PCA Grand Prix Region – ACS, Fontana

Despite a heavy downpour just as the first run group was getting settled in, and threat of rain throughout the day, the PCA Grand Prix Region put on a successful and fun Time Trial and Driver’s Education event at the Auto Club Speedway Infield Course on November 1.  The Infield Course at ACS is great place for drivers who are learning their craft to make a first step to a real race track.  Besides being easily accessible from just about anywhere in SoCal, the facilities at Auto Club Speedway are fantastic, and the infield course is an interesting track that’s a safe place to learn and progress.  With a wet track, it’s a fabulous place for everyone – even the most experienced pilots – to practice their car control skills.  For those of us who failed to rent a garage, we also got to practice our keep dry skills.

PCA Grand Prix Region

The PCA Grand Prix Region did a nice job getting the event started on time despite the changing weather conditions.  Driver’s Meeting and orientation safety briefing held, first timers and other students paired up with experienced instructors, the track went hot just as really dark clouds were rushing in from the west.  Even though the track was often quite wet with a big puddle in the ‘playground’ section of the track (in this track map, the area between Turn 5 and Turn 7), there were few off track excursions or other incidents.

PCA Grand Prix Region

PCA Grand Prix Region

In addition to being PCA Grand Prix Region event, the Time Trial portion was a PCA Zone 8 event, which meant it contributed to the overall Zone 8 Time Trial championship.  Zone 8 is composed of 13 Porsche Club of America regional clubs in SoCal, Southern Nevada, and Arizona.

PCA Grand Prix Region

 

An excellent event left smiles all around, especially the beginners getting acquainted to a real race track and those who improved their positioning the Zone 8 championship.

Many more pics are available here.

For those who spend time at the track, I found a great new product that is the best I’ve ever used for cleaning up my car after an event: MOTHERS 09224 R3 Racing Rubber Remover – 24 oz.

Code Of The Curve

Code Of The Curve

On Tuesday, 40 Porsche Cayman fans converged on Las Vegas, courtesy of Porsche Cars North America (PCNA) and the Porsche Club of America (PCA) for the Code Of The Curve.  The purpose: an enthusiastic celebration of Porsche’s critically acclaimed but largely unsung model, the Cayman.  The Code Of The Curve details were rather vague in the invitation, but hey, who can pass up a meeting of like minded enthusiasts, potential track time at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and a night’s stay at Encore as a guest of Porsche?

The drive from SoCal to Las Vegas couldn’t happen quick enough in anticipation.  The only thing that made it bearable was the fact that I had recently had the engine of my Cayman S rebuilt, and this was the first chance I had gotten to drive it more than a short local test drive.  More on the smile on my face thanks to my ‘new’ engine on a later post…   Anyway, the nice folks at Encore had a section of their parking garage reserved for us Cayman devotees, so a quick park and into the check in and reception area.  I have to say, when Porsche does an event, they really do it right, and if you are ever invited to one, don’t pass it up.  For me, 918 unveiling at The Quail, Porsche Motorsports reception at Long Beach Grand Prix, breakfast reception at the LA Auto Show – all done right.  In this case, the Encore had set up a dedicated hotel check in at the entrance to our briefing room, so we lost little time getting sorted out for the event and our room.

Code Of The Curve – The Reception & Briefing

Here we learned what was in store for us.  But first, a briefing on the new Cayman (Porsche 981) by Mr. Jan Roth, Cayman Program Manager.  We were sworn to secrecy on some details, but suffice it to say, this is one outstanding car.  I am predicting another slew of awards from the automotive press like when the Cayman was originally launched in 2006; it’s also been on just about everyone’s top driver’s car list perennially since then.  We happened to find a new 981 when we made our way back out to the garage to embark on the driving fun:

As for the rest of the Code Of The Curve program, we’d be creating a Cayman Parade down The Strip, then heading out to Las Vegas Motor Speedway for a little friendly competition and some other ‘surprises’.

Code Of The Curve – Behind The Wheel

Any idea how long it takes to stop traffic on Las Vegas Boulevard AKA ‘The Strip’ for a private parade that’s being filmed?  Longer than I thought.  Once we got out onto The Strip, we moved along south pretty well, turning heads and dropping jaws as we went along.  I’m sure from the street it was quite a sight (and sound).  I’ve got some in-car video I’ll post later.  Anyway, we were at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in pretty short order where we encountered the second biggest surprise of the night – laps around the NASCAR oval at a decent speed.  (Video to come on that, too…)  After not enough laps around the track, we were formed up on the front straight in the biggest group of Caymans I’ve ever seen:

Lurking off on the pit straight was another added treat – a Porsche 904, which most look upon as the spiritual predecessor to the Cayman:

And just beyond the pit area near the paddock garages was the surprise and for many the highlight of the night, the new Porsche 918:

On to the driving – the real Code Of The Curve – the Cayman is, after all, nothing if not a drivers’ car.  Two groups, two preliminary events – slalom and threshold braking – and then a short driving course finale for the top three in each.  Pretty simple in concept.  We’d be driving the 2012 Cayman R.  Nice!  The slalom was run on the slightly banked back straight to add a little twist. Hit a cone and your time is thrown out; hit two and you’re done.  The threshold braking was on the pit straight. Everyone got two runs at each preliminary event. King of the Curve would be the fastest short course driver.

As an added bonus, Porsche arranged to have Justin Bell ride along during the short course to provide instruction, encouragement, or harassment as the case may be.  There’s still some surprises to come from this event, and in the interest of being a good sport, I won’t spoil it just yet.

Code Of The Curve – Post Track Fun

By the time we got back to the Encore, it was past Midnight – still early for Las Vegas.  The lobby bar was the perfect place to set up our Bench Racer’s shop, sip some good drinks, and rehash the Code Of The Curve.  Everyone had to walk past this place on the way to their rooms, so we just kept collecting folks as the night went on, including our King of the Curve, Carl Vanderschuit from San Diego.  Word has it, Carl gave Justin quite a ‘white knuckle’ ride!

The next day, about a dozen or so of us were invited to a Cayman owner/driver focus group breakfast by Porsche.  They wanted to know about us, who we were, what was our view on the Cayman.  Others went on a spirited desert canyon drive out toward Pahrump and Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch.

Code Of The Curve – The Wrap

Wow!  The Code Of The Curve was one first class event!  I can’t say I’ve every experienced such a varied and top quality event compressed into such a short time before.  Great job to Porsche, the PCA, the Encore staff, the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the Las Vegas Police escort – everyone.

One of the great things about this event is that along with many others, I have participated on the Cayman Register for years.  For the most part, aside from people we meet locally at events, we just know each other as login names – and there are some interesting ones at that.  Well, here we got a chance to meet each other in person – a bunch a Cayman nuts from all over the place – and that was pretty cool.  Thanks to Mike Souza, head of the PCA Cayman Register for doing a fabulous job reaching out to the Cayman community and helping to coordinate this event.  If you are a Cayman owner/driver and aren’t part of the register, get yourself over there!   You’re missing out on a great community and lots of fun.

NASCAR Racing Experience – Auto Club Speedway

NASCAR Racing Experience

Driver registration and check-in.

NASCAR Racing Experience rolled into Fontana and the Auto Club Speedway last weekend for a couple of days of speed and fun for drivers, riders, and fans.  Touring several of the country’s prominent NASCAR venues, NASCAR Racing Experience makes real NASCAR vehicles available to drive or ride in an educational, safe, and quite open – for instance, passing is allowed – environment.  These aren’t replicas or look-alikes; they are the real cars driven by guys like Jimmie Johnson, Dale Jr., and Jeff Gordon.  What a cool idea.  Imagine a baseball fan being able to walk into the dugout, picking up a bat used by one of his heroes, and taking batting practice at Dodger Stadium, Petco Park, Yankee Stadium, or Fenway Park.

NASCAR Racing Experience

Cars in the hot pit lane.

Families and friends were all smiles as drivers were belted into their cars for a few laps around the two mile banked oval track.  After climbing out, the drivers were ear-to-ear grins as they went on to collect their certificates, souvenir licenses, t-shirts, and other goodies.

NASCAR Racing Experience

Cars in the hot pit lane ready for track time.

Piggy backing with NASCAR Racing Experience was the Mario Andretti Racing Experience, which is a similar track program using open wheeled Indy cars.  Although the two programs have somewhat different schedules, they are often at a particular track over the same period.  Both programs offer various levels of track time from a single 8 minute session at the low end up to four 8 minute sessions at the maximum.  What a way to build fan loyalty, excitement, and commitment!  I spoke to several drivers who were given the experience as gifts, and it was just the beginning of their motorsports involvement as a participant…

After touring other tracks for the next few months, both with be back at Auto Club Speedway in late March.

Porsche Owners Club at Laguna Seca

Wow, what a weekend!  The Porsche Owners Club (POC) made its annual pilgrimage to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca this past weekend for three great track days, some good food and drink, and a fundraiser for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.  Of course, the highlights of the weekend were primarily on the track with great racing in all three race classes on both days.  In fact, this was some of the best amateur racing I have seen: competitive and clean.  The Porsche Owners Club had four run groups throughout the weekend at Laguna Seca – three Race groups and a Time Trial group – and also shared the track with Speed Ventures, who had one run group.

POC Red Cup Race - Laguna Seca

POC Red Cup Race - Laguna Seca

POC Red Cup Race - Laguna Seca

POC Red Cup Race - Laguna Seca

POC Red Cup Race - Laguna Seca

If you ever have a chance to drive at Laguna Seca, the same place that ALMS and Grand-Am race today and IndyCar raced in the past, you MUST take advantage of it. There’s no track in SoCal that’s even really close to Laguna Seca.  One of the unexpected highlights of the weekend was a track walk led by Kelly Collins.  Walking the track gives a completely different feel and appreciation for the driving/racing lines, corner camber, and elevation changes than you get from driving the track.  At Turns 5, 6, and 10 you really get a sense of how the camber can help you carry serious speed thru these corners.  Of course, walking the corkscrew is something else as well.

POC Red Cup Race - Laguna Seca

POC Green Cup Race - Laguna Seca

POC Green Cup Race - Laguna Seca

POC Time Trial - Laguna Seca

In this case, add in the professionalism & organization of the Porsche Owners Club, excellent cooperation with Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca track management, and also a worthy fundraiser, and it was truly an unforgettable weekend!

Weekend Speed Scene – HSR West & Barrett-Jackson OC

Lots of cool action in SoCal this weekend!  Two of the best are Barrett-Jackson coming to the Orange County Fairgrounds and HSR West races at Auto Club Speedway.

Barrett-Jackson Saturday

Barrett-Jackson Sunday

HSR Saturday

HSR Sunday

Weather for both events should be great.  Stories and pix to follow…

NuArt CanAm Car at POC Tribute to Le Mans Weekend

Richard Nauert brought one of his NuArt CanAm cars to the Porsche Owners Club

NuArt

NuArt CanAM car

Tribute to Le Mans weekend event at Auto Club Speedway.  In September 2011, the American Le Mans Series announced its association with the Unlimited Racing Championship (URC) as a ‘Heritage Series’ with races to be run on ALMS weekends at key events in 2012 and beyond.  The affiliation with ALMS & IMSA is a massive accomplishment on its own.  The URC will run identical NuArt CanAm cars that resemble the Can-Am cars of mid-1960s.

The NuArt car may look 1960s Can-Am, but it’s build in SoCal using advanced

Chaparral

Chaparral C2, Courtesy of Dieter Schambach

manufacturing and materials technologies worthy of aerospace applications and incorporating the latest safety capabilities.  The car is powered by a big block V-8 engine that is easy to maintain, and it sounds great.  Fly by wire engine controls and multiple power mappings and traction control selections facilitate a flexible and manageable learning curve.  Drivers can start out with ‘low’ horsepower (still 400+ HP) and traction control engaged and build up to 700+ HP without traction control.

Look for the NuArt CanAM car and for this exciting series to kick off during the Petit Le Mans ALMS weekend in the fall.

Nuart

NuArt CanAM car

Porsche Owners Club 20th Annual Tribute to Le Mans

A who’s who of SoCal Porsche Drivers converged at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana for the Porsche Owners Club 20th running of their signature Tribute to Le Mans weekend.  The four-hour enduro running into a beautiful sunset was the highlight of the weekend – attracting well-know teams & organizations such as Competition Motorsports, TruSpeed, GMG, and Werks II and drivers with ALMS, World Challenge, and Grand-Am pedigree.  Bob Faieta and Michael Avenatti of ALMS GTC fame took the overall top step of the podium handily turning fast lap after fast lap.

California Festival of Speed

The 11th Annual California Festival of Speed, organized by the Porsche Club of America (PCA), Zone 8 Region, will be held this weekend, Friday thru Sunday, April 20th thru 22nd at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana.  The FoS is one of the premier annual Porsche racing events in Southern California featuring PCA Club Racing, Time Trials, lunch time parade laps of the track, and a vendor row including SoCal Porsche dealers and performance products.  Really one of SoCal’s best speed events!

For Porsche owners, there will be parking corrals for the Early 911S Registry, the Porsche 356 Club, & the RS America Registry.

In addition to Sprint Races on Saturday and Sunday afternoon, there is a 1 hour PCA Enduro on Saturday at 4 PM.  HSR Formula Atlantic/F2 and HSR Formula Ford will also be racing throughout the weekend.

More info here: PCA California Festival of Speed

Location and map here: Calendar