PIRELLI MARANELLO FERRARI CHALLENGE
RACE REPORT : ROUNDS 7 & 8 : MAGNY COURS : 28-30 JUNE 2002

• The Magny Cours meeting was obviously completely focused on the FIA Sportscar Championship and it was with some trepidation that one wondered how the Ferraris supporting act would be treated. In the event they were generously handled, with good paddock space, friendly organisers and even got bottles of ice cold water at the parc ferme at the end of each race.
  
  
• Being a double-header with lots of points and with some prominent drivers missing, the Championship tables have been turned a little on their head. Richard Smeeton has slipped one point in front of Gary Culver to lead the "S" class - something that Oliver Morley could have been doing had he not had his various misfortunes at Castle Combe and Magny Cours. In the "C" class both Robin Ward and Graham Reeder have jumped ahead of the non-competing Richard Stevens. Robin was not intending to do much of the season but surely he must now be sorely tempted to continue to wrap up the Challenge class?
  

• The amount of track time arranged by John Swift was, er, generous. There was a one hour session on Thursday, two sessions on Friday, two sessions on Saturday followed by the two Q sessions and then on Sunday, of course, were the two races. John Taylor set the trip meter on his 360 and completed no less than 500 kms of track time over the weekend. Compare that with an average English clubbie.
  
  
• As for the Taylors: firstly, Sue distracted a lot of drivers on the pit wall, and then she got done by the local flics for doing 186kph in her Ferrari in a bit of a limit. €750 was the penalty. Some have suggested she should race the 360 instead of John........
  
  
• Again there were a couple of drivers in the running for the Wilkinson Driver of the Day award but it eventually went to Chris Catt who had driven a pair of very determined races.
  
  
• The electrical problems of Oliver Morley's 360/Ch caused much frustration at the race track. Phone calls were made to here, there and everywhere trying to get parts and SD2 programmes but it was all to no avail. It even took a long time back home before the fault was found - a simple breakdown in part of the wiring loom. A long way to go and not even take part in the qualifying sessions, never mind the race.
  
  
• Potentially alarming but in the event amusing : Les Charneca noticed smoke pouring from the engine of his 355 during free practice and pulled up in front of some fire marshals to get it all doused. Mike Edmonds then noticed the same from his 355 but unfortunately chose to pull up at the same marshals. There was then an orderly queue of smouldering Ferraris as the marshals first dealt with one and then the other.
  
  

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