November 2012 - Rocky Mountain Region Porsche Club - Porsche ...

Cones Are a-Fallin’ Autocross Wrap-Up
Story by David Schmidt, photos by Troy Nakatani
This year’s Cones Are a-Fallin’ Autocross once again
took place at the preferred out-of-the-way gigantic
parking lot obscurely sandwiched between DIA and
Front Range Airport. October 20th proved to be a perfect
cloudy autumn day, and over 50 drivers showed up to
test their skills, hammer their cars, and try their best to
swiftly and deftly maneuver through the tightly designed
course laid out in a wandering river of orange pylons.
Chris Sulley, event chair, broke the anxious wouldbe
lead-footers into two heats with one squad driving
and the other working the course as safety monitors
and cone replacement specialists. Each group got four
runs in the morning and another four in the afternoon,
all under the ever-watchful and flawless eye of the laser
timer.
“Judging by the smiles and ‘bench-racing’ at beer
thirty, everyone enjoyed the event and all were rewarded
with a 12 ounce trophy,” Sulley said. “The popularity
of autocrossing within the club has grown over the last
few years and the credit goes to our volunteers that are
essential for coordinating and setting up the events.
Autocrossing is an excellent venue for learning car
control in a safe environment,” he added.
Thankfully, no horrific incidents took place; however,
the voluptuous Lamborghini-Yellow Noble M400 had its
bonnet unexpectedly slam open while tearing around
the track, a certain brand-new 981 Boxster S (featured
in last month’s HighGear) took on a hitchhiker in the
form of an orange cone throughout almost an entire
run, and lastly, a rather large dog of the Yellow Labrador
persuasion was seen on a few occasions swiping donuts
right out of the hands of some unsuspecting patrons.
Amongst the majority of Porsches dancing their way
through the cones, a variety of other cars representing
manufacturers from all across the globe came to play:
a couple of modern American muscle cars; some frontwheel-drivers
from Honda, Kia and Pontiac; a trickedout
Nissan 370Z; some dainty but deadly Mini Coopers
and their equally lethal BMW brethren; a pair of angry
Subaru STi’s; plus Keith Hall even rolled his Formula Ford
open-wheel racer off the trailer and proved the value of
adult-owned toys to all in attendance.
Much like the hodge-podge of cars that squealed at
least a year of quality rubber off their tires, so too was
the mix of drivers. Several attendees had never been to
an autocross before, some were novices sharpening
their skills and learning the limits of their cars, but
most seemed to be well-seasoned, experienced drivers
flogging their mechanical beasts for one last time before
winter sets in. Yet, no matter the level of expertise it was
plain to see that all participants came away with a wide
smile and plenty of awesome stories. Except maybe that
Noble owner.
10
HighGear
November 2012