The Race is On

The Virtual World of Racing

It was Friday the 13th, but rather than seeming ominous the weather at Buttonwillow looked spectacular with partly sunny skies on tap and temps over the 70-degree mark. Perfect test and tune day for POC’s March Buttonwillow event. The only problem from my perspective was that once again, I wasn’t there. It’s been nearly a full year since I added yet another herniated disc to my collection and usually I’d have long since been back in the mix and in fact I have raced on three separate occasions since that date. However, admitting this to my new doctors (thanks Anders) in January brought immediate chastisement and orders to absolutely not get back into a race car until either a much improved MRI or surgery. So the waiting game continues at least until May and now perhaps it will extend a bit longer. Regardless of my attendance, it was my turn to write the Velocity article, so I resolved to immerse myself in the experience virtually to the greatest

BUTTONWILLOW Frank Spasaro Photography

degree possible. In this day and age of Race Hero and racer social media perhaps I hoped that I could at least recreate something of the thrill of participation vicariously. Test and tune Friday doesn’t show up on any apps, so I was relegated to browsing social media accounts of various POC members. For those of you who don’t do Instagram, you should. There’s a vibrant community of pro and club racers from many different series and many POCers both past and present who share some truly awesome content. Big shout out to Martina Kwan for being early and online Friday showing the Vision Motorsports line-up all parked in good order awaiting the fun of the day. Posted only a couple hours ago, her pics have over 40 likes and a few comments. This is the content people come for. For those of us who aren’t there, it’s very comforting to see the big blue roofed building in the background, the familiar liveries of our friends and foes, and on

occasion the smiling face of someone we wish we were competing with this weekend. Some things cannot be replicated, however, there’s that smell that hits you as soon as you get out of your car, and then the sound as the cars begin to light up across the paddock in preparation for the day. A sound that transforms into something bestial and magnificent when they hit the track, screaming by like something from a dream of flight and battle and glory. Man, I hope someone posts video soon. I’m off to stick my face in the lawnmowers engine bits just to get something of that smell. Saturday came in more overcast, but no rain and the temps were cooler, so perfect for racing. The line-up looked awesome with strong participation across all classes – maybe only PDS a little light – and a full Racer’s Clinic to boot. Race Hero on my phone in front of me, I watched each session as the groups ran through their warm-ups. Racer’s Clinic times are obviously irrelevant as they’re clearly in the midst of the exercises set out by instructors Dwain Dement, Mike Monsalve and Duane Selby. Next up, PDS moves out and here we go. It’s a nice mix ranging from Spec Boxster to GT3 and including a variety of non-Porsche stock and modified cars in the mix. And so it goes, group by group, watching as the driver’s get themselves up to speed running the 1A configuration counter-clockwise. With qualifying you know the gloves are off and the lap times began to be reflective of that. In the first group for the Orange split qualifying, Anders Hainer dropped almost a second off his previous lap record for this configuration with a pretty awesome 2:06.7 with Brian Van Noy putting in a 2:07.5 for second. Feels like Anders has driven this track before. Can anyone compete with that? Oh S*i#!!!, here comes Nigel in the 2nd set with a blistering 2:06.6. Hey, hey, looks like we’ve got the potential for a

Frank Spasaro Photography

race!! Of course, in Spec Boxster, there’s always a race and when looking at the entire pack the times were all within 8 seconds of each other – and that on one of the longest tracks (2.9 miles) in the POC rotation. The Red Group was similarly close, which is pretty amazing considering the class range across the top five: GT1, 2 and 3 all within 6 seconds of each other. Meanwhile, back to social media. Hats off to Cali Photo, POC, Alex Hainer, Paul Bolton, and again Martina for keeping me in the loop with pics and commentary. While scrolling through Instagram, it also became evident that perhaps we didn’t escape Friday the 13th at all, as news of the Covid-19 keep intruding in the feed. Formula 1 cancelled not only for this weekend, but out weeks into the future. Similar stories cascading around

the world as racing comes to a halt. So glad that POC managed to get Buttonwillow in under the wire as this is the content we all need. The racing fix to cement in our minds the comradery, passion and excitement that at times we all take for granted. Back to racing, and in the Orange Group Kenneth Waterhouse takes overall in Carrera Spec with Paul Barnes (SCR) and George Meeker (GT5) second and third. In Spec Boxster, Anders pulls it off, but with tight competition from Justin Crickenberger driving Matt Hollander’s BSR in second and Nigel in third. The Red Group saw Kevin Roush (GT1), Loren Beggs and Mike Monsalve (GT2) on the podium with new to the Red Group this year Alex Hainer coming in fourth (second in GT2).

Frank Spasaro Photography

Following lunch, the second series of races start off with an Orange group repeat for podiums. That’s right, the top three overall and in Boxster Spec were exactly the same in the exact same order. I had to check twice just to make sure this wasn’t some weird glitch. And here’s the rub with watching without visuals. You don’t know position changes via the app until racer’s cross the finish line, so you’re always waiting with baited breath to see what has happened at the end of each lap. Were there any offs? Heavy battles? Who knows? I can only text people for their reactions and comments or wait until something shows up on social media. Maybe next week, we’ll have race videos up on YouTube, but for the moment, nada. (Note: Another problem with being so removed, it wasn’t until nearly a week later that I learned Anders was DQd for a love tap w/ Nigel. Stay tuned to the POC website for final-final standings.) Sunday results were a little more diverse. The Red Group saw Loren Beggs, Kevin Roush and Vali Predescu on the podium, while the Orange Group saw Justin Crickenberger (BSR) take first, followed by Mark Smith (BSR) and Joe Wiederholt (BSR). And just so you know, that it’s not all about the racers Walter Vazquez dropped a smoking 2:01.3 in Time Trial and Daniel Espinosa a 2:02.1 in Racer’s Clinic. Fast. Fast. Fast. And just like that the weekend was over. The racers packed up and headed home. Back to LA or San Diego or any number of places with the common factor being nervous people, empty grocery stores and uncertain realities about just what the state of California (and the nation) may require from us (the racing community) for the indeterminate future. As I scroll through Instagram I see racers all over the world impacted by cancellations and closures. Even the test and tune days at Willow Springs, while available, are impacted by new social distancing rules. People are nervous, but hey,

here’s the thing, POCers: You are drivers. You race cars...Fast, dangerous, amazingly high performance vehicles and you do it with grace, bravery and style. Your competitive spirit and sheer joy of engagement are awesome things to behold. At the heart of it, POCers are leaders both on the track and off, and with this comes the responsibility of sharing your bravery and positivity with those who don’t necessarily carry these as innate qualities. Lead by example. Continue to be heroes. We’re all better for your leadership and inspiration, so keep on pushing in all areas of life and urging those around you to something beyond which they think themselves capable. Until we race again, high spirits and good health to you all.

Many thanks to those of you who maintain race-centric or car-focused social media accounts. This is in no way a complete list, but rather a few of those I relied upon over the weekend (or have in the past for other events) to keep myself in the loop and satisfy that auto fix:

Instagram: @porscheownersclub @Valimotorsports @thespeedgallery @martinakwan @alexhainerracing @mhollander0216 @ana_predescu @eric.oviatt @danaspesi336 @carguypaul @racing.addict @racing.nut @malcolmtvh @erin.vogel.racing

CaliPhotography