June Velocity Magazine - Issue - 20-06

Velocity

June 2020 / Issue 20-6

A PUBLICATION OF THE PORSCHE OWNERS CLUB

Taking it to the STREETS

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Velocity

A PUBLICATION OF THE PORSCHE OWNERS CLUB

June 2020 / Issue 20-6

VELOCITY Staff Editor /Art Director

Note from the Editor:

Don Matz

A last-minute turn-of-events, with the POC pulling out of Laguna Seca, resulted in a record number of drivers showing up to the Streets of Willow this month where there were several high lights. First, the weather stayed in the eighties...not the usual hundreds. Second, our newbies got to witness the best-of-the-best with our cup racers battling it out with one another in two fun runs on Saturday and Sunday. And finally, we got to watch Eric Olberz set a new all-time track record with a blistering 1:14.

Matt Hollander

We hope you enjoy this issue, as Sandy Issac recaps the event.

DM

In This Issue:

Production Manager Contributing Writers Don Matz Sandy Issac Martin Schacht Teddy Framhein Jacob Abrams

Contributing Photographers CaliPhotography Don Matz Martin Schacht

POC Board of Directors

Fastest AF..................................................... 4 A Blast to the Past........................................ 26 SIM Racing with the POC.............................. 34 SIM Racing Results....................................... 36 SIM at Mid-Ohio............................................ 37 A Legend Returns......................................... 42 Upcoming Events.......................................... 47

Ron Palmer Scott Craig Nathan Johnson Joe Wiederholt Dwain Dement Matt Hollander Don Matz

President Treasurer Secretary VP Motorsports Chief Driving Instructor Social Media Director PDS Director

Porsche achieved the first overall victory at Le Mans 50 years ago Cover Photo: Due to a last-minute cancelation at Laguna Seca, a record number of cars took to the Streets of Willow in June...experiencing great weather and great racing!

www.PorscheClub.com 3

Faste

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est AF

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THE THEORY OF FASTEST AF + = 2020.5 2005 1:14.742

Eric Olberz after winning the 2019 Tribute to LeMans Photo: Frank Spasaro

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by Sandy Isaac

In every generation, some cutting edge scientific theory threatens the status quo and propels human civilization forward into a new era of discovery and achievement.

In 1492, Christopher Columbus theorized there was a western route to the East Indies because the world wasn’t flat. In 1905, Albert Einstein theorized that anything having mass has an equivalent amount of energy and visa versa. (To be honest, I have no idea what that means but apparently it was a really big deal at the time.)

Today I propose my THEORY OF FASTEST AF defined as “A combination of unlikely events simultaneously propelling the POC forward into the future AND backwards into the past creating the ideal conditions for the fastest lap ever recorded in a sports car at Streets of Willow Counter Clockwise: 2020.5 + 2005 = 1:14.742.”

You could be asking yourself -- What in the world does all that mean? And how can I make that work for me?

I think we can all agree that the first 5 months of 2020 were not great. In fact, to refer to January through May as a “Five Months of Absolute Crap” wouldn’t be unduly harsh or be considered any level of exaggeration. Starting with a tragic So Cal helicopter crash followed by the arrival of Covid-19 that shut-down businesses and live sporting events including pro and amateur auto racing like our highly anticipated race event at the famed Laguna Seca Raceway in June.

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But even with all that bad news in 2020, there remained a bright light at the end of that long dark no-track-days tunnel which was our Time Trial/PDS event set for June 13-14 at Streets of Willow. In my opinion, keeping that event on the calendar with the appropriate social distancing was the start of a new year of hope and optimism even if we were in June. So I’ve officially named 6/13/2020 as the first day of the year 2020.5 making it 6/13/2020.5.

Clearly, many of the POC racers felt that same sense of enthusiasm for getting back on the track by pivoting after the cancellation of the Laguna Seca event to enter the Red/Orange Time Trial Group at Streets of Willow that would feature an afternoon Fun Race. So on the morning of 6/13/2020.5, the arrival of all that serious racing talent did more than just build excitement for that afternoon’s Fun Race, it turned back the POC clock to the year 2005.

For those of you too new, too young or too damn old to remember the POC in 2005, Dinosaurs roamed Lancaster and Rosamond, many of them racing highly modified air-cooled 1978-1988 Porsche 911s with 3.0 and 3.2 engines. Motorsport Archaeologists call this The V3/R5 Era. Back then we regularly sold out our timed lap events at Streets of Willow with 120 drivers including the majority of our top racers. Why? Because one of the most coveted trophies the club offered was Fast Time of Day at Streets of Willow. It was a little wooden plaque that provided immense bragging rights to the owner. So the pits at Streets in 2005 would pulse with excitement powered by the competitive intensity and desire of those racers which had a ripple effect for every driver in every other run group which is exactly what was happening from the very first Red/Orange run session lap on 6/13/2020.5 when those men and women went out fast and LOUD to dial in their cars for the afternoon’s fun race. They all brought their A-game. We could all feel it.

So back to 2020.5 feeling very 2005 when Eric Olberz made the impossible possible. Or as Eric describes it: “Originally, I came out for testing at the big track Friday. Also, I wanted to have some fun Saturday morning at the Streets. Of course, hoping to get the GT1 record. I knew it would be very tough with such a big turn out. Since the event was canceled in Monterey it seems like this event was bigger than usual. I used junky tires in the first practice and was held up about every other turn by traffic. Luckily in the next session, the Starter gave me a lap to myself. I knew I had to beat a 1:16 flat held by Dwaine Dement, a quick racer. My dashboard reader was having problems showing me lap times. But I did hear on the radio on that lap that I broke the record with a 1:15 and was happy. But I knew I could do more. Since I was warming up and the tires were sliding, I came off the track and asked for a big gap so that I would not have much traffic for a second try. It wasn’t long till I caught cars anyway. Then I decided to go for 8

it. I must’ve caught four or five cars in different spots. The car was on rails at this point, tires were perfect and I was nailing every corner. I caught myself sliding a little too much sometimes but never totally out of control. I had no way of knowing my lap time until I crossed the finish line when I heard 1:14 point something. I woo hoo’d inside the car. I was very excited.

Once back in the pits, I thought about the lap and realized I could’ve gone at least one second quicker maybe two. This was only my second time out on this track that morning. I was still learning places to improve. The bank turn alone was worth more than half a second the way I was doing it. And I lost at least one second passing cars off line etc. But hopefully the record will stand for a while. We will see. Also, I have to give a lot of credit to Porsche for the way they designed the 2016 GT3R. It’s just amazing!”

Which basically confirms my THEORY OF FASTEST AF! Because it was 2020.5, Laguna Seca was cancelled which sent Eric and other racers to Streets of Willow to recreate an intensely competitive, Back To The Future 2005 atmosphere, causing Eric to push for more speed surrounded by equally determined POC racers which yielded the fastest lap of all time Counter Clockwise. Which by the way he did in traffic making passes off-line which means he didn’t drive the absolute shortest, quickest line. Amazing indeed.

As a bonus for the rest of us, all the talent in the Red/Orange Group made for an exciting, fun race later full of tense battles for position throughout the field. Kevin Roush won the race with Geoffrey Booth and Ron Palmer finishing 2nd and 3rd. The top Boxster Spec racer was Joe Wiederholt in 6th. And then there was the trickle down effect of Fastest AF as word traveled up and down pit lane about Eric’s amazing lap and inspired everyone to push a little harder to go for their own personal best in the PDS Blue, Yellow and White groups too.

Kevin Roush leads Joe Wiederholt entering the sweeper Ron Palmer leads Mark Foley through a turn

Photos: CaliPhotography

So how can you make my new cutting edge Fastest AF Theory work for you? At your next POC event, seek out and soak up the knowledge from the fastest drivers in the club, a super friendly bunch who enjoy giving back. I give credit for the meager success of my own track driving to the many generous folks over the last 17 years who were always there for advice no matter how stupid my question. Remember -- Never stop learning! SEE YOU AT THE TRACK! 9

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a poc blast to the past

by Martin Schacht

Going through some old files I came across a collection of Time Trial results from the late 80’s, and early 90’s. Amongst others, the flyer from the April 29/30 1989 Time Trial held at Riverside International Raceway was of interest to me. It was my first Time Trial ever, and to top it off, held on a historic race track, unfortunately headed toward oblivion in the latter part of 1989. The track was in operation from 1957 to 1989. In its final iteration, the track was abbreviated from the original circuit.

Its former site is now occupied by the Moreno Valley Mall. There remains a vacuum of racing history at that locale. Unfortunately, there is no trace of the historical racetrack, no monument, nada.

Porsche Owners Club hosted many a Time Trial at Riverside, and the final two events of 1989 were to be their last at this track. As I recall, it was the next to last Riverside where I showed up as an eager Time Trial student. My instructor was Pedro Valdes, MD, a cardiologist out of SoCal, now in AK. He was very patient and, in the process, let me in on a few of the track’s secrets, where to place the car, etc. Pedro had a unique approach when riding with me, I had to stay down a gear. If one would normally be in 4th gear, Pedro had me in 3rd gear. This was a sort of “insurance policy” for him and me. It worked, we both survived my first of two instruction weekends required by the POC for a Time Trial License. A month or so later I did the second weekend at Firebird Raceway in AZ (now closed), with Tom Bosely, past POC Board Member and a great driver.

For most, just being at Riverside was quite special because of its history, much less 26

having the opportunity to drive it. You knew you were driving on some historical asphalt. Most of us car geeks growing up in the 50’s, 60’ and 70’s In SoCal were keenly aware of Riverside’s hosting of the LA Times Grand Prix. The now closed Riverside International Raceway Museum, has documented Riverside drivers who were included in most everyone’s Pantheon of the Gods of Motor Racing at that time, such as, “Phil Hill; Stirling Moss; Mario Andretti; Carroll Shelby; Parnelli Jones; Bob Bodurant; Bill Krause; Skip Hudson; and Chuck Daigh, who all helped make Riverside famous during the early days of motor sports so called ‘Golden Era’, but no driver succeeded in carving out Riverside victories like Dan Gurney.”

How incredible that I, and 115 other drivers, could drive on such venerated and holy ground. The Riverside Raceway Museum documents the professional driving events held at Riverside International Raceway in addition to the Times Gran Prix, “Formula One Grand Prix; NASCAR; Can-Am; Formula 5000; USAC; IMSA; IROC; and CART all made pilgrimages to Riverside. For thirty years, all major drivers competing in U.S. motor sports competed at Riverside.

Here is a sampling of Porsche models you would have seen had you been there, picture these: 1967-68 912, 1972-1974 914 4-cylinder cars and their big brother 916-6 cars, 924 cars, 944 N/A and Turbo cars, a bevy of 1969 to 1973 911S cars, any of which would be worth six figures today, several 1986 Turbo cars, another great investment. And as you would expect, a gaggle of 78 – 83 911SC cars, and quite a few 84 – 89 Carrera cars. SC and Carrera cars from this vintage bring big money these days.

I brought out my 1980 Porsche Weissach Coupe, one of 200 in Champagne Beige imported into the North American market. It came with sport suspension, Turbo tail, Turbo front splitter, full leather beige interior with red piping, 7” and 8” wide X 15” Fuchs wheels and a sunroof. Me being possessed by the “track bug”, of course I went on to modify it for the track, and in the process, diminished its resale potential. But I’d do it all over again to relive my earliest track experiences.

Arriving in Riverside, we’d line up our cars in front of the Days Inn host hotel for a Tech Inspection and the opportunity to show off our “iron”. According to Zillow, the address of record is now a vacant lot, more memories down the drain. These Friday gatherings were a great opportunity for “bench racing”, and “swapping lies” aka the telling of tall track orientated tales over a beer or two. Not too many beers, as driving Riverside with a hangover could be lethal. The event was sponsored by Creative 27

Motorsports of San Dimas, owned and operated by Jim Vial and Bill Follmer, and yes, he is George’s nephew.

Many of us looked to Jim and Bill to prepare our cars and for support at the track.

They put a RSR style front oil cooler on my 80 SC. What an incredible upgrade: Now I could run Willow Springs in July with no fear of the car overheating, Me overheating personally? That was a different story; Willow Springs in July is not recommended for the heat averse. Both Jim and Bill were very good drivers, a source of inspiration for many of us, sadly, they both went on different paths with their business closing down.

Looking down the entry list for the second Riverside Raceway event, held in the Fall of 1989, I see some memorable driver’s names. The first of which that stands out to me, is the present US Distributor for Pagid brake pads, Charlie Spira, owner of Wrightwood Racing, driving a “C” Stock car 1974 914. Charlie’s company maintains the Pagid franchise and to this day, still sells a wide array of specialized parts focused to optimize one’s rack performance. His anti-roll bars are known in the track community as “Charlie Bars.”

Jeff Erickson, of Aase Motors, was there too, with his trusty 1974 914 car. His shop has achieved notoriety preparing very successful V3/R5 race cars, as well as cars in many other classes. If a car was a winner in V3/R5, it was most likely out of Jeff’s shop. He continues to prepare top notch cars.

Steve Alarcon, from Suspension Specialties in Torrance, CA was there. Steve has established a reputation as one of the best, with suspension optimization, and driving. Back in those days, Steve was driving a 1981 911 SC in H stock class, the first generation “White Lightening” 911 car he would bring to the track.

Going down the list, another name that stands out, Mike Hammond. He drove a 1967 911S, the only car I ever saw him drive with POC. A fairly recent article in Excellence Magazine, groups Mike in with some famous “early 911 based hot rodders” such as Roger Bursch (many of us have had Bursch 356, 912 and 911 mufflers), and longtime member and contributor to POC, owner of TRE in Van Nuys, Dave Bouzaglou.”

Mike Hammond drove with IMSA, and to the best of my knowledge, he competed at Daytona 24 hours, Riverside 5 and 6 hour endures as well as the Sebring 12 hour.

Sadly, a few years ago, I heard that Mike sold that beautiful 1967 911 S, a rolling treasure. I can imagine he saw 6 figures on that deal.

Back in the day, for every POC event, there was a uniquely designed “T” shirt, specific to that event. Mike Hamond created these. I still have some of his shirts and treasure them. Especially the one depicted below from July 7th and 8th, 1990, Willow Springs Raceway. This “T” shirt is very special to me as it commemorates my overall first in 28

class win, over some remarkable competitors. Looking at the list of names of drivers in my class, a number of which went on to notable driving careers, how could this happen? All I recall about the Hot Lap that won the class that day, I went through Turn 1 nearly sideway, carried a lot of speed through there. Was that the secret, or was my win an error in timing? We’ll never know. A win is a win.

In subsequent Time Trials back in these early days, late 80’s early 90’s, I typically found myself mid-pack.

I for one would love to see this practice of commemorative “T” shirts reinitiated by the Club.

Another “J” Stock guy that many of us remember, Neal Rouzier, known by many as the historical Event Master for our annual Thanksgiving Weekend event at Laguna Seca (Our annual tribute to the inevitable Thanksgiving weekend of rain). He ran a “tight ship” and kept us in line. Neal was a solid driver that came to the track with an original 1987 Carrera wide-body, a rare and nearly irreplaceable car. His wife Carolyn shared the car with Neal.

In his spare time Neal was an ER doc.

We see another driving legend at this 1989 event, one of his first events as I recall, Eric Olberz. As many will know, Eric has consistently been a top driver in every class where he has competed. Additionally, Eric joined me and 10 others for the inaugural “Dirty Dozen” trip to Road America and Mid-Ohio in the early 90’s. One may wonder how 11 drivers can make up the “Dirty Dozen”? That’s another story, waiting to be penned.

The really “Bad Ass” fast cars in 1989 at Riverside were found in POC’s “V” Class.

Here we find some unique characters out of POC History. Mark Anderson, wins “V” class in his 1978 928. What? He whooped 13 other Porsche drivers, none of whom was driving a 928? He did this at Riverside as well as numerous other POC events over time. Mark is the owner of the specialty business, 928 International located in Anaheim, CA. He is also known to enjoy a good bottle of wine. Offer to share a bottle of Chateau Lafite Rothschild 2016, preferably older with him, I promise you, he won’t refuse. I won’t either for that matter.

We see previously mentioned Bill Follmer in the #2 spot, followed by TRE Motorsports Dave Bouzaglou. Dave and his shop prepped many a race car for the track, and brought my car up to POC Cup Racing standards with addition of an electrical cut off device, not a simple chore on a 993. TRE Motorsports is still very much in business in Van Nuys, CA with Dave at the helm. I was there recently; his service bays are full.

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He has achieved some level of fame organizing and conducting Porsche tours in CA. They are heavily attended with vintage Porsche cars.

Next in “V” class, we see a present Paso Robles neighbor of mine, Roger Sheridan, who went on to have a successful racing career in N. California with PRC, Inc. in his heavily modified 914-6 . His business back then, and to this day, is making specialty 914 fiberglass racing parts.

In 5th place, a POC legend, Mark “Hergie” Hergersheimer, a very focused and committed driver. His company Hergersheimer Porsche Service, Inc., known later on as Hergesheimer Motorsports, supported POC events for many years, especially the Short Track Series. His stepson, Eric Oviatt, super child of Hergie’s wife Laura, went on to develop into a very talented driver. Is it the old nature versus nature argument all over again? Perhaps somehow, by some unknown process, Hergie’s driving talent migrated over to Eric? It should be noted that I was Eric’s first instructor at Streets of Willow. Maybe I am the origin of his driving success? I strongly doubt it. In 2019, “Hergie” sold his shop and moved to AZ. He and Laura are missed.

In the “V” class for this event, we see Galen Bieker, owner of WERKS II in Burbank, CA. Galen established a reputation as a very competitive Porsche Cup Car driver. His successful shop is one of the best stocked SoCal, with a wide variety of racing seats, harnesses, anything related to optimized performance and safety.

Another driver in attendance, who has achieved notable success in a specialty market, Randy Beck. He and his father built the Beck Speedster, the BECK Spyder and BECK GTS. These are “replicars”, built to near perfection, and somewhat affordable considering what they are and what they represent. Beck and their dealers have made acquisition of an exotic Porsche car, albeit a replica, a dream come true for many. I have seen a Beck Spyder up on the rack, and the attention to detail and the overall build was spectacular. I once thought I’d never consider such a car; my thinking has reversed.

Let me close with this: POC, from my viewpoint starting in 1989, has evolved to be the first-class club it is today. Back in those early days starting in 1955, up until the early 1990s, there was no Club racing, only the Short Track Series and Time Trial.

Perhaps because PCA started Club racing, not 100% certain on this, for one reason or another, wheel to wheel racing got started with POC in the early 90’s, and remains as the heart and soul of the Club. POC was known in the distant past as a driving club, now few will dispute, it’s a racing club.

I appreciate the opportunity to peruse my POC memory bank, and share my recollections with the readers. Thanks to Don Matz and the POC for this opportunity.

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Thanks to all our friends at POC for a terrific year of club racing, friendship, and memories. We look forward to a fun, fast future together.

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Sim Racing with the POC

by Teddy Framhein

I’ll go right out and say it: if you’re involved in performance driving at any level and are ignoring the use of simulators as a training tool, I think you’re doing yourself a disservice. I’m not shy about voicing this opinion. Anyone can stand to benefit - from honing car control skills, to determining which approach to a given corner is fastest, to improving mental strength. For example: imagine getting through a long day at work, feeling mentally drained, then coming home and jumping into a new car and track combination. Can you focus, get yourself into the zone, and quickly get up to speed? What a challenge.

Track time is expensive. Why not take advantage of a platform that can enable you to use that time more effectively? For an aspiring (real-world) racer like myself, it has been invaluable. Frankly I could write an entire column on sim racing as a training tool, but that’s for another time.

In our present COVID-impacted circumstance, sim racing is the only game in town. More and more people are realizing this - I never imagined I’d see sim races broadcast on network television!

Organizations like POC have reacted quickly and are providing organized leagues as a benefit for their members. There’s never been a better time to jump in if you’ve been considering doing so.

I’m a recent addition to the POC Sim Racing League, having made my debut in race two of season two at Sebring. It’s exceptionally well-run, with frequent practice sessions and required racer’s clinics for those new to the group. Going into Sebring I was anxious - new car, new track, new league... can I be competitive?

New car: the 911 GT3 Cup as modeled in iRacing requires smooth inputs and quick reactions to drive at the limit. No ABS, no traction control, not as much traction as you might expect given its rear-engined configuration, the usual 911 understeer if you don’t transfer load forward on the way into corners; the GT3 Cup does not suffer fools. Even a brief brake lockup can result in a spin (depending on brake bias).

New track: Sebring. Bumps everywhere, including a few nasty ones in the middle of braking zones.

If you make a mistake, you’d best correct it quickly or you’re going off track.

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New league: everyone involved is exceptionally welcoming, but I didn’t know where I’d fit in and certainly didn’t want to make a bad first impression. In the weeks leading up to the race I spent a lot of time on qualifying and race simulations (full fuel load, slight adjustment to ride height to compensate), and all of the practice paid off. I qualified in first, only about a tenth of a second ahead of Gregory Liefooghe; having not had much of an opportunity to practice driving the GT3 Cup in traffic to this point, I knew my focus would have to be on consistency.

Pace lap done, green flag waving, the pack approaching turn one, I could see out of the corner of my eye that the cars behind me were fanning out. Four wide into turn one? Forget it, let’s get through the corner ourselves and see what happens. As it turns out, Gregory was involved in an incident in that first corner. Given my relative pace, I knew that as long as I could build a gap to second all I would have to do is avoid unforced errors: don’t push the braking zones too far, easy on throttle, be patient while passing lapped traffic. All of the preparation paid off, and I finished in first.

On to race three at Mid-Ohio, but with a different set of expectations this time. I know I’ve got pace with the GT3 Cup, but I’m still working on that consistency, on ensuring the tiny errors I’ll invariably make during the race don’t turn into major incidents. As good as the end result in Sebring looked on paper, there were still things to improve upon.

Mid-Ohio is interesting. Lots of elevation change, blind corners, tricky braking zones with varying levels of compression. One of the major things we may always miss in home simulator rigs is g-force as an input. The driver must instead use the inputs they do have - steering and brake pedal feel, sight, sound - to effectively build a real-time model of reality as a substitute. I spent hours optimizing every braking zone, and the line through every corner, with one goal in mind: outright pace.

I knew passing would be a challenge, and that there would be a lot of overlap between the GT3 Cup and 718 Clubsport classes given the relatively short lap, so my goal was to qualify on pole and drive away before traffic became an issue. I did this: qualified on pole, and built a gap of about six seconds at the halfway point of the half-hour sprint. I again knew my focus would have to be on consistency and avoiding mistakes.

You might have noticed something. I haven’t mentioned much about practicing longer stints or driving conservatively. Just pace. Everything clicked right up until it didn’t. I knew the moment it happened, a small lockup going into turn four, that I was probably going off, and given that iRacing assigns grass approximately the same coefficient of friction as ice, no gap to second place was going to save me.

Gregory, who again qualified in second, made no such mistake. And despite the pressure I could put on him in the ensuing laps, he did not flinch. It was a great battle, and would have been more fun if not for the sequence of events that led to it. I finished in third after an incident with lapped traffic.

Ultimately I feel good about how quickly I bounced back from such a costly mistake and got back up to speed, but terrible about the fact that I put myself in that position to begin with.

Where do we go from here? Whether the last result was a loss or a win, continual improvement is the goal, and boy does this last race present an opportunity for improvement. Race four is at Watkins Glen, which experience tells me is a difficult track on which to pass, with many corners having only one fast line. You can bet I’ll spend more time driving off line, identifying areas of weakness and recovery plans, in addition to outright pace. I can’t wait for race day.

If you’re interested in sim racing, join us! It’s a blast, and there’s good competition at every level.

Even if not, I’d highly recommend watching, as you’re all but guaranteed an action-packed race.

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SIM G N I C RA

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Second Season PODIUM Finishers

GT3 Cup

GT4 Clubsport

May 18 Daytona

1st 2nd 3rd

Connor Bloum Nealson Lawrence Matthew Hollander

Jacob Abrams Paul Newton Jonathan Brel

June 1 Sebring

1st 2nd 3rd

Teddy Framhein Gregory Liefooghe Thomas Boileau

Jacob Abrams Alain Stad Paul Newton

June 15 Mid-Ohio

1st 2nd 3rd

Gregory Liefooghe Nealson Lawrence Teddy Framhein

Jacob Abrams Brian Swift BJ Fulton

June 29 Watkins Glen

1st 2nd 3rd

Gregory Liefooghe Nealson Lawrence Connor Bloum

Jacob Abrams Michael R. Johnson Alain Stad

July 13 Lime Rock

1st 2nd 3rd

July 27 Road America

1st 2nd 3rd

Aug 10 Virginia Intl.

1st 2nd 3rd

Aug 24 Road Atlanta

1st 2nd 3rd

Sept 7 Sonoma

1st 2nd 3rd

Sept 21 Laguna Seca

1st 2nd 3rd

POC Mid-Ohio

by Jacob Abrams

Going into Mid-Ohio I knew there would be a target on my back after winning both opening rounds of the season at Daytona then Sebring. Having raced at Mid Ohio a few weeks prior in an SCCA E-sports race I knew this would be like an F1 race in Monaco, the driver to qualify on pole was nearly guaranteed the win. With that in mind I focused on only two things in practice leading up the event, qualifying pace and figuring out how to make passes in the most unlikely of places should I not secure pole.

In terms of practice I was splitting my time between my rig at home and the one I was in the process of building and setting up for Werks 2 Motorsport. Since there has not been much work to do on my actual car it has been a fun project building a sim rig for someone else. I have only been sim racing for just over three years, but over those three years I have put countless hours into honing my craft. Frankly I don’t want to know how many hours that would be, but I’ve found that it has been time well spent because it translates to my real world driving so well.

I’ve being using the sim as a learning tool since I started, and it is amazing for that. It is great to be able to focus on a single corner, or single technique without being in the way of anyone else on a real track or being concerned about damaging the car. When I got into racing a friend suggested I read the book “Speed Secrets.” I read that book three times, with plenty of sim racing practice in between to practice each and everything the author talked about. In about the span of one year I went from totally clueless to very competitive. In addition I watched and listened to every driver interview I could. There were a few that absolutely were eye opening.

One being an interview with Schumacher in 1995 where he said his secret to being so fast was finding a way to be on the limit at every phase of the corner. Not slow in, fast out, or just carry momentum. Nope, just fast, and fast everywhere. But how? Cue lots of sim racing practice, and a whole lot of crashes. I only spun twice in real life while in this learning phase, and thankfully with no damage incurred. Sim racing allowed me to understand how to be fast, with no risk. I do not think I would have made it through that phase so quickly and safely without sim racing.

I only got into motorsports and racing in general three years ago, with zero prior interest or experience. And oddly enough I only got into sim racing back in May 2017 as an opportunity to test drive a few cars at the track before making a real life purchase of a car to build into a Time Attack and Autocross car. Having the means to buy/build my own race car but zero clue what I was doing I thought it would be a good intro to the world of racing without the risk of crashing a car. My only 37

prior racing experience was driving a 991 GT3 at Dream Racing in Vegas. I then flew out to the Porsche experience center in Atlanta to do a real test drive between a 911 and a 718. Using Assetto Corsa I continued testing between a GT3 RS, Cayman GT4 and a BMW M2. Despite really having my eye on purchasing a new GT3 RS I ended up with a new M2 in my driveway, but that is a story for another day. I still plan to add an RS to the garage sooner or later though!

I’m currently driving my “M2 GT3” with the POC Autocross, and various other organizations. Last year I won 1st place for the season In X class, and had top time of day overall for over half the events. I’ll be competing in GT3 class once real world racing continues, in Street Mod for ProSolo & National events, and hopefully in street class for Global Time attack, my work schedule permitting.

With my goal of also getting into wheel to wheel racing I picked up karting at the same time I bought my car. The various karting series I compete in have taught me so much about race craft in a relatively short span of only three years.

I happened to feel right at home at Mid Ohio because it really felt like a karting track, and I have a lot of experience with multi-class endurance racing in karts, so everything just clicked for me. I was comfortable right out of the gate with my qualifying speed and setup but figuring where to and not to pass safely definitely took some trial and error. I realized after some failed attempts in practice races that the only safe bet was getting a run out of the keyhole (Turn 2) to setup a pass at turn 3.

The real questions remained of how best to pass lapped traffic, and how to deal with getting passed by the GT3s with minimal time lost. Most important though was making sure no contact was made, so staying predictable was paramount. I knew if I held my line that the GT3s would find their way past on the straight and entering turn 1 once they caught me. That all changed when Teddy spun in front of me in Madness, while he was in 2nd in the GT3 class. I had to be careful to avoid him and pay close attention to when he would inevitably be passing me again in a lap or so. All the while I knew my tires we going off, and would continue to do so.

With so many off camber turns I knew it would be easy to spin if I missed my marks. The beginning and end of the race both felt the same, like I was driving on slicks with a track covered in dust.

There would be grip in some places, but others might as well have been an ice-skating rink. With the world’s shortest rolling start the cold tires on lap one were critical to manage. In some of the practice races I lost the car in both turns one and two. I had to tip toe through both corners under the limit all the while defending my position against any early dive bomb passes. At that point I knew consistency would be the key to victory. With Brian and BJ only half a second behind me I went to work putting down consistent laps, waiting for others to make mistakes. I decided it would be wise to push early and take it easy after the half way mark. Once I had a comfortable margin I went into tire conservation mode. I started the race on a setup I had only done a few laps on, so I had no clue what to expect tire wear wise after 20 or 30 minutes. I saw everyone trailing me start to fall back once the GT3s reached them, and I hoped the GT3s would find me on a straight, not mid corner somewhere. Thankfully, that was the case, they got by with little time lost on my end.

Without having to make any passes for position, only against lapped traffic, and getting passed by another class, I quickly felt like I was half way through a 12 hour endurance kart race. The critical time where putting down consistent, fast laps, was the key to victory. A time and place where you can get in the zone and become one with your car; it feels like the track is empty. Just get into

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this Zen rhythm of hitting all your marks and feeling your way around the track, though by force feedback alone in this case of sim racing. The only thing occasionally running through my mind was the F1 race in Monaco where Senna crashed after being told to slow down. I knew that maintaining my pace was critical to staying in the zone. With only a few minutes remaining I knew somewhere on track someone would get impatient and make a pass that caused a crash. I continued to keep my eyes out for yellow flags, knowing my plan upon seeing one would be to take it easy and make it a priority to get through safely, even if my momentum was compromised. As expected, that happened in turn 3. A few cars crashed and one spun to the outside entry of turn 4. I knew I would not lose much time entering turn 4 as shallow as possible, so I was lucky to get by with minimal time lost once again. All the while everyone following me would probably have it worse because cars would be rejoining the track by the time they got there.

From experience I knew that there were a few problem corners with worn out tires. Upon seeing BJ and Brian so close together I knew I could take it easy in those corners, because they would likely be fighting each other, or at the very least defending and taking the slower lines. I had a few close calls, but ultimately being prepared meant I was able to save any slides early on and not worry about losing it completely. When I finally got the checkered flag I felt a sigh of relief knowing I didn’t need to nurse the overheated tires any longer. Driving arguably a momentum car on a momentum track is very tiring, and my heart was racing at the end of it all. All the while the moment I stepped back from the wheel and started the discord interview with the broadcasters I was ready for more. I was somehow mentally prepared for another race right then and there with only a 30 second break. It’s a good thing sim racing is legal & safe, because I’m addicted to it!

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Porsche News

A Legend Returns Just in time for the Le Mans anniversary the original 917 KH “Salzburg” with the world-famous number 23 is displayed at the Porsche Museum.

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In fact, the “23” that you could see at events and in the Porsche Museum for many years was originally the legendary first 917 with number 001. Frank Jung from the Museum Archive remembers the story and the reasons why there were two Le Mans-winning cars: “After the race at Le Mans, Porsche realized that the victory was hugely significant for the company. But car no. ‘23’ was still in use at the time. They needed a second car quickly that looked like the victorious vehicle so that they could send it round the world for advertising purposes. And so 917-001 has already been converted and repainted in 1970 to match the victorious car driven in Le Mans and dubbed the ‘23 Salzburg’.”

the worldwide Porsche Club Community In 2019, for the anniversary of the Porsche 917, the Porsche Museum converted the vehicle with number 917-001 to its original condition as a long tail with a white and green paint job.

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Upcoming Events

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July 25-26, 2020 For cup racers only. If you’ve never driven this iconic track, now is your chance. Sign up today and get ready for the time-of-your-life!

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September 4-6, 2020 What we’ve all been waiting for...

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