Autocross - #4 Results

AUTOCROSS SEASON SERIES 2021/2022 EVENT #4

STORY BY KENNETH MITCHELL PHOTOS BY KIM KEMPER

The AZPCA Region Autocross Event #4 of the 2021/2022 season was held at Arizona Motorsports Park (AMP), in Litchfield Park, on Saturday, December 11, 2021, just before the Region’s Holiday Party and the Winter Solstice. The autocrossing season is at the half-way point and this event is in the archives as another great event.

At the start of the event, the weather was clear and cold. How cold was it, well it was cold enough to build an igloo and not have it melt before late morning. The afternoon session was a smidgen warmer but, not quite AZPCA Region Autocross perfect. However, the cold morning did not discourage 44 drivers from coming out and having a lot of fun driving their Porsche cars on another well-designed course by the Autocross Chairs, Kim K. and Rick A.

The course consisted of two-loops in opposite directions, a couple of off-set gates and slaloms, and of course (no pun intended) the front showcase straightaway. The event consisted of three separately timed laps in both the morning and afternoon sessions.

The AZPCA Region Autocross Series is not a series, per se, and there are no winning points for an award or even an atta-persons (being gender neutral) but, on an occasion maybe a mentioning of “nice run”. Nor are there separate competition classes. This series is just a season of 8 or so events throughout the year for the members to come together and have fun with their Porsche cars in a controlled and safe environment.

The Autocross Chairs elected to create two disparate car type groups (Group “P” and Group “X”) to make it fair for bragging rights among the drivers. Group “P” is for Porsche cars that are truly street legal, licensed and insured for the public highway that have at the most just a few minor performance tweaks, and is the type of Porsche you would want to drive on one of Rook Younger’s driving tours.

Group “X” is for the non Porsche cars some stock and some with “Extreme Performance Alterations and Modifications” whereas, these types of cars may not be street legal, licensed or insured for the public highway.

This event had a variety of Porsche cars. There was the usual contingent of Carreras, Boxsters, and Caymans, including a GT4; along with a couple of 944 Turbos, a Macan GTS, and a 968.

In Group “P”, the Best-Time-In-Group (BTIG) was driven by Eric S., in his 2006 Porsche Carrera S, with 51.797 seconds. Eric’s morning time of 51.829 seconds would still have earned him the BTIG honors. The runner ups were Kim K., in his 2016 Porsche GT3 RS, with 52.158 seconds; and Robert T., in his 2017 Porsche Carrera Turbo, 53.079 seconds. Eric was on a mission, and he was not going to settle for just being a bridesmaid. He drove his Porsche like he stole it. Good job Eric.

In Group “X”, AZPCA Region member, Ealing J., earned the BTIG time with a 51.306 seconds and fellow AZPCA member, Ken M., was the bridesmaid of the AZPCA drivers in this Group and his best lap time was 52.157 seconds.

Because of the disparities with the cars in both groups it would be difficult and not fair to compare the lap times among these drivers, and their lap time differences may not reflect the driver’s true driving ability.

The “Top Cone Killer” for this event was Darin D., in his 1989 Porsche 944 Turbo, with three cone kills. Eric T., in his 2014 Porsche Cayman S, followed Darin with two “Cone Kills” and Pete P., in his Macan GTS, ended up tagging a cone on his second run in the morning session. It appears that three “Cone Kills”, is the magic number of “kills” for the driver to win the top cone killer honors.

Of course, this is only for fun, shaming not allowed, we like mentioning who were the “Cone Killers” for this event. Why, because these events are all about having “Fun” and “cone kills” are a big part of it.

There were three new AZPCA Region members with newly acquired Porsche cars at this event. Robert K., in his 2013

AZPCA A-X #4, December 11, 2021 Top Time of Day

DRIVER CAR

Eric S 2006 Porsche 911 C2S

Kim K

2016 Porsche GT3 RS Robert T 2017 Porsche 911 Turbo (R) Eric T 2014 Porsche Cayman S Cameron S 2020 Porsche 911 Carrera S Dave M Joel S 2014 Porsche Cayman S 2020 Porsche 911 Carrera S William P 2000 Porsche Boxster S Brian M Pete P Brad K 2015 Porsche Cayman GTS 2020 Porsche Macan GT 2004 Porsche Boxster S

Rick A Chris M

1994 Porsche 968 2019 Porsche 911 Michael M 1987 Porsche 911 Don P Ray C Darin D 1997 Porsche 993 2003 Porsche Boxster S 1989 Porsche 944 Turbo

KC M 2015 Porsche Cayman GTS

Louis M

2018 Porsche Cayman Robert K 2013 Porsche Boxster S PORSCHE

BEST RUN

51.797 52.158 53.079 54.723 56.38 57.311 57.354 57.983 59.163 59.352 59.782 61.483 64.914 64.959 65.098 65.103 68.102 71.519 72.398 77.532

DRIVER

CAR Ealing J 2015 Factory 5 GTM Jeff W 2021 BMW M2C

Ken M Jeff W

2013 Chevrolet Corvette GS (R) 2006 Honda S2000 Mathias A 2022 Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing Julie W 2021 Chevrolet Camaro Adam W 1992 Chevrolet Corvette Jim E 2019 Chevrolet Corvette Z06

Mike T Mike C 2017 Chevrolet Corvette GS (R) 2014 BMW 228i

Rob M

1996 Chevrolet Corvette Jason P 2012 VW Golf R Andrew T 2013 Suburu BRZ Greg K Dave Y 1969 Chevrolet Corvette 2017 BMW M2

Clint G David E

2017 BMW M2 2017 Chevrolet Camaro Chuck N 1997 Panoz Roadster Noel A 2016 Ford Mustang GT350 Diane C 2014 BMW 228i Marc C Tim E Andy S 2008 Dodge Charger 2016 BMW M4 2006 Chevrolet Corvette GROUP X 51.306 51.663 52.157 52.516 53.016 53.692 55.054 55.37 55.38 55.467 55.627 56.193 56.679 58.198 58.392 59.644 59.745 59.758 61.228 62.486 62.926 68.719 70.654

Porsche Boxster S, joined 3 weeks prior and he acquired his Porsche car at the same time. Also, Brian and KC M. (husband and wife) joined two weeks prior with their newly acquired 2015 Porsche Cayman GTS.

Robert’s best lap time was 77.532 seconds. Brian’s best lap time was 58.498 seconds and KC’s best lap time was 67.266 seconds. Welcome to the Club and the AZPCA Region. All three of you will have a lot of fun being members of the AZPCA Region.

Apparently, Don P., a Southern Arizona PCA Region member, must have heard about the fun-packed AZPCA Region autocross events and the renowned lunch provided by the Region so he elected to drive up from Tucson in his air-cooled Carrera 993 to see for himself. Don’s best lap time was 65.098 seconds. Nice to see him come up and have fun with the AZPCA Region. Hopefully, we’ll see him at the future events.

(Author’s Note: The Carrera 993 was the last of the air-cooled Carreras and the first for the six-speed manual transmission and the Weissach Axle.)

These events would not be possible if it wasn’t for the help of a lot of volunteers that are willing to go above and beyond their minimum event work obligation and pitch-in to make the events fun for the members. The day before the event, there is the site setup crew consisting of Ken O., William P., Dane T., Chris M. Jim E. and the Autocross Chairs, Rick A., and Kim K., who spend several hours preparing the site by placing the cones in accordance with the course design plan, mark the cone placements, setup the Grid area, and make the course safe by blow-off the dirt and debris from the course. After the event, the Teardown helpers consisting of Ealing J., Jonathan B., Dave M., Eric S among so many others, we just want to express our appreciation to everyone for helping place all the equipment back into the Storage Container.

The Autocross Co-Chairs are very grateful for this help and would like to thank all the volunteers for devoting their valuable time in helping to make these great events possible. Without their help these events would not be possible for everyone’s fun and enjoyment.

In addition to the help from the volunteers, there are a lot of behind-the-scenes tasks performed by the Autocross Chairs for making these events possible for the members. There are numerous critical tasks such as, scheduling the events a year in advance, creating event announcements in the club website, making sure the site rental agreement is in place, creating the motorsportreg.com events for registration, ensuring that the “Speed Waiver” is completed by the members, coordinating the setup crew, coordinate the setup time with the AMP Site Manager, design the course plan, developing the event run and work order plan, acquiring the event insurance coverage, arranging the Region provided lunch, general event management of operations, the driver’s safety meeting prior to the start of the event, preparing and transmitting the event results to the drivers, coordinating with the Region’s “Going Places” Newsletter Editor in providing the event articles, and the most critical task of all – going before the Region’s Executive Board in attaining the Board’s approval to host the events.

As a Region Member and the author of this article, and I’m sure the other Region autocross members, will join me in saying, “THANK YOU” to the Autocross Chairs, Kim K. and Rick A. for taking on this immense commitment to ensure the AZPCA Region members and invited guests are having fun driving their Porsche cars.

The next event is scheduled for Saturday, February 19, 2022, and the deadline to register is Friday, February 18, 2022, at 3:00PM/1500 Hours, AST. In order to register for the event, you will need to log-in to your motorsportreg.com account and sign up, and complete the “Speedwaiver”, prior to the registration deadline. The completion of the “Speedwaiver” is a must prior to coming to the event, and if for some reason you are having some difficulty in completing the speed waiver, don’t hesitate in contacting the Autocross Chairs at autocross@az.pca. org for help.

The following event is March 19, 2022 and the event registration will be posted to the motorsportreg.com events page shortly.

And in April, there will be “Two” autocross events, yes, two events, the 9th and the 30th. The April 30th event will be the last event of the season. So, mark your personal social calendar with those two dates. More than likely, there will be no September event this year, due to typical higher temps in September. The 2022/2023 autocross season will commence on October 15, 2022.

We hope to see you at the next event. Have a nice and wonderful Valentine’s Day.

AZPCA A-X #4, December 11, 2021 HEAT 1 HEAT 2

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

Darin D Marc C Tim E 1989 Porsche 944 Turbo 2008 Dodge Charger 2016 BMW M4 72.389 90.237+1 69.293+1 68.102 68.120+1 DNF 3 67.742 64.555 65.517+1 62.926 63.126 63.423 1 75.423 68.719 67.973+1 DNS DNS DNS 1

Brad K

2004 Porsche Boxster S Diane C 2014 BMW 228i 63.334 63.419 61.785 DNF 60.69 59.782 65.676 63.138 64.346 62.486 63.414 62.51

Ealing J 2015 Factory 5 GTM

52.844 52.727 51.788 51.306 DNF DNR Cameron S 2020 Porsche 911 Carrera S 57.506 DNF 56.38 56.266+1 56.891 57.412+1 2 Julie W 2021 Chevrolet Camaro 54.152 53.955 53.692 56.075+1 54.551 55.076 1

Dave Y Eric S Noel A Chris M Mike C Joel S 2017 BMW M2 2006 Porsche 911 C2S 2016 Ford Mustang GT350 2019 Porsche 911 58.392 59.191+1 60.569 55.454+1 56.316+1 DNR 3 52.309 52.139 51.829 51.797 52.51 52.224 61.856 61.334+1 DNF 61.48 61.992 61.228 1

DNF 66.409 64.914 DNF 76.082 65.06

2014 BMW 228i

57.693 57.064+1 DNF 56.897 55.467 55.977 1 2020 Porsche 911 Carrera S 57.354 57.336+1 56.489+1 54.480+2 54.457+1 DNF 5

Pete P 2020 Porsche Macan GT DNF 63.182+1 60.669 60.61 59.352 DNF 1

Jeff W Jim E 2021 BMW M2C

51.955+1 52.647 53.174+1 50.982+1 51.663 51.772 3 2019 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 58.467+1 55.769 55.37 55.875+3 56.707+1 56.473 5 Chuck N 1997 Panoz Roadster 67.273+1 64.282 62.982 59.758 60.393 70.405 1

Jon R Mike T Jeff W 2014 Porsche Cayman S

DNS DNS DNS DNF DNF DNF 2017 Chevrolet Corvette GS (R) 61.158+2 58.525 57.222 55.38 57.236+1 55.701 3 2006 Honda S2000 DNF DNF 54.604 52.845 52.516 52.775

Rick A

1994 Porsche 968 Jason P 2012 VW Golf R Andrew T 2013 Suburu BRZ William P 2000 Porsche Boxster S Ray C Rob M Brian M Clint G 2003 Porsche Boxster S 1996 Chevrolet Corvette 2015 Porsche Cayman GTS 2017 BMW M2

62.545 61.483 61.012+1 DNF 61.874 62.736 1 59.931 59.835 58.967 57.852 57.053 56.193 61.294+1 58.556 61.372+1 59.508 58.151 56.679 2 61.511 61.669 DNF 60.357 58.963 57.983 72.213 DNF 66.935 DNF 65.419 65.103 58.371 57.458 56.682 56.145 56.109 55.627

DNF 62.008 62.471+1 59.371 58.498+1 59.163 61.409 61.556 61.215+1 59.644 59.710+1 63.735 2

David E 2017 Chevrolet Camaro DNF 60.147 59.889 59.745 60.582 60.539

Dave M Ken M Louis M 2014 Porsche Cayman S

DNF 58.667 DNF 60.795 57.311 57.788 2013 Chevrolet Corvette GS (R) 120.84+3 DNF 52.701+2 DNF 52.157 DNS 2018 Porsche Cayman DNF 91.005 DNF DNF 79.737 72.398

Adam W 1992 Chevrolet Corvette

59.095 56.147 56.303 55.978 55.392 55.054 Robert T 2017 Porsche 911 Turbo (R) 54.179 54.062 53.351 52.360+1 53.311 53.079 1 Mathias A 2022 Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing 54.512 53.098 53.016 53.05 53.528 54.046 Greg K 1969 Chevrolet Corvette 59.961 59.929 60.315 61.064 58.198 DNF Robert K 2013 Porsche Boxster S DNF DNF 86.666 99.501 82.735 77.532 Eric T 2014 Porsche Cayman S 55.998 55.495 54.723 55.559 56.179+2 55.407 2 KC M 2015 Porsche Cayman GTS 67.266+1 DNF 68.085+2 DNF DNF 71.519 Michael M 1987 Porsche 911 DNF 66.522 DNF 69.061 66.392 64.959 Don P Andy S Kim K