FERRARI HILL CLIMB CHAMPIONSHIP
REPORT : ROUND 4 : SHELSLEY WALSH : 16/17 JUNE 2001
by Richard Allen

A dull, overcast, rain threatening sort of day, but notably Geoff Dark's day as he put one over a field of much more modern machinery with his venerable 308GT4.

The Ferrari class at this second round of the British Hillclimb Championship included Geoffrey Rollason (F355), a regular Ferrari winner at Shelsley, and the current FHCC points leader Peter Hayman (512TR). Richard Allen was there with his 360 Modena and we were very pleased to welcome one of this seasons new players - Richard Prior with a red 348ts, and also to have the company of Terry Esom (328GTB) once again.

Notable too was the youthful looking chap in the Grigio 328, none other than Shelsley veteran Keith Maddox, not long out of his seventieth birthday celebrations.

Saturday's practice sessions were the usual relaxed arrangements where you choose which batch to go in. The track had opened damp and slippery, and the times are not necessarily illustrative of potential, as later in the day it became just about dry. Geoff Dark went late for his second run and headed the time sheet with an impressive low 36 second run. Geoffrey Rollason (F355) was out earlier and a little slower, then Allen's 360 proving to be a real handful on a damp hill.

The rest were all reasonably close, with Keith Maddox ahead of Mike Spicer's 308GTB. Richard Prior, despite a problem in the paddock with a detached throttle cable, dipped straight under forty seconds to head Terry Esom and Stuart Bailey . Peter Hayman, following a slow first practice with his 512TR on six cylinders, really went for it on his second despite it being his first time at this venue. He was caught out by the slippery conditions at the Top Ess and ran wide, striking the bank hard enough to push the front of the bodywork back on to the nearside wheel. Whilst the damage did not look too serious, he understandably thought it better to withdraw from the event.

Sunday was the day it all counted and it stayed gloomy but the rain miraculously held off. An unusually large crowd of spectators turned out and quite a few FOC members too, so we had plenty of support.

As the track remained dry Rollason looked a certain class winner with the 355, but he did not get it quite together on his first run, allowing Geoff Dark to edge a few hundredths ahead. Terry Esom put in a useful 36sec run, less than a second back, to move into third

The Ferrari class was very late in the programme and we did not get back on the hill until around 5pm. Previous form indicated that Rollason could easily stroll past Dark's 308GT4 first run time, and I am sure Dark expected the inevitable. Even so he put in a really brilliant run in 35.59 secs, easily his best at Shelsley to date. Rollason, next on the hill, was really going for it and was ahead of Dark at the split time before the Esses. He looked good for a 34 second run, but his paddle shift did a double shuffle from second to fourth going up to the finish, and he strolled over the line at only 74mph instead of 89. His time was 35.73 - only enough for second spot, behind Dark and his trusty 308GT4!

Terry Esom (328GTB) did not go any quicker but held on to third overall. Keith Maddox (328GTS) was smooth and consistent to head young charger Mike Spicer (308GTB), and Richard Prior showed great promise on his first event with a low 38 second run. Stuart Bailey, also new to Shelsley, found the going tough up the steep slopes with his 246GT.

Besides the scratch win, Geoff Dark also took the maximum points score once the PEP factors had been applied, and Terry Esom won the Club handicap competition. Most of the cars were well presented, and we awarded the Paddock Cup points to Mike Spicers 308GTB which is looking really spruce under his ownership.

RESULTS :

POINTS STANDING AFTER ROUND 4 :

Pos.	Driver	Tipo	Points
1.	Geoff Dark	308GT4	45
2.=	Peter Hayman	512TR	44
2.=	Mike Spicer	308GTB	44
4.	Nick Frost	348GTC	37
5.	Brian Jackson	F355/Ch/308GTB	26
6.	Richard Allen	360M	24
7.	Stuart Bailey	246GT	24
8.	Terry Esom	328GTB	22
9.	Simon Clark	328GTS	20
10.	Geoffrey Rollason	F355GTS	17
11.	Len Watson	328GTB	15
12.=	Jeff Simpson	246GT	14
12.=	Keith Maddox	328GTB	14
12.=	John Dobson	328GTB/308GT4	14
12.=	Jos van de Perre	308GTS	14
16.	Robin Ashley	246GTS	13
17.	Richard Prior	348ts	12
18.	Chris Hitchman	308GTS	10
19.=	Christopher England	308GTS	9
19.=	Philip Whitehead	328GTB	9
21.	Peter Hitchman	F355GTS	8
22.	Sally Maynard-Smith	328GTS	1

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