Dave Snelson chalked up another win in his F430

The runner-up in his quick California T, the ever smiling John Kennedy

The Ferrari line-up in the paddock

With the Summer Solstice only days away and Stonehenge just around the corner, the leafy area of Wiltshire encompassing Gurston Down was probably just the place to be in June.  The Sunday speed hillclimb had attracted an entry of eight Ferraristi (driving seven cars) – a bit on the low side but never­theless representative of some of Enzo’s finest.

Looking down the entry list, newcomer Steve Nunney was commendably seeking to add to his experience and was driving his smart 348ts.  Father and son Tony and Iwan Attwood were again sharing the former’s 308GT4 following repairs after its contretemps at Harewood the previous month.  Pauline Goodwin was at the wheel of her trusty 328GTB while, again making the journey south from his native abode north of the border, was Scotsman John Shirley in his F355.  Fast men John Kennedy (California T) and Championship leader Dave Snelson were also here to do battle – Snelson bringing the faithful F430 out of his armoury for this event.  There should have been Steve Thompson with his rapid 488 but he failed to turn up.

Practice got underway under rain-threatening clouds, with all the drivers exercising understandable prudence, although Snelson missed P1 by arriving late.  In his absence, Kennedy occupied the top position with 40.29 from Shirley’s excellent 41.97.  Pauline Goodwin kept her faster 328GTB in front of the Attwoods, while Nunney made an excellent fist of his first climb here.  Practice P2 saw improvements throughout the Ferrari field, with Snelson’s arrival taking star billing away from Kennedy—but significantly by only 0.30 secs.  Nunney made his fastest climb of the day in 45.14.

Following the lunch break and no sign of the threatened rain, missed gear changes by both Shirley and Nunney marred their efforts.  Iwan topped his dad’s run in the GT4 by just over a second, Pauline G. went a bit slower despite spending time fine-tuning her tyre pressures, and an optimistic Kennedy improved (37.60) but not as much as Snelson (37.03).

And then it was R2 and the last chance saloon.  The Attwoods clocked almost identical times for the 0-64ft blast off the start, but Tony couldn’t quite match Iwan’s time on R1, but only by a whisker (0.15 secs).  Pauline beat them both and set the quickest 0-64 ft Ferrari time of the day at 2.45 sec., proving you have to be very slick indeed to beat this lady off the startline.

Shirley’s run (40.18) was quick enough to claim 3rd place on scratch together with the Handicap prize, while the two leaders shaped up to each other for their final fling.  Kennedy—only half a second in arrears on R1—risked everything on the fast run  into the first long left-hand  bend. He hung on to his California T with its stability system seriously overstretched.  The car stayed within the track boundaries but his chance of beating Snelson was gone. As for the Champion, he was a mite slower but his R1 time was fast enough to capture the day and the valuable 20 points.

In summary, the threatened rain resulted in only a few spots of no consequence and we all enjoyed the well-organised meeting.  Now it’s on to the next big challenge: Shelsley Walsh on 26 June.

I am indebted to John Shirley and Mark Bentley who, at the last moment, provided me with notes of the action.  Apologies for the paucity of photographs.