Well - had a great track day today at Sears Point (cough) Infineon Raceway.

My car handled really well, considering I only had the sway bar at 50%, and was running the shocks on full soft. Plus I only have street tires.

I was almost able to keep up with everybody, and was able to apply a lot of the theory and try different lines and stuff. Great experience, and the best feeling I've ever had on the track.

The car ran perfectly all day apart from me losing a head breather hose and spraying oil all over the place - this was quickly fixed with a zip tie :-).

There were 4 Radical Extreme SR3s around - those things are wicked fast - amazing to watch (especially as they leave you in the dust :-) )

Brad Roberts and Bill Pickering were nowhere to be seen.

Fiid (really tired now).

Bill said he wasnt going to make it.. so I spent the day with the wife.

I forgot you had planned to go.. I would drug the wife out there.

It was perfect weather for a track day.


B

Iam soooo jealous. All we had was snow, rain, wind. With a short break for rain.

Hey Fiid,

Sounds like it was a good time. I thought I was safe in my timing to make it to the event, but all of engine work has taken longer than expected, even with me leaving what I thought was extra time. Between work and relatives flying in all over the place for the holidays, I didn't have enough time to put the car back together.

I'm bummed. Looks like I'll have to make the next open day at Infineon on February 6th-7th. I need to get the car setup with all the new aerodynamics before the TT season starts for GGR on February 14th-15th.

Fiid,

Are you gonna run the PCA-GGR Time Trials this year?

Bill P.

Yeah - the weather was gorgeous, I hope it starts raining again now to get the snow pack up :-)

There was only one other 914 out, so I don't think you missed much.

Fiid.

Errr. Probably not. I am going to be outside the realm of the time trials soon since I am going to go to a non-porsche engine. I will continue to do fun-runs with the autocross people. I am very interested to see weather I can get top time of day doing fun runs or not..... :-)

I would like to run them just for the track time and to hang out with people but when I asked Dan Thompson (PCA-GGR Competition Director) about even allowing "fun runs" or an "anything goes" class for non-porsche engines he reeled off some line about "We like to keep this an all-porsche club".

Dan also said that it wouldn't be fair if someone was running a 917 replica with a SBC V8 in it. Personally I'd rather see a 917 replica ripping up the track than not. Plus, it's perfectly fair if it's in the "anything goes" class, since nothing but crazy cars are competing with it. I find the attitude a little exclusionary to be honest, and if the rules are written so that cars have to be based upon a Porsche car, you aren't going to see totally different marques out there.

I'm really enjoying track time with the Northern California Racing club people, so I'm currently inclined to work towards running their time trials and getting my track time with them. They are also starting to run some races with exhibition rules, etc. Their events are really well organised and I enjoy the variety of different cars that show up.

Yesterday I was on the track with 911s, 914s, Radical SR3s, a Detomaso Pantera, a Caterham 7, some BMW M3s, an M Roadster, some Corvette Z06s, a Volvo turbo station wagon.

If you have a conversion car and would like to run PCA time trials, I suggest you write to Dan (and other PCA bigwigs) and tell them. I am all for it. Embrace diveristy.

If Dan didnt have FULL grids at every event.. he would allow alternate powered cars to run PCA... but when you dont have too..there isnt much incentive to allow other cars.

NCRC used to be 99% GM cars.. as the grids dewindled over the last 2-3 years.. the doors open up to everyone.

For me: running againts other cars that are prepared in a similar fashion appeals to me more than running against something "for fun". If I go out on track with cars in "my class" I have something to gauge my failures or success against. Running around the track wasting tires/gas in a class where anything goes.. well.. I dont really learn anything from that.


B