June

Transcription

1 June

2 2350 North Alan Road Peoria, IL (866) (309) Gian Sud, Sales Hours Mon.: 9:00am - 8:00pm Tues. - Thurs.: 9:00am-7:00pm Friday: 9:00am - 6:00 pm Saturday: 9:00am - 5:00pm Suniti R. Sud, Vice President, General Manager Service & Parts Hours Monday-Friday: 7:30am- 5:30pm Saturday: 9:00am - 1:30pm Sunday: Closed June

3 Lincoln Trail Region - Porsche Club of America On The Cover: Back shot of Michael Bene ts GT3 Contents President s Page Editorial Putnam Park PCA event April Autocross what do I do? Lincoln Trail Board Calendar of Events The LTR PCA contains material which is derived in whole or in part from the Porsche Club of America, Inc. and other sources and is protected by international copyright, trademark and other intellectual property laws. You may not modify, copy, reproduce, republish, upload, post, transmit or distribute in any way any material from Lincoln Trail Region without permission. If you are a member of the Porsche Club of America, Inc., or a chartered Region, you may use material from this publication for your personal, non-commercial use only, provided you keep intact all copyright and other proprietary notices. To the extent that any material you download is a trademark of either Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche Aktiengesellschaft ( Porsche ), or of Porsche Club of America, Inc., you must comply with the limited license terms available upon written request. The points of view expressed in the public area of the newsletter are opinions of the persons posting such points of view, and do not represent the views or statements of the Porsche Club of America, Inc. June

4 President s Page By Mikel Matthews Greetings fellow Porsche Enthusiasts! I have decide to do things a bit different this month. Instead of talking about things we need to do as a club I am going to talk about having fun. We all have fun in different ways but I think a common theme here is fun with your Porsche. I think summer is finally here. It s still a bit cool at times but it is top down weather (for us at least). Speaking of having some fun we have the Wheels & Wine car show coming up in June. If you didn t attend last year s event you missed a lot of fun. Jay Yost planned and hosted the event and is doing the same this year. There are a number of different concours classes and you if don t want your car judged (or you don t want to spend lots of time cleaning your car) there is a show class. So come on out and show off your car. The event is taking place at Alto Vineyards located at 4210 N. Duncan Rd. Champaign, IL. When you attend the event please take time to visit their tasting room where you can taste and purchase Illinois wines. See to register for the event. We are also trying to plan a get together in Bloomington for June. This will be at one of the local parks and it will be a BBQ. As soon as we get this finalized I will send out an detailing the event. We will also put on our website ( so make sure to visit the website every so often. We ve just about finalized the August 23 technical event to be held at Sud s. Patsy Weber has been working hard to get this set up. We ve had good feed back on sending out the post cards with the event schedule on them. The idea came from a number of different people (amazing how people think alike). So expect to see at least one a quarter. Another fun event coming up is Parade. I know a number of our region members will be attending this event. I hope one or two of them will write up their adventures and share them with us. Shelley and I are getting ready to head down to Blowing Rock, North Carolina for the 10th annual Blue Ridge Boxster Summit (BRBS). It will be our third trip to BRBS where we have met some great people and have made many friends. Imagine being with over 100 people who share a common interest Porsches! Most of the cars will be Boxsters but we ve had 944s, 996s, 997s, GT3s, Caymans, Ferraris, BMWs, and others. Most of the people attending have had a Boxster at some time. This trip will first take us to the Tail of the Dragon (318 turns in 11 miles) in NC. This will be our first time driving over this nationally know road. If you don t know what I am talking about do a Google search and you will see. I hope to take some video of us driving the road. Shelley doesn t like these types of road so we ll have to see how things work out. Expect to see an article on both the Tail of the Dragon and BRBS in the coming months. I ve also been having some fun running in autocrosses in my 914/6. I know that some of our members have been wanting LTR to hold racing events but until that happens take a look at for their AX and June

5 rally schedules. Also take a look at the other Zone 13 region s websites for information on their racing events. At the last President s meetings we talked about having more intra-zone participation and this a great way to do it. I ve taken enough of your valuable time so take some time for yourselves and go for a drive. Mike June

6 Editorial By Jim Roal This month I would like to discuss information sources that we have for events in both our region and nearby regions as well as non- PCA events from organizations like NASA and SCCA. The source for LTR events is our own calendar page on the web site. I also copy the next few months into this newsletter. Chris Inglot, our zone 13 representative, creates a calendar for the entire zone and that is available from our calendar page. I also have a link to the PCA national calendar there. We have our own forum on Yahoo for our region. I would encourage people to use this resource as a great place to discuss topics and even organize smaller events such as an impromptu drive or a caravan to an event. For instance, if you are thinking of going to an autocross or drivers ed (DE) post a message and see who else in the region may be going. You can find our web forum link on the LTR home page. One of the more active forums for car nuts in our region is the Central Illinois Car Enthusiasts Network (CICNET at ). I manage the region website and I often get s about events in our area. I don t put non-ltr events on our LTR calendar. Instead, I post these to the news page on the website. I often add and remove things from this page several times a month so check it our periodically. Another great resource for track events is the track calendars themselves. Most will have the DE s on their calendars even when they are run by clubs. Generally they include links to the event sponsors. I have most of the nearby tracks (within a few hours drive) on our links page. We are lucky to not only be near many great tracks, but we have many large PCA regions near us as well. I have links to these regions in our events page. Most regions keep up a good calendar showing their events. All of this information is linked from our web site. I like to hear any feedback you may have regarding the web site so I can make improvements to best suit our club members. Jim June

7 Putnam Park PCA event April By Michael Bene t - LTR Technical Chairperson. Loads of Lincoln Trail track goers enjoyed a full weekend of track festivities at the CIR-PCA Putnam Park drivers Ed event last month. We had several 911 s in attendance - from early to late twin turbo as well as several local 944 s. The Sawyers were working the curves in their Vanilla 944 coupe with Jim Roal closing in fast in his 944S. Andy Pilcher boosted around in his race prepped 944 Turbo, Dr. Steve Mahany was driving the fast line in his restoration project & Phillip Longstreth went for the apex in his. Not to mention Instructor Chuck Tucker setting a fast pace in his hot rod 3.4 liter Carrera. At a social gathering in the evening the club provided a hearty dinner and let the bench racing commence (well into the wee hours of the morning). The weather held out well (with a large fog bank holding up only the start of one day) and every LTR member came home with higher quality driving skills because of it. Please take a moment to consider joining us at the next track event. There are lots of like members to talk with, and plenty of experienced track members that want to help you experience the thrill of your Porsche in a controlled environment and at speed. Your Porsche was built for this and it will thank you for the exercise! The event staff provided instructors like Chuck & Andy for all of the students who needed them so that those drivers could hone their track presents lap after lap. Safety was a high priority for the group and fun was the theme of the day. On the first day I witnessed several of our members helping out with students and really making them comfortable behind the wheel at speed. By the second day all of the students had made progress with their laps and the fun was in top gear. June

8 Autocross what do I do? By Mikel L. Matthews President, LTR Have you ever wanted to test yourself and your car? Well there is a way to do it and it s legal. Try an autorcross (AX). An AX is a timed event where a course is setup with cones in a parking lot and you try to traverse the course in the shortest amount of time without hitting any cones. Each cone you hit will cost you additional time (1-2 seconds). Every course is different and if the event occurs over two days the course is normally run the other way on the second day, but I m getting ahead of myself. Below is a simple course layout at Rantoul. An autocross is an event where each car is pitted against cars of equal performance but they race against the stop watch rather than on course with the other cars. This means if I am driving a stock 986 I will not be racing against a 997 Turbo. I normally run SCCA (Sports Car Club of America) events where I drive a /6 with a 2.7L RS ish engine. This puts me in the SM2 (Street Modified 2 seat) class. I compete against other modified cars. At an AX you are either driving, or working. The drivers are assigned a heat to run in. In the events I run in we normally have two heats. If you are assigned to the first heat you will be the first to run. When your runs are over you will trade places with the corner/grid/timing workers. So let me take you through a day at an AX. First you need to get there early to help setup the event. The registration and waiver stations need to be setup, grid (where you are staged for the June

9 race) needs to be setup, the timing equipment needs to be setup and checked, and the course needs to be constructed. Normally the event chair designs the course before the event and directs people as to where the cones need to be placed. Then the safety equipment (fire extinguishers, flags, extra cones) and worker stations need to be setup. The safety steward will normally run the course to make sure it is safe. So go to the event chair and get an assignment. After you helped with setup you need to get registered for the event at the registration station. This normally consists of signing various waivers, paying for the event, being assigned a class, and getting a number for your car. Then you need to get your car inspected. Safety is of the utmost importance. If your car isn t safe you will not be able to run. There will be a tech station set up where you get your car inspected. Normally the following areas will be looked at: brakes (enough pad and proper brake fluid level) throttle (return spring works, accelerator works) battery (doesn t move) tires (in good shape, lug nuts torqued properly, and wheel bearings tight) helmet (meets required specifications, they have loaners if you don t have one) all loose items removed from car (includes floor mats) numbers are on car You should make sure that your car will pass tech before you get there. I ve only failed one car while doing a tech inspection but I ve had to remind a lot of people to go back to fix something (loose battery, loose items in the June car, etc). I ve had a battery come loose while driving a course although it passed inspection. This is dangerous. Once you ve been tech ed you need to walk the course (the more times the better). This is nothing more than familiarizing yourself with the course. If this is your first time you may want to ask an experienced driver if you can walk the course with them. Tell them you are a novice and ask for advice about the course. As I said before, the purpose of the walk is to familiarize yourself with the course. You need to determine your braking and acceleration points and find your line (where you are going to drive on the course). If these terms are unfamiliar to you take a few minutes to do a bit of research on the internet. Try pca.org/autox and features/solo2/handbook.htm for more information. There will be a mandatory drivers meeting before the AX begins. The event chair will go over the event, telling you what you can and can t do. The safety steward will also talk about the safety aspects of the event. Safety comes first at these events, so listen to what is being said. They will tell you what heat you will be running in. When the meeting is over you will either go get your car and bring it to the grid or go and get your work assignment. If you are working there are normally five different areas you will work. These are: corner grid timing waivers scoring/timing

10 Corner workers will go out onto the course to a corner station to watch for drivers that go off course or hit cones. They will also reset cones when they are hit, signaling to timing if the driver knocked the cone out of bounds or the car went off course. They will also signal drivers with a red flag to stop if need be. These workers must never take their eyes off the cars in their area. You never know when a car will go out of control. The grid workers manage the grid, moving cars up to the starting line. These workers also need to make sure that the drivers have their safety equipment on (seat belt and helmet). They must recognize that there are moving people and cars in this area. Again safety is first. The person responsible for waivers makes sure that everyone in the designated area has signed the waivers and has a wrist band which is provided to participants after they have signed the waiver. This person must insure everyone has this band and that any new people sign the waiver. Timing workers are responsible for recording the time for each run. They also record the number of cones hit or if the driver went off course. Some organizations provide the driver with a timing ticket after each run. Others will post the time on a board so the drivers can see their time. Some have a scoring system that displays the last drivers time. When the first heat has completed its run, the cars are parked, the drivers get their work assignments, and the workers (now drivers) go get their cars. The drivers line up on the grid, making sure they get there safely (meaning going slow). They will also form a queue and should stay in the same place in the queue for all their runs. The grid workers will inform the drivers when their run is coming up. The driver is responsible for being close to their car when it is near time to run. They should also be belted in and helmet on when they need to move their car forward in the queue. Once the driver is signaled to drive to the starting line, they should proceed at a slow pace. There is no place in the grid that a person can light up there tires or speed. The only place this can happen is on the course. You must watch the starter because he/she will indicate where you should line up. Once you are lined up you should continue watching the starter waiting for the signal to start the run. When given the signal to start, take your time to get set before you take off. These are running starts meaning the timing starts once you pass the timing light. Once you are ready, have fun. The first time you run you might want to have an experienced AXer ride with you. They can help remind you where the course is because it is easy to get lost until you have made a few runs. It s ok to take your time going around the course the first time or two. Then as you get a few runs under your belt, go a bit faster. Remember that we all think we are better drivers than we are the first time time out on the course. I was humbled the first time I drove, I was off course 5 out of 6 times. They even had someone ride with me after the fourth time I was off course. Finally on the last run I found the course. Remember to always look ahead to see where you are going. Set yourself up for the upcoming gates. June

11 Remember where your brake points are and where you need to accelerate. Don t worry if you hit a cone because its behind you. Just remember where you hit it so you can avoid hitting it next time. I move my mirrors so I can t see behind me. The best advice I can give you is to relax and have fun. You are going to be out there for 5-6 hours for 5-8 minutes of seat time. Is AX worth all of effort? I say yes! Take a look at this video ( watch?v=wu3h5rsezt0) and hopefully you can see what I mean. Lincoln Trail Board President Mikel Matthews 300 E. Peacock Drive Mahomet, IL Vice President Open Secretary Darren Sawyer 402 Leland St. Bloomington, IL Treasurer Butch Raiha 1111 Wedgwood Ct. Decatur, IL Membership Dana Sawyer 402 Leland St. Bloomington, IL Newsletter Mikel Matthews 300 E. Peacock Drive Mahomet, IL Board Member Dana Sawyer 402 Leland St. Bloomington, IL Board Member Jim Petruska Board Member Patsy Weber 601 W. Hamilton Rd. Bloomington, IL Webmaster Jim Roal 3415 E. Hidden Valley Chillicothe, IL Technical Michael Benet 1013 Orange Street Peoria, IL Driving Events Open Safety Jim Anderson E 2200 North Rd. Danville, IL Zone 13 Rep Chris Inglot 591 Greenwood Road Northbrook, IL (217) mikel@mchsi.com (309) rnhockey@yahoo.com (217) araiha@aol.com (309) rnracer60@yahoo.com (217) potpourri.editor@gmail.com (309) rnracer60@yahoo.com (309) lynn.weber@verizon.net (309) jroal@mchsi.com (309) benet3@insightbb.com (217) Jim_Anderson@oldnational.com (847) cinglot@aol.com June

12 Calendar of Events June Car Talk session at Panera Bread Company, 1903 Convenience Place Champaign, IL Near the MacDonald's off of N. Neil. 9am 16 - Dinner at Lucca Grill 116 E Market St, Bloomington, IL at 7:30pm 17 - Dinner at Mario's Pizzeria 2841 Mansion Rd, Springfield, Il at 6:30pm on the 3rd Tuesday of each month Breakfast at Panera's on Knoxville in Peoria (Northpoint area) Saturday at 8:30a Car Show in Champaign. See concours events page for details. July Car Talk session at Panera Bread Company, 1903 Convenience Place Champaign, IL Near the MacDonald's off of N. Neil. 9am 15 - Dinner at Mario's Pizzeria 2841 Mansion Rd, Springfield, Il at 6:30pm on the 3rd Tuesday of each month Dinner at Lucca Grill 116 E Market St, Bloomington, IL at 7:30pm 26 - Breakfast at Panera's on Knoxville in Peoria (Northpoint area) Saturday at 8:30a Porsche to Oxford drive. See Rallye/Tour page for details. August Car Talk session at Panera Bread Company, 1903 Convenience Place Champaign, IL Near the MacDonald's off of N. Neil. 9am 18 - Dinner at Lucca Grill 116 E Market St, Bloomington, IL at 7:30pm 19 - Dinner at Mario's Pizzeria 2841 Mansion Rd, Springfield, Il at 6:30pm on the 3rd Tuesday of each month Breakfast at Panera's on Knoxville in Peoria (Northpoint area) Saturday at 8:30a. September Car Talk session at Panera Bread Company, 1903 Convenience Place Champaign, IL Near the MacDonald's off of N. Neil. 9am 15 - Dinner at Lucca Grill 116 E Market St, Bloomington, IL at 7:30pm 16 - Dinner at Mario's Pizzeria 2841 Mansion Rd, Springfield, Il at 6:30pm on the 3rd Tuesday of each June

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14 June