52nd Porsche Parade Autocross by Jim Cambron - Heart O' Dixie

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first impression was that the course was very long, more than a mile in length, maybe a mile and a half, with two long straights rumored to require 3 rd gear (the Boxster shift point from 2 nd to 3 rd gear is at 74mph). The course also runs through several elevation changes of approximately 30’ and four of the curves (#3, 4, 7, and 11) were laid out with their outside on the downhill slope which would promote spinning-out during the turn. Most autocross courses allow room for a run-up of about 30’ before you trip the timing lights, so you don’t have to spin your tires getting up to speed as you break the timing beam— but this course was different. About 20’ directly in front of the starting line was a line of cones forcing you hard left and through a small gate. Directly in front of that gate was another line of cones at a distance of about 20’ forcing you hard right to a 2 nd gate. The timing lights were then located about 10’ in front of that second gate eliminating any running start toward the lights. Turns #1 & #2 were little more than a kink in the road. Turns #3 and #4 were about 180 degrees, left and right, generating the highest g-forces on the course. Turns #5 & #6, like turns #1 & #2 and #12 & #13 were just slight kinks and could be taken as three cone slaloms. Turn #7 was a high speed left-hand sweeper at the end of the fastest straight. #8 and #11 were right-hand ninety degrees turns. Lastly, there was plenty of braking room after your crossed the finish line—which is not always, or, even normally the case There were no conventional multi-cone slaloms, Chicago Boxes, inside or outside eggs, or other common autocross obstacles. The course was clearly marked with continuous chalk lines along both sides plus hundreds of marker cones. After the finish line, you passed by the timing trailer to get the time slips, then either back into the staging area, or, if you had completed your three runs, to an impound area for ½ hour of protest resolution. All-in-all, the course would be easy to negotiate and its lack of obstacles would favor faster cars over better drivers. There’s a big advantage to watching the other classes run the course, especially if you get to see the Improved and Modified classes which have the Parade’s fastest Porsches and best 8
drivers. The Hershey Parade sequenced the slowest to fastest classes over two days: Show-room Stock on day one; Production, Improved, and Modified on day two. This year the sequence was Show Room Stock, Improved, Modified, and Production. The Production P-16 class was scheduled absolutely last. The good news; I could watch everyone else run and get a accurate estimate of the top times available on this course. The bad news; it would be hot by 2:45 when my class was scheduled for first call to Pre-Grid #1. The Parade Autocross Competition I was competing for two trophies: Production Class P-16 and the overall Fastest Production Porsche. The 412 Porsches at the Autocross included 70 Boxsters and 15 Caymans. There were 58 986 Boxsters (25 basic and 33 “S”) and 12 987 Boxster S. There were no 987 basic (non-S) Boxsters in the Autocross. There were only 17 Boxsters in the Production class, with the remainder in Showroom Stock. Fortunately, Leeds Gulich moved up to the Modified 914 Class—so if this new Boxster is as good as my ’02, and if I still have my driving ability, I at least have a chance at winning the P-16 Class 1 st Place trophy—but you never know! Throughout the day I recorded top times for the Stock classes in the 1:20s and every once in a while a car would dip into the 1:19s. Most cars were running mid-1:30s with many Porsches in the 1:40s and all the way up to 2 minutes. By noon, it was evident that I needed to run sub- 1:20s to be competitive and a time in the 1:18s would be needed to win the P-16 Class. The day was clear, the sun was hot, a cool breeze made the weather bearable, and I was too nervous to eat breakfast or lunch. Modified, Improved, and Showroom Stock Class Winners Modified Porsches are progressed to Production, Improved, and ultimately Modified classes. Production Classes are aligned with Porsche models whereas Improved and Modified Classes are sorted by engine cylinder count and displacement. The heavily modified 914-6s usually set the Fastest Time of the Day and this year that was Stephan Nieslony of the Sacramento Valley Region in his ’72 914 with 1:12.21, barely beating Tom Provasi, (the usual Parade Autocross winner) from the Loma Prieta Region. Tom’s dirty 1:11 with 3 cones resulted in a 1:17 and his best clean run was 7/100s of a second behind Stephan.. Improved winners included a 993 with 1:18.4, a 996 and a 914-6 with 1:17.9, a 968 with 1:16.7, a 964 with 1:16.6, and a 986 Boxster S with 1:16.3. The Fastest Improved Class Porsche was driven by Steven Eguina of the Orange Coast Region in his ’03 996 GT2 with a 1:13.6. The Showroom Stock Classes had a 968 with 1:27.0. The top 987 Cayman S ran 1:20.4 and the fastest 987 Boxster S ran 1:20.6. The fastest 986 Boxster ran 1:20.8 and the best 986S had 1:22.4—the basic 986 outran the 986 S. The fastest 997S ran 1:18.5, the best 993 ran 1:21.4. The fastest 996 ran 1:21.7 and the fastest 964 ran 1:26.6. The best Turbos (965, 993, 996, and 997, except GT2s) ran 1:22.2. In the 996 and 997 GT2, GT3, GT3 RS, and Carrera GT class, the best time was 1:18.8. Three Showroom Stock Porsches ran 1:20s (one 986 Boxster and two 987 Cayman S) and the Fastest Showroom Stock Porsche was driven by Ted Drcar of the San Diego Region in his ’06 997S with a time of 1:18.50. He was 5.05 seconds ahead of the next fastest 997S in his class. Production Class Competition The P-16 class was called to Pre-Grid #1 an hour ahead of schedule. The only final times I saw were the Showroom Stock winners with a 1:18.5 and 1:18.88. After the driver’s meeting 9
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52nd Porsche Parade Autocross by Jim Cambron - Heart O' Dixie

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