Autocross Season Series 2021/2022 - #3 Results

AUTOCROSS SEASON SERIES 2021/2022 EVENT #3

STORY BY KENNETH MITCHELL PHOTOS BY CAROLE BULTEMA

AZPCA Region Autocross Series Event #3 was held on November 19, 2021, at the Arizona Motorsports Park (AMP) in Litchfield Park, AZ, and 39 drivers were not disappointed. As usual this event had an extremely high fun-factor, and again the weather was AZPCA Region Autocross perfect.

The AZPCA Autocross Chairs, Kim K. and Rick A. outdid themselves with another fun-packed course design. The course consisted of a couple of slaloms and sweepers, a chicane, and a disguised straightaway. The drivers drove four separately timed laps in both the morning and afternoon sessions. There was also a lunch break between the two sessions and the drivers were treated to lunch provide by the Region.

The course was a little forgiving, and a minor driving mistake wasn’t too costly in your lap time. This course also provided the drivers an opportunity to develop their braking skills when transitioning from a straightaway into a turning maneuver that if you over-shot the turn-in point you were not aligned up for the upcoming slalom segment.

The competition was very close amongst three Porsches. Kim K., in his GT3 RS, had the best lap time of 41.309 seconds; and Martin R., in his Cayman S, was nipping at Kim’s best time, with 41.317 seconds. Eric S was also in the hunt for the Top Time of Day (TTOD) with 41.884 seconds.

The difference of Kim and Martin’s times was only 8 thousandths of a second. 8 thousandths of a second could be the difference of being about 11 millimeters off of an apex cone or braking a nanosecond too early. Eric’s time was only 56 thousandths of a second behind Martin. Nice driving guys.

There were only two Porsche drivers with their cars equipped with Race Tires. Robert T., in a Porsche Carrera Turbo, with a best time of 42.641 seconds followed by Tom T., in the same car, with 43.215 seconds.

DRIVER CAR

Kim K

2016 Porsche GT3 RS Martin R 2007 Porsche Cayman S Eric S 2006 Porsche 911 C2S Robert T 2017 Porsche 911 Turbo Tom T Eric T Scott O 2017 Porsche 911 Turbo 2014 Porsche Cayman S 2012 Porsche 911

Marc T 1976 Porsche 914 2.0

Justin B Ryan H

2018 Porsche 718 Cayman 2016 Porsche Cayman S William P 2000 Porsche Boxster S Dave M Rick A 2014 Porsche Cayman S 1994 Porsche 968

Brad K Chris M

2004 Porsche Boxster S 2019 Porsche 911 Michael M 1987 Porsche 944 Turbo Jim B 2018 Porsche Cayman BEST RUN

41.309 41.317 41.884 42.641 43.215 43.421 44.598 45.372 45.868 46.197 46.444 47.018 48.984 49.339 49.892 50.622 51.703

DRIVER

CAR Bruce H 2021 Tesla Model 3 Jeff W 2021 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE

Ken M

2013 Chevrolet Corvette GS Steve E 2016 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 Ealing J 2015 Factory 5 GTM Jeff W 2006 Honda S2000

Julie W 2021 BMW GROUP X 40.279 40.483 40.652 40.843 41.339 41.669 42.216

This event had several husbands and wives co-driving the same car. There was also a family with three generations of drivers. Tom T., the father of Robert T., and Robert’s son, Marc T. (Tom T’s. Grandson), who drove his Porsche 914-4. This is definitely a Porsche car family.

Aaron S 2019 Mazda Miata Mathias A 2022 Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing Mike T 2017 Chevrolet Corvette GS

Brian M Mike C Jim E 2015 Chevrolet Corvette 2014 BMW 228i 2019 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 42.878 42.925 43.825 44.041 44.53 44.77

Dane T

1999 Mazda Miata Andrew T 2013 Suburu BRZ Greg K 1969 Chevrolet Corvette Diane C 2014 BMW 228i Clint G 2017 BMW M2 Jacob K 2017 Ford Mustang GT Marc C 2012 VW GTI David E 1990 Chevrolet Corvette Chuck N 1997 Panoz Roadster 45.092 45.725 45.962 46.813 47.951 48.806 49.598 49.701 50.152

Although, this course was easy to drive and not too tricky to negotiate the course, there were eleven “Cone Kills” by seven drivers. This event “Cone Killer” top honor was awarded to William P. with three cone penalties. Marc T. and Eric T. were runner ups with two penalties each. Each cone penalty adds 2 seconds to your lap time.

During the lunch break, the drivers were discussing their morning session runs among other drivers. Some of the drivers were focusing on how to improve their driving for getting closer to the TTOD. One driver related that he needed to find 3 more seconds. Another driver related that he needed to go faster and he was going to mash the go-fast pedal more and use less brake in the afternoon. Another driver stated that he needed more horsepower, so he is going to put a 4.5 liter non-turbo engine in his Carrera.

Several drivers were sharing driving tips with other drivers on how to improve their afternoon times. This type of camaraderie is what makes this sport fun when members share information to help others to improve their driving skills.

Fourteen drivers improved on their morning times in the afternoon session. Eight of those drivers, improved their afternoon times on their 3rd or 4th lap. Some of those times improvements were significant from their lap times in the morning session and some were almost consistent but, still improved their best morning times in the afternoon.

The experienced Porsche drivers, such as Kim, Martin, and Eric; will find that any improvement in their times are usually measured in only thousandths of a second. Beginning and intermediate skilled drivers will normally see larger time gains between the first and the last laps. This is normal. As the aforementioned skill level drivers gain experience with more seat time, they will see their time gains decrease in time.

The driver that had the most time improvement from the morning and the afternoon sessions was Jim B., in his 718 Cayman, with 6.382 seconds. Jim drove his best morning time on his 4th lap and his best afternoon time on his 3rd lap. That was a significant improvement and looks like Jim is starting to learn a lot on each lap and event.

The holidays are behind us now and it is a new year. Hopefully, your “New Year Resolution” was “I’m going to autocross my Porsche and develop better driving skills”. This would be a great way to start out the new year.

The next event is Event #5 of the 2021/2022 AZPCA Region Autocross Series and will be held on Saturday, January 29, 2022, and the entries are well underway and filling up fast. The deadline date to sign up is Thursday, January 27, 2022, at 3:00PM/1500 Hours AST (Arizona Standard Time).

If you are still contemplating about giving the autocross event a try, you can ask a driver to sign you up for a “Taste of Autocross” whereas, you will be allowed to ride with the driver to see how much fun can be had driving your Porsche on an autocross course in a safe environment. The entry fee for a “Taste of Autocross” is only $10.00.

All you need to do is log-on to your motorsportreg.com account and signup for the next event. You can also signup for volunteering to help with the event operation and there is no cost to volunteer.

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact the Region’s Autocross Co-Chairs, Kim K. and Rick A., at autocross@az.pca. org. Hopefully, we’ll see you at the next event. Come on out and join us for a lot of fun.

This chart is all of the raw times, so add 2 seconds for each cone hit.

AZPCA A-X #3, November 20, 2021 HEAT 1 HEAT 2

DRIVER CAR RUN 1 RUN 2 RUN 3 RUN 4 RUN 5 RUN 6 RUN 7 RUN 8 CONES

Jacob K 2017 Ford Mustang GT Marc C 2012 VW GTI

Ryan H Brad K 2016 Porsche Cayman S 2004 Porsche Boxster S 49.513 50.239 49.887 50.883 48.806 49.363 49.876 49.385 50.997 50.197 50.076 49.603 50.539+1 49.598 49.910+1 49.628 2

DNF 48.328 47.678 47.175 46.974 46.729 46.197 46.806 50.438 50.165 50.239 50.788 49.339 50.718 50.414 49.931

Diane C 2014 BMW 228i 49.813 51.127 50.731 49.78 46.813 47.46 47.37 47.201

Steve E 2016 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 41.485 41.074+1 41.519+2 DNF 40.843 41.262+1 42.050+1 41.921 5

Ken M

2013 Chevrolet Corvette GS 41.345 42.092 41.122 41.309 40.771 40.652 40.793 42.388+2 2 Bruce H 2021 Tesla Model 3 42.135+1 40.279 40.317 41.312+1 46.025+2 40.325 40.461 46.834+1 5

Julie W 2021 BMW 42.987 42.3 42.444+1 42.216 41.476+1 42.654+1 42.175+1 43.415 4

Dane T Scott O Ealing J Mike C 1999 Mazda Miata 2012 Porsche 911 2015 Factory 5 GTM 2014 BMW 228i

Jim B

2018 Porsche Cayman Aaron S 2019 Mazda Miata

45.356 45.628 45.748 45.404 45.121 46.025+1 45.267 45.092 45.859 44.934 45.075 44.598 46.179 44.945 44.806 44.862 42.795 43.454 42.019 DNF 41.845 41.339 41.71 41.671 45.796 46.016+1 47.187 46.757 44.53 44.922 44.837 45.11 1 59.973 59.432 59.67 58.085 56.462+1 53.808 51.703 52.996 1 46.143+1 45.155 44.903 43.987 42.878 43.228 43.233+1 43.083 2

Jeff W 2021 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE 41.099 41.412 41.79 41.769+1 40.483 40.797 41.46 41.372 1

Jim E

2019 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 46.064 45.234 45.481 44.77 46.299 46.804 46.843 47.287 Mathias A 2022 Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing 43.452 43.175 43 42.925 43.383 43.678 44.195 43.595 Rick A 1994 Porsche 968 49.549 49.414 49.973 50.114 48.984 50.043+1 49.664 49.912 1 Chuck N 1997 Panoz Roadster 50.415 50.846 50.741 50.255 51.122 50.297 50.152 50.527

Andrew T 2013 Suburu BRZ William P 2000 Porsche Boxster S 49.601 48.691 47.241 48.797 46.290+2 47.523 46.826 45.725 2 47.244 46.651+1 47.627 46.444 47.029+1 46.93 47.167 47.195+1 3

Marc T

1976 Porsche 914 2.0 Martin R 2007 Porsche Cayman S Jeff W 2006 Honda S2000

Clint G 2017 BMW M2

David E 1990 Chevrolet Corvette

Dave M Tom T Justin B Chris M 2014 Porsche Cayman S 2017 Porsche 911 Turbo 2018 Porsche 718 Cayman 2019 Porsche 911 49.661 47.427 45.64 77.566+2 46.28 46.531 46.052 45.372 2 41.812 41.622 41.491 42.426 41.317 41.6 41.953 42.112 42.273 42.643 42.037 41.994 42.544+1 42.073+1 42.055 41.669 2 49.747 49.517+1 49.636 50.625+1 48.467+1 47.951 51.198+1 46.164+1 5 51.539 50.081 49.905 49.701 50.406 50.342 50.323 50.087 51.001 49.543 48.697 48.439 47.421 47.412 47.018 47.768 44.014 44.49 44.235 43.601 43.527 43.215 43.33 43.787 46.499 47.215 46.486 46.532 45.868 49.285 47.638 48.14 52.205 49.892 51.548 52.453 DNS DNS DNS DNS

Robert T 2017 Porsche 911 Turbo 43.633 43.784 43.751 43.775 43.551 43.145 43.32 42.641

Eric S Greg K Brian M Eric T Mike T 2006 Porsche 911 C2S 1969 Chevrolet Corvette 42.721 42.877 43.267 43.89 41.884 56.700+1 43.074 DNF 1 47.572 47.581 47.524 47.326 45.962 46.053 46.346 46.53

2015 Chevrolet Corvette 44.761 43.860+1 44.134 44.849 43.883+1 44.041 44.271+1 44.55 3

2014 Porsche Cayman S

44.529 43.825 43.421 44.321 43.825+1 43.978 44.214+1 44.197 2 2017 Chevrolet Corvette GS 46.124 44.33 46.161 46.598 DNF DNF 44.593 43.825 Michael M 1987 Porsche 944 Turbo Kim K 2016 Porsche GT3 RS 52.132 51.616 50.691 50.808 52.016 54.717+1 51.613 50.622 1 42.475 41.894 41.592 41.313 41.443 41.443 41.309 41.556

ALL TIMES ARE RAW ADD 2 SECONDS FOR EACH CONE