FOC Test

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 PIRELLI CALENDARS We understand that the 2006 Pirelli Calendars promised to the first drivers to register for either of the race series have now reached their destinations.

The ten competitors whose alacrity in registering has been rewarded are Witt Gamski, Gary Culver, Alan Cosby, Simon Bartholomew, Colin Campbell, Jon Goodwin, John Shirley, Ross Warburton, Stuart Anderson and Richard Atkinson-Willes.

Pirelli are understandably sniffy about unauthorised reproduction of pages from their eminently collectable calendar so I am unable to give you a taste of the 2006 version. However, we send three cheers to them for generously providing us with this complimentary batch.

2006 SPORTING CALENDAR Included with this issue is a copy of the Club’s 2006 Competition Calendar, colour coded to assist with fitting in the gardening around the huge number of events in store for you this year. Although we believe the list is accurate, do double check the dates as we go through the season as fixtures are liable to change.

CLUB ANNUAL AWARDS Another enclosure with this edition of CompRes is a copy of the list of the Club’s Annual Competitive Awards for 2006 together with the methods by which they are awarded.

The system is substantially the same as in previous years although with the demise of PMFC and the advent of the Pirelli Ferrari Open series, there have been some tweaks to take account of the new situation.

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You will see we have listed all the results of last season’s competitions, suitably accompanied with a few photos to relieve the monotony of the text. We congratulate all those whose names are in the list and hope that as many as possible will attend the Prize-Giving Luncheon at Whittlebury Hall on Sunday, 23 April to receive their awards and/or cheer their fellow competitors.

PRE-SEASON KARTING AND DINNER The full details and application forms for this year’s Pre-Season Team Karting race and Dinner, on Saturday 25 March, were sent out to competitors and CompRes subscribers a couple of weeks ago and entries are already flowing in.

As we mentioned in the previous issue, last year we had a record breaking total of 100 drivers taking part in this annual event and we would like to match that again this time.

Please note that our block booking for rooms at the nearby Hilton Newbury Central expires in a day or two, so it is essential for those requiring accommodation to make their reservations straightway. We also need to know the numbers for the Dinner at the Valle d’Oro Italian restaurant in Newbury, so your attention is urgently needed to complete and return the booking form.

RACE SERIES We are finalising arrangements with Pirelli for dedicated clothing and personalised items for competitors in our two race series, the Pirelli Ferrari formula

classic and the Pirelli Ferrari Open. Although registrations are going well there are a number of ‘names’ who we understand are intending to compete this season but have not yet registered.

If you haven’t already completed the registration paperwork we urge you to do so without delay. This ensures you in the ‘loop’ so that you receive all the latest information and don’t miss out on any of the freebies.

HILL RECORDS In this issue we have compiled lists of all the current class records on all the hills featured in the Club’s hillclimb Championship, now known in shorthand as the PFHC. We are indebted to BRIAN JACKSON for his painstaking logging of the times achieved on the hills over the years.

Next month it is the turn of the circuit racers. We shall be publishing a table of all the existing lap records in the PFfc. The new Pirelli Ferrari Open, of course, has no previous ‘form’ but we shall be publishing the final lap records from the 20-year history of the Pirelli Maranello Ferrari Challenge, which may serve as a guide for runners in the new fledgling series.

IT’S A BOY! Congratulations to our old pal CHRIS MEEK and his wife, Svetlana, on the birth of their son Charlie Yuri. Charlie arrived on the grid on 25 February 2006, recording a useful 8lb 13oz (3.99kg) on the weighbridge.

I have no doubt, even as I write, that Charlie will already be having a seat fitting for a new Ferrari.

Photo: Keith Bluemel

years to make with the “full written permission of Ferrari”.

The notes then went on to say that “this unique one-off (sic) engineering masterpiece is totally unused. The engine castings are all of magnesium and the bodywork was hand-beaten aluminium.” It had been built, so it said, as a “tribute to Enso (sic) Ferrari”, which cast a few doubts in my mind, especially when I saw the asking price: a cool £250,000.

TYRES FOR OPEN

The Ferrari Owners’ Club stand at Stoneleigh Park

STONELEIGH PARK For the first time, the Club took a stand at the recent International Historic Motorsport Show at Stoneleigh. The centrepiece of our display was Mike Spicer’s 328GTB, highly polished and all decaled up for this year’s Pirelli Ferrari formula classic series. Other attractions on the stand were a display of Pirelli high-performance and competition tyres and a continuous video showing the Club’s repertoire of competition and track activities. Brochures for all our 2006 events were available.

It was good to welcome old and new friends, and we were pleased by the amount of interest shown in our competition programme for the new season.

There were a number of people manning the stand, which was in the expert hands of the indefatigable DEREK SEYMOUR with assistance from his most senior lieutenants including the ever cheerful MICK MARRIOT, MIKE MEWIES and SIMON COOKE. Also in attendance were the ever helpful PIRELLI team of Emma

Carruthers, Steve Bradwick and Steven van der Poll.

Taking time out to look at other displays in this vast show, I was impressed by the amazing variety of interesting things to see – not just competition cars of all types and ages but also the tools, equipment, gadgets, books, models, race wear, and other items. It was a veritable Aladdin’s Cave and I could have spent many more hours browsing the stands.

One thing I did notice, in the motorcycle section on the Cotton stand, was a bizarre machine emblazoned with Ferrari insignia.

The descriptive placard described the bike as a ‘Ferrari 900 DOHC’ and explained it had taken five

Due to a major factory rebuilding and modernisation programme in Italy, I understand that some of Pirelli’s motorsport tyres will be unavailable for the 2006 season. Although there is no problem in the supply of slicks and wets for Challenge class ‘C’ cars there may be difficulties with the availability of 16” and 17” diameter tyres for some of the cars entered in class ‘S’.

As indicated in 3.11 of the series Regulations, registered competitors should contact Pirelli’s motorsport division in Carlisle and speak to Pete Hopkinson (01228-516718) to discuss their tyre requirements. If, having done this, it is established that Pirelli are unable to supply slicks and/or wets in the required sizes, then the competitor must apply to the Series Co-ordinator for a written waiver to allow them to use tyres from another manufacturer. It is essential that they obtain this waiver before making other arrangements.

I should emphasise that this short term supply problem only affects tyres for the Open series and there should be no difficulties at all for competitors using treaded Pirellis in the Classic and Hillclimb series.

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RA’s HILLCOMMENT The Hibernation is over, or it will be by the time you read this. Just over a month to go as I write these notes before the first PFHC round of 2006, and many competitors will have already sent entries in for this meeting at North Weald on March 19th, and Bouley Bay a month later. North Weald was nearly cancelled when the airfield’s owners, Epping Forest District Council, decided that their Sunday market activity is more important than motorsport. A last minute compromise was reached between the motor clubs using the facility and the council.

The familiar North Weald course will now be different as a result.

Bouley Bay, the renowned Jersey hillclimb, has attracted fourteen Ferraris for the Easter outing. There are 34 people in our party including Jack and Diana Sears, and also series Scrutineer Gerry Walton and his wife, Mary. He is not going over to look at your car but taking Jon Goodwin’s Lusso, and planning to have a nice time! Jon, like Nick Taylor, is on some other event Easter Saturday and is flying out to Jersey on Sunday. Notable too are John Swift on his first Bouley, and Geoff Dark on his second, the first one being way back in 1988. Jersey Motor Cycle and

Light Car Club, the event organisers, have already requested details and pictures of the Ferrari class. The plan is to use this in their pre-event publicity – apparently the Ferraris attract a much bigger gate than they usually achieve at these meetings!

The Social Scene for the 2006 season is looking good, with several potentially memorable dinners planned. Harewood on Saturday May 13, probably at The Harewood Arms Hotel, then at Shelsley Walsh on Saturday June 3 where we have once again booked The Abberley Suite in The Elms Hotel. Meanwhile Jon Goodwin has finally pinned down the elusive Sir Michael Leighton for accommodation and dinner at Loton Hall on Saturday July 8, the weekend of our double header meeting at Loton Park.

2006 PFHC Registrations have come in strongly and should total around 35. We already have three new Club members joining us. Sam Whitman, from Tolleshunt in Essex, has already been making his mark in Ferrari formula classic driving the ex Robin Ward/Mike Spicer 308GTB – a car, you may remember, that won our Championship two years in succession with Robin at the helm. Stuart Burrage from London has appeared a couple of

times in Classic last year with his Mondial 3.4T, a car he drives most days on the streets. Like Sam, he is new to hillclimbing though. Sergio Ransford is from Welshpool, which sounds a bit handy for Loton Park! He has a 308GTB that has not yet seen any action, but he has admitted to sprinting a Mini Cooper in the seventies.

A welcome comeback for Leon Bachelier who is entered for Bouley Bay with his F512M, a car not seen since it passed V1 at Loton in 2004. The car was repaired and fit for duty some time in 2004, but on the way to Harewood for some testing, Leon and the 512 were tee-boned by some blind geriatric motorist – no, it was not me before someone says so! So it was back to the repair shop once again.

Anyway let us hope we now see more of Leon and his very big Ferrari in 2006, as a welcome change to all those 348 and 355 tipos.

Another comeback at Bouley Bay for David Hathaway.

Readers of this column will know that soon after his inaugural outing with a 348 at Shelsley last year, David had the misfortune to break his neck in a cycling accident. The recovery has been drawn out as you would expect – he had to wear a cage for many months, but he has just recently been signed off for the Jersey event with his 348.

Glossed over is rumoured to have been the winter fate for Geoff Dark’s battle hardened 308GTB. Long renowned for a sort of non-stick frying pan finish, you can now expect to see Geoff’s newly gleaming 308 taking the points in the Paddock Cup!

“The prettiest seaside paddock you are ever likely to encounter.” The Ferraris assembled in the sunshine at Bouley Bay in 2004.

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A firmer approach from Andy Grier - he has treated the SMS 328 to a QV suspension tune up kit – you know: stiffer springs, dampers, and those sort of things. Always very competitive in what was almost a totally standard 328, you can expect Andy to move up the scoreboard as a result.

Hillclimbers have always been pace setters in the Ferrari Owners’ Club in so many ways.

Last year we were joined by Andrew Holman, who drove his Mondial with tremendous enthusiasm and skill, and now he is starting up a new FOC Area Group in Suffolk a previously unArea Grouped county. It will be called Anglia Ferrari and take in Norfolk too – suits me and I shall turn out for his first meeting on March 16th.

Racesuit pockets you may have noticed are hopeless; not only are there not enough of them, but they are so shallow everything falls out when you sit in the car. Possibly this is because of some safety issue to do with fireproof integrity - I have had suits by three different manufacturers and they are all the same.

Loose change out of your racesuit washing around the floor of a car is hazardous – many Ferraris have a nice cavity below the accelerator pedal where the money can go. I had this happen on my F335 at a Club Brands Hatch Track Day, ensuring the throttle stuck wide open out on the circuit diving in to a corner.

Roger Collingwood’s very helpful KHPC chaps subsequently

extracted a very bent two pence coin.

Nosedown attitude seems to be the fashion with most recent Ferraris, and the F355, which has considerable front body overhang, is prone to frontal grounding as most owners will know. On my early F355 I was forever losing the front number plate, and decided to do something about it. Although there are adjustable spring platforms, I did not fancy moving these and instead, when due for new tyres, fitted 225x45 front instead of 225x40. The car is now less nosedown, the ride is better, and I have not noticed any loss of agility.

The MSA Medical for a Race Licence seems a little arbitrary to me, with relatively low standards required. Recently when I went for mine, and it came to the eyesight test, I realised my glasses were in the car. “You can go and get them if you fail”, said my local GP, but not to worry as I passed with flying colours even though my sight is hopeless! The doctor looked quite pleased with my results, but most probably it was the £75 he charged for about fifteen minutes work.

Donington Park on April 11th is the first event in the Club’s

2006 Track Day programme. At vast expense we have booked a ‘noisy’ day, aided and abetted by Graypaul who have generously sponsored the day. Naturally I hope many of our readers will be there to meet their chums and get out on the circuit. Quite a few of the regular hillclimb contingent are “trackies” and if you have not been to Donington before it is highly recommended.

Much more interesting than Silverstone, with up and down hill bits as it flows smoothly around the countryside. The course to me seems very car and driver friendly – try it and you will find out why!

FOC Club Competition Awards for 2005 are listed in full in this issue of CompRes, and it is great to see the hillclimbers featuring so strongly. Particularly notable are Nick Taylor and Jon Goodwin, finishing second and third overall behind Gary Culver in the total points count for the Club’s top award, the Anthony Bamford trophy. Nick and Jon feature strongly elsewhere, picking up several notable trophies. Another Goodwin appears too, with Pauline picking up the Hillclimb Trophy for the best performance on handicap during 2005.

MARCH 2 4 5 6 10

JANUARY 7 10 13 18

24 27 28

Christian Mineeff Christopher England Mel Walters Atrill Shaw Thorpe Richard AtkinsonWilles Peter Hitchman Geoff Dark Peter Sowerby Tim Mogridge George Christopher

FEBRUARY 7 9 14 16 18 21 25

Louis Lorenzini Guy Hudson Bryn Williams Zoë Stubbs David Dove Stuart Bowler Jack Sears Enzo Ferrari Gary Culver David Murray Lewis Carter

12 13 14 17 21 22 23 25 26 27 29 30

Neil Woodford Mario Domenico Ferrari Rory Fordyce Witt Gamski David Wild Richard Mackay John Anderson Sally Maynard-Smith Sandra Childs Robert Carrington Jackie Winnard Colin Campbell Nicky Paul-Barron Marco Attard NicholasChester Colin Davids Graham Reeder Nick Taylor Kevin Wilkins Mike Roberts Richard Allen Lee Leighton John Seale John Warner

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Photos: SwiftyPix

YOU’RE FIRED!

A

NUMBER OF competitors, mostly those registered for this year’s Pirelli Ferrari formula classic series, have told me they are uneasy about having to install a plumbed -in fire extinguisher in their Ferrari. They fear that they will be defacing their pride and joy, and that it will no longer look like the road car that it is. They are also concerned that if and when they decide to sell their car, the installation will have detracted from its value.

For those who have expressed these fears I have good news, so DON’T PANIC! I agree that the MSA’s new 2006 race regulations, which make it mandatory for all cars (not just our Ferraris!) that are raced in the UK to have an approved plumbed-in system fitted, make for some potential hassle. However, if you want to race your car I am afraid there is no alternative but to bite the bullet and comply; if you don’t, then the MSA safety scrutineers will simply not allow you to take

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part in the race.

Having given you the bad news, let me quickly tell you the good. Installing an electrically operated system will NOT damage your Ferrari in any way at all. If you wish to remove the extinguisher components at some time in the future you can do so in about ten minutes. The only sign your car will have that it has ever been fitted with a plumbedin extinguisher is one small hole (approx 6mm diameter) in the cockpit floor, which is covered anyway by the carpet.

I have just completed the installation of a system in my 308GTB and to assist readers I decided to describe what I did in order to make the fitting as neat and unobtrusive as possible.

The system I chose was the 4.0-litre electric from Lifeline, using Zero 2000 extinguishant deployed through four specially designed atomizer nozzles. The minimum quantity of extinguishant required by the MSA for UK events is 2.25 litres; however for use on the continent you strictly need 2.4 litres (why the MSA and their overseas cousins can’t agree on the

volume heaven only knows) but our Eligibility Scrutineer assures me that the 2.25 litre size will pass muster in mainland Europe providing the race is not an International FIA event.

I decided to go for the 4-litre size principally to avoid any possibility of hassle when racing abroad – the tank is very little larger physically or heavier than the 2.25-litre cylinder since it’s aluminium instead of steel. This system also includes two nozzles in the engine bay and two in the cockpit whereas the 2.25-litre kit only has one in each area. If the extinguisher system is ever used, I think it is wise to have the more comprehensive layout.

Although a little more expensive, electrical actuation (the system has its own power source) makes for a much neater installation than the mechanical version. I chose Lifeline Fire & Safety Systems because they impressed me at the Autosport show last month, and they offer a generous 25% discount to Ferrari owners.

So, how do we go about installing the kit into a midengined Ferrari without

disfiguring the car in any way?

First, lay out the kit as received from Lifeline, shown in the main photograph. This consists of a power pack, a cockpit switch, an external switch, 4 nozzles, 5m of semirigid tube, and 3 T-pieces. I found that 5m of tube was just sufficient, with about 25 cm left over. If your car is bigger than a 308 I suggest you purchase an extra length of tube.

Items which you need to add to the basic kit are (1) a bracket to carry the external switch (2) a short length of 2-core wire to connect the external switch to the cockpit, and (3) a pair of aluminium brackets to carry the two engine bay nozzles.

Item (1) as shown in photo 1 is the only one which will test

your skills in Make 1 origami. a template in stiff paper, folded to form a box as shown, and then transfer the pattern to a small sheet of aluminium.

The assembly can be attached to the car at the base of the windscreen using one of the existing screws.

The external switch is slipped through the hole you will have made in the bracket after first soldering the wire (2) to its pair of terminals. This wire can be threaded into the cockpit area through one of several existing holes in the forward bulkhead.

The complete assembly, now mounted on the car, is shown in photo 2.

Next, decide where you wish to position the extinguishant

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tank. Probably the most convenient is east-west immediately in front of the passenger seat. Having secured the tank strap assembly to the cockpit floor (six self-tappers are needed) you need to assemble the plumbing for the pair of nozzles in the cockpit (mounted to spray into the two foot wells) and the two in the engine bay (mounted to spray towards the engine from opposite sides of the bay).

For the cockpit nozzles, in the 308GTB there are two very convenient existing holes of

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exactly the right size on each side of the aircon console, as shown in photo 3. To gain access to the console, remove the two adjustable front vents (they simply pull out). You will then be able to install a nozzle in each hole and connect them together using a T-piece and two short lengths of pipe. From the T-piece run a third length of pipe through the incoming air trunking and down to the tank. You will need to make a small slit in the trunking through which to pass the pipe.

From a second T-piece adjacent to the tank we need to take a length of pipe into the engine bay. Drill a hole through the floor at the right-hand side of the rear of the passenger seat.

The diameter should be just sufficient to allow the pipe to pass through. The pipe should then be routed underneath the floor for about 3 inches and then bent upwards into the engine bay and close to the bulkhead. Insert

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4

5

6

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the third T-piece into the line at the level of the top of the engine, and run lengths of pipe to each of the engine bay nozzles as shown in photo 4. The nozzles can be mounted, using the aluminium brackets you made earlier, using bolts and/or screws already present in the engine bay.

Use the supplied ties to clip the plumbing to convenient bits of the car.

All that remains to be done is to install the cockpit switch and the power pack, and connect the wiring. Now with the 308, Mr Ferrari has made this dead easy. If you remove the existing cigar lighter the hole is exactly the right diameter to accept the cockpit switch.

Since we now don’t have a cigar lighter we may as well dispense with the ash tray. If this is removed (take out two small screws in its base) you now have a space to house the power pack. This can be inserted into a suitably sized plastic container that you might use in the fridge. As you will see from photos 5 and 6, the layout is very neat and unobtrusive.

Later on, if you decide to pack in the racing and take up smoking instead, you can reinstall your ashtray and cigar lighter in a matter of minutes.

Couple up the electric wiring in accordance with Lifeline’s instruction leaflet and installation is complete. If you flick the little test switch on the power pack you will be able to check that all is hunky-dory. They even provide a decal to stick adjacent to the external switch so that the marshals can easily admire your handiwork.

This description seems to have taken longer to write than it actually takes to install the system. If anyone still has a problem I shall be pleased to help if they contact me.

Photo: SwiftyPix

POSITION OF POWER

T

An Interview with Massimo Fedeli

HE NEW headquarters of Ferrari in the UK is housed in a modern business-like two-storey building squatting in the sprawling industrial estate at Slough writes JOHN SWIFT. There is nothing in the building’s architecture to suggest we are in England – we could be almost anywhere in the world. But these days Ferrari GB is not about tradition. It is everything to do with efficiency and providing the necessary first-class backup to the world’s finest sportscars.

On the day I had arranged to see Massimo Fedeli, Ferrari GB’s managing director, it was sod’s law that England’s main artery, the M1, had become the

country’s biggest car park.

Burning lorries, several accidents, and innumerable road works conspired to make the journey from North Yorkshire a slow speed affair. I was over half-anhour late.

Mr Fedeli’s day is tightly partitioned and my delayed arrival clearly was going to limit the amount of time he was able to give me. However his generous smile on greeting me seemed to indicate that I was forgiven.

When Massimo Fedeli arrived here in 2004 his task was clearly defined. He had to set up shop almost from scratch, with a new business plan and strategy, new premises, and substantially new staff, to take over the UK Ferrari importation operation from

Inchcape. It was a daunting challenge which demanded considerable energy, skill and confidence.

I was interested to find out what it was about Massimo that had cut him out for this job.

He is not, in the usual sense, an ‘automotive’ man. He read economics at University in Milan, followed by a masters degree in Switzerland. After graduation he joined one of the biggest consultancies in the world: Bain and Company. With Bain he handled a number of projects including advising Magneti Marelli on strategy. The company was founded in 1919, and became wholly owned by Fiat Group in 1967. These days it is a big player in the field of automotive technology and in recent times

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customers.

Most of us will recall that the leading figure in the formation of the previous Club Fiorano was F1 driver Peter Gethin. Having reached the magic age of 65, Peter has now retired and his position as Motorsport Director has been taken over by Enrico Bertaggia. Bertaggia had some outings with the ill-starred Coloni -Ford F1 team in the late eighties.

Massimo has a great regard

they are driven, so the cars will respond accordingly.”

“Our range of cars,” explains Massimo, “offers something for all tastes. Our very sporting cars: the 430, the Stradale, and the Challenge track car, cater for the extremes including racing.

Our 12-cylinder models are more about life style. We have one customer who commutes from Leeds to Florence, driving a 612 Scaglietti. He covers so many miles that we supply him with a Photo: SwiftyPix

has reorganised its various businesses to better fit with its core activities. Massimo played a leading role in this change of strategy.

After his work was done at Magneti Marelli, Fiat Group recognised his talents and he moved to Turin on a permanent basis. Within two years he transferred to the Ferrari Maserati Group where his first commission was to reorganise after sales business world-wide.

His brief included the launch of the new Maserati Quattroporte and creation of a 3-year maintenance plan including free servicing.

Fedeli also examined the group’s parts distribution system in Europe, with a view to rationalisation. A number of depots were closed down in order to improve logistics and provide a better service for the customer.

Although Ferrari already had wholly owned operations in Germany, Switzerland and America, it was considered advantageous to take over the importation of the cars into France (Ch Pozzi), Belgium, Spain and Portugal. It was a logical extension to add the UK to the list and who better to handle this than the strategist himself, Massimo Fedeli.

Slough was chosen as the base for the new operation. It is close to Egham, to allow some of the Maranello Concessionaires personnel to transfer if they wished, and the headquarters of Fiat and Alfa Romeo are just round the corner.

Slough is now the centre for all Ferrari GB’s operations, although a new sporting facility has recently been opened at Silverstone, as reported in the last issue of CompRes. These operations include the management of Ferrari in the UK, the training of all Englishspeaking technicians (including, strangely, those from Russia, where English is more common than Italian), and the important Fiorano Ferrari activity.

We discussed this last venture in some detail, since Massimo rightly regards it as a vital link with his British

Massimo Fedeli with one of Ferrari GB’s fleet of 360 Challenge cars.

for his British Ferrari owners.

“The British driver has a strong link with motorsport. It is a culture you don’t find anywhere else in Europe. They also have a deep technical knowledge that is unique.”

Fiorano Ferrari gives the opportunity to listen to owners’ views. “We at Ferrari are proud to produce a car which is above all designed for the owners’ pleasure. For many, ownership of the car is a dream come true.

However, it is not a car to simply park in the car park,” he warns.

“Ferraris must be used.

Although, with today’s technology it is possible to drive them in London, say, like a saloon car, to make them happy you must drive them aggressively. The harder

new car every seven months.”

We talked about the sound of a Ferrari, which is so important to the experience of ownership.

“When we launched the new 599 GTB Fiorano recently in Italy, the car was on static display in a castle courtyard. People walked around it, murmuring politely.

Then we started it up. After warming the engine for thirty seconds or so, our driver blipped the throttle a few times. The audience was instantly galvanised. ‘I want one! How soon can I have it?’ they said.

We discussed the increasing competition from other highperformance manufacturers.

“You know, we are almost unique in this market. Aston Martin are part of Ford, Mercedes part of the

Photo: SwiftyPix

Racing green. The glorious new 430 Challenge car will be Ferrari GB’s weapon on the European circuits in 2006.

big Chrysler group. In contrast we are not a division of a large manufacturer; we are a standalone company owned partly by Fiat and others. We limit our production and even though our output is bigger than it was, it is a smaller percentage of worldwide car production than even three years ago. This way we strike a fine balance between commercial success and giving the owner the necessary exclusivity, although it means that we have a waiting list of two or more years for some models.

Remember also that 70% of our sales are repeat sales.”

Massimo confesses an admiration for Porsche (“a fantastic company that I would be happy to have shares in”) but explains that the Ferrari is instantly useable for motor sport.

“With a Porsche, to fine tune it for the track, customers usually have to completely change the shock absorbers. With a Ferrari it is unnecessary to do anything apart from some very minor adjustments.”

The plans for Fiorano Ferrari this year are ambitious. “All new Ferrari owners buying their car through an official dealer in the UK receive complimentary ‘rosso’ level membership of the club,” Massimo explains. “This gives them access to one UK and one European driving event in the first year. It is a unique benefit

to owners and only happens here in the UK.” Membership of Fiorano Ferrari is on a two-tier basis: the ’rosso’ membership and one labelled ‘corse’. The latter gives the opportunity to take part in a range of track days across Europe using the Company’s fleet of six F430s together with five 360 Challenge cars. “We work on honing the driver’s skills to make him both faster and safer at the same time. If a group of our members want to try a circuit in, say, Sweden, we’ll organise something for them.”

Aimed more at the potential racing driver is a new initiative for 2006. Ferrari GB is organising a number of 1½-day courses to give some race tuition for up to eight drivers per course.

Drivers are given some theory in the classroom – flag signals, the use of the pace car, and so forth - on the first evening followed by on-track tuition the following day.

Advanced telemetry is used to analyse the driver’s progress. A 50-minute simulated race is part of the day’s experience.

Valencia has been chosen as the circuit for this programme because of its acclaimed safety features and luxurious location.

Massimo hopes that the courses will produce some racing drivers for his Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli team in 2007.

In the meantime, Ferrari

GB’s plans for the 2006 European Challenge are getting underway.

So far two drivers have signed up – one for the Trofeo Pirelli Europa (the ‘big boys’ division) and the other for the Coppa Shell Europa which is for the less experienced amateur driver. Massimo declined to tell me the names of these drivers – “it is too early to say but we shall be making an official announcement quite soon.”

So what were my thoughts about the new Ferrari GB operation, as I steered my freshly washed BMW (greeted with mock horror by Massimo as he handed back my keys) in the direction of the dreaded northbound M1.

Clearly Massimo Fedeli is a passionate champion of the Ferrari car and is rightly proud of its sporting ancestry. He is enthusiastic about his customers and seems determined to give them maximum pleasure from their purchase. For the competition minded owner it is reassuring to hear of his plans for racing and on-track experience.

For those of us who try our best to do well on the circuits, it is also encouraging to hear Massimo say “To come second, you are only the first of the losers!” I think I’ll drink to that.

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CURRENT CLASS RECORDS HILL OR SPRINT

DATE

PEP

TIME

PEP TIME

BOULEY BAY

12-04-04

2.75%

Jon Goodwin

F355

50.31

51.69

CADWELL PARK

15-10-05

2.50%

Nick Taylor

348GTC

103.22

105.80

CORNBURY PARK

15-09-96

3.50%

Richard Allen

F355

42.29

43.77

CREG NY BAA

27-05-00

3.00%

Jon Goodwin

F355GTS

41.84

43.10

CRUAGH

02-05.92

0.00%

Brian Jackson

308GTB

52.24

CURBOROUGH (1 lap)

15.08.04

2.75%

Jon Goodwin

F355GTS

35.02

35.98

CURBOROUGH (2 laps)

21-08-05

2.50%

Nick Taylor

328GTS

64.95

66.57

DEBDEN

14-10-90

0.00%

Jeff Simpson

328GTB

65.63

DOUNE

20-06-04

2.75%

Jon Goodwin

F355GTS

54.50

56.00

GOODWOOD

30-07-88

4.50%

Tony Birch

308GTS

103.47

108.13

GURSTON DOWN

30-08-98

2.00%

Richard Allen

328GTB

37.19

37.93

HAREWOOD (short course)

21-05-88

4.50%

Tony Birch

308GTS

46.60

48.70

HAREWOOD (long course)

14-09-02

2.75%

Jon Goodwin

F355GTS

65.16

66.95

HETHEL

07-08-05

2.50%

Nick Taylor

348GTC

78.01

79.96

LARAGH

03-05-92

-1.50%

Brian Jackson

308GTB

83.39

82.14

LLANDOW

18-06-05

2.5%

Chris Butler

F355

87.07

87.07

LHERGY FRISSEL (5Km)

15-05-97

2.00%

Jon Goodwin

Mondial t

140.39

143.20

LHERGY FRISSEL (2 2Km)

25-05-00

3.00%

Jon Goodwin

F355GTS

72.93

75.12

LONGLEAT

22-09-02

2.75%

Jon Goodwin

F355GTS

41.25

42.38

LOTON PARK

22-07-00

3.00%

Jon Goodwin

F355GTS

59.98

61.78

MILLBROOK

02-05-94

2.00%

Jon Goodwin

Mondial t

89.39

91.18

MIRA

28-05-05

2.50%

Chris Butler

F355

54.39

55.75

NORTH WEALD (old)

16-10-88

4.50%

Sheridan Williams

308GTB

92.41

96.57

NORTH WEALD (new )

07-04-91

0.00%

Jeff Simpson

328GTB

82.62

NORTH WEALD 3rd

24-03-02

2.75%

Jon Goodwin

F355GTS

59.44

61.07

NORTH WEALD 4th

23-03-03

1.50%

Nick Frost

348GTC

64.76

65.73

PRESCOTT (long)

01-09-02

2.75%

Jon Goodwin

F355GTS

49.36

50.72

PRESCOTT (cross over)

02-09-90

2.50%

John Swift

308GTB

51.70

52.99

RAGLEY HALL

27-03-88

-0.50%

Geoff Dark

308GT4

25.99

25.86

ROTHERFIELD PARK

10-06-90

-0.50%

Richard Allen

308GTB

28.57

28.43

SHELSLEY WALSH

02-06-02

2.75%

Jon Goodwin

F355GTS

34.00

34.94

SLOC

26-05-00

3.00%

Jon Goodwin

F355GTS

41.93

43.19

SOUTH CERNEY

15-10-94

2.00%

Jon Goodwin

Mondial t

78.30

79.87

THORESBY PARK

18-09-94

2.00%

Jon Goodwin

Mondial t

42.16

43.00

WEST MALLING

26-03-89

0.00%

Jeff Simpson

328GTB

77.30

WISCOMBE

08-09-96

2.50%

Geoffrey Rollason

F355GTS

47.44

48.63

WROUGHTON

25-07-99

-0.50%

Robin Ward

308GTB

109.34

108.79

Key: Yellow = new record 11 CompRes

Blue = establishes record

DRIVER

TIPO

THE 2005 ANNUAL CLUB COMPETITION AWARDS

11 Kevin Riley

879

12 Charlie White

871

52 Stuart Burrage

144

The computers at CompRes towers have now calculated, analysed, listed, and sorted the ‘House Points’ gained by everyone who took part in the Club’s competitions last season, and here are the results. As always, we only list ‘moving’ events where you actually drive your Ferrari and leave it to others to keep tabs on the static cleaning and polishing competitions.

The number of Ferrari drivers who took part in at least one competition last season was around 16% fewer than the previous year although, at a total of 66 competitors, it is still a remarkably good turn-out for a club of our size.

We have a considerable number of trophies to present at the AGM and Prize-Giving Lunch at Whittlebury Hall on Sunday, 23rd April so please put this date in your diary. As always we would like everyone who won a prize to be there in person to collect it.

We have done our best to make sure your points totals are correct but if you think there has been an error please don’t hesitate to contact us.

13 Richard Allen

853

53 Oliver Bryant

135

14 Geoff Dark

790

54 Didier Benaroya

132

15 Stuart Anderson

773

55 Alan Newton

126

16 Nicky Paul-Barron

702

56 Nick Frost

112

17 Richard AtkinsonWilles

688

18 Simon Bartholomew

680

19 Graham Reeder

641

20 Colin Campbell

619

21 David Tomlin

586

22 Chris Hitchman

539

=23 Pauline Goodwin

537

=23 Sam Whitman

537

ANTHONY BAMFORD and KEN WHARTON/BILL BLYTH TROPHIES Victor Ludorum Competition 1 Gary Culver

1904

(Anthony Bamford Trophy) 2 Nick Taylor

1399

(Ken Wharton/Bill Blyth Trophy)

=50 John Dobson

=57 Christopher England 110

59 Andrew Duncan

106

60 Ross Warburton

100

=61 Mel Walters

68

=61 David Wild

68

63 Mike Haigh

53

=64 Les Charneca

52

=64 Jolyon Harrison

52

=64 David Hathaway

52

26 Ted Reddick

526

27 Tris Simpson

507

28 Peter Everingham

504 1

29 Andy Grier

444

30 Marco Pullen 31 Christian Mineeff

424 BUMBLES TROPHY V12-Cylinder 398

32 Lorraine Hitchman

371

33 Ray Hanson

370

34 David Dove

364

35 Barry Wood

350

36 John Marshall

313

37 Peter Rogerson

312

38 Mike Furness

295

39 Jos Van de Perre

275

40 Brian Jackson

250

41 Philip Whitehead

238

42 Chris Drake

237

43 John Shirley

219

4 Witt Gamski

1237

=44 Mark Buckland

212

5 Chris Butler

1150

=44 Andrew Holman

212

6 John Pogson

1034

46 Odhran McConnell

204

BARACCA TROPHY Flat 12-Cylinder

Stuart Anderson

773

2

Chris Drake

237

3

David Barker

196

MARANELLO TROPHY V6 Unmodified

47 David Back

201

8 Richard Prior

960

48 David Barker

196

9 Mike Spicer

948

49 Phil Nuttall

169 1 159

370

1

983

=50 John Day

Ray Hanson (No other competitors)

7 William Jenkins

901

110

529

1386

10 John Swift

=57 Mark Hargreaves

25 Peter Hitchman

3 Jon Goodwin

159

Colin Campbell

619

No other competitors

CompRes 12

GILLES VILLENEUVE and MARIO ANDRETTI TROPHIES Unmodified V8 Roadgoing cars (except 308GT4 and Mondial)

STIRLING CUP Preparer of the winning car in Category ‘S’ of PMFC

FIORANO TROPHY Modified 308GT4 and Mondial

1

Richard AtkinsonWilles

688

FRANK BOTT TROPHY Winner of the 2005 FHCC

No other competitors 1

Jon Goodwin Gilles Villeneuve Trophy

1603

2

Gary Culver Mario Andretti Trophy

1528

3

Chris Butler

1150

MARANELLO FERRARI CHALLENGE TROPHY Winner Category ‘S’ of PMFC

TARGA STRADALE MODIFICATO and MODENA ENGINEERING TROPHIES Modified 308, 328, 348, Dino

1

Gary Culver

157

2

Kevin Riley

104

3

Graham Reeder

78

IVAN BISHOP TROPHY Winner Category ‘C’ of PMFC

1

John Pogson Targa Stradale Modificato Trophy

2

William Jenkins Modena Engineering Trophy

983

3

Mike Spicer

948

1

Nick Taylor

687

2

Marco Pullen

424

3

Peter Hitchman

386

13 CompRes

1 Richard Prior

131

2 Geoff Dark

129

3 Nick Taylor

114

COTSWOLD TROPHY Any Roadgoing Ferrari scoring the most points in the FHCC on scratch 1 Jon Goodwin

1230

2 Nick Taylor

1057

3 Chris Butler

1150

HILLCLIMB TROPHY Any Roadgoing Ferrari scoring the most points in the FHCC on handicap

1034

DEREK COLLINS TROPHY Unmodified 308GT4 and Mondial

David Preston

1

Witt Gamski

151

2

Mike Reeder

106

3

Charlie White

86

WORSWICK TROPHY Highest number of overall wins in PMFC Gary Culver

1 Pauline Goodwin

39

2 Geoff Dark

23

3 David Tomlin

18

COPPA FERRARI CLUB NEDERLAND Best performance by a pre-1975 Ferrari

ELWYNNE OWEN-JONES BIATHLON CUP Best performance in a mix of Circuit, Hillclimb and Sprint events.

GODFREY EATON TROPHY 250 and 275 tipos

1

Ross Warburton No other competitors

1 Nick Taylor

61.0

2 Jon Goodwin

61.0

3 Richard Allen

33.5

STEPHEN LANGTON AWARD The best performance by a Roadgoing V12

Oliver Bryant CAVALLINO TROPHY A particularly meritorious result in Ferrari competition (not necessarily by a Club member and not necessarily awarded each year)

GUIDATORE NOVICIO DELL’ANNO TROPHY Most promising Newcomer to Ferrari competition

Chris Drake

Charlie White

Andrew Kirkaldy

THE 2005 CHRISTMAS SWIFTY S C S S U

N

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E

N

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S S

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R

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N L

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G

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A C

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A N

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Here is the solution to the Christmas cryptic Swifty we set you in the last issue of CompRes. Prizes were promised to the senders of the first three correct solutions to be opened on the closing date of 16th January.

We had an unusually high number of entries this time but the three winners whose solutions were first out of the hat were BRIAN JACKSON, BARRY WOOD and BARBARA SIMPSON. Each received a Pirelli Maranello Ferrari Challenge clock with calendar and temperature feature together with a 2006 Ferrari calendar.

Congratulations to each of the winners and commiserations to the gallant losers, all of whom received a consolation prize.

R

N N

CompRes 14

QV LONDON FERRARI SPECIALISTS

GUDGEON PINS, TORSION BARS, SENSORS, TAPPET SHIMS, CLAMPS, SOLENOIDS, WINDSCREENS, FUEL PUMPS, THERMOSTATS, EXPANSION TANKS, AEROQUIP ROSES, SEAT BELTS, SWITCHES, WATER HOSE, CAM BELTS, PADS, CYLINDER LINERS, AIR CON,

RADIATORS, AXLE SHAFTS, CARBURETTORS, SILENT BLOCKS, OIL PIPES, GLASS, ROAD WHEELS, HELICOILS

DOORS, RELAYS, SEEGER RINGS, ENGINE BLOCKS, LIGHT UNITS, DROP GEARS, GRILLES ,

Unit E, Station Works, Lyndhurst Road, Ascot, Berkshire SL5 9ED Tel: 01344 622011/Fax: 01344 622033 Email: qvlondon@btinternet.com Website: www.hamletcg.co.uk/qv

SUMPS, CON RODS, BEARINGS, UPRATED & STANDARD DAMPERS, LIGHTS,

BORLA PERFORMANCE EXHAUST SYSTEMS, ECUs, VALVE GUIDES,

Q.V. FOR PARTS SERVICE REPAIRS CRANKSHAFTS, DISTRIBUTORS, AIRHORNS, BRAKE DISCS SPRINGS,

STEERING WHEELS, PISTON RINGS, INTERIOR TRIM, ANTI-ROLL BARS, SERVO UNITS, CAMSHAFTS, AIR BOXES, CROWN WHEEL & PINIONS, PARTS BOOKS, FLYWHEELS, DRY SUMP KITS, GEARBOX INTERNALS, SEAT ADJUSTERS, PISTONS, FUEL TANKS ALTERNATORS, BUMPERS MASTER CYLINDERS, DRAIN PLUGS, CYLINDER BARRELS, METERING DEVICES, BONNETS, LIGHTWEIGHT BODY PANELS, STARTER MOTORS, ADJUSTABLE WARM-UP REGULATORS, CARPETS, CARBON CANISTERS, OIL FILTERS, CAM PULLEYS, GEAR KNOBS, STUFF

Mike and Graham Reeder Performance and Specialist Cars

Maranello Ferrari Challenge Champions 1998 and 2000 Fixed Price Servicing - Race Preparation and Track Support - Tyres Supplied and Fitted Electronic Wheel Balancing - Personal Service Guaranteed

The Garage North Newnton Pewsey Wiltshire SN9 6JU Tel 01980 630327 Fax 01980 630015 E-mail enquiries: gcreeder@aol.com

Choose from a Turn Key Service to Technical Support On the day.

Various Packages available

SF MOTORSPORT

‘The South’s Premier Preparers’

SF MOTORSPORT.com Tel: Steve Farthing 01747 852899 enquiries@wrenclassics.com

15 CompRes