Autocross

Steve Kidd, Autocross Chair

Our region AX team hosted the 5th GCR AutoX of 2022 on April 30th at the Sebring race track skid pad. All I can say is we really lucked out with the weather. Rain was predicted, but never happened until after the event was finished and the equipment was packed away in our trailer. The prediction of rain scared away a lot of the seasoned AX veterans, however my hat off to all the newbies that showed, ran, and left with huge smiles on their faces. Of course this event (and all our autocrosses) would not be possible but for the volunteers that help wherever needed. Timing ran flawlessly thanks to Steve, James and Alejandro. Dottie handled scheduling assignments to make sure everyone got some dry runs, and as it turned out, everyone ended up with 8 dry runs on a course that averaged 50-60 seconds.

Everyone should know the results are available on the GCR website, however as a sneak preview the fastest time of the day went to Oliver Licul, driving a well prepared Mazda Miata on race tires. GCR allows not just Porsches, but other makes and models. Case in point, see the pictures on the next page that show the oldest car (Steve’s’ 1989 944) and the newest vehicle (Nick’s 2022 Ford Explorer SUV). For those that are wondering, the Porsche family of SUV’s, primarily the Cayenne and Macan, handle remarkably well on an autocross course, and I urge the owners of these Porsche’s to see for yourself how good these suv’s handle. While on the subject of AX cars, the oldest car to participate, the 1989 944, is part of a generation of Porsches that were very popular AutoX vehicles 30 years ago. Today the most popular Auto X Porsches seem to be the Boxster/Cayman series, which represented a big percent of the Porsches participating in the April AutoX. Just look a the photos for a few of the Boxsters and Caymans participating.

On a final note is a picture of Katarina, with her husband Christian. Katarina was presented with a special (of sorts) award for hitting the most cones in 1 run. How many you ask???? The total was 7 cones, most of which were collected in the circular “skid pad’ section of the course. The shirt has a picture of a cone and says “NOT GOOD”. Putting this into perspective, each hit cone carries a 2 second penalty, so Katarina racked up a total of 14 penalty seconds in just 1 run. Katarina accepted the shirt enthusiastically (all smiles I might add) and vowed to be back, but not hit so many pylons

I need to repeat an important message. To continue offering a world class AX program, we need a new site. This could be a BIG parking lot, air strip or similar piece of pavement in the TriCounty area to hold our AutoX events. In the past we have used shopping center lots, sporting and gaming venues, and school/government parking facilities, which have no parking bumpers and are reasonably priced. What we need is an “in”.Someone that has a connection to a suitable property and can help us get our foot in the door. Do you know of such a site? Are you the person with the “in”? Please call me at 954- 292-3915 if you can help finding a new AX site.

Tentative AX schedule for the remainder of 2022

Event #6 9/10/2022 @ Sebring in conjunction with the Sun coast region DE. Thanks again to our friends at Suncoast for the site Event #7 October or November. Location TBA possibly FAU, PBIR or with another PCA region. Most of the above dates & sites are subject to change due to weather, availability and factors beyond our control. 2022 updates: Everyone is now required to preregister & pre pay for any AutoX on Clubregistration.net… Please consult the GCR website and Kassette for all Autocross photos & results.

A new helmet rental program will be instituted starting with the April 30th AX. We will be utilizing new/newer Snell approved helmets available for a $20.00 per person charge per event. Helmet reservation/ payment will be available as an event option on Club registration. Please bring a helmet sock, and be prepared to leave your drivers license as a deposit. Your license will be returned when you return the helmet

No passengers except for an approved AX instructor driving or in the car instructing.

For 2022 please remember to be Covid-19 conscious. This means appropriate safety protocols will be enforced.

General Questions? call Steve or Dottie Kidd 954-946-3196....AX rule questions call Steve 954 292-3915