December 2007 - PCA - Orange Coast Region

Sunday Autocross event…almost
We have had a pretty good two-year run
with no rain, no temperatures over about
80 degrees, no temperatures under 60
degrees, no fog, no sleet and no snow!
However, just when I thought we were
home-free for 2007, “Mr. Wind” got us! In
all honesty, he caught me by surprise. I
usually have a pretty good talk regarding
the weather with the Big Guy upstairs, and
he takes good care of our small band of
car addicts. But it was late when I arrived
home Saturday night, I was tired and I
just forgot. So…sorry for all the wind!
Now, this wasn’t just a little windy—this
was serious wind, lots of dirt and leaves,
cones blowing over, tires blowing down
the runway, trash cans blowing down the
runway, you name it. The cones were
blowing over faster than we could pick
them up and right in the middle of trying
to decide if maybe we should see if it
was going to ease up, three of the four
outhouses blew over! Not pretty. Then,
five minutes later, the fourth outhouse
designated as the “ladies” outhouse went
over. Fortunately, none of the registration
team was inside. Unfortunately, with
the strong winds, Southern California
experienced some of the worst fires in
history. We canceled the event and some
of the gang got together to watch the
final Formula One race where a rookie
almost won the World F1 Championship.
(”If only I had a little more practice at
threshold braking.”).
Thank you everyone who helped pick
up the equipment/cones and repack the
truck in the 40-knot winds. As I always
say, “If you need help in the Orange
Coast Region, you just need to turn
around and someone is offering to help
before you ask!” OK, in this case we did
bribe them with the donuts and coffee
that Chris Duva and Margaret Knight
brought.
Come join the fun…yes, I mean
you!
Have you been sitting reading this
column for the last couple of years and
thinking you might want to do a little
“tac testing” with your Porsche on the
runways of El Toro Fields? Please come
join us! We will provide you with an
instructor and a helmet for the day. Life’s
too short to watch others having all the
fun! To read more about what to expect,
go to www.PCAOCR.org and click on
“OCR Forums” then “Driving Events” and
read the first post: Auto-X – Frequently
Asked Questions.
Remember! Everyone has a first event.
Everyone puts their pants on one leg at a
time that morning. You won’t embarrass
yourself…and I will guarantee that no
one at the event is driving for the Porsche
Factory…you will have a great time!
Driving Events Series
Series Site Support by
Date Location Sponsor Date Location Sponsor
2/18/07 El Toro (Driver’s Clinic) 7/22/07 El Toro
3/18/07 El Toro 8/12/07 El Toro (Z8)
4/22/07 El Toro 9/17/07 Streets of Willow FMC Loan Pros
5/7/07 Streets of Willow (Z8) 10/21/07 El Toro
5/27/07 El Toro FMC Loan Pros 11/11/07 El Toro
6/17/07 El Toro 12/9/07 El Toro
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