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report by Steve Burns
photography by Francis Newman
Gurston Down near Salisbury was the location for Round 13 of the 2026 Superformance Ferrari Hillclimb Championship. The weather forecast for the day was mixed and unpredictable, with fast moving and spontaneous light showers sweeping across the Wiltshire countryside. An unusually early 08:30 start and an early batch allocation for the 8 Ferrari drivers saw them take to the hill before the first of the passing showers had chance to dampen proceedings. Dave Snelson was quickest in his 488GTB, a full second faster than Rob Samuels’ 458 Speciale. Steve Nunney (F430) continued the strong pace he had shown at Curborough posting the third fastest practice time. Setting the timing screens alight though was Iwan Attwood (Dino 308 GT4), fourth fastest on scratch in a car that on paper should be a lot slower than the more modern and technically advanced aforementioned runners. Once the performance balancing PEP adjustment had been applied, Iwan would separate Dave Snelson and Rob Samuels, and attributed his new found pace to his coaching sessions during the Club’s recent track day at Castle Combe. Behind Iwan came the ever competitive Pauline Goodwin (328 GTB) followed by Simon Jefferies (308 GTS QV), Ian Affleck (328 GTB) and returnee Martin Jones (360 Modena).
For the mid-morning second practice run, track conditions were damp following a brief rain shower, so understandably, no one managed to improve their times.
The first timed run took place shortly after the lunch break, by which time the track had dried in the mild and breezy conditions, and all drivers managed to improve on their first practice time by 2 or 3 seconds. Dave Snelson again topped the time sheets, despite a loss of rear aero owing to a damaged rear defuser, which had become loose after hitting standing water on the drive to the venue, and further dislodged during the practice runs. Absolutely flying up the hill with apparently no margin for error was Steve Nunney, who crossed the finish line recording a time of 38.00 seconds, enough to place him second overall once the PEP adjustments were made to the faster cars of Snelson and Samuels. Iwan Attwood hung on in 4th place ahead of Pauline Goodwin in 5th, but only 1.3 seconds would separate Nunney (2nd place) and Goodwin (5th place) on PEP, so realistically any of these drivers could finish on the podium and swoop a good haul of championship points.
Simon Jefferies was delighted with his starts, posting an incredible 64ft time of 2.49 seconds, which was only bettered by the more advanced cars of Snelson and Samuels, and even then, only slightly. Simon modestly claiming that this was due to the downhill nature of the startline at Gurston (unusual for a Hillclimb).
All eyes were on the weather for the second, and final, run of the day. If the rain arrived, any improvements seemed unlikely, so it was a relief for most that the track remained dry. The slightly warmer mid-afternoon temperature clearly also offering the best track conditions as everyone managing a further improvement, apart from Rob Samuels who was going well until the rear of the Speciale slid out costing him a few valuable tenths. Although the times had improved, the finishing order remained unchanged, which is testament to just how consistent all drivers have become at this late stage in the championship. The best improver though was Ian Affleck, his second timed run being some 3.96 seconds quicker than his opening practice time.
With the championship battle now reaching its climax, it was fitting that our Eligibility Scrutineer Kevin Moore was present to inspect the cars for regulatory compliance. Kevin also chose the recipient of the Superformance Best Prepared Car award, and was pleased to reward Rob Samuels for his attention to detail. Just 2 points separate the championship protagonists heading into the final round at Shelsley Walsh, so its all to play for at the top of the table in a couple of weeks time.
