February Velocity Magazine - Issue 24-02

Velocity

February

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Note from the Editor:

I’ve always felt that the POC is a place where the more you give, the more you get. Don Kravig, Steve Eisler, John Armstrong, Steve Town, Don Matz, Luis Vivar, Jim Salzer and James Horvark have all given of themselves to make this issue of Velocity happen. Their get? Valuable Service Points and POC Bucks. Don’t be left out. Join Team Velocity! Email me at: POCVelocityEditor@gmail.com and I’ll fill you in on how you can be part of our dynamic team. Until then, happy reading!

Andrew

VELOCITY Staff

Editor

Andrew Weyman

Art Director

Don Matz

Contributing Writers

Andrew Weyman

Steve Eisler

Steve Town

Don Kravig

John Armstrong

Jim Salzer

Contributing Photographers

Luis Vivar

Andrew Weyman

James Hovark

Nigel Maidment

POC Board of Directors

John Momeyer President

Karen Robinson Secretary

Jim Salzer Treasurer / PDS Director

Joe Wiederholt VP Motorsports

Dwain Dement Chief Driving Instructor

Eben Benade Time Trial Director

Steve Town Sponsorship

www.PorscheClub.com

Cover image: Luis Vivar & Don Matz

Charleston

Charleston Peak

Photo: Luis Vivar

Photos: Luis Vivar

Record Run at the Peak

The POC’s second run at the Charleston Peak full course brought inclement weather, hard-fought racing, and oh, by the way, track records!

FRIDAY - After raining half the night and the early part of the morning, the first hot laps were full of spins, tows, and assorted adventures. The sun started to peek out at 11:00 am. The track began to dry and it was on.

Red Practice saw a large influx of drivers and cars into the new 991.2 class including at least 1 pro team. At various times during the two dry afternoon practices we saw practice times for all the GT classes at or below current lap records. Duane Selby, Brad Keegan, and Nathan Johnson have moved into the new class with new cars, or at least new to them. James Li ran a blistering 2:12.888 to set the pace.

DON KRAVIG

Charleston Peak

Orange Practice - There were close to forty Boxster Specs in competition. President John Momeyer was hoping for a shot at the all-time record for overall cars in a BSR start. It would all come down to Qualifying Saturday morning. Practice times had 6 or 7 BSRs with a shot at the track record. In the second dry practice, I followed VP of  Motorsports, Joe Wiederholt, out second on the grid with a hundred yards back to the next closest car. By the fifth corner, that car had caught us so I let him by and then followed him past Joe. For the next five laps, I kept saying to myself who is this guy as he kept up a marvelous display of car control which included both of us dodging a spinning car between turns 6 and 7. No surprise. That driver ran the practice’s fastest lap. It turned out to be none other than Kevin Roush driving a student’s car. I am not sure he had ever driven a BSR before but as I said in my last article, “Physics don’t apply to him.”  Judging by the way Kevin has been coaching Ana Predescu, among others, if you want to step up your game, I highly recommend him.

Time Trials and PDS -  The timed run groups saw the debut of Robert Chang’s new GT4 along with 18 other mostly street-legal cars. Terry Van Noy ran a 2:33.105 in modified 2 to set the pace.

Friday night - Todd Trimble of Trophy Performance grilled steaks, potatoes, and green beans. There was enough food for the entire paddock. Thanks, Todd!

Photos: Luis Vivar

Charleston Peak

SATURDAY

Orange qualifying - The sun was out and the track was dry! It’s on. Anders Hainer ran a 2:33.577 to take the pole and set a new BSR track record, followed by Chris Bason’s 2:33.675, Nick Khilnani’s 2:34.790, and Ryan Moore’s 2:35.352. And oh, by the way, 36 BSRs qualified as well as 2 GT5s, a GT7, and an M4.

Red Qualifying - GT3 driver, Brett Gaviglio, started on pole with a 2:19.568, followed by Ana Predescu with a 2:19.903 and Eben Benade at 2:20.300.

The GT2 pole was taken by Darrell Troester with a 2:24.394. GT1 saw another blistering lap by James Li with a 2:11.909 for pole position followed by Loren Beggs with a 2:12.361.

Photos: Luis Vivar

In the new 991.2 Spec class, it was  Bob Mueller with a 2:15.671 followed by Mike Monsalve with a 2:15.671 and Alexandra Hainer with a 2:16.273. Nathan Johnson, Duane Selby, and Brad Keegan all made the jump from GT3 to the new spec. Expect big things from them.

Orange Cup Race #1 - THE RECORD 40 CAR BSR START!!! -

After qualifying, John Momeyer enlisted 4 more Cup drivers to fill out the ranks of the spec class including Kevin Roush, Alexandra Hainer, and Don Kravig. The extra cars were supplied by Todd from Trophy, Dwain from Vision, and Anders Hainer with Vali Motorsports. These additions brought 40 BSRs to the green flag for the first time. A new record! Along with 2 GT5s, an M4, and a GT7, this made for a 44 car start. Wow! All competitors made it through turn 1 and then, it was on. An incident at T2, 3-wide passing at T3, and a dive bomb at T4 created many offs from the first lap on. This finally brought out a black flag at lap 5.

Anders Hainer ran a fast lap of 2:35.097 to take the top spot on the podium, followed by Nick Khilnani, and Matt Hollander. Kevin Roush, coming from the back, passed something like 19 cars. Aspasia Zouras coming from the back passed 20 cars and won GT5. Randy Bergum won GT7 and newcomer Diane Johnstone with her mid-80s air-cooled 911, won M5. At Impound, John Momeyer presented BSR competitors with hats that showed their finishing position. Group pictures were taken. What a show!

Red Race # 1 - It’s still dry. Now it’s on! Start of the race mid pack goes three, then four wide. Contact! Spins! Ouch!!! Black flag. Three cars off. One continues around the hot pit. After cleanup and tows the Red group reenters under full course yellow. Green falls. James Li with a hot lap of 2:11.039 finishes first but a restart infraction penalizes him one lap. Loren Beggs wins GT1 40 seconds ahead of Bob Mueller in the first 992.1 Spec, Brian Van Noy and Alexandra Hainer were second and third respectively. Alexandra Hainer had a great battle with Mueller until a pass attempt at the entrance to the front straightaway cost her a spot. Brett Gaviglio won GT3 with Ana Predescu and Eben Benade hot on his heels. Jim Salzer took the GT 4 win.

Random Impound comments - Loren Beggs to James Li: “Congratulations. I’ve been doing this a long time and rarely if ever had my ass handed to me.” Brett Gaviglio: “I was so glad to finally put a car between me and Ana. She drove the wheels off that car.” Great Sportsmanship!

Orange Race # 2 - Pole sitter Anders Hainer led us to the green with the first few laps being relatively clean. By lap five, a two-car collision between T2 and T3, and some contact at T7, brought out an early checkered. Anders won BSR by 1.3 seconds over Nick Khilnani with Mark Smith finishing 3rd. Chris Bason, in a remarkable drive from the back, passed 22 cars to move up to 7th place. Randy Bergum won GT7. Don Kravig won GT 5. Diane Johnstone won M5.

Charleston Peak

PDS and Time Trials - GT3 Time Trialer Gerrit Wesseling set a fast lap of 2:29.446 followed By William Pfersching in Modified 2 with a 2:31.494, and Terry Van Noy with a 2:36.330. In Modified 3, Russell Murdock had a 2:54.298. In modified 4,  Mike Krog ran a 2:36.409 followed by Dave Needham. I wonder if he’s related to Hal…  The Napkin - Competition Director, John Momeyer, had so many incidents and collisions to deal with, that he finally decided to write them down so as not to forget the many people he needed to talk to and videos he needed to retrieve. This wound up being a three-drink job. I’m including a picture of the napkin here. Throughout the weekend, he spent hours reviewing video. By the time people left on Sunday, some incidents were still being reviewed. By the end of the weekend, his notes covered a napkin and two paper plates. Next time you see John, buy him a drink!

Saturday night at the clubhouse - Once again, Spring Mountain provided a marvelous feast, including chicken and filet mignon. The bar was well-stocked, and we didn’t manage to run it dry this time! However, one person did his best!

SUNDAY

Rain, rain, and more rain! We awoke to wind, rain, and a very wet track. Practice and qualifying consisted of spins and offs and lots of sliding around. The average qualifying times were off by 30 seconds or more, so I won’t even bother to record them here.

Orange Race - Sunday’s Orange Race was run on a wet track and was won by Anders Hainer in a marvelous display of the driving skills that won him a world championship in Grand Am. Second place was Riley Giacomazzi who treated the wet track as a chance to practice his drifting skills and his smile was ear-to-ear in impound. Third place was Alex Filsinger who was gaining three seconds a lap on fourth place even in the wet conditions. Hainer ran the fastest lap in the rain at 3:07.721. The race was filled with multiple spins, with some competitors spinning up to four times but fortunately was clean with no contacts or other issues reported, other than a very light incident in T3 under braking.

Red Race - Sunday’s Red Race was mostly clean, and run on a nearly dry track, with James Li winning the overall GT1 race, followed by Bob Mueller winning the 991.2 Spec class, Ana Predescu winning GT3, and Jim Salzer winning GT4.

PDS and Time Trials - In the Sunday Green Time Trial class, Gerrit Wesseling laid down a 2:30:305 in GT3, followed by Nathan Apelbaum with 2:38.791 in a modified 2, then in third place, Vivek Hazari with 2:40.084 in Modified 4. In the PointBy-Passing Class, first place went to Andrei Dan in a Modified 3 with 2:36.033, Daniel Mobley in second place in a prototype with a time of 2:36.321, and in third place, Gerrit Wesseling in a GT3 with a time of 2:39.571.

In conclusion - The Charleston Peak Full Course gives you all you want challenge-wise. Double apex off camber corners, blind late apex corners, lots of esses, hard braking zones, and straightaways with downshifts under braking. You name it. This track has it. Throw in the challenging weather and changing track conditions and The Peak was as good a test as we have had in a while! Yeah, baby!

GT7 Randy Bergum 3:00.072

Mod 4 Vivek Hazari 2:34.618

Mod 7 Jack Apelbaum 2:47.391

Stock 3 John Peschio 2:50.557

Stock 4 Brian Swift 2:36.039

Stock 5 Michael Myers 2:51.602

We had 11 track records plus the all-time BSR start record!!!

Charleston Peak

Photos: Luis Vivar

Charleston Peak

Photo: Luis Vivar

Charleston Peak

Photos: Luis Vivar

Charleston Peak

Photos: Luis Vivar

Charleston Peak

Photos: Luis Vivar

Charleston Peak

Photos: Luis Vivar

Charleston Peak

Photos: James Hovark

Charleston Peak

PDS & Time Trials

As I prepared for our trip to Pahrump on February 1st, I added two items to my Track Weekend Check list. First, I pulled the plastic storage box that had our ski clothes from under the bed. I had not opened this box much in the last 10 years since my friends decided they were too old, and I had no one to ski with. As I looked though the thermal underwear, turtle-necks, and wool sweaters I realized that living in California had made us weather wimps. We were worried about the forecasted overnight lows of 37 degrees in Pahrump when we had worn these clothes in Sun Valley, Idaho, and the temperature at the bottom of the lift was -17! I found a heavy wool sweater that I bought in Australia in 1964, and it was perfect for the weekend.

Photo: Luis Vivar

Photo: Luis Vivar

STEVE EISLER

My second addition was to spend several hours watching an in-depth track tutorial on how to achieve your fastest time on the Charleston Peak Full Course. You may have seen Full Throttle Driving Academy videos of Bryan and Danna Van Noy racing in POC events, but this video breaks down each corner in detail. It highlights camber, use of the curbing, the proper line and how each corner relates to the previous and following corners. I found it very beneficial, especially in getting more comfortable with the blind turn 6 and the transition to turn 7. Turns 13, 14 and 15 are also very tricky with the blind corners caused by elevation changes. The tutorial showed each turn in detail, then how they were linked together, and finally how to finish the section in the proper position to maximize your speed for the entry to turn 16. I had my greatest improvement on this section of the track. Bryan has another tutorial detailing the main track at Willow Springs that I will be studying before our next Big Willow event and is working on a Spec Boxster tutorial for Buttonwillow.

On Friday morning, Point-by-Passing was the first group on the cold, wet track. The rain was falling and, to make matters worse, I was on brand new tires. On the first, Yellow lap, I tried to heat the tires by braking hard in a straight line. As soon as I applied moderate brake pressure the ABS System activated making it difficult to warm up the tires. I spent the whole session in third gear, because downshifting in the slow corners caused wheel spin on corner exit. Brian Swift led the 5 drivers in that first Point-by session with a 3:20, followed by another Stock 6 driver, Kenton Powell at 3:36. They switched places in the second session with Kenton doing a 3:13 and Brian a 3:18. The track was wet for the first two sessions and began drying in the afternoon sessions, so times improved throughout the day.

Charleston Peak PDS &

Only two cars took the green flag in the first Open-Passing session. Kirk Fertitta had the fastest time of 3:31. In the second session leading times dropped to 2:42 and 2:43, and in session 3 James Li did a 2:28. After 2:00 pm the track was drying substantially, and James did a 2:17.067. In the Blue group, Terry Van Noy and Brian Swift recorded 2:35’s in session four, and Terry did the Blue TTOD in the last session – 2:33.105 followed by Gerritt Wesseling – 2:33.565.

On Friday we pitted next to Todd Wallace and aptly named Randy Carr who were both in the PDS-Yellow group. Todd was driving a Speed Yellow 1966 911 in full race trim. Spring Mountain was his second POC PDS and his fifth driving event since acquiring the car in August. He also had an early version of the Futura trailer that was used to transport a scissors lift for his electrical contracting business and now doubles as his car trailer. Todd ran three sessions on Friday and two more on Saturday in the combined Yellow/Blue time trial group and dropped his times substantially. Randy brought a very nice 1965 Mustang GT-350 R Tribute car to the track, sporting the traditional white with blue stripes livery. It was his second PDS in this car, but he has had track experience in several other cars. Since the car had slick tires mounted, he was limited in the number of sessions he could run but handled the technical course well. Randy works in the hospitality industry.

On Saturday the weather was beautiful, track conditions were great, and times dropped significantly. Moving into the parking space next to us was an old friend, John Peschio. I met John at a PCA event at Willow Springs when he noticed that I was an Air Force Academy graduate, as he was. He lives in Las Vegas and calls Spring Mountain the home track for his 2014 Porsche 911S, which he has been racing for 5 years in class Stock 3. John flew a variety of planes in his Air Force career, including time as an Instructor Pilot in T-37 and T-38 aircraft. He is currently a pilot for Southwest Airlines. On Saturday John did a best time of 2:50.557, leaving me far behind.

Photos: Luis Vivar

There were 31 drivers that recorded official times on Saturday. Fastest in the Open Passing group was Danna Van Noy in class 991.2 Spec with a time TTOD of 2:25.415. She was followed by two Mod 2 drivers, Nathan Aplebaum – 2:26.521 and John Hagy –2:26.671. Bruce Blockus recorded a 2:27.140 in his Prototype, and Bob Gartland rounded out the top five at 2:28.011 in class GT3. The top five in the Point by Passing group were Gerrit Wesseling – GT3 / 2:28.375, William Pfersching – Mod 2 / 2:29.180, Daniel Mobley – Prototype / 2:31.924, Terry Nan Noy – Mod 2 / 2:34.707, and Mike Krog – Mod 4 / 2:35.640.

In the afternoon I caught up with railroad transportation consultant, Chuck Travis, a long time DE and PDS driver. He, his father, and his son campaigned a 1984 944 for many years. After blowing several engines he transitioned to a 2000 Boxster and gave it the number 944 in honor of his original race car. Chuck worked with instructor Aspasia Zouras on Saturday and Sunday to improve his times. The 944 has been returned to stock condition and is in the

TIMES

Kirk Fertitta Boxster Spec 2:45.401

Reto Eberle Boxster Spec 2:45.4122:58.065

Bob Gartland GT3 2:28.011

Gerrit Wesseling GT3 2:28.3752:29.366

Paul Wren GT3 2:36.1882:42.340

Jason Alter GT3 2:48.73501:42.983

David Fabi GT3 2:54.300

Eben Benade GT3 2:54.417

Bruce Guarino GT4 2:35.316

Roy Stone GT4 2:55.404

Steve Eisler GT4 2:55.6463:09.176

Calvin Park GT7 3:01.0323:27.868

Peter Su MOD 2 2:34.689

Nathan Apelbaum MOD 2 2:26.5212:38.791

Will Pfersching MOD 2 2:29.18001:43.485

Robert Chang MOD 2 2:32.081

Terry Van Noy MOD 2 2:34.70701;25.344 Cullen Raichart MOD 2 2:36.516

Thomas Kenna MOD 3 2:36.343

Andrei Dan 2:34.594

Russell Murdock MOD 3 2:53.125

Todd Wallace MOD 3 3:02.845

Vivek Hazari MOD 4 2:34.6182:40.084

Mike Krog MOD 4 2:57.355

Dave Needham MOD 4 2:57.355

Jack Apelbaum MOD 7 2:47.391 2:49.267

Bruce Blockus Prototype 2:27.140

Daniel Mobley Prototype 2:31.9242:36.321

John Peschio Stock 3 2:50.5572:43.599

Brian Swift Stock 4 2:36.0392:43.599

Michael Myers Stock 5 2:51.6022:36.343

Charleston Peak

two other PDS drivers that I did not have a chance to meet: Dave Needham from Van Nuys drove a 2021 Audi R55 with Nathan Aplebaum instructing, and Brian Green brought his 2023 Porsche GT4 in the pink pig livery from Las Vegas.

On Sunday, the rain returned, and the track was wet for most of the day. Times varied based upon the track conditions, but I think all of us got better as we got more experience driving in the rain. Orange and Red Cup races were held in the morning, and at 12:40 pm the Point-by and Open Passing groups alternated 25-minute sessions for the rest of the day. As usual, car counts in each session were much lower than Saturday, giving the eleven diehards who remained ample space to practice their car control under varying conditions. In the three timed runs for the Blue Group, the fastest time at 12:40 pm was 3:01.017 by Dan Andrei. In the second run at 1:35 pm, Dan did a 2:36.033, and at 2:27 pm, Gerrit Wesseling had the fastest time, 2:29.366, in his GT-3 car. I skipped the last session. When we finished loading the paddock was empty. Five cars drove in the third Point by session, and just four in the last Open passing session. We left early Monday morning and caught the pilot car on highway 127 just as it was leaving and did not have to stop at all. It rained most of the drive home but, even pulling the trailer, I felt very secure after practicing in the rain all weekend. I wish I could say the same about some of the morons speeding past us with no idea how to control driving in wet conditions. Hopefully, many of you will take advantage of the opportunity to learn how to drive safely and quickly at our event at Buttonwillow on March 9 and 10. Buttonwillow is a great track with long straights, elevation changes and very fast turns mixed with some slower turns. For you time trial drivers who are ready for the next level in the POC progression, there will be a Racers Clinic at Buttonwillow, where you can earn your license to compete in the race groups. I hope to see you there!

Photo: Luis Vivar

Did You Know

… noise induced hearing loss (NIHL) is a track hazard? You can suffer irreversible hearing damage if you don’t protect your ears. Noise levels of 130dB are commonplace at race events. Compare that to the sound of standing next to a jackhammer or being 100 yards away from a jet taking off. They’re about equal. They’re loud.

I’m not an audiologist but I’ve done some in-depth research on this subject. Sensory neural hearing loss, simply explained, is damage to the nerve cells in the inner ear that cannot be repaired. Repeated and/or prolonged exposure to loud sounds is a recipe for deafness. Countless rock musicians can no longer hear the music they used to play.

Wear ear plugs at the track. Over-the-counter foam plugs have noise reduction ratings (NRR) of up to 33dB. They’re inexpensive and readily available. Custom fit plugs are another option. Listen to me. Don’t let this information fall on deaf ears.

ANDREW WEYMAN

The Spin

JOHN ARMSTRONG

He was spinning, and there was nothing he could do about it.

Oddly, the experience of trying out the simulator at the auto show briefly flickered through his consciousness. He had been seated in a chair on the showroom floor, staring at a monitor with a steering wheel in his hands and two pedals under his feet, when his virtual tires lost grip. As his animated car slid off the track, the disorienting vertigo and sickening anticipation of hitting the wall felt exactly like the real thing. He had been so glad to be sitting in a simulator and not a real car.

He had crashed hard before, years earlier, as a student, so he knew the real feeling. He knew the feeling of mild surprise when he suddenly realized that he had tracked out too far in the run-out of a corner, and he had two wheels in the dirt. He remembered his quick, calm response as he kept the steering wheel nearly straight and with minimal input began to guide the car back onto the track. And he remembered his shock as the car, still moving at 90 mph, snapped around and headed back across the track. He remembered smartly putting both feet in, then feeling helpless as he realized that the car was not slowing down. The car had crossed the track, swung around again, continued into the dirt strip on the inside, then hit the cement wall, engine first. He hadn’t even noticed the wall before that moment. He hadn’t noticed the wall because it never occurred to him that he could hit it. Afterwards, the car had been in the shop for seven months. He never wanted to repeat that experience, and when he finally drove again, he had started off cautiously—much slower than before. He knew he couldn’t afford another accident. It was a rich man’s sport, and he was not rich. It was all he could do just to keep the car maintained, let alone pay for major repairs.

But now, five years later, here he was again. He had had his racing license for two years, and he had participated in 30 races without incident. Little by little he had spent unspeakable sums of money to strip his street car, improve the suspension, install a proper roll cage, purchase extra sets of wheels. There was the halo seat, the harnesses, the detachable steering wheel, straight pipes, the kill switch, the lap timer. Each time he thought he was finished with the mods, he would realize the car needed something else to be competitive. Then there was the maintenance: he had devoted countless hours to oil changes, rotor changes, brake pad changes. And always the tires. The tires were the true symbols of excess. At $2,000 a set, they lost all their grip in two weekends. A competitive racer in the club would replace them after a single weekend. He was not a competitive racer, but he aspired to be.

He dreamed of having enough money to spend more time practicing, with a coach, with proper data analysis, with a pit crew—as some members did. Meanwhile he hid his expenses from his wife, who wanted him to sell the Porsche.

He loved driving his Porsche in the manner it was meant to be driven. The experience was beyond exhilarating. It engaged all his senses—his entire consciousness. He felt fully alive when he was racing. The thrill was indescribable and so personal that he could never convey it to a non-racer. Racers understood without having to say anything to one another. You saw it in their eyes after a race, or in their loopy grins.

He thought he had moved beyond making careless mistakes. He constantly told himself that the only important thing was to bring the car home safely after each event, that it was a victory if the car was intact after a race. He loved his car. He exulted in its sleek grace, its power, its surgical precision.

Yet here he was, all these years and laps later, sliding off the track again, and just as surprised as he had been the first time he had crashed, feeling that helpless vertigo he hoped never to know again.

It was the last race of a three-day weekend at a complicated new track that he felt far from having mastered. It was a right bending corner after a fast straightaway. His lexan windshield was pitted, and he was driving into the sun’s glare. He was trying to catch up with a driver who had just passed him and was outdriving him.

He thought he could start the turn wider and apex later, but he waited too long to turn in. He tried to turn when he realized he was already in the marbles, but there was no grip in the marbles. He was instantly out of track. He tried to straighten the wheels and go off straight with both feet in, but at 120 mph he was already drifting sideways in the dirt.

Now he was spinning. He hoped he would not, but he knew that soon he would hit a wall or a tire barrier. He was going to hit hard. He waited for the impact.

After an extensive rebuild, the author got his car back on track with the POC. He and the car haven’t met an immovable object in at least 10 years.

The Porsche Owners Club R ecognizes

IED Group

as a Valued Sponsor

STEVE TOWN Sponsorship Director

This month in my series highlighting our POC sponsors, I’m spending some time with fellow Board member Eben Benade, President of IED Group. A familiar figure in the paddock, Eben joined the POC in 2018. He jumped into racing and the nuts and bolts of running our club, with both feet. It’s a pleasure to help you get to know him better and learn something about his business, motorsports in his life, and his family.

Eben described his business, IED Group, like this: “We are a contract manufacturer of electronics. We manufacture pre-production boards for a number of electric car companies, and do full production runs for customers from Boeing to McDonalds. We are also aerospace certified and build lighting systems for several aircraft manufacturers. We serve both commercial and industrial customers. In short, we build whatever our customers want us to build. They come to us with their designs, and we take it from there.”

He went on to describe when he started the business. “We started from a bedroom at home in 2002 and moved to an office space in Mission Viejo the following year. We’ve been at our factory in Santa Ana since 2016, where we have our purchasing, sales, HR, and assembly departments. We currently have 19 employees.”

I asked Eben what his experience was that led him to the tech business. He said, “My background is in international business. I started off selling components to Japan back in 1999. As the market changed, my domestic customers asked if I could build their boards for them. I met with my current manufacturing partner not long after that and have been building boards ever since. I’ve always liked the idea of building something. Now I get to build a lot of different things for many customers. I don’t have to sell it, we just have to build it.”

And what about the near future for your company and your goals for it? “My goal for the next few years is to work less and have my awesome team of employees take over more of my duties. As it is, I only go to the office 3 days a week.” I’m guessing that’s code for more track time and seat time and moving the needle forward in 991.2 spec racing! Our conversation moved on to motorsports and Eben’s long-time interest in Porsche and racing them. When I asked what sparked his interest in racing cars he said, “Having raced bicycles for most of my life, living and racing in Europe, I have always had a need for excitement and speed. I bought a 911 Turbo S about 8 years ago. I went to a few Auto Cross events and liked the people I met. Vision

his collar bone, it’s been broken more than once in those sprints.

Back to motorsports. Eben’s first car on-track experience was back in Europe while racing bikes. “I drove a BMW M3 race car in France and I raced go carts as well. But being a poor pro cyclist didn’t let me chase the dream of being a race car driver. It’s only when I came back to the US, got a real job, made real money, that I can now afford to have fun racing with the POC!”

Motorsports was at one of these events. The next month I bought a race car, and the rest is history.” If any of you have any doubt about Eben’s comment on excitement and speed, just watch a UCI World Tour sprint finish on TV and you’ll get the idea of what he’s talking about. He was one of those guys back in the 90’s, elbowing into sprint finishes at 40-45 mph in the highest level of cycling. Exciting indeed. Just don’t ask to look at

Within the POC, there are many similar stories to Eben’s. Well, not the pro cyclist part. I’m pretty sure he’s the only Euro pro cyclist ever in our club. The other facts about focusing on family, working and/or building a business are very familiar. Like so many others, that focus kept Eben’s attention away from the racetrack for many years, but in time, that pull to the track won out. He went to on say, “I finally joined the POC in 2018, did the Racers Clinic in 2019 and got into my first race at Spring Mountain in 2019. One of the first things I learned very quickly, was that you had to breathe and get into better shape!” He added, “I got my first race win in 2019 at Willow, in the rain. That is really my best track memory, racing in the rain. I had slicks on, and everyone else had rain tires. The rain didn’t last that long.

By the middle of the race, after being down about 15 seconds, I was able to catch and pass everyone for my first win! In 2020 I bought Dwain’s blue GT1

car and raced it that year. When I got my GT3 car back, I went on to win the 2021 and 2022 GT3 season championship.”

I asked Eben what keeps him coming back to the track. He told me, “Simply put, it’s the family atmosphere. Everyone looks out for each other. Although we may be competitors when we are racing, as soon as the checkered flag comes out, we are all friends again!”

Eben was born in South Africa and moved to Irvine in 1980, and proudly says, “I have lived in Orange County ever since.”

Eben lives in Coto de Caza with his wife, Norma. They have a 22-year-old son, Colin, who attends the University of Arkansas, a 19-year-old daughter, Kate, who is in school at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, and a 16-year-old daughter, Grace, who is a junior at Tesoro High School.

I asked if any of the kids have an interest in motorsports. Eben said, “Colin is a bit of a hot shoe and enjoys coming to the track and sharing my 991 with me. He is only 0.3 off the track record in TT for GT3. I hope college pays off for him because I am not buying him new tires!”

Eben’s other hobbies are cooking and travel. He happily shared, “Norma and I are always planning another trip. This summer we are going to Greece. Last year we went to Peru and climbed to Machu Picchu.”

Thank you, Eben, for your sponsorship, your time, and your talent. Your participation in the POC, including serving on the Board, are meaningful additions to our club. And thanks for giving our members more insight into your life, both on and off the track. Have a great weekend at Buttonwillow everyone!

The Comeback Kid

ANDREW WEYMAN

Nigel Maidment was born in Poole,

Dorset, on the south coast of England. At age five, he became interested in cars. It was a bit odd since his parents never owned a car or learned to drive. Fiveyear-old Nigel dreamt of building a car of his own. So, he devised a plan. He could power his dream car with the motor from his toy robot and cut some plastic for windows and… young Nigel didn’t get very far. 60 years later, old Nigel built his Lotus Seven. Around the same time Nigel’s boyhood automotive design ideas fizzled, his love of speed bubbled up. He decided to race with his older sister, nine years his senior. She on her bicycle, he on his tricycle. Looking back at her as he raced ahead (she let him of course), he plowed head-on into a lamppost. The start of a trend.

Fast forward to his first summer job in college. The only thing that changed is the size of the tricycle. Nigel sold ice cream from a freezer box attached to his trike so that he could earn enough money to buy his first motorcycle, a 1973 Honda CB175. The following summer he took a factory assembly line job making jam jar caps so that he could upgrade to a Honda 400F (a modern-day classic he wishes he still owned). He loved the feeling of opening the throttle and hanging on. A better feeling would be more speed! The Norton Commando 850 he really wanted was way out of his reach. It was an itch he’d have to wait decades to scratch. He finally scratched it and loves his British classic.

A neighbor of his parents who was an engineer and rally co-driver, taught Nigel basic

mechanics. Nigel ended up buying his mentor’s MK1 Ford Escort. Not the Escort as we know it in the U.S., but a car that was extremely competitive on European rally circuits. The beginning of his adult automotive obsession. His neighbor taught him to always use Copper Slip (anti-seize) on nuts and bolts after disassembling and reassembling parts and gave him an already well-used tube of it. Nigel still has the tube in his shed, with every last molecule squeezed out of it. He’ll never throw it away. Oh, I almost forgot to mention that Nigel wrecked the Ford Escort by backing into a brick wall. He explained, “Reversing’s not my forte – just ask Vali’s pit crew guys.” You know, the trend.

Nigel earned a PhD in England and completed post-doctoral training in neuropharmacology

at Stanford, here in the U.S. (I feel so stupid). His expertise is brain research, focusing on Parkinson’s disease and drug addiction (I’m not sure I even have an expertise). He recalled that his first track experience was when he was in his late twenties, shortly before moving to the U.S. He briefly drove a Formula Ford at the Cadwell Park circuit in Lincolnshire, England, which, surprisingly, passed without incident. There was a 15 year gap before Nigel did any more performance driving. Then, he embarked on a 20-year binge of driving and motorcycle riding courses that included Jim Hall Karting School, Skip Barber Racing Schools, Alfa Romeo Owners Club Racing School, and Reg Pridmore’s CLASS Motorcycle Schools. He told me, “…as the old adage goes – I spent my

an old adage?

During his class-taking binge Nigel discovered Andy Walsh, a former Formula 1 test driver for the Benetton Race team. Andy had a driving school at an airfield in the U.K. where you could drive your own car and get instruction on various car-handling techniques. He had a Lotus Elise that students could rent. So, of course, Nigel rented it. Andy put Nigel through a series of challenges. Each time Nigel drove the car down the runway, at 80 mph or so, and turned-in at the designated spot, Nigel spun the car. “You’re holding the wheel too tight,” Andy told him. “You’re making the car spin. Now, drive down the runway and just initiate the turn, then take your hands off the wheel and see what happens.” Yes, Nigel thought it

turned, fishtailed like mad, but did not spin. Nigel described it as a “superb demonstration of how letting the wheel move is critical at the edge of grip.” Andy also taught Nigel left-foot braking, a technique that’s essential in rally driving, but that he also uses on track. Nigel tries to get back to the airfield at least once a year to practice these techniques.

During this period, he drove his beloved orange street Boxster S on a track day at The Streets

to Brad Roberts who quickly diagnosed the cause as oil starvation due to the camber and g-forces in the bowl. Brad rebuilt the motor, and convinced Nigel he needed a track car. So, he rented a Porsche 944, and earned his race license with NASA. Nigel explained, “You had to complete three NASA races without incident to get your license. That can sometimes be a challenge even now. Back

then it was…” Nigel interrupted himself with a laugh. “NASA’s racing can be a bit more ‘fast and furious’ than ours.” So, there he was, driving counter-clockwise at Buttonwillow, just trying to make it to the finish line. The leader of the BMW E30 class was preparing to lap Nigel and punted him forcefully from behind. Nigel was apoplectic. He got to impound and was “screaming blue murder” about what had happened. Other drivers looked at him like he was crazy. Then, the driver who made contact with Nigel’s rear bumper said, “Oh yeah. You were in the 944. Sorry, I didn’t realize you were going so slow.” That was Nigel’s introduction to wheel-to-wheel racing. Brad Roberts pointed Nigel to the POC for a more gentlemanly approach to racing. Ironically, Nigel currently holds the Spec Boxster track record CCW at Buttonwillow, although he fears it’s only a matter of time before Anders Hainer finally snatches that away from him. Our next event is, you guessed it, Buttonwillow. Nigel joined the POC in 2014. He had been an active member since then, until about two years ago, when he took a break from club racing after a large tree jumped out right in front of him in the final stage of a rally event. The tree replanted itself in the mangled metal mess of his car’s front end. He was injured. Seriously injured. More about that later. Now, if you know Nigel like I do, you always knew he’d recover and be back as soon as he could. And that’s exactly what he did.

I’m getting ahead of myself. In 2014, Nigel finished 3rd in the POC Boxster Spec Championship in his first full season of racing, behind Nathan Johnson and Alex Bermudez. In

2015, Nigel finished 2nd, behind his “dancing partner,” Alex, in what he recalls was an eventful year. Along the way, Nigel earned a 13/13 at Buttonwillow for overly aggressive driving and was told by Steve Vandecar that the POC is “no-contact club racing, not demolition derby.” Nigel, suitably embarrassed, accepted the penalty and adjusted some of his on-track decision making. “I think there are two kinds of drivers,” Nigel told me. “Those who slowly approach the limits of grip and those who exceed those limits and then dial it back a notch. I was the latter. Not so much now…” In 2016, Nigel suffered a pulmonary embolism and was out for the year. He came back in 2017 to narrowly win the Championship after some “epic side-byside battles” with his buddy, Anders, and was awarded Driver of the Year. Nice comeback.

In 2018, Nigel decided it was time to indulge a latent passion that had begun with his ownership of that Mk 1 Escort 40 years earlier. He attended DirtFish Rally School with Vali Predescu, Joe Wiederholt and several other POC members. He returned many more times over the next 3 years to take more advanced courses and private lessons, together with his wife, Karron, now a fellow rally junkie.

In 2021, thoroughly hooked, Nigel decided he was ready to enter his first rally and got in touch with Mike Hooper, a well-known American Rally Association (ARA) driver who had successfully campaigned a Lexus is350 named Beverly (Hooper named all his cars). His rental car, Dolly, a lower-powered is250, was unavailable but he offered Nigel use of Beverly for an upcoming event. Nigel declined but then thought, “If not now, when?” and called

him right back. It was the New England Forest Rally, a rally known for killing cars. If ever the mantra – to finish first, first you must finishapplies, it applies to rally, and to this rally in particular. The rally went better than he could possibly have hoped for, Nigel and his codriver finishing second in the open 2-wheel-drive class among regional entrants. And the icing on the cake? He can claim to have beaten Travis Pastrana, a rally driving superstar, in his first rally, having passed Pastrana’s car upside down on the side of the road on the penultimate stage – to finish first, first you… Nigel competed in several other rallies, including the SnoDrift Rally in Michigan, in February, which, as the name implies, is driven on ice and snow. But this one has a twist. No studded tires allowed. During practice, Nigel plowed gracefully into a small tree. Perhaps he should consider becoming a certified arborist. Hooper’s crew worked their magic on Dolly overnight and Nigel and his codriver were able to start the rally with Dolly held together using zip ties. A snowstorm during the night stages made things even more challenging. “For two days the wheels seemed never to be pointed straight ahead, even between stages. The final stage of SnoDrift ‘bonfire alley’, held at night, is famous for spectators lining the road with bonfires, which they throw gasoline onto as you drive by – what a hoot!” Nigel and his “heroic co-driver, who spent much of his time pushing us out of ditches,” went on to win the regional open 2-wheel-drive competition and finish 3rd nationally, on ice, in a limited, rearwheel drive car. Could it get any better than this, he thought? No, it couldn’t…

In March of 2022, Nigel convinced Joe Wiederholt to team up with him, in Beverly, for the 100-Acre Wood Rally in Salem, Missouri. Joe and Nigel attended the DirtFish Co-Drivers School to prep. At the end of the first day of the rally, they believed they were in 1st place in their class and quite pleased with themselves. Nigel recalls, “it was Joe’s first real rally, and he was brilliant.” That evening, over a well-earned pizza, they discovered they had incurred a penalty for violating a virtual chicane, something they question to this day. On day two, during the final, heavily churned-up stage, in darkness, the rear end broke loose dramatically under braking approaching a corner. Nigel tried to collect it up but ran out of room. They went head-on into a very stubborn tree. Hard. Déjà vu. Both Nigel and Joe sustained serious injuries. For Beverly, it was terminal. Joe got back behind the wheel a few months later while Nigel needed more time to recover from surgery for a collapsed lung.

Please don’t misunderstand. Nigel is a fantastic driver. I’d go side-by-side with him on any circuit. Nigel returned to the POC for our December event at Willow Springs. After almost two years out of a race car, Nigel suited up and strapped in. During Friday practice, he told me he was feeling more than a little tentative. “I couldn’t bring myself to keep my foot in it in turn 8.” Understandably so. It was only temporary, though. Apparently, he was feeling a bit more confident on Saturday and Sunday. He qualified on the front row alongside Anders, just 3 tenths away from his personal best. With races in the Boxster Spec class often being decided by thousandths of a second, in his first race back, Nigel finished 2nd (but was penalized for passing under yellow – obviously a little rusty). In his second race, he legitimately finished 2nd. In his third race, he crossed the finish line in 1st place.

Nigel Maidment is truly the comeback kid. Welcome back. Again!

MSF Instructor Certification Program

The POC is partnering with the Motorsports Safety Foundation to provide standardized instructor training and certification for POC driving instructors. This course is becoming the standard with many performance driving clubs. For more information about the course, click on the following link:

https://www.motorsport-safety.org/about

The course is currently delivered in two levels. The format for Level 1 certification is a self-paced online course that includes video and text content. Ross Bentley is very involved in the MSF training and delivers the content for the course’s videos. There is a quiz at the end of every module and a test at the end of the course that must be passed for successfully completing the course. The Level 1 course only takes about four hours to complete.

Level 2 training, which is done at the track, includes candidates performing in-car instruction of MSF instructors acting as students. We are planning for a Level 2 training on June 15th at Streets of Willow. Upon completion of Level 2 you will be a certified MSF instructor.

The cost for registering for Level 1 is $50. POC will give 50 service points and $50 in POC Bucks for completing Level 1, so there is no cost to participate.

If you have any questions or are interested in participating in the launch of this new POC instructor certification program, please contact Jim Salzer at:

PDS@PorscheClub.com

Jim Salzer

New e-hybrid... Porsche News

The New Porsche Panamera

Porsche is further expanding its range of powertrains for the Panamera sports saloon. As part of the E-Performance strategy, the Panamera 4 E-Hybrid and the Panamera 4S E-Hybrid have been added to the portfolio with immediate effect. This is Porsche’s response to the particularly strong interest in efficient and dynamic e-hybrid powertrains in many markets. The Panamera will be available in a total of four performance variants of this advanced powertrain technology.

variants of the Panamera

Market launch

The Porsche Panamera 4 E-Hybrid and the Panamera 4S E-Hybrid are now available to order as sports saloons. The Panamera’s extended standard equipment includes ParkAssist and a cooled smartphone tray for wireless charging with up to 15 watts. Options such as rear-axle steering, Remote ParkAssist, Porsche InnoDrive including Active Lane Keeping, Passenger Display and air quality system are also available. The Executive body style with a longer wheelbase is offered on a market-specific basis; options such as the four-zone automatic climate control or the large centre console are included as standard.

Deliveries in Europe will start in the second quarter of 2024.

Now you can order your favorite POC garments and other specialty items “Online” simply by clicking on any one of the above photos!

“Master Tech Tyson Schmidt with Over 25 Years of Porsche Experience”

SIMRACING 2024 Results

Jan 8 Willow Springs

Jan 22 Daytona

Feb 5 Silverstone

Feb 19 Mt Panorama

Mar 4 Motegi

Mar 18 Sebring

April 1 Suzuka

April 15 Canadian Tire

April 29 Long Beach

May 13 Philip Island

June 3 Montreal

June 17 Watkins Glen

July 1 RedBull Ring

1st Andrew Chinnici 4th AJ Roper

2nd Sagar Dhawan 5th Michael Oest

3rd Tom Layton 6th Mark Rondeau

1st Chris Walsh 4th BJ Fulton

2nd Sagar Dhawan 5th Alex Filsinger

3rd Travis Brown 6th Michael Bolten

1st Sagar Dhawan 4th BJ Fulton 2nd AJ Roper 5th Travis S Brown

3rd Jad Duncan 6th Mark Rondeau

1st Sagar Dhawan 4th Michael Bolten

2nd Chris Walsh 5th AJ Roper

3rd Jad Duncan 6th Travis S Brown

1st 4th 2nd 5th 3rd 6th 1st 4th 2nd 5th 3rd 6th

Silverstone

Mt Panorama

Buttonwillow

March 9-10

It’s time to head north, once again to another one of our favorite tracks. Whether clockwise or counter, the twists and turns at Buttonwillow are always a hoot.

the

CLUB

We liked it so much last year ...so we’re going back!

If you missed it, don’t miss it again! A hop, skip and a jump over to Arizona!

Register Opens Soon!

Click here for Season Results

UPCOMING SIM EVENTS

SIM RACING

March 2024

Be sure to keep up with all that’s going on this month in this exciting series where members like you are competing against one another on some of the greatest tracks in the world. We’re always looking for more drivers. Check us out.!!

Register Today!

SIMRACING