April Velocity Magazine - Issue 25-04 by Porsche Owners Club

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From the Editor:

There’s a lot of crazy stuff going on in the world right now so put aside all your anxiety, open a beer and kick back with this issue. We’ve got some great articles, photos, interviews, event results, news from Porsche and much, much more. Thanks to an amazing gaggle of volunteers and our generous sponsors, Velocity continues to grow. I’m so glad you’re part of the action. Buckle up and enjoy the read!

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? POCVelocityEditor@gmail.com

Weyman

VELOCITY Staff Editor

Andrew Weyman

Art Director Don Matz

Contributing Writers

Andrew Weyman

Steve Eisler

David Fabi

Paul Wren

Steve Town

Angela Avitt

Don Matz

Contributing Photographers

Luis Vivar

Don Matz

Todd Trimble

Angela Avitt

POC Board of Directors

John Momeyer President

Karen Robinson Secretary

Jim Salzer Treasurer / PDS Chairman

Joe Wiederholt Member at Large

Dwain Dement Chief Driving Instructor

Eben Benade VP Motorsports, TT Director

Steve Town Sponsorship

Cover Image: Luis Vivar / Don Matz

Porsche Owners Club 2025 Event Schedule

Nov

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DAVID FABI

The Porsche Owners Club continued its season at Buttonwillow Raceway’s new “The Circuit” for a thrilling weekend of competition that showcased top tier driving talent across multiple classes. For the vast majority of drivers, it was their first time driving on this track that just opened in January. From wheel-towheel battles in Boxster Spec to dominant performances in 991 Spec and GT3, every race offered fans and drivers alike a reminder of why POC remains so popular among all its members and participants.

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Photo: Luis Vivar

The gang at WR Teknica ...our latest sponsor

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In Boxster Spec (BSR) the competition was especially fierce. Nick Maloy set the tone early in Day One qualifying, taking pole position followed closely by Chris Basson and Anders Hainer. The race saw Anders Hainer, starting third, execute a flawless race to clinch the win. Chris Basson maintained pressure throughout, finishing just 0.843 seconds behind Hainer and Nick Khilnani claiming third.

In Race 2, Hainer once again took the win. Nick Maloy bounced back from a tough Race 1 and shadowed Hainer all the way to the checkered flag, finishing just 0.431 seconds behind in a nail-biting battle for the lead. Nick Khilnani stayed in the mix, ending just 1.637 seconds behind Hainer.

Qualifying for Race 3 saw Anders Hainer set the fastest time followed by Mateo Siderman and Nick Maloy just behind. In the race, however, it was Siderman who claimed victory. Hainer finished second while Maloy rounded out the podium in third.

The GT5 class featured a weekend-long duel between Phil Town and Will Durant. Town set the tone early with pole position for Race 1, but it was Durant who took the win in that opener, with Don Kravig finishing second and Enrique Mar in third. In Races 2 and 3, Town responded with back-toback wins, showing strong pace and consistency, while Durant maintained pressure and collected two second-place finishes. Kravig remained a steady presence on the podium throughout the weekend with two more third-place results.

Over in GT3, Brett Gaviglio delivered one of the most commanding performances of the weekend. In Day 1 qualifying, he narrowly missed pole by just 0.086 seconds to Ryder Liu but came back to win the race after a closely fought battle, finishing just 0.206 seconds ahead of Liu. David Fabi qualified third and maintained his track position to round out the podium with a consistent race that saw him fending off Brad Keegan every lap. On Day 2, Gaviglio captured pole with a 1:48.271 and never looked back as he checked out from the rest of the field to take a second consecutive win. Race 2 saw different faces for the rest of the podium as Brad Keegan and Paul Wren put in strong drives of their own finishing P2 and P3, respectively.

991 Spec was all about Mike Monsalve (what’s new?) who won both races with clean starts, fast laps, and unshakable composure. He qualified first for both races and converted those pole positions into victories. In Race 1, Bob Mueller pushed Monsalve hard all the way to the checkered flag and finished

Photos: Luis Vivar

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just 0.396 seconds behind, while Ana Predescu claimed third. Race 2 saw Ana move up into second place behind Monsalve, with Gerrit Wesseling completing the podium.

GT7 was another class with plenty of movement. Ted Frech opened the weekend with a win in Race 1, while Mike Porteus suffered a DNF. But Porteus came back with a vengeance in Races 2 and 3, winning both and showcasing excellent racecraft under pressure. Frech and Randy Bergum remained consistent, finishing second and third respectively in both later races.

In Spec 2.7, John Momeyer delivered a clean sweep across all three races, staying perfect on the weekend. Vivek Hazari remained his closest competition but couldn’t quite match Momeyer’s dominant pace, taking second in all three races.

GT2 comprised two drivers, Darrell Troester and Paul Barnes. Troester bested Barnes in both races. Carrera Spec and GT4 included one driver each with Douglas Volder and Thomas Stone, respectively.

All in all, the Buttonwillow weekend was a showcase of skill, resilience, and close competition. With multiple classes featuring races decided by tenths of a second and new rivalries brewing across the paddock, the POC continues to set the standard for grassroots Porsche racing in the U.S.

The next stop for the Porsche Owners Club will be Willow Springs International Raceway on May 17–18, 2025, where drivers will once again battle for championship points and class pride. Don’t miss the action!

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PAUL WREN

The weather gods smiled on POC racing with a fantastic weekend at the new Buttonwillow Circuit racetrack. It was good to get away from all the cataclysmic world news for a bit and just focus on driving cars. Since it was a new track, it was a huge bonus to attend the Friday practice day, and you could definitely tell on Saturday who was lost and who had started to find their way. The track looks extremely simple on a graphical track map or even watching video of someone else driving. In person, at speed, it presents some interesting challenges.

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Very crisp morning temps in the 40’s made for a much-needed warmup session, with a wide variety of speeds as people either learned the track or waited for their tires to warm up. The ultra-smooth new pavement is still pretty “green” and with rain earlier in the week it did not provide much grip. That made any error of judgment on corner entry much more pronounced since trying to fix a mistake would most often just result in massive understeer. There were a few clouds of dust as folks slid off into the dirt but for the most part Saturday went off without serious incident.

There seems to be more than I remember of an unfortunate tendency for people to “jump in” to a TT session without being registered or having a working transponder, and in some cases without a valid number on the car (or any number at all). Come on people, if you can afford a six-figure car to get on track, it is just disrespectful to yourself and others to ignore or not even read the rules. This is supposed to be “gentleman’s” (-woman’s) racing and those rules are there for safety so ignoring them just puts everyone at risk. Also, be sure to go to the driver’s meeting and pay attention.

The results from Saturday show many of the same names that we’ve become familiar with leading the timesheets. Thomas Kenna continues to progress in the bright yellow GT3 and finally had some new tires just in time for this smooth track. His 1:54.415 led the Modified 3 times for a bit but he was beaten by Vianh Nguyen with a 1:53.373 for Saturday’s results. Sean Taheri showed steady improvement with a 1:59 on Saturday and 1:58 on Sunday for fourth and then third in Modified 3. Osei Appiagyei showed his usual fast form in the grey Carrera S with a 1:55.048 on Saturday in Stock 3. Mike Avitt in the familiar bright Miami Blue GT3-RS pipped Cyrus Chen in the Modified 2 battle with a 1:52.751 vs. 1:54.608. Gerrit Wesseling continued his run of double-duty, setting fast time of the day in TT at 1:46.228 on Saturday and 1:45.001 on Sunday as the sole entry in 991.2 Spec, while also racing in Red Cup all weekend.

There were some very fast cars out in the GT2 class, either Cup cars or competitive with one. Marcus Rogan was the pacesetter with the TT win both days, a 1:48.5 on Saturday and 1:47.8 on Sunday, to beat Mark Barry in a beautiful green 992 GT3, and Randy Chanice in a modified 991.2 GT3. Bob Gartland took the win in GT3 both days with consistent 1:52.9 and 1:52.3 lap times. The Boxster Spec class was competitive as usual and I’m sure the technical nature of the track made it even more important to figure out the momentum line to maintain speed despite the limited grip on new asphalt. Justin Rothberg took honors on Saturday with a 2:01.993 to beat David Gold, but Gold came back on Sunday to take 1st place honors with a

2:04.727 over Guilherme Brighenti, who matched his Saturday and Sunday times within onehundredth of a second! (2:05.425 vs. 2:05.415)

The new track was well received by everyone I talked to, and it’s hard to complain about a near-Disneyland-esque race facility just because the smooth pavement is slick. Many of the corners are trickier than they first appear, and it takes time and experimentation to figure out exactly where to go fast and what line to follow. It was very fun to explore and there is speed to be gained when you figure it out. I found it extremely valuable to go out and walk the track on Saturday night after it went cold to see the details in slow speed. The track is MUCH BIGGER when you’re walking as opposed to the compressed flashing view you get from the racecar. There is a lot of detail you just can’t notice from the car, but once you’ve seen it the understanding pays off when you’re going fast again. I’ll refer you back to a previous article on creating your own track map...it’s not as simple as it might seem at first, and driving time is so precious that it pays big dividends to find other ways to study the track.

Times on Sunday improved for those who did both days as familiarity with the track showed benefits. Sunday’s first timed run for Blue Point-By however brought an unfortunate dose of reality to the day when a car lost traction in the final corner leading onto the straight and hooked directly into the pit wall, setting off the airbags like a shot. Luckily those airbags plus general Porsche safety saved him, and he walked away, but the car did not fare well. It is important to remember what is at stake when we’re all out here.

Despite the fantastic weather and relatively mild temps, (maybe because of the reality check of that crash?) the TT session attendance fell through the day on Sunday and the third timed session had only a few cars. All track time is good track time! Pace yourself, and you might learn more in the heat of the day when your tires get a little more slippery. But I get it, driving well is more exhausting than most people realize, and it is much better to quit while you’re ahead than try to drive when the energy gets low. Times definitely dropped off so for those in it for the series points, it was time to pack up and go home early.

Mostly an excellent weekend; spectacular weather, a new track to learn and enjoy, and every fast time was a club record! This is going to be a favorite track I think for a number of people... too bad that it won’t be on our schedule again this year, but that’s racing. See you all at Willow Springs for May 16-18, our last event before the summer break that leads to the August event at Laguna Seca!

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POC R ecord B ased I mprovement S cores ( RBIS )

Your RBIS score compares how many seconds you have improved to the number of seconds you could have improved to equal the track record. RBIS Track Records are the fastest time recorded since 2021 for each class in a POC race, Qualifying run, or Time Trial timed run.

· If this is your first day on this track there can be no previous best so that and the next 3 columns are all blank.

· The exception is for drivers who are faster than the record time on their first day. They are given an RBIS score of 100 points plus one point for every sec that they were under the record.

· If the Finish time is slower than the PREVBest, the Improve sec column will be a negative number and the Record diff column will show the difference between the previous best and the record time. The RBIS score will be zero.

· If the Finish time for the day is faster than the PREVBest, the Improve sec will be positive. The Improve sec is divided by the Record diff to get a percentage of improvement. Multiplying that percentage by

· If this is your first day on this track there can be no previous best so that and the next 3 columns are all blank.

· The exception is for drivers who are faster than the record time on their first day. They are given an RBIS score of 100 points plus one point for every sec that they were under the record.

PDS at the

ANGELA AVITT Article & Photos

Driving up to Buttonwillow on Thursday morning, I was filled with anticipation, excitement and a touch of anxiety. The new Circuit at Buttonwillow was completed in January 2025 after 11 years of planning, some red tape and apparently jumping through hoops to get it to this point. The facilities supporting the track, the main building, tower, concessions and garages were built but not able to be used because of more red tape. The RV area was powered up, which was great, and one ladies restroom was open.

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I volunteered to write the article about the PDS drivers because my daughter Tiffany Mann and her husband William (Tyler) Mann had just joined the club in March and Tyler was registered as a first-time PDS driver. As things never go the way we plan them, Tyler was unable to get out of work due to some unfortunate new tariffs that impacted his company in a major way. However, I proceeded to prepare for the other two PDS drivers that were registered. By late Friday there were four more drivers signed up. Ok, so then there were six. Early Sunday morning two more drivers signed up, so now there were eight. It was a very interesting group of drivers. Three of them were lady drivers, which I am always happy to see. All of them were very excited to be there. Here’s what they shared.

Priya Bowe #488 joined the POC in July 2024. Her husband, James Bowe, also a new member, drives a Porsche Cayman (#388) in the Blue Time Trial group and has encouraged her to join in the fun. Priya drives a 2018 BMW M3 on the track, which is also her daily driver. Saturday was her fourth day of PDS with the POC. She drove one day at Streets of Willow in June 2024 and two days at Buttonwillow in March 2025. Her goal is to get her Time Trial license with POC and continue to drive future events. Priya and James have three children at home and celebrated their seventh wedding anniversary on Monday, April 7th. I really give her a ton of credit for getting out there and getting it done, considering all her responsibilities back home. Her experience so far with POC has been very positive. Priya works full time in Finance.

Tracy Pham #235 recently joined the POC in March 2025. Tracy’s significant other, POC member Mark Barry (#147), encouraged her to join the club and register for the PDS. Tracy drove a 2023 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 on the

track for this event, but her daily driver is a Porsche Taycan. She previously owned a 911 and a Boxster and says she really loves her new Taycan. This is her first PDS with the POC but has done one open track day at Chuckwalla. Tracy hopes to continue with the PDS program and get her Time Trial License so she can enjoy being at the track with Mark. Tracy says the all club members have been very welcoming. She works full time as a business consultant and hopes to make time to enjoy the track more often.

Sahil Gala # 714 joined the POC in April 2025. His friends Roger Zheng (#920), also in the PDS this weekend, and Vianh Nguyen (#626), a TT driver, introduced him to the POC and encouraged him to join. Sahil drives a 2019 Cayman GTS on the track, which he has only owned for four months. His daily driver is a Porsche Taycan. This is his first time on any track but hopes to continue with the PDS program and get his Time Trial license. He has had a great experience with the POC and feels that everyone was very helpful. He is looking forward to the next event.

Roger Zheng #920 has been a member of the POC since May 2018 when he completed a one-day PDS at Streets of Willow. He also did some autocross events at El Toro and Cal Speedway in 2019 and 2021. He had not been back to the POC in a while, but he has lots of track experience! Roger has run in events with Speed Ventures and Speed District. He’s driven at Thermal, Chuckwalla, Auto Club, Buttonwillow, Laguna Seca, Streets of Willow, and Big Willow. I was surprised to see him in a PDS group, but he told me he just took European delivery of his beautiful 2025 GT4RS in December 2024 and he stayed three weeks in Europe to drive the required break in miles. He got U.S. delivery in February 2025. Since his other track days

Tracy Pham

Shail Gala

Priya Bowe

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were not as structured, he opted for a more organized event. Definitely a safer option for his spectacular track car. His daily driver is a 2016 BMW M3. Roger’s wife has done some autocross events but no track days. They have an 18-month old child who keeps them very busy right now. Roger’s goal is to get his Time Trial license and eventually participate in more events with the POC. His experience with the club has been super positive. Roger works in real estate development.

Riley Lucchesi #500 joined the club in April 2025, specifically to do the PDS at the recommendation of his friend Roger Zheng (#920). Riley drives a 2001 BMW M3 on the track, which he has only had for three months. The BMW was set up for the track when he purchased it. His daily driver is a Tesla S P90D known for its Ludicrous mode of acceleration with 0-60 in three seconds. Riley loves that car but gets a lot of grief from his buddies to get rid of it! This is his first track event with the POC but he has driven Thunderhill with Hooked on Driving. Riley shared that his first car was a 1994 Firebird. Everyone has been super nice, and he has really enjoyed the PDS. He hopes to continue to earn his Time Trial license. Riley works in real estate development and also has a real estate management business.

Angel Perez #909 joined the club in April 2025 and has been a member of the PCA Riverside Region since 2023. He was encouraged to participate in the PDS this weekend by his longtime friend since Middle School, Chris Kravig, son of Don Kravig. Angel told me he grew up hanging out at Don’s shop (now in Colton, California) called Precision Motion. Angel is driving his 2007 Porsche Cayman on the track this weekend which is also sometimes his daily driver. This is his first track event, but

he has autocrossed at Cal Speedway. His other daily driver is a Ram pickup truck. He told me Don is building a 2.7 Spec 2008 Cayman which I believe he said Don will rent out occasionally for track use. Angel is looking forward to trying that out next time. His goals are to get the required number of PDS events to go on to get his Time Trial license. He works in the aero space field and does a great deal of traveling for his job. It might limit his availability but he hopes to do more events soon.

Sascha Miller #1 and David Cho were a lastminute sign up in the PDS on Sunday morning, but they were definitely an interesting duo. They were sharing a 2001 Porsche Boxster, so they were also sharing the PDS run sessions. I believe they got two sessions each. Sascha Miller is Justin Miller’s (#666) daughter. She lives in Tokyo with her mom and stepdad, David Cho. Justin Miller and his good friend Marcus Rogan are both POC members since 2024. They have each done seven track days with POC and seem to have an entourage of people supporting them at every event. Sascha was on a spring break from school in Toyko and they were here visiting Justin in the LA area. They decided to come out to the track to see what this sport was all about. Justin and Markus encouraged them to give it a try. For both Sascha and David, this was their first time on a track and first time driving a Porsche. David says his only prior track experience is on a Playstation. Sascha is planning to go to college in California next year so she is hoping that her dad will allow her to attend more POC events on her college breaks.

It was great getting to know so many drivers and I hope to see them at future events.

Roger Zheng

Riley Lucchesi

Angel Perez

The Porsche Owners Club R ecognizes

Trophy Performance

as a Valued Sponsor

STEVE TOWN

Sponsorship Director

Now that we’re through April and rolling into May, I’d like to start off by saying a big “thank you” to all our longtime sponsors and welcome our new sponsors for 2025. We’ve got one of the largest groups of sponsors we’ve ever had with a diverse range of businesses and interests. Take advantage of all these wonderful companies that are supporting the club and when possible, use their services or products. You can find all our sponsors on our website, in all club emails, Velocity, and our social media.

This month I’m heading to the desert. No, not Chuckwalla. Not Willow (yet). Not Buttonwillow. I’m talking Lost Wages, er, Las Vegas and Trophy Performance. When the Trophy team joins a POC weekend, many of you enjoy Todd Trimble’s gourmet BBQ, drinks, and hospitality. Todd has been generous in his POC support through sponsorship for years, and his operation in Las Vegas is top notch when it comes to Porsche services and products.

We began with Todd’s business. I asked Todd about how and when he started Trophy. He said, “I started it in 2012, after 15 years of working at Gaudin Porsche in Vegas, as shop foreman. I realized that I’d built enough experience and knowledge to go for it, so I did, and we haven’t looked back. I had a love

of Porsche’s from when I was young and wanted to build my own business eventually as well.” We talked about his shop’s offerings. Todd described it like this, “I have 10 excellent people in the shop, and we turn out everything from street car support to modifying street cars, to full race car builds. We don’t paint, but we do everything else in house. My wife, Martina, runs the office for us, and allows me to focus on what I love, working with customers, and modifying these amazing cars.” Todd continues, “In 2025 I decided to cut back on travel to tracks and a large support operation given the logistics and the wear and tear on my staff. We’ve had our busiest quarter in the first quarter of 2025, which is great. My aim is to get on track myself a lot more in the near future and do what I’ve not done enough of… race. I’m really looking forward to it. That’s my goal for the business and for Martina and me. Keep building the business but get the time on track racing too.” There’s nothing better than that really, especially given Todd’s business and focus on Porsche. “Porsches are racing, in every way I can think of, and I love being a part of it” he said. We went on to discuss Todd’s early cars and Porsche. He said, “My first Porsche was a street 914 that I drove around, and then

did some modifying to it and did my first track days with that car. Eventually I got a 911 Turbo as well but only kept that on the street. When I finally decided to build a race car, the first one I used a Boxster and build a POC GT4 class car, then went to a Boxster spec, and at the same time I built Cayman GT4 class car too. I really love that last one, the Cayman.” I’ve seen that car. It’s a really special build. Todd went on, “In 2021 I did Dwain’s POC Racer’s Clinic and got my license and did my first race at Fontana. It was so hot though that I barely ran it.” I told Todd I recalled that weekend. It was nuts. 115 degrees in the garages, and I can’t imagine what the actual track temps were. We must really love doing this, and that weekend proved it, or proved we’re all a little crazy!

Todd mentioned his current build plans for a GT4 or GT3 race car, based on a Cayman, with a sequential gearbox and body modification. Now that’s going to be the right car for GT racing in POC. I asked Todd about his connection to the POC, and he was emphatic. “It’s the people. I’ve been around quite a few tracks and racing organizations, and nothing comes close to the POC combination of great people, making new friends, and really good racing. I’ve never met anyone but good people with POC,

and when someone needs help of any kind, parts, support, everyone is there to help, no matter if it’s a class competitor or not.” I couldn’t agree more. I’ve experienced these same dynamics many times myself.

“ Porsches are racing, in every way I can think of, and I love being a part of it ”

On another note, I mentioned to Todd that a long while back I recalled him telling me he’d been a chef in Vegas many years ago. I had to hear more about this too, and he said, “Oh that was back when I was under 21. I was a chef at one of the good restaurants at the Golden Nugget in Vegas. I was young, liked it, was good at it, but I knew I wanted to really be in the Porsche world. I got my job at Gaudin Porsche and began my Porsche life.” Having had the pleasure of what Todd has cooked up at the track and at his shop, he’s still a darn good chef!

I asked Todd about his life outside of his business and motorsports, where he grew up, and his family. He said, “I have lived in Vegas since I was 10 years old, but we had moved around a lot before that and after in the Vegas area. We moved 36 times by the time I finished high school, kind of like a military family.

I didn’t mind it at all, and really even enjoyed it.” He continued, “My wife Martina and I have a beautiful daughter, Ryann (yes, two n’s) who is 19 and in college at the University of Nevada, Reno. Ryann more or less grew up around the business and cars but hasn’t been on track. I’d love it if she did though. One of these days I’ll get her on the track.”

Finally, I asked Todd what his best memory is of being in and around the track and racing. His answer, “It’s the people, especially POC people, whether time trialing or racing, there’s such special feeling at POC events, I love it, and look forward to putting my car on track soon and racing with POC.”

Having been to Todd’s location in Vegas a few times, it’s impressive, and his team of experienced guys can handle any street to race needs you have. When you’re in Vegas for whatever reason, drop by and spend some time with a true Porschephile on all levels, just on the other side of I-15 from the airport.

Todd, thank you for your support and sponsorship, and for spending some time with me, so club members learn more about you and your business.

See you at Willow in a few weeks!

The Importance of Non-Linearity and Understanding What You Don’t Know

PAUL WREN

One of the reasons I race and pursue the development of a racecar is the search for understanding. At some point we all realize (hopefully) that there are things we don’t know, but more importantly, things we don’t know we don’t know. There will probably never be a solution since this is one of the oldest questions of philosophy, and believing that we are so much smarter than the ancients that of course we will solve it is the height of arrogance (but probably also what fuels continued discovery, so it has value).

In every field, then, many of the initial attempts at understanding use simplification to arrive at a model which can be explained and can be written down as simple rules or math. This has value but typically breaks down when applied to the real world because the full complexity of reality defies most simple explanations. This is the transition from “linear” systems to the more difficult but realistic “dynamic” systems, which then move toward “complex” or “chaos” systems. You see this in all fields as computational power allows us to model systems down to the molecular level with enough precision that we can actually make workable experiments just by brute force. You no longer need to find an exact mathematical equation for something...you just need to describe the exact physical characteristics of the system so that a massive computational engine can simulate the behavior at a small enough scale that it becomes realistic. The limitations that existed in the past (you can never model every air molecule, right?) have changed because of the advances provided by Moore’s Law.

Racing gives us a constrained scope, a simple (simpler, anyway) “box” where we can state the governing parameters, most simply by the ruleset that says what tires and engines you can use, but also by providing a repeatable rolling laboratory where we can bring technology to bear

Image: Don Matz

The Importance of Non-Linearity and Understanding What You

Don’t Know

to reveal truths about the system under study. There are very different levels to all of this of course, which fundamentally break down by the available budget. F1 is our pinnacle of motorsport, where budgets run to the hundreds of millions of dollars per year. But remember that there is always a bigger arena...ultimately the nation-states can create money, and war is unfortunately the ultimate test, so military spending can dwarf F1’s numbers. And like it or not, NASA and the space-race are just nice ways to do research into technologies that can be used for war. (The race to the moon was ultimately about developing ICBMs, sorry to break that news to you if you’re just joining us.)

It is extraordinarily revealing to read literature about race car dynamics. Most of the fundamentals derive from aeronautical engineering, and again, unfortunately much of the impetus for developing airplanes was war. But it was also international travel and civilian flight, which would not be possible without safety, and safety cannot be assured unless you know what you’re doing. That means discovering your unknowns, and your unknown unknowns, because the real world will bite you if you’re faking it. And hurtling through space in a flying machine provides the ultimate opportunity for the real world to take advantage of your mistakes.

So, race car dynamics can be a proxy for the same intellectual pursuit, mostly without the war component, which is nice. We still must face the existential dissonance of “value” or “relevance,” e.g. your extended family asking, “How much is all this costing?” while they try to pay tuition or afford a house. That conflict probably never goes away but like everything else in life, it’s about choices. What can you afford? What does it mean to afford something anyway? Can no one on earth ever enjoy any choice without worrying about the eight billion other people and whether they have a perfect life? At least we’re not making weapons here.

Okay all that is getting pretty far away from racing Porsches, right? To bring it back to my point: in the micro-laboratory of racing, and in particular racing Porsches that are derived from (or are exactly) production cars, what do we need to think about and pay attention to to maximize our performance? I will focus on one of them: In racing, traction-control and automatic stabilitycontrol are the heart of pure evil.

Image: Don Matz

The Importance of Non-Linearity and Understanding What You Don’t Know

This is because they go the heart of non-linearity and the mastery of dynamic systems. They remove from the driver the learning and sensitivity that enables peak performance, and they try to substitute the judgement and values of a computer instead. But the process of becoming a good racing driver requires a learning curve and a sensitivity to vehicle dynamics that can never happen if the car is stepping in and taking over just when things get good. It is foundational to race car reality that if you are not sliding you are not going fast enough. The dynamic behavior of pneumatic tires requires slip angle to function. The last few percent of performance on the track are the most important, and they absolutely require that you can slide the car under control just enough to get peak performance from the tires without going overboard. But you as a human will never learn how to do that as long as your car is getting in the way.

I love Porsches. I have owned eight of them so far, nine if you count the VW Beetle (it is the original Porsche, look it up). That was my first car, and the one that taught me how trailing-throttle oversteer could be transitioned to poweroversteer to enable drive-by-throttle with very little steering input. And I am absolutely familiar with the IROC Carrera and then Turbo 930 “widow maker” reputation that scared Porsche engineers into their absolute drive toward stability control. This was reinforced greatly when their other major development project to fix the rear-engine problem, the Carrera GT, also turned out to be its own form of absolute evil (it was fantastic, right up until it really bit back). Going back to the development of vehicle dynamics, this was all known and very predictable in the labs at General Motors in the 60s. Have you ever wondered why all cars are so abysmally under-steer heavy? That’s because the engineers knew from a very initial assessment that just like the airplane, a dynamically unstable machine would instantly overwhelm human reaction time and kill you without a second thought. A car that is balanced toward oversteer becomes dynamically unstable, and that instability gets worse with increasing speed. If the car has oversteer at any kind of “normal” speed (e.g. people think they’re going fast in an 80-mph corner...as if) then it becomes an absolute weapon at 180 mph and that weapon is pointed directly at your head. And your puny human 300ms reaction time will have no chance. So, Porsche with all their ultra-smart engineers realized this precisely, and many times over they learned the lesson that they could not produce a weapon no matter how many warning labels came with it. They just

could not provide it...thus the reason that you cannot turn off the stability management in the 996, 997 and 991 generation of 911. (I don’t have perfect knowledge. My experience with the 992 GT3 says that you can in fact turn off all the nannies, because they found ways to make the chassis intrinsically much more stable, but I’m not 100% sure.)

Since we are the Porsche Owners Club and we are a racing club, we should be aware of the facts. This is probably the unspoken reason that Boxster Spec and 991.2 Spec racing is the only real racing. Those cars do not have automatic stability control. Maybe I’m just the dumb one that took some time to figure this out...ahhh right, fooled again. Just like the rule to “always brake in a straight line.” We have Stock and Modified classes with nannies as a feeder system to make sure people are really committed and have some familiarity with the whole scene before they graduate to real racing. Aha. Okay I get it now. But shouldn’t that be more explicit? Should we insist as racerconsumers that Porsche provide us with a working “off” switch for all the nannies? We are buying a sports car after all. Maybe it should only be possible to turn off the stability control when geo-location shows that you are on a racetrack? That’s entirely feasible now, if a little Orwellian. (I heard a rumor actually that the 992 Cup car will rat you out to Porsche if you ever drive it on public roads since the GPS knows where you are, and the car is explicitly not street legal anywhere on earth).

So anyway, bottom line: absolutely enjoy yourself, and any form of motorsport is great. Bring your shiny new Porsche to the racetrack and let all the nannies make you a fast driver out of the gate. But at some point...find your way to a vehicle that lets you switch all that off and start to figure out how the world really works. Knowledge is power right? You didn’t really want to sleepwalk through life under false pretenses, did you? Oh, you did? Sorry.

PORSCHE OWNERS CLUB

Alisha Wray

ANDREW WEYMAN

I met a very excited Alisha Wray at her first POC event. I, and my fellow BSR racers welcomed her and her husband, Dirk, into our culture. Three years have passed, and Alisha continues to focus on improving her race craft. Progress can be slow at times but that’s not stopping her! Watch your mirrors!

ME: Thanks for agreeing to do this.

AW: Thanks for asking me!

ME: I heard you picked up a new puppy on your way home from the Buttonwillow Circuit event. AW: I did.

ME: What’s your new puppy’s name?

AW: We had four names, but I think we’re going to stick with Roxy.

ME: Will we see Roxy at the track?

AW: She’s definitely going to be a track puppy. For sure.

ME: A few years ago, we featured dogs of the POC. Maybe it’s time to do that again…

AW: That sounds fun.

ME: When did you join the POC?

AW: 2022. It’s when I was pursuing getting my race license.

ME: Did you have any prior track experience?

AW: In 2016 I started doing autocrosses and took an all-women car control clinic. My daughter was in BMWCCA and she got me involved. She said, “Mom, you gotta put the Porsche in this.” One of my other, would-be daughters, developed Lady Driven, for women in motorsports. She said, “You gotta support Rachel.” I said, “Great!” They knew I was passionate about driving. So, I did it. I didn’t know autocross was a gateway drug. I dove in head first and never looked back. Then I started doing HPDE with BMWCCA from 2017 ‘til 2019. That’s when I started learning big track work. At that time, Chuck Tucker was teaching those classes. He’s with the Motorsports Safety Foundation.

ME: How did you find out about the POC?

AW: I drive a 911 but that’s a whole other story. I time trialed until 2021 with PCA. All the lower horsepower cars (the Boxsters) were eating me up in the corners. I got so frustrated. I needed to learn what I was doing. I built my Boxster. It took away all the speed, all the nannies, everything that would help to fix me. I needed to learn what I call “raw.” No help. Know what you’re doing. So, I started over. I made some really great progress in Time Trials. I decided that my next challenge was to learn to go wheel-to-wheel. POC was the only club that I knew was local and offered it. That’s when I decided to jump in and challenge myself, not knowing if I would like it or not.

ME: How is it different for you having your husband driving at events versus you being out there solo?

AW: He’s not really driving anymore. It’s my passion. He wanted to be supportive of it. He wanted to learn about the process of licensing to understand what I was doing. He had no formal driving experience while I had six years of instructors in my car, learning track etiquette, car control, etc. He found it wasn’t his passion. It’s different because for me, it is my passion. I’m a little A.D.D. and being by myself helps me focus. When I get in the car, I turn off everything else.

ME: What do you think is your biggest challenge on the track?

AW: I’m working on race craft. It’s something I never worked on before. I’m learning proper passes and spatial awareness. I have to step up my game. I can’t heel and toe and I don’t drive a manual as a daily. My biggest challenge is the next level of racing, and I love it. It’s so much fun.

ME: I’ve learned different things about myself through racing. Is there something you’ve learned about yourself?

AW: I am a goal-oriented person, so I always set goals for myself. I’ve done that with every single sport I’ve ever done. I’ve tended to be an A-type personality. I rode English for many, many years and I’ve jumped horses. I’ve played polo. It all requires self-discipline. You have to be aware of all situations at all times. It’s almost like a coping mechanism for me. It keeps me super laser focused.

ME: Where do you think your competitive nature comes from?

AW: I’m a middle child between two brothers and a tomboy by nature. I like to make myself do things that scare me to help me overcome my fears. Like shooting guns for example. Practicing patience and breathing correctly helps me focus and that’s rewarding. I use those tools when I race. I love long range shooting. It takes focus. It’s self-rewarding. I like to be rewarded.

ME: Do any other parts of your life relate to racing?

AW: Because I’ve been an equestrian and have had to learn the course I’d be jumping, it’s like learning the corners of a track. It made it easier for me to put together the segments of a racetrack.

ME: So, which do you prefer, horsepower or horsepower?

AW: (Laughs) That is the question. I love pony power. I quit polo because I had an accident. A pro-player hit me, and I lost my memory for six months. Gaining that back was a challenge. I have to say right now, my favorite is motor horsepower. I like the fact that I have metal wrapped around me and a far safer helmet.

ME: What’s your favorite part of an event weekend?

AW: I like the camaraderie. I love being part of the competition. I like watching everyone go through their process of preparing for their race. Being able to talk about this corner or that corner. It’s been wonderful having supportive people around me and learning about their lives. I don’t have a racer at home so I can’t show Dirk my Garmin and ask if this line or that line is better.

ME: I’ve made a lot of friends in the club. For the longest time, I never knew what they did for a living. We were so bonded about driving, that’s all we talked about. It took me years to learn who did what and how that affected their driving experience.

AW: It takes a certain kind of person to face the challenges of racing. Being an adrenaline junkie is right up there. But it takes more than adrenaline. You need to learn to be comfortable with the uncomfortable and conquer your fears.

ME: Anything you’d like to add?

AW: It’s very humbling but I love the Spec Boxster group. Each time I race, for me, it’s two steps forward, three steps back. Then I’ll do something in the car and realize wow, this is beautiful. I’m learning something new every time I’m on the track. I love the challenge, the personal growth, my fellow racers and sharing our common passion.

ME: Those last two sentences say it all. Thanks again for allowing me to pick your brain. See ya at the track!

The race is on!

We’re starting a new season in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge series. First race? WeatherTech Monterey at Laguna Seca.

We’ll be running a Mustang GT4 with Cameron Racing, driven by champions Greg Liefooghe and Sean Quinlan. And your friend and ours Phil Frengs will be at all the races.

Want to see some great action? Join us there!

And if you have someone in your life with Alzheimer’s or other dementia whom you’d like to honor, add their name and hometown.

Every $250 contribution is matched dollar for dollar, and every penny goes to the cause.

Click this ad to donate. Then on May 9-11, head up to Monterey.

Porsche 911 GT3

Uber fast !

New Porsche 911 GT3

17/04/2025

The Porsche 911 GT3 is the fastest production car with a manual transmission on the Nürburgring Nordschleife. Porsche brand ambassador Jörg Bergmeister beat the previous record, held by a competitor with a significantly more powerful engine, by more than 9.5 seconds.

Official Lap Time: 6:56.294 minutes

911 GT3 with Weissach Package (Manual Transmission), Nürburgring Nordschleife, 2025.

masters the Nordschleife in 6:56.294

minutes

On a sunny late afternoon, with an ambient temperature of 12 degrees and a track temperature of 27 degrees, Bergmeister set off on the 20.832-kilometre track in the 375 kW (510 hp) 911 GT3 with Weissach package. As with the official lap of the previous model, the car was fitted with road-legal Michelin Pilot Sport Cup2 R tyres (255/35 R20 at the front and 315/30 R21 at the rear).

The goal: fastest lap time in a production car with manual transmission

“When we decided to set the official lap time of the new 911 GT3 with manual transmission, we naturally looked at who was at the top of the leaderboard,” says Preuninger. A competitor needed 7:01.300 minutes to complete a lap of the shortened 20.6-kilometre version of the track. This corresponds to a time of around 7:05.800 minutes on the full 20.832-kilometre lap. This was the time to be beaten. Under notarial supervision, the timer stopped at 6:56.294 minutes for the new 911 GT3, improving on the previous record by more than 9.5 seconds.

OUT OF THE ARCHIVES

This is the very first Porsche Owners Club Newsletter . It’s an interesting “read.” Especially take note of the races that took place in Santa Barbara on September 4, 1955 (pgs 4-5) which included Ken Miles .

SIMRACING SIMRACING

MOSPORT

Road America

SIMRACING

Now you can order your favorite POC garments and other specialty items “Online” simply by clicking on any one of the above photos!

UPCOMING TRACK EVENTS

Willow Springs May 17-18, 2025

We’re back home at WSIR. This event will feature our first of two Race Clinics so if you’ve been wanting to experience the thrill of wheel-towheel racing...this one’s for you!

Laguna Seca August 22-24, 2025

After a long hiatus, we’re finally heading back to this iconic track outside of Monterey. This will be a very popular event...be sure to get your reservation in soon!