Slipstream - August 2003

Photo by Carey Spreen
Florida Parade Autocross
by Carey Spreen
For anyone used to the Houston summer climate, the Parade
Driving Event at the Zephyrhills Municipal Airport would
have made them feel right at home. For those of us used to
more temperate climates, though, the humidity was brutal. The
grid opened each morning at 7 am with timed runs starting for the
first run group at 8 am, all in an attempt to be finished by the
hottest part of the day. For the most part, this was a successful plan,
with timed runs ending by early afternoon each day.
But that wasn't the end of the day. Since Michelin was the
official sponsor of the Driving Event, they were able to talk the
event organizers into allowing them to use the same course for
their "Michelin Test Drive," wherein you could pay $10 to have
Michelin install pre-mounted wheel/tire combos on your car and
followed by a sweeping left turn that headed you back toward
civilization. Following this turn was a succession of box turns and
chicanes that alternated from one side of the taxiway to the other,
forcing you to look out of the corner of your eye to find the next
gate. The final left turn toward the finish was pretty tight, not
really allowing any "banzai" runs across the finish line. Penalties
were as follows: hitting a cone cost 1 second; hitting a runway
marker light cost $1500. Cones were the better bargain by far.
...hitting a cone cost 1 second; hitting a
runway marker light cost $1,500 . . .
The first classes to run on Wednesday morning were the
newly-christened Showroom Stock (SS) classes, in which NO
modifications are allowed. Various classes in this category were
for the Boxster, Boxster S, 993, 996, and 993/996 Turbos. Yes, there
is an SS class for the Cayenne, too--they (or should we say "it")
ran on Friday. The best run from any SS-category car was made
by Parade Competition Rules (PCR) Committee Chairman Mike
Lommatzsch of Loma Prieta Region in a '00 Boxster, with a time
of 63.193 seconds, winning class SS1M.
The Spreen’s 914-6 at sunrise
Photo by Ed Mayo
take a few test laps to see how they compared to your tires. And
as if that wasn't enough, Porsche Cars North America sponsored
the Porsche Driving Experience on Friday featuring two or three
Cayennes (one Turbo, the rest S models). There was a long
waiting list for this one, and runs continued until 4 pm on Friday.
As for the course itself, Parade Driving Event Chair Dan
Shields and his crew laid out a fairly long (more than one minute
per lap for most drivers) course on two (mostly inactive)
taxiways. As you started out, you made a left turn, tripped the
start timer, and immediately made an acute right turn, staying in
first gear. There followed an immediate increasing-radius left
turn, where you shifted into second on the way to what looked
like a random assortment of cones. However, once you got to
where the cones were, you could see that it was a succession
of gates leading you
to the slalom. The
distance from one
cone to the next
increased by a couple
of feet with each
interval, so you could
gradually accelerate
through the slalom,
only to have to make
it through an offset
Jan Mayo charges through the pylons gate at the end,
Photo by Ed Mayo
Autocrossers patiently waiting their turn
There was a lone Maverick in the Showroom Stock category:
Bob Knight, in his '00 Boxster S, won SS2M with a time of 65.152
seconds. Bob is also the head of the PCA National Finance
Committee, and Treasurer for the Ft. Worth Porsche Parade in
2004. Bob is obviously a multi-talented individual, since he and
wife Linda also took 4th place in the Unequipped class in the
Parade Rally. Congratulations on both trophies, Bob!
Also turning the fastest Ladies' Showroom Stock time of
66.807 in a 996 (class SS4L) was Jutta Aldenhoff, who is the
worldwide Porsche Club Liaison for Porsche AG.
After SS came the Production classes, which allow limited
modifications to tires, wheels, and suspension. Fastest time in the
Production category was in a '99 996 (class P18M) driven by Richard
Cowell of Gold Coast Region, with a time of 59.481 seconds.
Fastest lady in the Production category was a 62.588-second run
by Erinn Sommmer of Gold Coast Region, driving the same '99
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