Too many times I've heard the 'auto' is very disappointing, myself included.
This could be down to a rogue car, as according to the head Abarth sales bloke at Goodwood, they only have 4 cars available to play with.
So the under powered 'auto' I drove at Goodwood could be the same one at Silverstone.
Your drive in the manual 124, SSue, sounds just the ticket.