The final round of the 2025 CSA Service Group Ferrari Hillclimb Championship took place at Curborough on 28^th September. Utilising the Figure-8 course, this was our second visit to the West Midlands based sprint course this year.

Fresh to the Championship as an invited guest was Wales AGO Paul Hicks and his wonderfully yellow Ferrari 488 Spider. You’d be surprised to learn this was Paul’s first proper hillclimb event as he had all the gear and certainly looked at home in the paddock with the other competitors… it must have been the wine and tips from other competitors in the hotel the night before!

Spirits are high and anticipation is building, whilst the championship may have been decided second place was very much up for contention. Rob Samuels would have to finish ahead of John Kennedy to trigger a tie break scenario, forcing scoring to go to Best 11 rounds to claim second place in the championship… John had to finish ahead of Rob in any way possible… no pressure…

PRACTICE

First out the blocks is Paul Hicks who wastes no time making some noise and it appears , whilst inexperienced, some of the lessons from the Hillcilmb School Day earlier in the year have stuck. A respectable 75.00 seconds for his first ever outing gives plenty of room to find pace through the day and an opportunity to build confidence ahead of next year’s championship.

Next Stuart McCabe heads to the start line. The first half of the lap goes well however Stuart continues past the crossover and there’s a few confused faces in the nearby marshal post. Is there a mechanical problem? No… Stuart has decided to practice the two-lap configuration instead. A lovely line round to complete his practice run, however unfortunately the wrong line for the day. No time given.

Steve Nunney sets off next and makes short work of the sprint course. Consistently improving over the season Steve delivers a clean and tidy performance to cross the line in 73.62 for his first practice run of the day.

Martin Jones then makes his way around the deceptively tricky sprint course in a relaxed 82.92, followed by Brian Jackson who also makes it look easier than it really is with a 73.09.

Rob Samuels is next to get his eye in for the day ahead, and in it is, with a potential new record out the gates with a time of 62.61, provisionally beating the 61.98 set by Dave Snelson in his 488 Spider last year. With the forecast promising perfect conditions who knows where the record will stand by the end of the day.

John Kennedy is next with his newly repaired California T. Not only does John look fast he is fast, crossing the line in his first practice run in 65.75. A little over a second will need to be found to challenge the pace of the day.

Pauline Goodwin then heads off the line with a cracking start, weaving around the track and changing through the gears very quickly. The marshal’s comment that it looks like another quick run around the track and they are right, just 69.86 seconds. Pauline’s PB from 2019 of 69.39 is within reach!

In the paddock earlier there was grumblings of electrical trouble for one competitor… and Dave Snelson’s first practice run appears to solidify this chat. It appears that something isn’t quite right with the 488 and it limps its way around the track in a pedestrian 97.82 seconds… possibly the slowest time every recorded at Curborough…

Investigating in the paddock there is indeed an array of Christmas lights showing on Daves instrument cluster… something is indeed wrong. ECU problems become the apparent cause however Dave will press onwards to enjoy the day, even if it does mean no driver aids.

In the second practice runs it is almost universal that everyone improves. The only exceptions being Brian Jackson who unfortunately has no time recorded (timekeeping errors became a theme for the day), Pauline Goodwin who fails to repeat the performance from earlier in the morning however feels she can make up the difference where it counts, and Dave Snelson who continues to limp around the track albeit with a 24 seconds improvement.

Into the lunch break we go. Whilst relishing in the autumn sun we are pleased to see several past, current and future competitors spectating today: Jon Goodwin, Chris and Rain Hitchman, and Ian Affleck.

RUN 1

Lunch devoured and marshal’s refreshed; it is time to get down to business.

Paul Hicks heads out first and sets his first ever official time, a respectable 69.20. Not quite the same drive as in the morning but there are signs of a competitive spirit showing with some heavier braking now making an appearance.

Stuart McCabe heads out and drives the 328 hard, staying in gear with the foot planted on the final straight to cross the line at 72.28.

Steve Nunney now makes his way from the start line with the F430 sounding particularly good this afternoon. A very smooth drive puts Steve across the line in 69.35, a touch off practice pace.

Martin Jones’ 360 pierces the air with a banshee’s wail (a crowd pleaser for sure) and whilst it sounded good it was a surprise when we saw how good – Martin had channelled his inner James Hunt to finish his first run of the afternoon 12 seconds quicker than the morning, a huge improvement. The time of 68.67 appears to have Martin stumped too!

Brian Jackson is next to set his first “official” time of the day in 308 BOB (registration 30B), the yellow 308. A masterclass in carrying momentum Brian is travelling well around the track and crosses the line with a very respectable 71.52 – not bad for a 45-year-old motor!

Rob Samuels lets rip with the 458 Speciale and slides his way around the track with an impressive display of car control, riding the very edge of grip afforded to him (and utilising some of the tricks in the onboard drivers aids to drive the car as it was intended to be driven). Crossing the line at 62.49 it is official; we have a new record!

John Kennedy heads out next and the California T – a substantially larger car than some of the others competing – disguises itself well and pivots around the bends quickly. Hazard lights flashing at most braking points John puts on a great show to cross the line at 64.25, proving that you don’t need an engine in the back and that mid-front is just as quick when driven well.

Pauline Goodwin jumps off the line and weaves through the course in the 328 GTB in 69.45 seconds. An improvement of nearly half a second and so close to a new PB.

Finally for our group Dave sets off the line, and it is clear from the sound that the electrical gremlins from this morning are behaving for now. The 488 sounds as it should and rockets to the first corner. It isn’t long before Dave has made short work of the course (one he is often spotted at practicing) and by some bizarre warping of the space-time continuum he crosses the finishing line in an astonishing 60.84 seconds. Rob’s record from just minutes earlier has already been beaten and not by a little bit either.

Back in the paddock it is now a question if Rob can answer back and find another 1.5 seconds… not impossible but certainly not easy either.

RUN 2

Temperatures are starting to drop and whilst spirits are high the thought of the championship coming to an end for the winter has put a downer of the paddock – do we really have to wait until April to get started again? Your scribe teases a couple of competitors that it might not be April but no details to share just yet…

Making his final “official” effort for 2025 is Paul Hicks. Failing to improve on the earlier run he crosses the line in 70.86 seconds however it is clear that the bug has well and truly been caught – you can expect to read more about Paul next season!

Almost all fail to improve in the second and final official timed runs of the day. Stuart is little over 1 second off with 73.40, followed by Steve Nunney with a 70.13. “The Negroni Challenge” winner pre-PEP is Steve Nunney however after PEP adjustment is Stuart McCabe… I’ll leave it to them to decide who buys who the winner’s spoils.

Martin Jones manages to ward off possession by the F1 drivers of old but in doing so can’t quite repeat the earlier performance and crosses the line at 77.52.

Pauline Goodwin bucks the trend and goes faster in her final run of 2025. How much quicker? Nearly half a second shaved off to deliver a new PB of 68.98, and Pauline’s reaction to the news proves you don’t have to the quickest on the day to enjoy participating, as you can compete with yourself too!

Dave Snelson is next out the blocks to finish off our 2025 season and whilst equally impressive his final drive doesn’t quite match the pace from earlier, crossing the finish line for the last time this year at 61.14. At just 0.3 seconds off the new record Dave does prove it isn’t just a fluke and that there could be more records broken in 2026.

IN SUMMARY

After PEP adjustments it is clear that despite the close fought battle through the year, Rob Samuels has held onto the number two spot on the overall podium with John Kennedy in third place overall. Had John come ahead of Rob in any way this round it would’ve been a different story – a testament to just how close this year has been and how balanced the PEPs have been on each tipo.

The final times on PEP are:

1. Dave Snelson – 63.58
2. Rob Samuels – 64.92
3. Pauline Goodwin – 65.19
4. John Kennedy – 65.86
5. Brian Jackson – 66.51
6. Martin Jones – 67.64
7. Stuart McCabe – 68.30
8. Steve Nunney – 69.35
9. Paul Hicks – 72.31

The Best Improver of the day (best practice time vs. best timed run) is Dave Snelson with the Best Prepared Car going to the F430 of Steve Nunney, the scrutineers especially impressed by all the stickers for various switches and handles being in the right place.

Congratulations to all our competitors for not only putting on a good show in 2025 and a big thank you for continuing to support the Club’s only Championship. We look forward to welcoming some new faces in 2026 and hope to see many familiar names in the paddock once again.

LOOKING AHEAD

2026 is just around the corner and confidence is high that not only will Dave be at the sharp end once again, but his nearest competitors in Rob Samuels and John Kennedy will be nipping at the heels to push too. Both Rob and John are certain that they know where they can find time at each venue next year to continue to apply pressure and push each other further and faster than before.