Compres 030 by CompResults

FERRARICOMPETITIONRESULTS

CompRes Merry Christmas!

ISSUE 030 NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2007

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 MERRY CHRISTMAS! Everyone at CompRes Towers sends their best wishes for Christmas and the New Year to all who have taken part in the Club’s motor sport activities during the season, including those have contributed to this magazine in one way or another. We excused our inimitable Miss Tonks some of her filing duties for a spot of pre-holiday partying. Looking around, there does seem to be rather a lot of unsorted letters scattered around so I guess the parties went on a bit longer than I was led to believe.

Miss T is a great favourite with many CompRes readers, including our revered President, Peter Stubberfield. So here is a snap of her at full throttle after sampling the industrial strength gins and tonic we usually pour out at this time of the year.

1 CompRes

Although it has been an incredible amount of hard work, we’ve had enormous fun chronicling all the dozens of motor sport events the Club has been involved in this year. So thanks to everyone who has helped to make it a success by writing reports, taking photos, or generally assisting with the production. Have a great holiday and come back refreshed in the New Year. It’s going to be just as hard graft in 2008!

COMPETITOR REGISTRATION The entry packs, containing 2008 Regulations, Code of Conduct, Registration form, etc, have already been posted out to would-be competitors in the 2008 race series, the Pirelli Ferrari formula classic and Pirelli Ferrari Open. We are now open for business for registration (see the subsequent piece about Pirelli Calendars) but do remember that to complete your signing up for 2008 you need to enclose your cheque for the registration fee. I say this because of the first few who have sent in their forms, two have omitted to include the necessary wonga. Please note that last year’s competitors have first refusal on retaining their competition number from the 2007 season.

However, this priority only lasts until the third week in January. If you haven’t laid claim by then by submitting your registration application, your number will be available to others on a first come, first served basis. For hillclimbers, we are awaiting the final ratification of our 2008 Regulations by the MSA governing body before we are permitted to issue these to competitors. We hope that formal approval will be forthcoming any day now to enable us to send out the PFHC registration packs early in the new year.

CLASSIC WEIGHT CHANGE Following a review by the PFfc Race Committee, there has been a change to the minimum weight for Gp2 and Gp3 Mondial t. In the 2008 Regulations, which have already been issued, the minimum weight for this tipo is set at 1440kg. Following the review, this figure has been reduced by 20kg (44lb) to the revised minimum weight of 1420kg. No other revisions have been made. A bulletin confirming this change will be issued to all competitors when they register for the 2008 series.

BIKERS CHOOSE PIRELLI The British Superbike and Supersport championships will run to a single-make tyre regulation for the next three seasons, with Pirelli winning the exclusive rights in a tendering process with the series organising Motorcycle Circuit Racing Control Board.

PIRELLI CALENDAR The much prized Pirelli Calendar was launched at the end of November in Shanghai. The 2008 edition is the work of Patrick Demarchelier, the influential maestro of portrait photography. This is his second assignment for Pirelli, his first being the calendar of 2005.

As you will see, this is a 12race programme taking in some of the best of UK race tracks as well as the world’s Mecca of all motor racing circuits, Spa. In the next issue of CompRes I shall put a bit of flesh on the bones of these events but in the meantime please log the dates in your new 2008 diary. It is going to be another memorable season!

this, we want to encourage members to try their hand at the circuits by dipping their toes into perhaps just one event to see how they get on. It becomes quite complicated to explain on the various registration forms but to help you understand how it works, here is a summary of the registration fees for the various combinations possible:

2008 PIRELLI FERRARI OPEN

Series

Encouraged by the high quality of racing in the Open series last season, together with the number of enquiries we have had from new potential competitors, we have expanded the programme of races for 2008. The following lists the events that have been contracted for: May 4/5

Snetterton (x 2)

May 17

Brands Hatch

Our friends from Pirelli UK have generously given us 15 of these collectors works of art. We shall be rewarding the first five competitors who register for each of our three series – PFfc, PFO and PFHC – with a calendar, so you know what to do!

June 6/7/8

Knockhill (x 2)

July 25/26/27

SpaFrancorchamps (x 2)

August 16/17

Brands Hatch (x 2)

September 13

Oulton Park

2008 PIRELLI FERRARI formula classic

September 27

Donington Park

The calendar of events in the 2008 series has now been finalised and the following is a list of races: April 19/20

Donington Park (x 2)

May 4/5

Snetterton (x 2)

May 17

Brands Hatch

June 6/7/8

Knockhill (x 2)

July 25/26/27

SpaFrancorchamps (x 2)

August 25

Castle Combe

September 13

Oulton Park

September 27

Donington Park

The above programme gives the Open series 11 races, many of which at circuits where the sister series, PFfc, is taking part. Three of the race meeting are hosted by Aston Martin Owners Club, which will give our Ferrari drivers the opportunity of entering additional races for which they are eligible, including the Intermarque championship.

COMPETITOR DISCOUNTS As usual, we are offering competitors a discount if they register for more than one of the Club’s two race series (PFfc and PFO), or alternatively combine the hillclimb championship (PFHC) with one or other of the two race series. In addition to

Total Fee including discount (£)

PFHC alone

70.00

PFfc or PFO alone

160.00

PFHC + PFfc or PFO

195.00

PFfc + PFO

240.00

PFfc or PFO one race only

160.00 with 75.00 cash back at end of season

PFHC + PFfc or PFO one race only

230.00 with 110.00 cash back at end of season

If all this does your head in (it certainly seems to be doing in mine), having registered for one series and then subsequently combining it with participation in another, contact Anne and she will tell how much you owe (I think!).

PRE-SEASON KARTING In partnership with Pirelli, we shall again be organising the usual pre-season Dinner during March next year, together with the traditional team karting enduro race at Thruxton circuit. Many of you will have enjoyed this annual event in the past and I hope that you, along with some of our 2008 newcomers, will be up for this spot of fun once again. More details the instant I have them.

STRUT YOUR STUFF Hillclimbers need to be aware that for 2009 (the season after next) the MSA have made

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some minor changes to the required dimensions of timing struts. The minimum vertical height of the strut goes up from 254mm to 270mm, the bottom of which shall be not less than 180mm and no more than 200mm from the ground. The minimum dimensions of the strut, which must be matt black, are now therefore 270mm x 51mm.

NEW FERRARI RACE TEAM

Last week it was announced that a new name in motorsport, CR Scuderia, will race Ferrari 430s in the FIA GT and British GT championships. The team is the brainchild of ex-PMFC driver and chairman of the Cobra Group, Chris Niarchos. Chris was the winner this year of the Ferrari Owners’ Club’s Cavallino Trophy in recognition of his winning, along with Tim Mullen, the 2006 British GT Championship in a Scuderia Ecosse Ferrari 430. The team director at CR Scuderia (CRS) will be Andrew Kirkaldy, a former winner of the McLaren Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year Award and also a team mate to Niarchos in the Scuderia Ecosse line-up for several seasons. Malcolm Swetnam, who will need no introduction to readers of these

pages as past Ferrari UK team manager in the Ferrari Challenge, is appointed CRS Team manager. The team acknowledges their biggest challenge will be the FIA GT Championship, in which they will run two 430s. Their lead car will be driven by Kirkaldy and Rob Bell, whilst the sister car will be partnered by Niarchos and Mullen. CRS will also run three Ferrari 430s in the British GT Championship as well as a full team in the Formula Renault UK Championship. All CompRes readers are invited to the CRS stand at the Autosport International Racing Car Show at Birmingham NEC on Thursday, 10th January when the wraps will be pulled off the first 2008-spec Ferrari 430 GT2 car, displayed in the team’s stunning new livery. The launch will be at 12.30pm on Stand 6207 in Hall 6, close to the main Autosport stage. ITV’s Ted Kravitz will be chatting to Chris Niarchos before introducing the team’s FIA GT driver line-up.

CHEAP MAGS Here at CompRes headquarters we have a number of back issues of CompRes which we can let members have for the knock-down price of £1.50 inclusive of postage. Let Anne know which months you want – we can go back to the start, in January 2005 – and we will do the rest. Anne can be emailed at: annemswift@btinternet.com

CHEAP SHIRTS Also emerging from our preChristmas stocktake, we have a few red Pirelli polo shirts remaining, mostly in large sizes. If you would like one of these for your nearest and dearest (providing she is not of stick insect proportions!) let Anne know and you could have a ready -made New Year’s gift.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! JANUARY 7

Christian Mineeff

Rat

Christopher England

Rat

Mel Walters

Ram

Richard AtkinsonWilles

Ram

Peter Hitchman

Ram

Geoff Dark 23

Mark I’Anson

Horse

Peter Sowerby

Dragon

Tim Mogridge

George Christopher

Horse

Peter Moseley

Ram

FEBRUARY 5

Andrew Lawley

Rooster

Guy Hudson

Rabbit

Bryn Williams

Tiger

David Dove

Stuart Bowler Jack Sears

Enzo Ferrari 1898 1988

Gary Culver

Horse

Dog

Neil Reeder

L to R: Chris Niarchos, Andrew Kirkaldy, Malcolm Swetnam

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Peter Fisk

Snake

Lewis Carter

Dog

Peter Rowley

Rabbit

Alex Mortimer

Mark Hargreaves

Snake

2007 Race Statistics

38 REGISTRATIONS — 30 took part

22 REGISTRATIONS — 15 took part

6 NEW DRIVERS

Mark Buckland, John Day, Nigel Jenkins, Chris Rea, David Tomlin, Len Watson + return of David Cottingham

WINS in Gps 1, 2, 3:

Edward Bourn, Robert Pulleyn, Andrew Lawley, Wayne Marrs, David Edge, Peter Rowley

WINS in Classes S & C

Gary Culver

Marco Pullen

David Tomlin, Steve Tandy, Nicky PaulBarron Simon Bartholomew, Mike Spicer

Charlie White

Edward Bourn, Tim Mogridge, Tris Siimpson

William Jenkins, Peter Everingham, Nigel Jenkins

Alan Cosby, Mark I’Anson, Wayne Marrs

PARTICIPATED IN EVERY ROUND: David Hathaway and John Swift , FASTEST LAPS Gp1: Steve Tandy 4 FASTEST LAPS Gp2: David Tomlin 4 Peter Everingham, Nicky Paul-Barron and Simon Bartholomew 2 Marco Pullen, Nigel Jenkins 1 FASTEST LAPS Gp3: Gary Culver 6 Mike Spicer 3 William Jenkins 3 LAP RECORDS: Gp1: Steve Tandy 2 Established record at Silverstone GP I; Silverstone GP II Gp2: David Tomlin 3 Established records at Silverstone GP I and Spa I; Spa II Nicky Paul-Barron 2 Oulton Park Intl, Donington Park Marco Pullen 1 Brands Hatch Indy Nigel Jenkins 1 Castle Combe Gp3: Gary Culver 3 Oulton Park Intl, Donington Park; established record at Spa I Mike Spicer 1 Brands Hatch Indy

Visited Snetterton, Brands Hatch Indy, Mallory Park, Silverstone Grand Prix, Spa-Francorchamps, Castle Combe, Oulton Park International, and Donington Park.

PARTICIPATED IN EVERY ROUND: Marco Pullen, Tris Simpson and Wayne Marrs FASTEST LAPS Class S: Marco Pullen 6 Alan Cosby 3 Tris Simpson 2 FASTEST LAPS Class C: Charlie White 4 Mark I’Anson 2 Tim Mogridge 2 Edward Bourn 2 Graham Reeder 1 LAP RECORDS: Class S: Marco Pullen 5 Rockingham, Silverstone Intl II, established records at Silverstone Intl I, Spa I and Oulton Park Intl Alan Cosby 3 Snetterton II, Donington Park; established record at Rockingham I Class C: Charlie White 4 Spa II, Donington Park; established records at Silverstone Intl I and Oulton Park Intl Tim Mogridge 2 Silverstone Intl II; established record at Spa I Edward Bourn 1 Snetterton I Mark I’Anson 1 Established record at Rockingham I Visited Snetterton, Brands Hatch Indy, Rockingham, Spa-Francorchamps, Silverstone International, Oulton Park International, and Donington Park.

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RA’s HILLCOMMENT The New Year – 2008 will soon be upon us and now is a good time to ponder the upcoming Ferrari motorsport possibilities. As you will have seen there is a calendar full of events next season, both on the hills and the circuits. If you tackle both, as some of our competitors do, your feet won’t touch the ground! Seriously though, we have all the favourite meetings at some really great venues including, of course, Doune in June as the “overseas” outing. There will also be the opportunity for several of our drivers to take in the St Goueno meeting in Brittany again. In 2008 the date has moved to August 2/3, a weekend that does not appear to clash with anything. We expect the organisers will take about six Ferraris, and if you fancy having a go I suggest you contact Richard Prior without delay. He will be allocating the spaces we are offered. In 2009, Easter is back in April and Bouley Bay will most likely be on the menu once more. Doune on June 21/22 is a round of the British Hillclimb Championship - a big and very popular meeting. The organisers, Lothian Car Club, were delighted

when we asked if they would run a Ferrari class, such is the attraction of our cars. Already many PFHC competitors have committed to this meeting, and our Man in the North, Chris Butler, has not only arranged some splendid accommodation and dining, but has even been to the hotel to check it out. I guess he went and had a sniff around the hill too! Anyway, our Hotel is The Dunblane Hydro, an impressive pile just a few miles from the hill. We have fifteen double rooms reserved for both Friday and Saturday at £80 per night. This very advantageous rate is for two persons and includes full Scottish breakfast. Dining on Friday night will be as required, but Saturday evening we have reserved a private room for more formal dining. The booking forms for the Doune weekend at The Dunblane Hydro Hotel will be mailed out in early March. Loton Park on July 12/13 is a double header meeting just like 2007. We are already planning to run the usual accommodation arrangements at Loton Hall together with a special Hillclimbers Dinner on Saturday evening. Jon Goodwin has once again taken on the unenviable

task of agreeing our requirements with Sir Michael Leighton. As in the case of Doune, we shall be mailing out a booking form for the Loton Hall weekend early next year. Shelsley Walsh – May 31/ June 1 is also a round of the British Championship – a really prestigious meeting and not to be missed. This weekend will also include the opportunity to experience fine dining at The Elms Hotel. They have just spent £4m on doing the place up which has made the room prices prohibitive. However, I have managed to secure the Abberley Suite again for our very special dinner there. You can see from these arrangements being put in place for Shelsey, Doune and Loton, that next year we are going to enjoy ourselves out of the cars just as much as we always do! Media coverage for the PFHC in 2009 seems assured even though we normally hide our light under a bushel. Besides the Auto Italia interest (see page 5) that posh Octane magazine is also keen to cover some of our events. Be sure you take your make-up next season as well as your car polish. Anchors away or so it seemed to Richard Preece last season with his 308GT4. A possible servo or calliper problem meant he was never sure how well his brakes were going to work. Over the winter that ace fettler Neil Corns is on the case, and Richard and his GT4 will easily be two seconds faster per run!

There should be no shortage of room for hillclimbers at Dunblane Hydro.

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You can be serious especially if you are Andrew Holman. Now disciplined under an ASBO, Holman is determined

the car suffered at Shelsley in June. The car has been straightened out nearly as good as new by Prosport, and Nick hopes to drive the Mondial in some Classic rounds as well as a hill or two. Tales from St Goueno that seem ‘ASBO’ Holman gets ready for the 2008 season worthy of retelling with some tyre torture at North Weald. here. Richard Tomkins, one of the to be one of the big scorers in Brits competing there in an OMS 2008, and shaking off that wild single-seater wrote an article for man image. He has already Borough 19 Motor Club. It is a sneaked in a test day at North good read, and a couple of Weald, and his 348 is due to be paragraphs are especially sharpened up, chassis wise, by interesting: Robin Ward’s firm, Damax. ‘After Saturday’s escapade David Hathaway has now acquired that F355 Challenge he was seeking to race in the Pirelli Ferrari Open series. He was spotted very recently testing at Donington along with Chris Butler, who was also trying the car. Seems Chris went up to Knockhill, took his ARDS test and I guess will have applied for a race licence when doing his renewal. The Hathaway F355/Ch was not really up to par on the day – Chris was unable to get inside Charlie White’s times! Nick Taylor when he is not playing with Ferraris, races some powerful cars, like eight litre Cobra replicas and Lola T70s. Now he is planning on entering the Masters Series for Historic F1 cars next season. He too was at Donington on the same day, driving a 1978 Fitipaldi F5A - ex Emerson of course. The track was damp and greasy to start with and you can imagine he had his hands full. Later, when the track had dried, he put in some competitive laps and now has to decide between this car and the ex-John Watson 1976 Surtees T16. Tough choice really . . . ! Mondial lives – Taylor again, and nice to hear his much campaigned Mondial 3.4t has been save from the knackers yard following that heavy thump

with the OMS, I said to Paul Deslands with the faster of the Caterham 7s “What’s the tastiest Ferrari in that bunch over there?” “Nick Taylor’s Competitzione,” was his immediate reply. Grasping the moment, I strode over to the three Ferraris and introduced myself. “ Hi, I’m Rick Tomkins, who’s Nick Taylor?” We were introduced and just like any Ferrari nut he was completely at home when I asked him “What makes yours so nice then?” “Well it’s a 348 GT but tricked up a bit” Now I find Ferraris fascinating, but the words tricked up a bit gained my complete attention. It’s number 41 of 50 and one of eight RHD. It has carbon and Kevlar in place of metal and has an extra 20bhp - this all adds up to 1380kg and 320bhp. Last year, Nick won the Ferrari Owners’ hillclimb and sprint championship in this car. “Nick, if you get the time you could make a lifetime memory for mewould you take me out in your car?” “Straight away,” he said “No problem, Rick, we’ll do that.” Nick and Andy Holman had taken their Ferraris out on the Friday evening and arrived at a nearby village, where a couple of kids admired their cars. Next thing they were climbing in the cars asking for blasts up the main street and back. Soon there

were more kids, more rides, and the villagers started to come out in to the street and cheer them on, all whooping, waving and clapping. One very old lady was barged out of the way by a youngster as she hitched up her skirt and tried to get in to Nick’s car – there’s little queuing in France! In no time at all, the entire village is lining the road as they howled up and down. Andy characteristically upped the anti when he spotted the village car park and started doing doughnuts in there to turn the car around. Eventually the police arrived, thanked them for entertaining the locals, and politely suggested they leave. There’s more of this article but regrettably no room here. Besides a few other offences that he asked to be taken in to consideration, you can see now why Holman got that ASBO! Anyway, thanks again to Rick Tomkins for such an interesting anecdote. Appreciation time at the end of the year has had me thinking that there are so many people helping, with so many different ingredients that make our series both so popular and successful. The obvious ones are, of course, our series sponsors Pirelli, John and Anne Swift with CompRes, and Christian Mineeff and his website team. Then there are the Hitchmans, who have very kindly organised, through their company Daytona, our comp no door panels and the all important scoreboards. Dave Clark, our ace lensman, and those of you who have written reports on the various meetings. My personal thanks go especially to Richard Prior for taking on many of the things I have done previously. There are more people, not the least the competitors, without whom we would not be in business. A big thank you to all of you. And now this seems like a good place to wind up the column and wish you a Very Happy Christmas and a most successful New Year, especially with your Ferrari. 

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reprinted from auto italia

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RA’s Seasonal Hillclimb Reflections

ECEMBER is that time of the year when, in between all those mince pies and tidings of goodwill, we can reflect on the last season of Ferrari hillclimbing and sprinting – a remarkable year too. No nail biting last round shoot-out for the overall winner, although there was for third. In so many other ways it was a great season, with more rounds and larger entries at most venues. Adding to the enjoyment there was the magic of Bouley Bay at Easter and, of course, the Loton Park weekend too – both being very sociable besides very competitive. There has been some indifferent weather around, with a very strange sort of summer, but despite this we still had mostly dry, if often cold, meetings. The season got off to an interesting start with four different drivers in four different tipos getting the maximum twenty point scores over the opening four rounds – Butler, Prior, Taylor, and then Jackson. As things began to unwind further it was Richard Prior who kept notching up the big scores, with five twenties and significantly no less than six seventeens. Usually finishing second or third on scratch, Richard showed remarkable consistency besides very convincing speed, making few if any mistakes. Our congratulations then to 2007

Pirelli Ferrari Hillclimb Champion Richard Prior – a very popular and worthy winner. His performance this season was all the more remarkable when you consider his 348ts is hardly the sharpest tool in the tipo box. Chris Butler, second overall in 2007 with his F355, was really hitting top form at most places, with an astonishing ten class wins out of the eleven he entered – this must be some kind of record though there were of course fewer rounds in years gone by. Chris showed some devastating speed - even at the places he is relatively unfamiliar with, and had he entered more rounds would have given Richard a bad time! Butler is on a roll now, and he and his F355 must be ranked favourite for the series win in 2008. Geoff Dark, in third overall with his 308GTB, recovered well from that Harewood setback late in 2006. He was soon up to speed and scored strongly at the first Prescott, then MIRA and Gurston, venues where he has always featured well previously. In the latter half of the season Geoff brought out his newly acquired F355, soon finding it much more difficult to get the best out of than his 308 with which he has had an intimate relationship over so many years. Amongst all the other competitors there was some great and often very competitive driving going on. Nick Taylor took his 348GTC to class wins at Prescott and Cadwell Park,

happily turning the tables on young Butler (who had pipped him here in 2005). David Tomlin, busy in Formula Classic, still managed nine PFHC rounds with his F355. After an average MIRA result he got fired up at Shelsley, taking one of those nowadays rare “triples” – a class win, a class record and twenty points. David also went on to another class win at Gurston Down in July. Andrew Holman is always fired up and showed huge improvements this season at most places. He took a class win at Hethel although the entry was small and the opposition not great. Far more impressive was his class second and max pointer at the first Curborough, where the opposition was serious! Jon Goodwin had a lot of fun with his 250GT Lusso; he invariably took this chronologically handicapped tipo up amongst the more modern Ferraris, scoring really well with two max twenty pointers at Loton and Curborough in October. Jon also flashed his F430 out a couple of times and was quick. Had he got the thing off the line smartly, Butler would have been in trouble! A competitive family, the Goodwins, with Pauline showing great determination and increasing skill as she continued to whittle down her previous best times, culminating in a super result at the last Curborough round where she finished ahead of Geoff Dark for the first time! Inevitably with nearly forty competitors it is none too easy to

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Photo: Derek Hibbert

Photo: Andrew Holman

mention everyone in these abandoned smaller Ferraris notes, but those who entered for these tipos. Mike, having most rounds will come under retired from some very scrutiny! John Marshall successful circuit racing with showed good pace at Bouley his 328GTB, was now back on Bay, Prescott and Harewood the hills full time. Both he with his 328GTB, also taking a and Barry, like Geoff Dark, second in class at Hethel, his needed time to make the local track. David Hathaway, a adjustment to these large very keen competitor, was out more powerful Ferraris. in Formula Classic with his Another F355 driver, John 328GTB, but still competed in Swift, managed - in between ten rounds with his 348ts, his all those Classic and PFO race best scores being at North meetings - to take in a fair Weald and Cadwell. Sergio number of rounds, lowering Ransford was also out and his own 355 mark about more with his 308GTB. dramatically at Shelsley in His enthusiastic driving June. There were more F355s demonstrated that whilst he out there with Chris had stiffened his resolve, he Hitchman, Charlie White and Judged to be a worthy winner, RICHARD had not stiffened the 308. Peter Rogerson all seen in PRIOR was the season’s champion. Brian Jackson, another action during the season. 308GTB pilot, used to be one A notable aspect of the of our front runners years ago – effectively everywhere, Ferrari hillclimbing scene is the he reminded us with a twenty particularly at the second husband and wife teams point score at the first Harewood, Prescott. Jeff Cooper, like competing – not teams really as and twice during the year headed Richard still learning the courses, they seem to be busy trying to his old rival Geoff Dark. showed steadily improving form beat each other! Besides Jon and Philip Whitehead has from with his 360 Modena – not the Pauline Goodwin, Charles and time to time showed some easiest of cars to become Tracey Haynes have been very serious speed with his F355. competitive with - whilst John keen active competitors with Second overall at MIRA, he Day, another hillclimber now their 348GTC and 328GTB rattled Butler’s cage whilst busy with Classic, used his respectively, and of course Chris demolishing Tomlin in the 328GTB to good effect, especially and Lorraine Hitchman too, along process, and then went on to at a wet Gurston Down. with Chris’s dad, Peter. Another notch up an amazingly fast run F355s became even more husband and wife team is on his first ever Shelsley. prolific mid season - in addition expected in 2008 so the PFHC Richard Preece, still fairly new to to Geoff Dark mentioned earlier, really is a family show. There’s the discipline, drove his 308GT4 both Mike Spicer and Barrie Wood been a couple of Wilsons too, though they are not related – Peter with his 348tb and Adrian with David Tomlin’s 328GTB - he too will be out in his own F355 in 2008. If I say we have not seen enough of Nick Frost, Mark Buckland, Mark Hargreaves, Ed Briscoe and Andrew Duncan, then I have mentioned everyone after all up to now, except of course Colin Campbell, who took in no less than seven rounds with his Dino 246GT, a rare sight nowadays – a Dino on the hills that is, not Colin! So there you have it, another really great year for our club competitors in the Pirelli Ferrari Hillclimb Championship. Thanks to all of you who took part in 2007, and we very much look forward to seeing you and your “A rare sight on the hills these days.” Colin Campbell was a staunch Ferrari in action next season.  competitor this season in his Dino 246GT.

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Photo: Simon Cooke

WINNERS’ TALES Gary Culver

Tipo:

328GTB

Class:

Gp3

Pirelli Ferrari Formula Classic – New Faces are Welcomed. The Pirelli Ferrari Formula Classic series has attracted both new and old drivers this year - they have all been a great addition to the grid. The racing season has been well reported, both in CompRes and on the Club internet site, so I will not repeat those details here but share some of my thoughts and reflections on the highlights of the 2007 season.

Late Start Once Again I am not renowned for my racing starts. However, here I am referring to fact that I missed the season opener at Snetterton. This was a shame as I am particularly fond of the Norfolk track and have enjoyed many good races there. So Brands Hatch was the first outing. The event sticks in my mind for trying to prevent the gusty winds taking my ‘Eze-Up’ tent, in ‘Mary Poppins’ fashion, on a trip across London. It must say that although it might be cumbersome at times, or just plain awkward at others, I found that taking the Eze-Up for

the protection it affords, both from sun and rain, absolutely invaluable. During my first visit to Spa-Francorchamps, whilst being subjected to two solid days of torrential rain, I learnt that for us to enjoy motorsport (and retain the will to live), it was imperative to stay dry.

Ferrari in a Fit of Sulks

afternoon – the track was drenched. Although I enjoy challenging conditions, it was obviously questionable as to whether it was safe to race. At times such as these, a judgement and decision is made by the Clerk of the Course. I suspect that a great many competitors present at Mallory that day would have argued that it was not wise to compete in such conditions and in fact one series decided to cancel its own races of its own volition, on grounds of diminished safety. In such atrocious conditions, one sighting (green flag) lap is simply not enough to alert drivers

The Ezy-Up was pressed into service once more at the very next race, because the weather was simply atrocious. It might not be fashionable, and nothing I would admit to at parties, but I do have a soft spot for Mallory Park. Yes, the infrastructure does have its shortcomings and the track is idiosyncratic, but the simplicity is a strength and a reputation for being ‘the friendly circuit’ is very well justified. As reported elsewhere, the qualifying took place on an already slippery track – and the conditions worsened Fit of the sulks. “Of course we welcomed the throughout the day. support and helpful comments from everyone, By the time we but as time went by the suggested cures raced – later in the became increasingly bizarre.”

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Photo: Simon Cooke

Driver:

simply would not fire at the right time. After nursing the car around for the mandatory three laps to qualify, I sought the sanctuary of the pits to consider what could be at fault. Despite intensive surgery in the engine bay, aided at one time or another by almost everyone in the series, we could find nothing wrong. Of course we welcomed the support and helpful comments from everyone, but as time went by the suggested cures became increasingly bizarre. As the scheduled time for the Ferrari race drew near, we reassembled everything, turned the key and stood in shock as the old campaigner fired first time – and was ready for action. Much to his consternation, David Preston never found the cause of the Mallory Park maladies and it remains one of life’s little mysteries.

Race Graduates For those who take note of such

things, they may recall that the Ferrari Owner’s Club held a course, labelled ‘Introduction to Circuit Racing’ (ITCR), at Mallory the previous year. Being a simple layout, the track is ideal for new racers to learn the craft rather than the circuit. It was particularly satisfying to see five ITCR graduates becoming Ferrari racers by taking part in either the Classic or Open series in 2007. David Tomlin, Mark Buckland and John Day were welcomed competitors to the Classic field and I suspect that over time we shall see great things from all three.

Ferrari Racing Days One of season’s highlights was racing at Silverstone. It is rare to get the opportunity to race on the full Silverstone GP circuit and to the best of my recollection, my last racing laps on this version of the track were at the ‘Coys’ event in 1997. I have very fond memories of Photo: Stefan Eckhardt

to all the standing water, which was very deep in places. It was very regrettable that some of our drivers suffered bad accidents as a direct consequence of these circumstances. There is understandable commercial pressure on race organisers, but surely the priority should be a duty of care in respect of the competitors. The drivers are not only putting their equipment, but also their own safety, at risk. The decision on whether the track is safe to use rests with the officials, and the drivers have to put their trust in their judgment. Afterwards, upon reflection on the day’s events, I was convinced that the interests of the drivers had been sacrificed for the expediency of the schedule. Undoubtedly due to the care that David Preston lavishes upon it, my 328 is normally very well behaved. However at Mallory it had a fit of sulks. During the qualifying laps the eight cylinders

Magic! “It had been less than two years and the Ferraris roared once more around Spa.”

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those days and so it was with great anticipation that we set off for the Midlands back in June. Our series might not have been graced with the ideal racing times at this meeting, but this was more than compensated for by the atmosphere of the occasion and the thrill of just being involved. Although the event was excellent, I felt the title ‘Ferrari Racing Days’ was something of a misnomer when you consider how little racing actually featured in the event. A good chunk of track time was allocated to F1 demonstration laps. Being an enthusiast of these older machines, some of which were being very well driven, I could understand the relevance. The sounds generated by F1 machinery is always unique and the cars circulating that weekend had lost none of their magic. It was enthralling. However, a considerable amount of track time had been given over to free laps (whatever that means) for the FXX cars. I am still waiting to meet the person who can convince me that the FXX program has any merit. To develop such highly bred cars for non-competitive use seems a futile exercise to me.

Another Pilgrimage Another notable highlight was the pilgrimage to that Mecca of

motor racing: SpaFrancorchamps, in Belgium. On the demise of the PMFC a couple of years ago (the Ferrari Championship predecessor to the Club’s two current series), the last round was very appropriately held at Spa. With what looked suspiciously like a tear in his eye, I can remember John Swift proclaiming that it would be the last time the UK Ferraris would visit this famous circuit. For once, we can all be grateful that he was later proved to be wrong. It had been less than two years and the Ferraris roared once more around Spa. Most appropriately the weather welcomed our return with almost constant sunshine for all three days - it was simply tremendous to be back. Combining the ‘Open’ and ‘Classic’ series turned out to be a particular success and thankfully some drivers were joined by their WAGs. Everyone seemed to get on well and we had a serious amount of fun. Based upon the success this year, I suspect that we shall be racing at Spa for many years to come.

Personal Thanks I would like to take the opportunity to thank all the PFfc competitors for their friendship this past season. I enjoyed some great races and it was mighty close at times – particularly with Nicky P-B. Although I have known Nicky for some years, for

one reason or another we had not previously raced against each other. It was a pleasure to do so this year. With Marco Pullen’s form obviously improving, a more experienced David Tomlin to contend with, Graham Reeder’s experience, and Nicky’s obvious pace, I think that we can all look forward to some terrific battles next season. My thanks go once more to John and Anne Swift who devote so much of their time to running both series. I would also like to mention John Buchan, and also Roy and Mick at Prosport, for their support. Most importantly, I would like to thank David Preston for his continued work preparing the car, and Yvonne for her contribution. I am convinced that David considers the 328 as his child – yes, it can be occasionally temperamental – but it has never let us down and has been racing for nearly twenty years. Finally, Debbie and I would like to take this opportunity to wish our many friends in the Ferrari Owners’ Club a Happy Christmas and Prosperous New Year. We look forward to seeing you all again next year, hopefully at the circuits.

Photos: SwiftyPix

“We had a serious amount of fun.” All the principal players in the Gary Culver Racing Show. L to R: Debbie Culver, Gary, David Preston and Yvonne Preston.

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Photo: Andrew Holman

S I SIT HERE in December, with a glass of single malt in my hand, the start of the 2007 season seems a far distant memory. After the long winter lay off, all racers and hillclimbers are raring to get out on track again; unfortunately for us though it started in wintry mid-March at the cold and windy airfield sprint known as North Weald. This really sorts out the serious drivers who enter despite the usual seasonal weather, and the main reason to put on fireproof overalls here is to stop hypothermia. The previous year, as I carried the extra 1% Champion’s PEP, I managed a feat here that I have never repeated. On brand-new Pirelli tyres I took the scratch win and the 20 points, but in 2007 the best I could muster would be third on scratch and a not unreasonable 17 points, having been outclassed by the 355s of Butler and Tomlin. It was Chris who was leading the championship for the first time ever, and he would be the main worry in my attempt to capture

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Driver:

Richard Prior

Tipo:

348ts

this year’s championship, with a maximum score already in his favour. The weather at the next round was tropical in comparison. Bouley Bay is always a short Easter holiday treat for all the family; sometimes I wish we had a Mondial or 308 GT4 as we need to take two cars for transporting the children, but I’ve never seen a Ferrari with a roof rack or trailer that’s essential for all the luggage we seem to have to take just for a long weekend! Apart from the weather, the points situation improved in Jersey too. We sailed back to Blighty with 20 points in the bag. But the contest on the hill that took place Bank Holiday Monday couldn’t have been closer. If you took a look at the results, they would show how determined the drivers were. Just 5 hundredths of a second covered the top three of Chris Butler, Nick Taylor and myself. As this was the first time Chris had ever seen the track, it means his performance greatly outshone my points tally and just goes to show what a knack he has for learning the lines in a very short time. Prescott is always an enjoyable track for me, and

feeling comfortable and familiar here usually means I’m confident for a good points win - one day possibly even a scratch win. This was a great opportunity at the May meeting as there were no F355s present, but the times recorded were not at our personal bests, and Nick Taylor had the better of me, taking the scratch win and the 20 points. More frustratingly I had been pipped to the 17 points by Geoff Dark, who put in an excellent run in the 308 and beat me by 0.01 of a second. But I had the lead in the championship, 10 points clear of Geoff in second place. The fourth round of the season was Harewood and one of the furthest distances to travel for me so an early start before dawn is necessary. As predicted, Nick Frost was favourite to collect the scratch win, and although the top four places were all in the 68second bracket it was a surprise run by Brian Jackson in his 308GTB, on 70.09 seconds, who got the 20 points and well deserved too. I was happy to settle for 17 points this time. MIRA was a tougher round, with 23 cars in competition and no fewer than seven F355s plus a 360 - all much more powerful

Photo: Derek Hibbert

Prescott is Richard’s favourite course. Here he is seen collecting 20 points at the September meeting.

than my little 348. With a credible 2nd run I was shunted down to 4th place by the 355s of Chris Butler, Philip Whitehead and David Tomlin. I can’t believe my wife Ann thinks getting a new washing machine is more important than upgrading my car to a more modern tipo. Maybe it would have improved my scratch time but may not have resulted in the 15 points, as it did this time. Chris Butler found the 2.25 % easy to overcome and took the 20 points by shaving over a second from his first run time. Chris now had two maximum point scores against my one, although I had competed at every round and Chris had missed a couple of rounds due to wedding planning duties. Shelsey Walsh was a remarkable meeting but not for my own reasons. The credit on this occasion went to David Tomlin for breaking the class record and taking both the scratch and points wins. Frustratingly pipping me by just 100th of second to the 20 points,

but again I have to say well deserved. The first six rounds’ honours had now been shared between five different drivers. This could be a championship which could fall to anyone of these five, comprising Butler, Taylor, Dark, Tomlin and myself. It was looking likely that the end of year total would be close and made up of a selection of 15 and 17 points, and not just a straight run of maximums as in previous years. Cadwell Park was a wet meeting. On a normal sprint circuit the water would have run off, but as Cadwell isn’t your average flat airfield the rain ran down the hilly bits and collected in awkward places. The marshals were pumping and sweeping water away for around half an hour before we could start one of our runs. I think I can say I know Cadwell quite well now and enjoy competing there, but a very slippery track would show who had the experience and bottle to put in a good time. Predictably it was Nick Taylor who took the scratch win with his

many years of circuit racing here under his belt, but it was close for 2nd place, with the next three drivers covered by 0.6 of a second after a lap of nearly 2 miles. I just managed to grab that 2nd place from Chris Butler and David Tomlin and also the 20 points. Despite now having only having two maximum scores after 7 rounds, my lead was looking healthy in the championship, 23 points clear of nearest runner, Geoff Dark. It was another 20 points tally for me at the first day’s meeting at Loton Park, but at the following day’s event things took a turn for the worse (and so did the weather yet again!). After the showers had dispersed, Jon Goodwin, with his lovely bird ‘Lucy’, became the fifth driver of the season to pick up a maximum score, and yet again I had to settle for the consolation 17 pts. The championship table now showed me on 143 points, Geoff Dark with 111, but Chris Butler was now closing fast on 100 points.

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second run I thought I had it in the bag, and even a couple of fellow drivers shook my hand thinking I had clinched the title, but as we stood at the side of the track to watch the remainder of the Ferraris, Andrew Holman put in a stunning run which looked quick from the start. The assembled crowd saw him beat my time by 0.16 and take the 20 points and prolong the title race. There were four more events left in which to get a maximum score and Harewood was the next round. After so many years competing at these venues, I was happy to get below the 70-second mark on my first practice and then improve further in second practice. After the lunch break, my first run to count was respectable at 67.59 (potentially a 20 pointer) but I put in extra effort for the next run. All was going well until an uncontrollable slide at the last corner put me into a 180 degree spin and a lost run, just when I needed to maintain the improvements. The others had made better use of their second run and were catching and moving ahead of me. By the third run, the cold air had moved into the area and I had very little chance of any lower times. Fortunately neither did anyone else, no-one got

ahead of my PEP time, so finally I had the 20 points I needed and I had the 2007 title under my belt. Since the pressure on me had now eased, I was determined to enjoy the remainder of the season and my favourite track at Prescott the following weekend. My main aim here was for the class win that I had got so close to before, losing out in previous years to Jon Goodwin by just hundredths of a second. Despite my 2nd run time beating my personal best by 0.27 of a second, I hadn’t bargained for Chris Butler to almost break the class record with a stunning time of 49.54, nor did I expect Jon Goodwin to turn up in his 430 to record 50 seconds dead. I was relegated to third place and will have to wait until 2008 for another shot at my only possible class win. The extra effort was rewarded with another 20 points to boost my championship total even more. As soon as the trophies were presented we headed off that evening to Longleat to stay at the track, ready for an early start the next day. Darkness had fallen which wasn’t the best situation for erecting a tent. Luckily we parked up next to our old campsite buddies, the Spicer family, and were also joined by

Photo: Dave Clark

Gurston Down is a nice venue to arrive at early on a Sunday morning. A scary track in the dry, but when we competed there in July it turned to yet another wet one. It was so bad that the weather had penetrated the timing gear and we only had one competitive run. Geoff Dark had the best time of this shoot-out and became the seventh driver of the season in the 10 rounds so far, to take a maximum 20 points. Unfortunately I didn’t enter Hethel due to other commitments, but was glad I didn’t as Andrew Holman used his local knowledge of flat East Anglia and took the win there. It was the only round I had missed all season. The first 2007 visit to Curborough, near Litchfield, was another damp day out. We always say that a wet track is a good leveller and the times should be closer together, but if you try too hard and leave the tarmac you could walk away with nothing. To make matters worse, I had now started to drop only 17 points from my total (something Pauline Goodwin couldn’t believe when we discussed the point situation that day) so it was a maximum that I needed to take the 2007 championship. On the

The May Harewood resulted in a useful 17 Championship points.

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Photo: Dave Clark

Andrew Holman who proceeded to set fire to an instant BBQ and most of the grass. Still, it was a pleasant, if dangerous, way to spend the evening. The event the next day was settled in the first runs due to persistent rain moving in from Cornwall at the end of the day. This is a daunting track, with its blind crests and closely situated trees, but I must have backed off too much as I ended up 6th on scratch. Chris Butler again claimed a scratch win along with the 20 points and so became uncatchable as runner-up in the 2007 championship. Well done Chris!

The non-championship hillclimb event in St Goueno, Britanny, proved to be an interesting break from the usual meetings. We were invited to compete as part of a DEMO GB class and it was a friendly event, with just three Ferraris lucky enough to be involved. It was a magnificent track of over 3km, with plenty of blind corners and sweeping left and right-handers. The three Ferraris were close together on the scoreboard after the practice session on the Saturday, but unfortunately as I crossed the finish line at the end of the day I picked up a terrible misfire. Lots of swapping spark

plugs that evening wouldn’t make the problem go away, so I opted to miss the competitive runs the following day and converted to being a spectator, joining my wife Ann and Fiona Taylor for camera duties. Of course the frustration of not driving wouldn’t subside but at least I could sample the local wine at the organised Sunday lunch at the hill. The welcome was very warm from the other GB drivers, and the hospitality from the organisers and local residents was very much appreciated. It will definitely be on my list to return. The finale to the season, at Curborough, was back to the single lap format. I had almost decided to sit the contest out and turn up to spectate, but as the car was still running after returning from France, I took the opportunity to give it one last thrash up the Litchfield track. I was so far off the pace I finished 5th on scratch, which was worthy of only 9 points after the PEP factor had been applied, but then I was running on only 7 cylinders. Jon Goodwin picked up the 20 points with Chris Butler on the 17. Final championship standings were, in third place, Geoff Dark on 119 points, Chris Butler the worthy runner-up on 141 and I had 151. This was to be the best result for Chris so far, but if he had had more rounds under his belt, I’m sure the outcome would have been very different. Watch out for him next year.! The end of season strip down revealed an inlet valve problem on number 2 cylinder, which will be sorted out over the coming long winter. Apart from that and an offside wheel bearing problem, the car has taken a lot of punishment this season but always managed to get me home again. We’ll both be back next year for more excitement and close results. The competitive spirit in the hillclimb series seems to grow with every season!

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THE 2007 CHRISTMAS SWIFTY ACROSS 1 A Ferrari centre located in a small Irish lake (6) 4 Spurious MSA chat about leading Ferrari’s engine component (8) 9 A refuge from traffic in the Paris landscape (6)

11 12

14 An Italian car, the subject of an FIA tribunal (5)

3 That Frazer Nash lot (4) 5 An England rugby player seen in a sports car (6,6) 18

20 22

26 28

27 29

23 A lovely melody coming from the Ascari Alfa Romeo (4) 24 The colour of a filleted bream (5) 25 A Lotus with style (4) 28 I cut path badly when getting some bread (8) 29 Hyundai model going for a song (6)

If you enjoyed trying your hand with previous Christmas cryptic Swiftys you should have fun with this one. There are some great prizes for the senders of the first three correct solutions opened on the closing date of Monday, 14th January 2008. Be sure to include your name and address with your entry. Good luck!

8 A Pacific island is hit, taken over by a SE Asian (6)

16 The hour for a cheap drink (5) 18 F1 constructor found suffering in turbulent W Siam (8) 19 Unmodified British car (8) 21 A Milan ciabatta with an Italian car parked inside (6)

Name:

22 Quiet, quite new F1 racing driver (6)

Address:

26 American city doctor serves up some meat (4) CompRes, Chevy Chase, Leeds Road, SELBY, North Yorkshire YO8 4JH

Ferrari Owners’ Club

“It’s from Ferrari SpA – what do you think they’re up to?” 17 CompRes

7 Sour group of British detectives enter a US agency backwards (6)

15 Rashly I rent an early Ferrari (5)

30 A disastrous boa hunt on a continental motorway (8) 31 Stored a river in high definition format (6)

6 Al leaves the tin-top – quickly! (4)

11 Chef beat mint senseless in an event to raise money (7,5)

17 Part of the engine confused enriched lady (8,4) 20 Police! Damn it! Comes to a full stop (7,5)

2 Fuel producing area created by a twisted life idol (8)

13 A gun for the young F1 racing driver (5)

DOWN 1 A VW that goes like the wind (8)

10 Perhaps surprise that not a hiss comes from it (8) 12 Italian oil (4)

27 Another VW is the name of the game (4)

        

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