photo: www.simonpics.co.uk

disappointed to find that I was 3 seconds a lap slower than the slowest. During the intervening period prior to the race I canvassed a few other competitors as “I had fun holding off William Moorwood until I did to what tyre a bit of grass tracking at the chicane.” pressures they were running. The consensus up with William. Lap-by-lap I was about 25/26psi front and saw him slowly get further away 26/27psi at the rear. I was from me. I finished a resounding running about 10psi high. So, last. with a quick adjustment to the After the race it was straight tyre pressures and another can of into a queue for the scrutineering Radweld in the water tank, I was bay, and once stationary the car ready to race. instantly boiled over. On inspection it was the expansion tank embarrassing itself again. The Club’s scrutineer, Andy Bush, said he would like to talk to me and he took me into a back room and took out the Series Regulations. With his finger under each heading he went through the whole book, line by line, asking me “does your car comply with this?” and each time I could only answer “I don’t know I only bought it yesterday.” It was agreed that my “new” car fell far short of the regulations in that it did not have a passenger seat and the door trims were missing. Andy told me that I would have to speak with John Swift to see if he would give me permission to race the next day without the missing parts fitted. John was keen to see a full grid and kindly said that I could race on the Sunday. I went back to my pit garage and set about fixing my new-found water leaks.

Snetterton Race 2 Qualifying The Snetterton 200 circuit proved a lot easier to learn than the 300 and I enjoyed the practice session more than the previous day’s. I was getting more used to how the car handled and I gave it everything. When the timings came out I was

Snetterton Race 2

As we commenced our installation/green flag lap I noticed a dark stripe heading across the damp first corner, and because I am a biker I immediately recognized this as oil. Others had too and when we lined up at the grid there were protestations to the starter, but to no avail. Extraordinarily, they decided to go ahead and start the race. Again I got a good start, and as I reached the first corner it was predictably chaotic, with cars heading in all directions on the oil. The change in tyre pressures seemed to give me more confidence and this time I was able to keep up with William Moorwood in his 308GT4. I finished the race just 0.5 seconds behind him and I did not even finish last! I came away somewhat heartened by the result and was looking forward to the next race which would be at a circuit I knew well, Donington Park.

Donington Park Race 1 Qualifying I had high hopes for the Donington meeting. The problematic water expansion tank had been replaced with a new one from Eurospares and I felt

sure that I would do better than I did at Snett. The practice session started and I set off to get used to the circuit before going flat out to get my qualifying time. Some laps into the session the car started to misfire down the long back straight. I looked at the gauges and saw that the car was overheating again, there was no option for me but to head to the pits. Once there, with the engine deck up, we could see the problem. It was that wretched expansion tank again! This time it was the bung that holds the level gauge in place at the top of the tank - it was spewing out boiling water. I missed the rest of the qualifying session but had done enough laps to qualify last. We managed to fix the leak in time for the race with some high temp silicon sealer (or so we thought).

Donington Park Race 1 We all went out on our installation lap and then lined up on the grid, with me at the back. We seemed to be there for ages and then the Starter made a gesture that looked like he was cutting his own throat. We took that to mean cut our engines and I opened the door to let some cool air in. A marshal walked up to me and I asked him what was causing the delay. “They want you off,” he went on, “You’re dropping oil all over the circuit.” So that was it, a DNS. Back at the pits we had a look at the problem and it turned out not to be an oil leak at all, but water yet again. The belt that drives the water pump had decided to shred itself and the resultant overheating had blown the repair to the bung in the expansion tank. I watched the rest of the race from the pit wall and was shocked by the amount of heat that I felt as the 328GTS of Ted Pearson went past. The car was on fire. Scary!

Donington Park Race 2 With the belt changed and a rather Heath Robinson “fix” of the

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Photo: www.simonpics.co.uk

“Thruxton proved to be just what I needed.”

Silverstone.

Silverstone GP Race 1 Having never driven the new GP at Silverstone I felt somewhat anxious about racing at the world famous circuit. On the way to signing on William Morwood asked if I was OK and I told him of my nervousness. He said that it would pass as soon as I got some laps in, and do you know what, he was right! I qualified last again but this time it was different. The 458s from the Open series had been relegated to the back of the grid

Photo: www.simonpics.co.uk

troublesome bung in the expansion tank, I was back on the grid for the second race. The starter started the race just before we at the back had quite got into our positions on the grid, and I made up a couple of places from last row where I started. First laps are usually fraught and quite often slower than later laps so I managed to keep up with the pack and at the end of the back straight managed to get past both William Morwood and an early braking Pauline Goodwin. So far so good! It didn’t last. Pauline powered straight past me on the run up to Redgate, but I had fun holding off William until I did a bit of grass tracking at the chicane before the start/finish straight. He was past and I was at the back again. A couple of laps later and I was reeling William in. I must have got over-excited and inevitably my talent finally ran out at the last bit of the Craner curves. I failed to stop the back end of the Mondial coming round to the front and I smashed straight through the polystyrene 100 metre board and into the kitty litter. I managed to limp back to the pits but that was it for me at Donington: a DNS and a DNF. I hoped for better luck at

for being too noisy and they were behind me. Ha ha! I agreed in advance with Mick Dwane, who was right behind me on the grid, that he should come past me on the right as I would stay to the left hand side. You can just about see the starting lights from the back of the grid at Silverstone. The reds went out and we were away, a clean change from first to second, and a look in my mirror to see where Mick was. He wasn’t there. He was already in front of me! Ferrari 458s are amazingly quick . . . I found that I could keep up with William for most of the circuit and there was a section around the new Abbey corner down to Arena where I felt that my Mondial was quicker than his 308GT4. If I could get a good enough exit out of Abbey and a bit of a slipstream, I could be past him. Great in theory, somewhat harder in practice. I was level with him twice, but it was third time lucky as I took an unorthodox route into and out of Arena and I was past him. I managed to keep William and Richard Stafford behind me right until the chequered flag. My first Class win!

Silverstone GP Race 2 “I not only finished ahead of William but was delighted to find out that I had set the fastest lap for Gp1 as well as taking my second class win.”

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The second race was looking like a carbon copy of the previous

Photo: www.simonpics.co.uk

“What a fantastic circuit Oulton Park is.” Carl on his way to a Class win.

before we went out exactly as R1. I even got past Mr Moorwood in the same place at about the same part of the race, and I was managing to hold him and Richard Stafford - who had got past William (also at Arena). I was thinking that I had got this race in the bag. I could visualize receiving the Trophy, and the Champers, and the kiss from one of the Viton Orings girlies. I was rudely awakened from my brief daydream by an Open Series car passing so close in my mirror that I thought it would never be able to avoid hitting me. That momentary distraction was all that was needed for me to lose concentration; the rear end came around again and I was heading backwards across wet grass and into the Armco at Becketts. My pride was hurt more than me, and the car had less damage than I thought possible, but it was still a mess. It would require a big effort to get it repaired before the next race meeting, at Spa Francorchamps.

just what I needed. I managed to out-qualify William for the first time, and with William and Richard Fenny we had a fantastic race, each taking turns to lead the others. At the end it was Richard who beat me by 3 seconds, and I finished ahead of William by 35 seconds. I was delighted to find out that I had set the fastest lap for Gp1 as well as my second class win.

Thruxton Race 2 That man Moorwood out-

qualified me by 0.2 of a second, so it was business as usual with me at the back of the grid. On the tighter sections of the track the 308GT4 was quicker, but around the back of Thruxton circuit the longer wheelbase of the Mondial more than makes up for its 10bhp deficit to the GT4. Whilst William was appearing to struggle for grip on the high speed corners of Village and Church I found that I was able to go around the outside of him. It was a closer finish this time, but I still got the class win by some 5 seconds, with William getting the fastest Gp1 lap this time.

Oulton Park What a fantastic circuit Oulton Park is. It has everything: tight bits, long sweeping bits, elevation, the lot. I managed to out-qualify William and after a long battle managed to beat him, finishing just 3 seconds behind Richard Fenny’s Gp2 car. Getting a class win sounds so much better than finishing next to last doesn’t it. And that was my first season in the Pirelli Ferrari formula classic. I have utterly enjoyed the experience. I have found the drivers and everyone else involved in the series to be friendly and extremely willing to help others compete. It has been exactly what I was hoping that it would be: a well-run “Gentleman’s racing” (and “Gentleladies racing ” - sorry Pauline) series, which is no doubt due to the unstinting work done by the organisers, Anne and John Swift. See you at Brands Hatch in May!

Thruxton Race 1 The car was not repaired in time for Spa. That was OK by me as my confidence had taken a big knock after crashing at Silverstone. Thruxton proved to be

The spoils of victory. Carl finished the 2013 on a high note.

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HE YEAR 2013 WAS THE culmination of a 3-year programme to progress through racing a 355, a 360 Challenge and finally a 430 Challenge. The cars had all been run for me by Graham Reeder, and what a car, with significantly more power and traction than a 360 with more stability at and over the limit. This predictable nature makes it easier to extract consistently quick times. I felt very comfortable with the car from the first test, and it was then I realised how much I had learnt about racing in the previous couple of years. I had learnt the car, the tracks and the lines, so I was able to concentrate on racing rather than just survival. How satisfying it is to cruise up behind a car, which in previous years you had struggled to overtake, and just breeze past. We decided to call ourselves Parrot Racing for this year. The logo we chose comes from our Vineyard at Southcott in Pewsey, where we produce English Quality Sparkling Wine. It was very satisfying to see the car in livery for the first time. It looked brilliant, and really added something to the feeling in the team.

The first race of the season was at Snetterton and was a double header using the 300 circuit on the Saturday and the

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Class win!

The next meeting was at Donington Park and was another double header. The format was pattern for most of the season, which is good for the budget as you get two races for the logistics Photo: www.simonpics.co.uk

200 on the Sunday. For the first race I qualified third in class and had a storming start into the first corner. Unfortunately in my enthusiasm and excitement I had a spin going into Hamilton. This put me out of any chance of doing well in class, and was a lesson to calm down, and not be over confident. I also learnt that

Hard at work at Snetterton.

when the car stalls it takes at least 20 seconds to reset and restart. As a result, by the time you get going again you have lost at least half a minute. Never mind, we move on to the second race when I again had a great start and manage to stay on the track for the first lap. There were three cars in the 430 class and I was aggressively pursued by Tim Summers. Our cars were well matched with no speed differential down the back straight. Snetterton is a difficult track on which to pass an evenly paced car, and consequently I managed to keep him behind me all the way to the finish. My first

of one. Once again, I made a great start in the first race. I got away from the whole class, but half way through, with no other cars to race, I lost concentration, slowed, and to my horror I got reeled in by both the other 430s and was overtaken easily. I struggled to understand why this happened at first, and how to make sure that it did not happen again. In the second race I make another great start and get past the other 430s at Redgate. I am closely pursued by Tim Summers. We have a good battle until 2 laps from the end when he squeezes past me on the right hand side of Schwantz curve

sunshine. I qualified and started well in the first race. I dashed up to Les Combes side by side with Graham Reeder in his 360 Challenge. This must have surprised him, but I then made the mistake of braking to let him go into the corner first because I knew he would be faster. In so doing I turned in too soon, unbalanced the car and spun. There is nothing quite so intimidating as sitting in the middle of the corner with the whole of the rest of the grid of 30 cars driving straight at you. It cannot have been very pleasant for them either. The engine stalled and took time to restart and so I went off without much expectation of rejoining the race as such. I had fresh tyres and took the cautious view that I would save them for the next race. I lost focus, and was eventually lapped by the whole field. However, I lived to fight another day (and with fresh tyres!). The Sunday race was brilliant. I got stuck behind the Photo: www.simonpics.co.uk

Photo: www.simonpics.co.uk

of my favourite UK tracks and is always a great event. The weather was difficult to call, with various wet and dry spells. I qualified at Under attack from David Mason’s 458. the back of going into McLeans, and in doing my class due to tyre choice so we make contact. The impact when I chose wet tyres, everyone is so strong that I back off else was on dry. In the races I immediately and struggle round made an inspired choice and to the pit lane with a strong went on dry tyres when others vibration from the steering, but I were on wets and won both realised that I am on to the last races, with fastest laps as well in lap and want to keep position so I my class. complete the final lap before I come in. When I get out and look at the wheel I see that the The fourth meeting was at alloy has been smashed and most Spa. This without any doubt is of the central spindle has gone. I my favourite race circuit. I have was lucky to get back. been lucky to drive it in beautiful sunny weather as well as heavy rain. I love going down there The third meeting was at and this year we were lucky Silverstone in June. This is one enough to race in lovely

Into Bus Stop at Spa. “Without any doubt my favourite race circuit.”

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Photo: SwiftyPix

Photo: www.simonpics.co.uk

“I was learning how hard you can lean on the car in the corners and how soon you can get the power down.”

tyres and it did not work out for me. The fifth round was at Castle The final race, on the Combe on the August Bank Sunday, and the choice was for Holiday Monday. This is a circuit dry tyres and what a great race I I have driven for over 25 years. had. As it was the last of the This was definitely my best race season I intended to enjoy it and so far and I was just outside the after qualifying well I only had course record for the class and Simon Smeeth to worry about. I came in fourth overall. A lovely went off full bore and managed to sunny day and a race when I was get ahead of David Mason in his able to concentrate on line and 458 and so decided to give him a speed and relax. The result was run for his money. I knew he solid proof that I was learning. had a little race experience but was being trained by Calum Lockie who had helped me many So off we go after a long years earlier with my driving. break to the final meeting back at The 458 is a simply superb Snetterton, where we had started car so I knew that flat-out speed the season. The weather was was of no use to me but wet. The choice of tyres was Snetterton is a difficult circuit on critical and in the first race half of the 200 to get by if you do not do us were on wets and the others it on the main straight. I held on dry and the wet choice just him until lap 16 of 18, when he won. Unfortunately I was on dry made an excellent move coming out of Murrays and got the run on me past the finish line. I had almost decided to take the inside line into Riches to make sure he consolidated the pass but thought I had done enough so let him go. Then I found I had Simon Smeeth on my tail, who had appeared from nowhere, but was having a great race. I had to concentrate to the end to secure my win and the class championship. It A deluge at Snetterton. Tim is seen here had been very with Sam Smeeth in his wheel tracks. entertaining for the

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spectators and I had had a lovely time. Happy days to be remembered and the successful conclusion of my three year programme. So a big thanks to Graham and Mike Reeder for their instruction and for running the car. There is still so much to learn and the friendliness of the paddock and the series to be enjoyed, and a new plan for the future to be considered.

Photo: www.simonpics.co.uk

456GT of Paul Brookes, which is powerful on the long straights but slow in the corners. He drove a great race but after a few laps his tyres went off and I was able to get past. The delay had compromised my race and any chance of catching the pack, but I had really enjoyed the experience. I was learning how hard you can lean on the car in the corners and how soon you can get the power down. I was only just beginning to appreciate how much faster than the 360 it was and it was all down to my cautious driving that I was not going faster.

Thank you Ferrari Owners’ Club for a great racing series that I have now enjoyed for 15 years. And there is still life in the old dog!

NCE AGAIN the computers have been set whirring into life at CompRes Towers to evaluate last season’s House Points. Every Club member who took part in any race, sprint or hillclimb during 2013 is listed together with his or her points. The system we use is the same as last year and explained in the appropriate pamphlet. We are working on an update for 2014 to take into account the scintillating performance of the latest Ferraris and, by comparison, the slightly less speedy older tipos. The total number of competitors in 2013 was just 80, a reduction of around 15% on the previous year but still a higher number of active competitors than in any other Ferrari club in the world. Although an impressive amount of silverware was presented at the Hillclimbers and Racers End of Season Dinners in October and November respectively, there remains a small mountain of trophies to be dispensed at the Club’s AGM Prizegiving Luncheon which takes place at Daventry Court on Sunday, 27th April. As always, we are delighted to see as many competitors as possible at this major annual function, regardless of whether you are celebrating success by picking up an award yourself or simply cheering on your rivals. We have checked and double checked the results for accuracy but if you feel there is an error please do not hesitate to contact us. So without further ado, here are the 2013 House Points:

Jim CARTWRIGHT (Sir Anthony Bamford Trophy)

1810

Nick TAYLOR (Ken Wharton/Bill Blyth Trophy)

1755

Richard PRIOR

Mick DWANE

501

Nick WHITTAKER

492

Paul GRIFFIN

487

Mark WIBBERLEY

481

1570

Graham REEDER

468

Sam SMEETH

1419

Richard FENNY

445

Wayne MARRS

1342

Arwyn WILLIAMS

426

Tim WALKER

1295

Ben CARTWRIGHT

415

Peter FISK

1290

Paul UGO

399

Paul BAILEY

1182

Jeff COOPER

385

Nicky PAUL-BARRON

1128

Didier BENAROYA

375

David TOMLIN

1097

Peter ROGERSON

374

Jon GOODWIN

1072

49=

Tim MOGRIDGE

363

Nigel JENKINS

1040

49=

Lee MOULDEN

363

Tim SUMMERS

1038

Martin SHORT

350

Pauline GOODWIN

1028

Vance KEARNEY

347

Richard ALLEN

1016

Julian PLAYFORD

344

Peter EVERINGHAM

1004

Shamus JENNINGS

338

Nick CARTWRIGHT

975

William MOORWOOD

974

Philip WHITEHEAD

961

John SWIFT

927

Richard PREECE

890

John MARSHALL

888

Tim INGRAM HILL

840

Paul BROOKS

821

Carl BURGAR

814

Tris SIMPSON

Christian ANDERSSON Wendy Ann MARSHALL

337 330

Darren LAVERTY

326

Mark HARGREAVES

325

Mike SPICER

307

Andrew HOLMAN

297

David MASON

277

Simon SMEETH

276

771

Toby TARRANTWILLIS

275

Shaun SMITH

715

Jack HARGREAVES

268

Richard ATKINSONWILLES

706

Barrie WOOD

257

Brian JACKSON

688

Steve ROUTLEDGE

229

Sean DOYLE

683

Jan GIJZEN

228

Ray FERGUSON

650

Richard STAFFORD

227

Tony ATTWOOD

635

Chris GODDARD

225

Iwan ATTWOOD

600

Douglas CAMPBELL

188

Gary CULVER

551

Nick KAYE

182

Ted PEARSON

544

Peter JENNINGS

144

Craig MILNER

526

Robert MACFARLANE

130

CompRes 18

74 75

Robin TARRANTWILLIS Sally MAYNARDSMITH

126

DEREK COLLINS TROPHY

GRAYPAUL RACING TROPHY

110

Unmodified road-going 308GT4 and Mondial

Winner Class C4 of the Pirelli Ferrari Open Series

Peter HITCHMAN

106

Chris HITCHMAN

Ethan WHITTAKER

Lorraine HITCHMAN

Caroline COOPER

The Individual Trophies

William Moorwood

974

Sam Smeeth

Carl Burgar

814

Paul Bailey

Sean Doyle

683

Wayne Marrs

TARGA STRADALE MODIFICATO and MODENA ENGINEERING TROPHIES Modified Dino, 308, 328, 348 (except 308GT4 and Mondial)

BARACCA TROPHY

Flat 12 Cylinder

Not awarded

Jim Cartwright (Targa Stradale)

Wayne Marrs (Modena Engineering)

Nicky Paul-Barron

BUMBLES TROPHY

Jon Goodwin

892

Paul Brooks

821

Tim Summers

662

MARANELLO CONCESSIONAIRES TROPHY

Tony Attwood

635

Iwan Attwood

600

No other competitors

Unmodified V8 road-going cars (except 308GT4, Mondial, F355 and later tipos)

1 2 3

Tim Walker

(Gilles Villeneuve)

Peter Fisk

(Mario Andretti)

Peter Everingham

1295 1290

Unmodified V8 road-going cars F355, 360, 430 and later tipos

Nick Taylor

1720

Richard Prior

1570

Pauline Goodwin

CompRes 19

985

Carl Burgar STIRLING CUP

1128

Winner Gp2 of the Pirelli Ferrari formula classic Series

David Tomlin

Modified 308GT4 and Mondial

Richard Atkinson-Willes

John Swift

Nick Taylor

Richard AtkinsonWilles

706

Ray Ferguson

650

1060

THE BIG SWIFTY Winner Gp3 of the Pirelli Ferrari formula classic Series

IVAN BISHOP TROPHY

Peter Fisk

Winner Class C1 of the Pirelli Ferrari Open Series

Tim Walker

Peter Everingham

Paul Brooks

Tris Simpson Tim Mogridge Lee Moulden

TROFEO ITALIA Winner Gp4 of the Pirelli Ferrari formula classic Series

DAVID HATHAWAY TROPHY

Jim Cartwright

Winner Class C2 of the Pirelli Ferrari Open Series

Wayne Marrs

Nick Cartwright

Paul Ugo

Nick Kaye FF CORSE CUP

1004

STEPHEN LANGTON AWARD

GILLES VILLENEUVE and MARIO ANDRETTI TROPHIES

William Moorwood

1333

V6 Cylinder

FIORANO TROPHY

V12 Cylinder

1810

STUBBERFIELD TROPHY Winner Gp1 of the Pirelli Ferrari formula classic Series

Winner Class C3 of the Pirelli Ferrari Open Series

GODFREY EATON TROPHY The competitor who best typifies the spirit of the Pirelli Ferrari formula classic Series

Tim Walker

Tim Ingram Hill

Tim Summers

DAVID PRESTON TROPHY

Simon Smeeth

Preparer of the Year

Balfe Motorsport

WILKINSON TROPHY

HILLCLIMB TROPHY

Circuit Driver of the Year

Driver scoring the most points in the Pirelli Ferrari Hillclimb Championship on Handicap

Jim Cartwright

Shaun Smith

FRANK BOTT TROPHY

Richard Prior

Winner of the Pirelli Ferrari Hillclimb Championship

Richard Preece

Richard Prior

160

Nick Taylor

148

Jon Goodwin

120

ELWYNNE OWEN-JONES BIATHLON CUP Driver scoring the most points in a mix of Circuit, Hillclimb and Sprint events

COTSWOLD TROPHY Any Ferrari scoring the most points in the Pirelli Ferrari Hillclimb Championship on scratch

Nick Taylor

1720

Richard Prior

1570

Jon Goodwin

1072

Nick Taylor

58.0

John Swift

36.0

Pauline Goodwin

35.5

GUIDATORE NOVICIO DELL’ANNO TROPHY Most promising newcomer to Ferrari competition

Paul Ugo COPPA FERRARI CLUB NEDERLAND Best performance by a pre-1975 Ferrari

Tim Summers

CAVALLINO TROPHY A particularly meritorious result in Ferrari competition (not necessarily by a Club member and not necessarily awarded each year) Not awarded

THE 2013 CHRISTMAS SWIFTY A

11 E

I T

O T

A U

L T

13 13

P L

T A

R O O

S S

S C

L U

E S

D P

X V

E A

P N

T R

R M

P A

P U

T I

I I

Here is the solution to the 2013 Christmas cryptic Swifty, with the usual motoring and Ferrari flavour, which we set you in the last issue of CompRes. The two prize winners, who submitted correct solutions by the closing date of 13th January, were RICHARD PREECE and BARRIE WOOD. Barrie will have to share the prize with his cat, Ginger, who, judging by the paw marks on his entry, was responsible for most of the solution. 2014 Ferrari calendars have already been despatched to the winners. Thanks to everyone who took part. If you didn’t achieve success then better luck next time!

CompRes 20

CompRes 21

CompRes 22

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Contact: Steve Farthing 01747 852899 info@wrenclassics.com www.wrenclassics.com Distinguished by Knowledge Reputation and Reassuringly Passionate about Cars Historic & Modern Race, Rally and Road Car Preparation Full Restoration & Refurbishment Service On-Event Management & Support Vehicle Storage and Maintenance Unit 5 Top Station Road Brackley Northants NN13 7UG Tel: 0844 243 7843 ian@bgmsport.com www.bgmsport.com

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