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| FERRARI HILL CLIMB
CHAMPIONSHIP |
2003 SEASON
STATISTICAL REVIEW
by Graham Easter & Christian Mineeff |
The championship embraced 14 rounds at ten venues, ranging from the wind
swept wastes of North Weald in Essex to the beauty of Bouley Bay in Jersey;
with the majority (eight) in the centre of the country. Four venues were
visited twice, Prescott, Loton Park, Harewood and Curbourgh.
Round 4, the May Harewood, attracted the biggest entry of 20 drivers
and Rounds 8 & 10, Gurston Down and Curborough respectively, the least
- just eight apiece. The average number of entrants per meeting was 12.85,
which is very respectable. 36 drivers took part, with 35 eligible for
the Championship, Mike Haigh's 328 ‘O’ class racer not qualifying.
Neither did Tony Willis's 330GTC, but he also appeared in an eligible
Dino.
Series’ runner-up Richard Prior was the only driver to compete
in every single meeting. Champion Nick Frost and Mike Spicer tied for
second place on 11 meetings each in the “most regular racer”
stakes behind Prior, with Nick Taylor fourth on ten. Nine stalwarts, the
four already mentioned plus Richard Allen, Geoff Dark, Chris Butler, John
Marshall and Tony Willis, competed in more than seven rounds. Credit is
due to them, as they formed the core around which every busy championship
is based.
The average number of meetings per driver was 4.89. This might give rise
to a cry for the number of qualifying rounds to be reduced, but you can’t
make any championship too easy.
Anyway, here's the stats - make of them what you will........
| The points table
confirms that this was a hard-fought championship. Nick Frost had
to achieve the maximum 20 points per meeting to be certain of victory.
Richard Prior’s 18.28 per event gave him second. John Marshall's
average was exactly half that of Frost's. |
Driver |
Points |
Pts. per mtg. |
Nick
Frost
Richard Prior
Richard Allen
Geoff Dark
Nick Taylor
Mike Spicer
Chris Butler
John Marshall
|
140
128
101
94
94
90
85
70 |
20.00
18.28
14.42
13.42
13.42
12.86
12.14
10.00
Best 7 count |
Driver |
Wins |
Only four other
drivers took outright wins, with Frost way in the lead on seven. 2002
Champion Jon Goodwin took three wins in four meetings, making him
the most successful driver on a “wins per meeting” basis.
Geoffrey Rollason took two wins. With one win apiece were veteran
Richard Allen and Series' debutant Chris Butler. Amazingly, only two
drivers, Frost and Allen, took PEP and outright wins. Richard Prior
took three PEP wins, but no outright victories. |
|
Outright |
PEP |
Nick
Frost
Jon Goodwin
Geoff Rollason
Richard Allen
Chris Butler
Richard Prior |
7
3
2
1
1
- |
8
-
-
3
-
3 |
| Ten different
tipos were raced (excluding 330GTCs and BMW diesels). The 328 was
the most popular, with seven examples taking part. The more modern
355 tied with the old workhorse, the 308, in popularity, with six
apiece. Four 348s appeared, taking first and second places in the
Championship. Three GT4s and three 360s appeared, there were two Mondials
and two 246s, one 512TR and one 550M. RA was easily the driver to
use the widest variety of cars, with four different tipos. |
Tipo |
No. |
328
355
308
348
GT4
Mondial
246
550M
512TR |
7
6
6
4
3
2
2
1
1 |
| Tipo |
No.
Wins |
Four tipos took
outright wins. The 348 was the most succesful with seven. The 355
and 360 each took three outright wins; a sure measure of their power,
but no PEP wins. This is a difficult task with either of these tipos
unless, like Jon Goodwin, the driver is prepared to throw caution
to the winds. However, not even he managed it this year. The 348 &
328 were the only Tipos to take PEP wins. All of the 328's victories
were the result of Richard Allen's efforts. |
| Outright |
PEP |
348
355
360
328 |
7
3
3
1 |
11
-
-
3 |
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