THREE SHIRES NOVEMBER NEWSLETTER Contact: Mick Marriott 14, Corn Kiln Close, Cogenhoe, Northants NN7 1NX

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1 THREE SHIRES MEETING DATES December 2017 January 2018 February 2018 March 2018 April 2018 May 2018 June 2018 Wednesday 20 th Wednesday 17 th Wednesday 21 st Wednesday 21 st Wednesday 18 th Wednesday 16 th Wednesday 20 th THE NOVEMBER MEETING IS ON WEDNESDAY 15th NOVEMBER AT THE SHARNBROOK HOTEL OCTOBER MEETING Twenty nine members gathered at the Sharnbrook for our October meeting on Wednesday 18 th. Barry and Nessie were thanked again for organising their Italian Ferrari Party earlier in the year which raised 3,750 for the RNLI. Paul and Stephanie were thanked for organising the visit to GTO Engineering which members had enjoyed on the 12 th October. Menu choices for the Xmas lunch were circulated, they will also be ed to members attending this event is now sold out. VISIT TO GTO ENGINEERING Three Shires members and guests at GTO Engineering, Hare Hatch, Reading Photo: MM On Thursday 12 th October we visited GTO Engineering; this was another event well planned and organised by Paul and Stephanie; we met at a garden centre that is next door to GTO and enjoyed light refreshments there before moving the short distance to GTO where the Ferraris were parked in front of the house that serves as offices and houses the engine building department. Privately owned by the Lyon family GTO Engineering is a leading authority on classic Ferraris from the 50 s, 60 s and 70 s and share the passion for classic road and competition cars from the period. We have built up over decades an unrivalled knowledge of these legendary cars in all aspects of ownership

2 - be that sourcing or re-manufacturing a replacement part, servicing and repair in either our UK or LA (USA) workshops or up to and including a full vehicle restoration, we also have a branch in Atlanta, USA. GTO Engineering is world renowned for the quality and accuracy of our classic Ferrari restorations. All our engineers are dedicated to Ferrari and over the years we have overseen more than 100 complete restorations of important road and competition Ferraris. Our experience and documented car histories gives us great depth and breadth of knowledge, which combined with our extensive availability of original specification parts, assist us in restoring cars to the highest standard. Our cars have been shown at the world s foremost Concours events, including Pebble Beach, Villa D Este, Salon Privé, to name but a few, and our numerous awards speak for the quality of our workmanship. GTO Engineering visit Photos above Paul Brittlebank GTO frontage and offices Photos: MM Buffet is served!!

3 We were hosted by Rosalind, Joanna and Richard Lyon and began our tour in the main workshop and stores area, progressing on to the engine building/refurbishing facility then returning to our start point for a superb buffet and the chance to chat to the family members and employees and view the fabulous cars on display. After thanking all at GTO for their hospitality we departed and drove a few yards up the road to the Horse and Groom pub for yet more eating, drinking (responsibly!!) and socialising to round off a great visit. Website: Mouth watering!! JUST CHAMPION Photos: PB Diamond Dave with his 430, 458 and trophy Dave with Jane, Rosie and Daisy at the Presentation Evening Dave says: Hi Mick, I was presented with the Hillclimb Championship cup on Saturday at the annual presentation, I enclose a photo of Jane and our daughters Daisy and Rosie and me outside with the cup. Tony and Ewan Attwood won the trophy for the Handicap cup and Tony also had a fun prize of a bag of kitty litter as he was in it at Brands Hatch!! Richard Preece was awarded an original pair of Alvin Stardust gloves as a fun prize as well, as Richard likes driving with his driving gloves on. We all had a great night and our daughter Daisy sang for us all as well to cap the night off. Thanks Dave. TONY ATTWOOD WINS THE HILLCLIMB TROPHY The 2017 Hillclimb season has yielded another Three Shires winner Tony Attwood in his 308 GT4 carried off the award and Tony says: The cup is The Hillclimb Trophy from the FOC and is awarded for the best result over the season on handicap. The three medals were for a first and two second places on Handicap at hillclimbs whereas the cup is for total season points. The 'digger' is this year s "Most Unforced Errors' award. This is an annual prize that changes every year awarded to the competitor who has come off spectacularly or made most errors (Photo A) The second photo(b) is of my Snelson spoof awards. Dave Snelson lightened the annual prize giving by producing many awards to many fellow competitors. These ranged from a tiara given to "Princess" Pauline Goodwin to the "latest pre publication copies of the most valuable book for potential hillclimb champions". Quite a number of "Phil's Tips" folders were given out, Phil being Phil Whitehead the 2015 champion. Dave's speech to me was to tell me how Phil would have avoided the gravel trap at Brands Hatch. In actual fact all are empty inside. The Kitty Litter bag is to remind me again of Brands Hatch Paddock Hill Bend

4 gravel trap where I had to be pulled out and gave Dave plenty of time for preparation for his rerun when he got FTD. The final photo (Photo C) is preparing for my grandson Finn to learn how not to drive a Ferrari or to know how to help me in future! Many congratulations Tony. TONY ATTWOOD PHOTO A PHOTO B PHOTO C THREE SHIRES EVENTS DIARY FOR 2017 Saturday 9 th December Christmas Lunch at WADENHOE HOUSE FULLY BOOKED THANK YOU REMINDER: 2018 SUBS CAN NOW BE PAID STILL ONLY 10 PER COUPLE THE RANGE ROVER STORY. Following on from the Three Shires visit to the Land Rover factory in Solihull some time ago to see the last of the Land Rover Defenders being built (was this the only vehicle ever to be built for almost 70 years and to remain a design icon?) and the recreation of the 1947 Land Rover track, I arranged a further visit, but now to The Range Rover Story. Twelve members arrived at the vast plant in Solihull on Friday 3 rd November 2017 in bright sunshine and were welcomed by our guide, Paul. Following light refreshments and a short video we were transported in an extended Discovery (12 seater) to the main production plant where our tour began. You could say that we started at the end because this is what is happening now - the building of 1700 Range Rover vehicles per day in the 312,040 sq. ft. body shop with 1,800 robots and 2,190,500 litres of paint used per year in the 322,800 sq. ft. paint shop. That s enough to paint the Eiffel Tower over 35 times.

5 Each car comprises 2,800 components and the factory operates on a JIT system just in time. The logistics are mind blowing; over 5million components a day being delivered with a penalty of per minute of track downtime if the logistics company fails. So, where do all these vehicles go? 80% are exported to 136 markets but mainly to America and China, the value to the local and national economy is huge. The idea of the Range Rover was conceived in the 1960 s and launched to the world in Cornwall in 1970; the Land Rover was the work horse, the Range Rover was for the land owner (the Lord Barnsleys of the world!!) but still with plastic seat and floor covers so they could be hosed out. The Range Rover Story exhibition starts with a retro note, painting the picture of the 1960 s, then to gallery two, where one of the original drivable chassis, fully restored, is on show together with a range of artifacts, priceless items such as Project Engineer Geof Miller s note book, slide rule, tape measure and one of the original calculators together with Roger Crathorne s original text books from his Rover apprenticeship available to view.

6 Gallery three holds a replica of the full-size clay model just as it appears in the period photographs of the Rover Styling Studio complete with alternative grill and bonnet, together with drawing boards and facsimile design drawings. Gallery four displays the original Velar (Range Rover code name) owned by Chris Elliott who was a Rover Quality Control Engineer; the last exhibit the brand-new Velar. A criticism? So much effort had gone into the exhibition we needed more time to absorb all that was on display. We left the plant at 5.00pm having added, in my case, to my collection of models (cars, I mean!) to drive to Bryan and June Snedker s lovely home where we had been invited for tea and cakes and Bryan and June then led the way to the Butchers Arms for dinner; a lovely conclusion to a long but fascinating and absorbing day. PAUL BRITTLEBANK (All photos in this piece were taken by Paul) PLEASE LET PAUL BRITTLEBANK (ferrari-3shires@paulbrittlebank.com ) OR ME KNOW VIA OR PHONE ( ) IF YOU WANT TO ATTEND ANY FUTURE THREE SHIRES EVENTS. THIS IS ESSENTIAL TO ENABLE THE ORGANISERS TO GAUGE NUMBERS PARTICIPATING. THANK YOU TO THOSE MEMBERS WHO HAVE ALREADY CONTACTED US. FERRARI OWNERS CLUB EVENTS Don t forget to regularly check the Club website for news of Club events on line at BUILDING AND TRANSPORT CORNER Flushed with success at the recent completion of their basement extension Lord and Lady Barnsley are pictured above left at the site of their modest extension to the extension. His Lordship is considering using the extra space for breeding pedigree Angora Ferrets. Lady Barnsley is pictured above right considering a new mode of transport to convey her to the local ASDA for the weekly shop. I d like something small, discreet, easy to park and that does around 140 miles to the gallon. THERE WILL BE A DECEMBER MEETING ON WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 20th 2017 AT THE SHARNBROOK