December Velocity Magazine - Issue 22-12

We couldn’t think of a better way to wrap up the year: Beautiful weather, in spite of a rainy forecast along with record numbers of attendees.

In this issue, Darin Moore does a great job capturing the weekend with his Season Finale article...John Momeyer writes about “Almost” breaking a Record...Karen Robinson reveals her “Passion”...Don Kravig gives us another look into the POC Rearview Mirror...Michael Bolten gives a two-thumbs-up to SIM and Steve Eisler wraps up TT and PDS.

Lastly, Luis Vivar captures the excitement both on and off the track with his amazing photos. Have a Happy New Year!

Don

VELOCITY Staff

Editor / Art Director

Don Matz

Contributing Writers

Darin Moore

John Momeyer

Karen Robinson

Don Kravig

Steve Eisler

Michael Bolten

Contributing Photographers

Luis Vivar

Don Matz

Karen Robinson

Don Kravig

POC Board of Directors

John Momeyer President

Scott Craig Treasurer Nathan Johnson Secretary

Joe Wiederholt VP Motorsports

Dwain Dement Chief Driving Instructor

Eben Benabe Time Trial Director Steve Town PDS Director

2022Finale

Photo: Luis Vivar

2022 Season

Saturday morning arrived with a wet race track and an incredibly warm (for December at Willow) 45 degree temperature. With Friday night’s rain in the rearview mirror, there was a lot of excitement in the paddock, as all were looking forward to a weekend of cool air and ideal race conditions. With well over 100 cars entered in the last event of the year, there was sure to be large and deep fields in almost every class.

Finale

by Darin Moore

Saturday’s races featured a number of familiar faces in the winner’s circle, as Steve Parker won the GT1 race, Bob Mueller the GT2 race, and Duane Selby besting Kevin Roush in the GT3 race. Duane Selby’s win was particularly impressive, as Kevin Roush is generally a fixture on the top step of the podium. Jim Steedman rounded out the Red race group with his GT4 win. In the Orange group, more familiar names, as James McLoughlin won the BSR race, and Don Kravig the GT5 race. In a particularly strong effort, Chris MacDuff qualified and finished second in a huge 34 car BSR field.

Saturday night brought our annual Town Hall meeting, held at Dwain Dement’s “Motorsports Ranch” just outside the gates of the race track. The Town Hall meeting gives members a chance to voice their thoughts, concerns, ideas and suggestions in an informal and collaborative atmosphere. Colored plastic cups in most hands lent an informal air to the gathering. Topics discussed at the meeting included the continuance of the enduro series (no), the potential addition of 2 driver relay race or races (possibly), the Tribute to LeMans (no), and the possibility of additional new racer training, with an emphasis on situational awareness for the slower cars when being overtaken by much faster cars during races (undecided as to how to proceed). Sunday brought with it the final races of the 2022 season. In the Red group Steve Parker made it a weekend sweep in GT1, Razvan Sporea won the GT2

Photos: Luis Vivar

2022SeasonFinale

race, Duane Selby topped Kevin Roush for the second day in a row to take the win in GT3, and Jim Salzer held off Jim Steedman in the GT4 race. Eben Benade qualified on pole for the GT3 race, then elected to start last. Having already clinched the GT3 season championship, Eben admitted that he spent a bit too much time testing Bob Mueller’s Octavio Tequila the previous night, and was not sporting his A game. When I asked Eben about his previous night, he laughed and said “I got Mueller’d”. Such are the dangers of club racing with buddies who own a tequila business!

Lastly on to the season championships. While there were many great ontrack battles this season, most the of class champions had wrapped up their Championship titles prior to the December event. Mike Monsalve was crowned the GT1 champion, with Alexandra Hainer coming in second. Eric Olberz easily won the GT2 title. In GT3, the aforementioned Eben Benade repeated as GT3 champion, with James Buck taking 2nd for the year, and Ana Predescu coming in 3rd place. GT3 is the largest field in the GT classes, and all three of these drivers faced stiff competition all year long. Jim Steedman took the GT4 title this year. In the Orange race group, multiple time Driver of the Year Award winner Anders Hainer again dominated in BSR, the biggest and deepest class in POC racing, where an astounding 65 drivers scored points this season! There was a real battle for second place between club President John Momeyer and Ryan Moore. Entering the weekend, Ryan held a small but surmountable lead over John. Ryan and John have had many great battles this season and this weekend was no exception. Being on Ryan’s radio was great fun for me, as I

Photos: Luis Vivar

Duane Selby and Kevin Roush battle in GT3

Anders Hainer BSR Champ leading John Momeyer

Jim Steedman GT4 Champion

Eben Benabe GT3 Champion

Mike Monsalve and Alexandra Hainer pushing each other in GT1

2022SeasonFinale

watched both their races unfold with many twists and turns. John beat Ryan both days, but as usual their races were both very close, with Ryan able to prevail for the season by a scant three points. Congrats to both for a great season. In Spec Carrera, Paul Barnes was champion, as was Don Kravig in GT5. A big salute to all of our 2022 champions!

Another great year in the books for 2022….many thanks to the POC Board, the Competition Committee, and all of you that volunteer to make this the best Porsche racing club anywhere. On a personal level, I am thankful to get to race with all of you (hopefully much more in 2023 than in 2022), to get to watch my son Ryan Moore race in Boxster Spec, and to have become friends with so many of you. Best wishes for a happy and healthy holiday season! I can’t wait until we get together again at the POC annual banquet, this year at Porsche Irvine. Until then, that’s a “wrap”.

Happy holidays!

Photos: Luis Vivar

Top: John Momeyer leading Ryan Moore

Middle: Paul Barnes, SCR Champ

Bottom: Don Kravig, GT5 Champ

BSR Top Guns – Left to Right: Ryan Moore (2nd), Anders Hainer (1st) and John Momeyer (3rd)

2022SeasonFinale

Photo: Luis Vivar

2022SeasonFinale

Photos: Luis Vivar

Photo: Luis Vivar

2022SeasonFinale

Photos: Luis Vivar

2022SeasonFinale

Photo: Luis Vivar

Photos: Luis Vivar

Photo: Luis Vivar

Photos: Luis Vivar

Photos: Luis Vivar

Photos: Luis Vivar

REDLINEOIL.COM

It Wasn’t Quite the BoxsterLargestSpec Race Ever Recorded

But it was close!

Photo: Luis Vivar

by John Momeyer

Well, it only takes asking a few questions on the internet to have your dreams shattered. At the Season Finale weekend at Willow Springs, the POC started our Orange Race Group with a 42-car field. All week leading up to the race, a little bird (Matt Hollander) told me that the record for a Boxster Spec (BSR) start was 33. The registration system leading up to the event said we would have 32. I kept thinking, how are we going to get a few more?

Others in the paddock, like Vali, who had already brought 22 or 23 BSRs (I think he lost count) were moving drivers into Boxster Spec to increase the field. Ana Predescu jumps back into the class for the day to increase the count by one. We searched the paddock for Time Trial drivers who were running Time Trials only that day to win their championship but had a race license. Adam Abrahms increases the count by one. At the end of the day, the timing and scoring system said we fielded 32 BSRs, and we all had a blast! I went to the Town Hall meeting that night, and the entire club was a bit disappointed that we didn’t get to 34.

A few days later, I was working on the official results and realized that along with a car being incorrectly classed and a timing loop correction, we had actually fielded 34 BSRs. I about fell out of my chair with excitement. So, I called the little bird and asked how he knew the record was 33. Someone had told him that 33 was the record at Hallett Motor Racing with PCA. He didn’t know what year, but that was it. About an hour later, along comes the link. October 15, 2013, Hallet Motor Racing – PCA 33 BSRs. There it is, we have it 34, great! I circulate the news to the POC Board and immediately get a response back. Wait! Someone remembered a larger field of 40 cars at COTA in 2017. So now I’m thinking, what 40? You got to be kidding me. This is becoming futile. A 30-minute search of Speedhive.com and we find the event, 40 cars in the field but only 30 BSRs. OK, so now maybe we have a record at 34. This time I try to contain my excitement, but I am about ready to start claiming the record until someone proves us wrong.

Now the part about the internet crushing dreams. So, I started thinking about where I could go to verify this possible record. rennlist.com, those guys know everything. I even provide the Hallet Motor Racing result of 33 as a reference. The first response is a congratulation and a separate congratulation on how many cars finished the race. They were right only a few cars didn’t finish that race, and all of them were for mechanical issues. Great clean POC racing for a 42-car field, congratulation to all the racers that weekend for excellent driving! The second post claims a 43-car start at Watkins Glen in 2017. I have already heard this. 43 cars, that’s not the number of BSRs that’s the entire race field, just like the 40-car COTA claim. Only a few minutes later since I know exactly how to search for old race results now. There it is, June 2, 2017, Watkins Glen International, PCA Club Racing, a 62-car field, and 35 of them were BSRs…

So, while we did all we could to claim a record at 34, rennlist.com has proven, for now, that 35 is the number to beat. The only question left to ask is not if the POC will field more than 35 BSRs, but when?

A Planner Changes Plans

By Karen Robinson

Every time I race, I learn something new about racing and myself. This is a huge part of the appeal: there is always room for improvement. Chasing tenths (or seconds). Challenging myself to brake a little later, a little less. Picking a throttle position and holding it through a long, highspeed turn. Our final race of the season at Willow Springs brought new, unexpected lessons and reminded me that sometimes when things don’t go according to plan, it’s for the best, and the universe has the real plan.

If you know me, you know that I’m a planner. I have pair of socks with this saying just in case anyone doesn’t know. I absolutely live for lists. To morph from my other life of mom and banker into racer, prep begins 1-2 weeks before a race weekend. Everything from car readiness (which means crawling all over the car and touching every surface inside, outside, and underneath) to the tire shop, on to checking out my trailer, charging tools and deciding what I’m going to eat, as well as goals for practice sessions and races are all part of the planning. It’s pretty much all I think or talk about. Non-racers find conversations with me pre-race to be boring and repetitive.

Photo: Karen Robinson

Photos: Luis Vivar

So, when the dreaded virus finally caught up to me the week before our season finale to say that I was pissed off is an understatement. Fortunately, I felt fine but was angry that heading into three years of pandemic life and my plans were still being interrupted. Hotel canceled. Registration canceled. Tools unplugged. Lists relegated to the trash. Fuming, I walked my neighborhood streets to get the mad out of my system. I told my Vison pals that I had to bail. Furious didn’t even come close to describing my mood.

As my racing buddies checked in on me, Chris MacDuff let me know that I would be good to race by the weekend based on current CDC protocols for isolation and masking. He encouraged me to race as long as I felt good. Whoa! The rage was redirected into figuring out how to make it happen. Hotel re-booked. Registration re-activated. Quick call to Vision Motorsports to ask if they had capacity to help with track support to preserve my energy. Planning mode was back on. Anger was dispatched and a happy racer emerged.

With all of my planning turned on end, I reset my expectations for the weekend and my new plan became to go out and enjoy myself and do the best that I could do. I was uncertain whether my energy and stamina would hold up for the weekend. Weather reports added more spice: predicting a 60% chance of rain. A new plan percolated in my head that included a Rain Dance. I love racing in the rain and wanted to cycle in my rain tires on Friday. Once again, the universe had other plans and I didn’t get to the track in time to practice. Oh well, “let it go” I told myself. I practiced Saturday morning on new rain tires instead.

Saturday’s race was exciting and clean and I managed to stay out of trouble in the middle of the big BSR field of 34 cars. Congratulations Orange Racers for following the mantra John Momeyer preached to us at our very chilly Driver’s Meeting: Coexist. And we did that very well. There’s a lot of action in the mid pack and many new, very quick drivers to BSR. We are all learning each other’s strengths and weaknesses and how to play nicely together. But what about Sunday? Sunday was an absolutely awesome day for me. I started P19 which is not really bragging territory but given my

expectations for the weekend, I was as pleased as if I’d taken pole (OK, well not really, but you understand). The Green Flag dropped, and I was just on. I didn’t consciously think about what I was doing. All the work of the last couple of years with performance and driver coaching and car set up came together and I dropped into flow. At the start, I passed four cars before T3 and another at the start of lap two. I was staying close to the cars in front of me – in the past I would leave more space. I don’t know why I tend to do that, overly cautious perhaps, but on that Sunday that was gone – and I think it’s gone for good. The car was incredible – Bob’s first time at Willow with the new motor—proving that it was worth every single dollar. Playing in the mid pack with Mark Kolbe and Nick Khilnani; channeling my inner Alonso (you’ll know what that means if you’re an F1 fan), I made my car w-i-d-e. We raced hard and fair. No high risk, low success chances were taken. On Lap 12 I was close to getting by Nick at T8 and missed a shift. I didn’t let it distract me or lose focus, I stayed in the moment and kept after it. Lapped traffic became my friend. Inching closer to Nick again, I got a great run out of T9 on the final lap, and gave it my all to run him down before the checkered flag. He held it, but my nose was even with his door. As we passed the finish line, I was whooping out loud and waving to Nick. Ahh…as we all say: I just needed one more lap. At impound it was the happiest and most exhilarated I’ve ever been after a race. My heart was pounding. This was not my highest place finish, but it was my best race ever – and I was thrilled to finish P13. BSR lets you find a race wherever you are on the grid. The competition is amazing, the racing is so much fun, and I learned that maybe, just maybe, not having a plan is a good thing. Reviewing Sunday’s race video clearly shows all the opportunities that I missed, the times I could have been to throttle a bit sooner, the times I could have kept more pressure on my competitors, or safely taken a pass. There’s that learning thing again. Let’s go 2023!!

Photo: Luis Vivar

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POC History In The Rearview Mirror

By Don Kravig, Precision Motion

The Porsche Owners Club was formed March 30, 1955 and, since then, has been a huge part of Porsche racing in North America. For those of you who attended our event at Spring Mountain in November you were part of the 70th anniversary celebration of Porsche Motorsports. All this led me to take a look back through some of our history and dig up some more treasures for your perusal.

First off, I found reference to a 1960 trip to Germany to see the Porsche factory where our members chartered a TWA Super Constellation propeller plane for the trip. The cost at that time was $450 per person.

Our awards banquets took place at various locations over the years and I found an invitation from December 13, 1969. The event was hosted at the Cavalier Restaurant in Montebello, California. The cost was seven dollars per person.

Our 30th banquet in 1985 took place at Beverly Hills Porsche Audi. The featured speakers were Jody Schechter and Dan Gurney.

Jumping back to 1968, the Porsche Club of America was about to hold an event in Orange County. Guess who they turn to for driving instructors? Yep, the POC! By the way, those driving instructors included Dan Gurney, Scooter Patrick, Alan Johnson and Dick Barbour among others. As a side note, if any of you want to hear a great story, catch Dwain Dement and have him tell you about his double season championship at the Queen Mary awards banquet. The story is a classic and involves him winning two season championships in the two most competitive classes. Today it would be like Mike Monsalve winning both the BSR and the GT2 championships combined.

Photos: Don Kravig

The cover of the February 1975 WSIR event featured a picture of Vasek Polaks 917 and his promise to bring two of them to the track that weekend

Cover for Time Trial Event held at the once famous Riverside Raceway

Before the advent of Race Hero we had hard-copy programs printed for every event which included the schedule and drivers meeting notes. The cover of the February 1975 WSIR event featured a picture of Vasek Polaks 917 and his promise to bring two of them to the track that weekend. Vasek (a lifetime member) actually did that. Imagine lapping in an open passing class with a couple of 917s. What a rush.!

And speaking of 917s, our POC 1966 Driver of the year, George Folmer, won the 1972 Can Am championship in a 917. George had an amazing race history which included running in Formula 1 at the age of 39.

In 1974 my father, Big Don Kravig, set the fastest lap at our event at Phoenix International Raceway. I’m so glad to see us going back there next year. Phoenix was part of our rotation for a long time. As a side note, my father was instrumental with starting club racing in the PCA by introducing them to our POC General Competition Rules.

In Short, our club has had so many great drivers and just generally great people and it’s been a privilege to be around for all these years. Speaking of great people, Dwain told me that Michael Hammond was lapping Willow Springs recently at the age of 90. As you all may remember this is a guy who mixed it up with the likes of Carroll Shelby and Ken Miles. Mike competed in IMSA and Trans Am from 1968 until the late 80s, and continued to break his own track records for at least 30 years in the same 67 911s. I’m hoping Dwain can get some of these people to speak at our banquet in January which will be held at the Porsche Irvine dealership, one of our valued sponsors. It should be an absolute blast!.

Here’s wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a great 2023 racing season. See you on the track!

Vasek Polak racing one of his 917s

Big Don Kravig

Photos: Don Kravig

This original Black/Black 1967 911S was originally sold by Bert Olander out of Vasek Polak to Frank Howard, grandson of Charles Howard the owner of Seabiscuit. In 1969, the 911S was sold at Westwood Porsche to manager Michael Hammond who raced the S amazingly from 1969 to 2014. The S competed mainly in So Cal events and even did the Carrera Panamericana a few times during the 1980s.

Mike Hammond

Porsche News

The new 911 Dakar...

A sandstorm is

911 Dakar An off-road capable variant of the 911

brewing. The new Porsche 911 Dakar pays homage to the original and brings history back to life. As Ferry Porsche once said: “The 911 is the only car that takes you from an African safari to Le Mans, then to the theater, and then onto the streets of New York.”

bringing history back to life

The 2023 911 Dakar is a lifted, off-roadcapable variant of its famed 911 sports car, complete with a roof rack, all-wheel drive, all-terrain tires, and more rallyready mods.

Behind the rear axle is a 473-hp twinturbocharged 3.0-liter flat-six engine borrowed from the 911 Carrera GTS and the 911 Dakar is offered only with Porsche’s eight-speed PDK automatic transmission.

Porsche’s 911 sports car is an icon in its own right and one of the many things we like about it is its broad range of available models, from basic Carrera coupes all the way up to the firebreathing GT3 RS. One thing the 911 lineup hasn’t had is perhaps something we never thought to ask for: an offroader. That changes for 2023 with the introduction of this, the 911 Dakar, which is named for the Paris-Dakar rally race that began in 1978.

Check out this YouTube Video

SIMRACING 4

GT3 RSR

1st Travis Brown

4th Matt Hollander 2nd Tom Layton 5th Corey Latvala 3rd Michael W. Johnson 6th Doug Boccignone

1st Michael W. Johnson 4th Matt Hollander 2nd Corey Latvala 5th BJ Fulton 3rd Jacob Abrams 6th Andrew Beckner

1st Tom Layton 4th Michael W. Johnson 2nd Corey Latvala 5th Michael Oest 3rd Travis Brown 6th Matthew Sipek

1st Tom Layton 4th Michael W. Johnson 2nd Travis Brown 5th Paul Newton 3rd Michael Oest 6th Jad Duncan

1st Travis Brown 4th Doug Boccignone 2nd Michael W. Johnson 5th Corey Latvala 3rd Jacob Abrams 6th Sam Mayorga

1st Tom Layton 4th Michael Bolten 2nd Michael Oest 5th Matthew Sipek 3rd Jacob Abrams 6th Paul Newton

1st Tom Layton 4th Michael Bolten 2nd Michael W. Johnson 5th Corey Latvala 3rd Michael Oest 6th Travis Brown

1st Tom Layton 4th Michael W. Johnson 2nd Corey Latvala 5th Sam Mayorga 3rd Travis Brown 6th Matthew Sipek

1st Tom Layton 4th BJ Fulton 2nd Michael W. Johnson 5th Corey Latvala 3rd Travis Brown 6th Matthew Sipek

1st Corey Latvala 4th Sam Mayorga 2nd Michael W. Johnson 5th Andrew Beckner 3rd BJ Fulton 6th Matthew Sipek

1st Tom Layton 4th Michael W. Johnson 2nd Travis Brown 5th Michael Oest 3rd Corey Latvala 6th Michael Bolton

1st Travis Brown 4th Nick Facciolo 2nd Tom Layton 5th Michael Bolten 3rd Corey Latvala 6th Paul Newton

1st Tom Layton 4th BJ Fulton 2nd Travis Brown 5th Jad Duncan 3rd Michael Bolten 6th Doug Boccignone

GT3 RSR

1st Tom Layton

4th Corey Latvala 2nd Michael Bolten 5th Sagar Dhawan 3rd Jad Duncan 6th Mark Rondeau

1st Tom Layton 4th Michael W. Johnson 2nd Corey Latvala 5th Mark Rondeau 3rd Travis Brown 6th Jad Duncan

1st Tom Layton 4th Michael Oest 2nd Corey Latvala 5th Mark Rondeau 3rd Michael Bolten 6th Sam Mayorga

1st Corey Latvala 4th Doug Boccignone 2nd Sam Mayorga 5th Jacob Abrams 3rd Michael Bolten 6th Charles Dick2

1st Tom Layton 4th Michael Bolten 2nd Corey Latvala 5th Matt Hollander 3rd Jacob Abrams 6th BJ Fulton

1st Travis Brown 4th Tom Layton 2nd Corey Latvala 5th Michael Bolten 3rd BJ Fulton 6th Sam Mayorga

1st Jacob Abrams 4th Jad Duncan 2nd Michael Bolten 5th BJ Fulton 3rd Corey Latvala 6th Michael W. Johnson

1st Corey Latvala 4th Michael W. Johnson 2nd Tom Layton 5th Michael Bolten 3rd Jeffer y Shulem 6th BJ Fulton

1st Tom Layton 4th BJ Fulton 2nd Michael Bolten 5th Jad Duncan 3rd Sam Mayorga 6th Jeffer y Shulem

1st Tom Layton 4th Michael Oest 2nd Corey Latvala 5th Jad Duncan 3rd Michael W. Johnson 6th Michael Bolton

1st Michael W. Johnson 4th Mark Rondeau 2nd Tom Layton 5th Jad Duncan 3rd BJ Fulton 6th Doug Boccignone

1st Travis Brown

4th BJ Fulton 2nd Corey Latvala 5th Michael W. Johnson 3rd Jacob Abrams 6th Mark Rondeau

Sebring

Red Bull Ring

SIMRACING

By Michael Bolten

SIMRACING (My Thoughts)

To start, I’ve loved racing since I had my learners permit at the age of 15. Shortly after that, I became a member of the POC and decided to build a Boxster Spec with encouragement from Dan Aspesi at Speed Gallery. Going to the events with my best friend Drake Kemper was incredible as we could hang out both on and off the track.

Later in life I found myself working long hours as a Director of Photography. With less time to spend at the track I had to improvise in order to keep doing what I loved. I have always had a wheel and pedals at home for iRacing but never had a chance to enter a league.

When Matt Hollander decided to create the POC SIM League I was all-in from the start. It was exactly what I had been looking for. Great racing with talented drivers that respect driving close to one other, along with piloting the best race craft I have ever seen in the SIM world.

When the POC SIM series started, during the pandemic, there couldn’t have been a better outlet for me to continue racing.

The drivers range from amateur to professional which I think is so cool being on track with all this talent. Couple this with great attitudes along with the desire to improve your skills and you wind up with the “best-of-times.”

Michael Johnson has been a great driving coach for me over the last six months. In addition to Michael’s coaching, I’ve improved my race craft which has enabled me to advance to the front rows of the grid. If you’re not in the series and reading this, join us for the 2023 season...it’s going to be tons of fun!

Special thanks to John Momeyer, BJ Fulton and Mark Rondeau and congratulations to Tom Layton for winning the 2022 Championship.

Cheers & Happy holidays!

Michael Bolten

Young versions of Michael and Drake Kemper

TT and PDS SEASON RESULTS

by Steve Eisler

On December 3rd and 4th, we had a great turn-out for the Willow Springs Finale, our last racing event for 2022. The grids were full, particularly in the Orange Cup races, and there was a nice showing in both PDS and TT events. Although I have been Time Trialing for several years, this was my first year with POC and, I must say, I had a great experience! Everyone has been friendly and helpful to the ‘newbies. There has been plenty of open track to record your best time, and the dinners have been very entertaining.

When we unloaded on Thursday afternoon, the wind was blowing, and it was freezing. Friday was Test and Tune Day and, although it was still cold, the wind was gone. The track was open all day, and times were very good. I always try to get an extra day of racing any time I go to the track and this day gave me a chance to make some suspension adjustments. Saturday and Sunday were cool in the morning and very pleasant the rest of the day. The fastest TT time of the day on Saturday was 1:26.834 by Mike Avitt in Modified 2, followed closely by David Holmes in Stock 3 with a time of 1:27.302. On Sunday, Mike was a second slower but still the only driver under 1:30. Second fastest was Bob Gartland driving a GT3 to a best time of 1:31.1. There were 18 TT events this year. To qualify for a class championship, you needed to score points in 9 events and have at least 200 service points. Over 180 drivers participated in at least one TT event. I know that some of these were Cup Drivers using the TT events to get extra track time or to test modifications, but it is great to see so many club members coming to the track to improve their car control and give their Porsches some proper exercise!

In the Boxster Spec Class, Alan Watts won the championship with 214 points. He entered 10 events and was followed by Adam Abrahms with 196 points in 12 events. Third in class was Pamela Susslin who had 178 points in 13 races. There were no drivers in GT1 or GT2 that completed the 9 required races.

Photo: Luis Vivar

Bob Gartland was the points leader in GT3 with 258 points in 12 races. I was able to complete 11 events and scored 276 points to win GT4, and was followed by Roy Stone with 169 points in 10 races. Carolyn Rouzier led GT5 with 210 points, but only had 8 races and just missed a championship. There were no GT6 or GT7 entrants with more than one event for the year.

In the Modified classes Mike Avitt won Modified 2 with 280 points in 10 events, and Nathan Apelbaum was second with 242 points scored in 12 events. Angela Avitt was third with 160 points but, also, competed in only 8 events. Winning Modified 3 was Glenn Orton who scored 156 points in 10 events. The Modified 4 Championship featured a close battle between Champion Brian Cooner (344 points in 14 events) and Robert Chang (315 points in 17 events). The only other class to have a driver qualify for a trophy was Stock 4 won by Phil Ross, who scored 290 points in 9 events.

In 2022, 48 drivers took advantage of the Performance Driving Series (PDS), and enjoyed the excitement and speed of driving their own car on a sanctioned racing track. Many of these people were newcomers who were driving their cars to and from the track. After passing a Tech Inspection, which can be completed by a sanctioned Porsche Owners Club Tech Inspection Station prior to the event, each PDS driver is assigned a certified instructor who rides with them for the weekend. Instructors help them learn how to drive at high speeds safely, the proper line (path around the track), and the basics of proper car control. At all PDS events, passing on the track is restricted for safety, and your instructor will teach you how to pass and be passed safely. Lap times are recorded to monitor your progress, and transponders can be rented if you do not have one. If you have an adventurous spirit and a willingness to learn, the Performance Driving Series is for you. It will make you a better, safer driver on the track as well as on the road!

Most of the PDS drivers this year entered just one or two of the 14 dates offered. Only one completed the 7 events necessary to qualify for a class championship. Dave Bent drove in 9 events and won the Modified 4 championship with a total of 189 points.

In my first year of POC competition, I have discovered that POC is truly dedicated to running racing, TT and PDS events, with safety as the utmost priority. Some of the TT drivers that I have been driving with for several years have moved up to wheel-to-wheel racing. I am happy to continue working on improving in the TT events, and every Porsche owner needs at least one driving school, like the PDS, before they can call themselves a Porsche Driver. Whether you want to be a F1 driver, or just learn the capabilities of your car and be a safer driver, there is a POC Learn, Advance, or Excel Series for you. When you read this article, you may still have time to sign-up for the one-day TT or PDS at the Streets of Willow track at Willow Springs Raceway on January 7. And, you will have over a month to get yourself and your car ready for the February 4-5 event on the legendary Big Willow track also at Willow Springs. See you at the track!

UPCOMING

Streets of Willow January 7

Our first event of 2023. Bring your car to the Streets and begin honing your skills, for the season ahead, on our favorite short track that many of us learned on.

Register Today!

Annual Banquet

January 21, 2023

Time to Celebrate! Come join your friends and their families at our Annual Banquet, this year being held at one of our esteemed sponsor’s headquarters...Porsche Irvine.

Register Today!

Willow Springs February 4-5, 2023

Start your Engines! Our big opening event at Willow is going to be just that...BIG! After a two-month break, you won’t want to miss this one!

Registration Open Soon!

And, don’t miss the Official POC Facebook Page with photos, videos and comments from our members.

Be sure to check out the POC website for our 2020 schedule of events and to stay current on PDS, Time Trial and Cup Racing standings.

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