Slipstream - November 2008

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Autocross #5 - Forcing the Instructor to Make a Tough Choice By Mark McSweeney Photos by Kirby Allison, Bianco Filio, and Wendy Shoffit I wheeled into the pit area in the cool early morning air with great anticipation. Not only was this great day of driving, and to those unsung heroes of auto- Thanks to all the club organizers and members for a the first time I had tried an autocross event with cross, the driving instructors. the Porsche Club, but the Arlington Ballpark lot was a new site for all the Metroplex clubs. What would the lot be like, how would the surface respond to a day of heavy autocross? Several of us had wondered the day before at another autocross event Autocross #5 Results what adventures awaited at the lot. Time Name Class Car Seeing the rows of wonderful German machines only heightened my 71.068 Mark McSweeney 1X Mini anticipation. 67.849 Betty Perrine 2 914 Mark McSweeney, in A pleasant surprise awaited me, that here there seemed a greater 82.739 62.005 Cathy Howard Chuck McCoy 2 3 944S 944 the “MiniMac” pushes abundance of instructors more than 64.096 Denny Payne 3 944 his instructor to test his willing to ride with newbies (I mean, Depends! 64.661 Travis Howard 3 914 novices), like me. This club was very 65.185 John Reynolds 3 914 friendly and helpful, and so was the instructor who crawled 66.660 Robyn Howard 3 944 into my Mini Cooper with me. He was honestly glad to help. As my ensuing laps unfurled, I hoped he was able 60.083 Carey Spreen 4 911 SC to maintain that joy of helping, for I feared I might have pushed him toward a difficult 61.656 63.292 Mike Lockas Michael Pelletier 4 4 944 Boxster decision between two unpleasant options (the third option of 64.320 Justin Thompson 4 914-6 64.646 Clay Perrine 4 914-6 bailing out of the car at 45 miles an hour not really being a viable 66.683 Roy Clingman 4 914-6 one for either of us): would he reach first for a Depends, or for 63.124 63.237 Gary Kelley Joel Nannis 5 5 Carrera 911S the “help me Jesus” bar (located Kirby Allison gives the “thumbs 60.345 James Shoffit 6 911 SC over his passenger door - grabbing all the bars in the car would his next run. up” as he mentally prepares for 61.222 Bob Kuykendall 6 911 require a Cirque du Soleil feat). 61.614 Wendy Shoffit 6 911 SC 64.429 Darron Shaffer 6 Boxster S Mind you, slightly scaring one’s instructor might be an impressive thing if the feeling of mild panic were caused by 61.299 Tannia Dobbins 7 Boxster S one’s confident and intentional handling of the car. To effortlessly 65.175 Jeff Herrmann 7 944 S glide through the course with a “mind like water,” 91.222 Richard Segui 7 911 crossing the finish time in a record time, if only for a rookie 59.608 Mark Steele 8 996 (uh, novice), would be both surprising and a little scary. But 59.729 Jeff Larson 8 996 such was not the case for me. 61.151 Lisa Steele 8 996 The courage that must have 61.558 Marilynn Moseley 8 996 C2 been demanded of my instructor 64.392 Kirby Allison 8 Cayman S was more due to my totally novice status with my Cooper, being both 58.521 Rick Gonzales 9 914-6 new to the car and to autocrossing in general. I wondered as this hero 59.017 69.427 Bryan Bell Bob Lewis 9 9 996 C2 Turbo Cathy Howard is all smiles stepped out of my Cooper after 4 72.197 Bianco Filio L Cayman S as she, and dad Travis, get laps with this crazy Irishman, if ready to run. the Porsche club prepared their instructors by first sending them on an active tour of duty. 10
Autocross #6 - I(‘d) Like Ike (to stay away)! By Carey Spreen The sixth and final points-paying event in the Maverick Region 2008 Autocross Series was scheduled for the weekend that Hurricane Ike hit Galveston and the Texas Coast, and there were dire predictions of high winds, torrential downpours, and apocalyptic lightning strikes. There was much discussion by the Maverick Region board as to whether to cancel the event, and if it was to be cancelled, when that decision was going to be made. Other automotive and non-automotive events in the area had already been canceled due to safety concerns, but of course no one was sure what Ike was going to do once he made landfall. Would he cut a swath of destruction through the DFW area, or head toward East Texas? At the beginning of the week, the weather predictions didn’t look good. But as the actual day of the event got closer, it appeared that Ike was going to head east, so the board made the decision to stage the autocross as scheduled, rain or shine. As long as there was no lightning, hail, flooding, or standing water, the event could turn out to be an exercise in wet condition car control, which is something we could all use as well! Rick Gonzales demonstrates how he achieved the fastest time of the day. Birdville Stadium in North Richland Hills, where this event took place, is also where we had the first autocross of 2008, and it is the smallest venue we have used this year. The course laid out for that first event was very tight and technical, and required shifting between 1st and 2nd gear more than once for the majority of entrants. So I figured that this would also be the case for Autocross 6. However, for this event, Clay acquired the services of a guest course designer: Jerret Jan, of the Metroplex Miata Enthusiasts. Jerret used a large loop at the first portion of the course to extend the lap length, and, because he placed fewer (and larger-radius) turns in the rest of the course, it was more wide-open, with most cars able to stay in 2nd gear for each run. There were some exceptions to this, but the majority of us only had to shift once per lap. Speaking for myself, the less shifting I have to do during an autocross, the more I can focus on accelerating, braking, and turning- -always a good thing. Carey Spreen, braving the predictions of Ike, came out to play anyway. Mike Lockas shows us some uplifting driving. As it turned out, the day dawned cool and dry, and was one of the nicest autocross days we have had all year. Turnout was on the low side (28 participants), probably because of the threat of rain, but those who did show got 12 runs each (plus fun runs for those who needed more than 12!), and we still finished before 3pm. This was the last points-paying autocross of the year, but if you want to try your hand at autocrossing with a twist, sign up for this year’s Round-Up, a multi-event weekend scheduled for November Photos by Charlie Davis It must be that extra lean from inside the car that gives Bob Kuykendall his lifting power. 21-23 (the weekend before Thanksgiving). See the ad or article for it elsewhere in this issue. It will be a fun one! Autocross #6 Results Time Name Class Car 42.060 Christy Dominick 2 944 42.859 Betty Perrine 2 914 40.042 Chuck McCoy 3 944 41.169 Travis Howard 3 914 42.050 Denny Payne 3 944 44.328 Robyn Howard 3 944 38.864 Carey Spreen 4 911 SC 40.569 Mike Lockas 4 944 43.186 Clay Perrine 4 914-6 40.472 Gary Kelley 5 Carrera 41.327 Avery Murphy 5 916-6 41.932 Tracey Gross 5 Boxster 42.155 Ed Gross 5 Boxster 42.443 Joel Nannis 5 Boxster 43.661 Ray Nannis 5 Boxster 38.794 James Shoffit 6 911 SC 39.474 Wendy Shoffit 6 911 SC 39.952 Rich Keesecker 6 Cayman 40.288 Bob Kuykendall 6 911 42.042 Darron Shaffer 6 Boxster S 37.533 Rick Gonzales 9 914-6 11
Page 1: http://mav.pca.org Upcoming Events
Page 4 and 5: 2
Page 6 and 7: 4 President James Shoffit H- 972-50
Page 8 and 9: 6
Page 10 and 11: Maverick Minutes by Charlie Davis,
Page 14 and 15: 12
Page 16 and 17: 14
Page 18 and 19: Around and Around We Go by Clay Per
Page 20 and 21: PCA Escape to the Land of Enchantme
Page 22 and 23: 20
Page 24 and 25: 22
Page 26 and 27: Happy Hour at Reata’s Wayne Corbe
Page 28 and 29: Maverick Yellow Pages by Wendy Shof
Page 30 and 31: Unclassifieds Unclassifieds are ava
Page 32: Jan Mayo, Slipstream 2973 Timber Cr

Slipstream - November 2008

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?