I thoroughly enjoyed putting this issue together with the assistance of Don Matz, Luis Vivar, and all our contributing writers. Steve Eisler covers the Streets track event and Matthew Hately reports on the MSR Instructor Training, along with a commentary by Calvin Joon Park. Steve Town interviews Eric Olberz about Westwood Racing Supplies and his racing history. Dr. Dyno shares his wisdom and I catch up on 991.2 Spec as well as interview Board Member Steve Town. The latest from Porsche and some facts about detracted driving complete this issue. Happy motoring!
POCVelocityEditor@gmail.com
Art
Don
Contributing Writers
Andrew Weyman
Matthew
Steve Eisler
Calvin Joon Park
Steve Town
Contributing Photographers Luis Vivar
POC
John
Karen
Jim
Dwain
Eben
the STREETS
JUNE 2024
Image: Don Matz / Luis Vivar
Photos: Luis Vivar
Photos: Luis Vivar
Streets of Willow Counter Clock-wise
Steve Eisler
Willow Springs International Raceway, built in 1952, is the oldest permanent road course in the United States. The 1.8-mile Streets of Willow road course was built years later and repaved in 2021. I have raced at Willow Springs more than 25 times, on five different tracks, and each time has been an adventure. From temperature extremes to high and gusty winds, fires in the area, and several track shutdowns due to off course excursions, every trip to Rosemond is unique.
STREETS OF WILLOW RESULTS
1
2Kelly
1Allan
2
1Dustin
1James
2 Priya Bowe
1
Here are the Students and the Instructors who volunteered to teach them how to be safe and effective drivers:
Yasin
Jmaes Bowe 2022 GT4
Priya Bowe ‘2018 BMW M3 Diane Cafferata
Cyrus Chen 2019 911 4S Tom Kenna
Leo Samson 2007 Cayman Bill Vogel
Gabriel Nguyen Toyota Supra Bob Chang
Dustin Durant 996 Solo
This was particularly true of the June 15th Time Trial at Streets of Willow. There was just one day of driving. No Cup racing, just open and point-by passing Time Trial groups and one PDS group. In addition to these groups, Cup racers and experienced Time Trial drivers participated in a Motorsports Safety Foundation Level Two Training course to earn their certification as an on-track MSF Instructor. 22 drivers spent the full day in a combination of classroom and track exercises to improve their student training skills. (Be sure to read Matthew Hately’s article on the MSF training in this issue of Velocity.) Finally, the course was driven counterclockwise, not the normal direction!
Going counterclockwise changes the very scary Waterfall into an uphill, constant acceleration straight to the Bowl (Turn 8) at the top of the hill. I still use the standard, clockwise, turn numbers because it is easier for me to identify which turns and remember where I am. I never did get a good line through the decreasing radius of T8, so I lost time going downhill through T7. Turns 6, 5, and 4 were like the clockwise line, but maintaining speed through T3 to get a good exit from T2 was critical because from the top of T2 you accelerated downhill, through T1 and all the way to the skid pad at the end of the straight. If you did get too aggressive you had the huge skid pad to complete your braking and get under control before squeezing through T12 and heading uphill again. I really like the high-speed, blind drop of the Waterfall, but accelerating downhill through T1 is almost as harrowing.
There were seven students in the PDS, Yellow run group. Most of them had limited experience and received excellent coaching from their instructors. The top time of 1:28.719 was recorded by James Bowe driving a 2022 GT4.
The Point-by Passing group had 5 drivers on the track with the top time coming from Thomas Kenna in Modified 3 clocking a 1:21.012. Allan Soto, M2, closely followed him at 1:21.769 and Rumi Fazier, Stock 3, at 1:23.727.
Drivers in the Open Passing Green group were led by Paul Wren who set a new GT2 class track record of 1:17.429, driving his new 2007 GT3. Paul and his wife Merilee are new to the racing scene. We met them at one of their first events at Spring Mountain in February. Since then, Paul has attended 2 racing schools, earned his red dot and soon will be dicing with the big boys in Red Cup races. The second fastest time in Open Passing was posted by Bob Gartland in GT3, 1:20.375, followed by Kelly Tribolet in GT3 with a 1:21.383. These 5 drivers were the only ones under 1:22 for the day.
Although POC sponsored only one day of track activity, several drivers were able to stretch their weekend to two or even three days. Paul Wren, Glen Orton, and Bob Chang got a full day of coaching from the excellent DK Precision Driving School on Friday. Also on Friday, Kelly Tribolet, Lauren Matthews, Diane Cafferata, Sean Taheri, Keith Hnatiuk, and Mick Yanoshak took advantage of the
Photo: Luis Vivar
STREETS
first DK Open Track Day. Open track drivers alternated 30-minute sessions with the DK Driving School drivers providing ample track time for all drivers. A few die-hards stayed until Sunday and joined the San Diego Region PCA drivers for their Time Trial on the Big Willow track. They were Keith Hnatiuk, Mick Yanoschak, Sean Taheri, Paul Wren, and Rumi Fazier.
What looked like a single day Time Trial and PDS morphed into multi-day, multi-track, multi-sponsor weekend with Precision driving instruction, open track opportunities, Instructor Certification and Time Trial competition on two tracks.
I used my three days with POC at the May Tribute to Le Mans weekend to lower my best time, which carried over to the PCA competition on June 15th and 16th. I improved again and moved closer to the top of my TT run group. You cannot change your amount of natural ability, but you can log more track time to improve. I believe that driving with two groups, along with some suspension adjustments and replacement of worn parts is lowering my times. Now I just need to work on the third component of driving faster, the confidence level. We all must overcome our fears of going off course and crashing to gradually increase our cornering speeds and reduce our lap times. Next month we will investigate these three components that determine our driving performance and a method for measuring improvement.
Photo: Luis Vivar
Photos: Luis Vivar
Photo: Luis Vivar
Photos: Luis Vivar
991.2 Spec Update
ANDREW WEYMAN
The 991.2 Spec class is six months old. I checked in with Mike Monsalve to learn about how it’s shaping up. Mike was instrumental in helping to create of the class and hopes that drivers who run with Carrera Cup and Sprint Challenge will see the benefits of racing in 991.2 Spec with the POC and join us at our events.
Mike’s first taste of Spec racing was with the 911 Spec class. He raced in that class for a year. He also competed in V3 and several GT classes. He felt that the cars in those classes were “so different with so many advantages and disadvantages.” He took notice of the growth of Boxster Spec (BSR) and thought, “This is the way we should be racing, where all the cars are the same.” Mike saw that some drivers were entering the GT2 class with 991.2 cars, while he was driving his 997.2. When he competed in GT1, he noticed that drivers were spending a lot of money on modifications, i.e. throttle bodies, bigger wings, larger splitters, etc., all of which were allowed. It also meant that bigger wallets determined podium finishes. The potential of the 991.2 was obvious and the idea of a new Spec class was born.
Currently, there are 13 POC cars competing in 991.2 Spec including Eben Benade, Duane Selby, Eric Olberz, Alex Hainer, Tom Mueller, Charlie Persico, Bryan Van Noy and Nathan Johnson. The competition has been fierce, with tenths of a second separating drivers during qualifying. The cars are identical. The difference is the driver. “It’s not about who has the latest whammy mod.”
Like the BSR class, drivers are limited to one set of competition tires per event weekend to help control costs. The rule also promotes making adjustments in driving techniques and race craft since a set of tires at the end of a weekend perform nothing like a fresh set of stickers. “It makes for better drivers.” Tire sets are stamped with official POC stamps, just like the Boxsters.
Spread the word if you know someone who might enjoy competing in 991.2 Spec. Perhaps you can see yourself behind the wheel. The class is growing and it’s an exciting place to be. I’m looking forward to seeing what the next six months bring.
Photos: Luis Vivar
After a two-month hiatus, I’m excited to bring you another in my series of profiles of our club’s sponsors. For starters, thank you to all our sponsors for the important role you play in the POC’s financial health, year after year. For all the readers, please use our sponsors products and services whenever possible.
The Porsche Owners Club Recognizes WESTWOOD RACING SUPPLIES
as a Valued Sponsor
Steve Town / Sponsorship Director
In this month’s sponsor profile, I talked with Eric Olberz about his Westwood Racing Supplies company, as well as Eric’s long history with the POC and deep interest in Porsche since he first experienced driving one in the 1980’s.
Let’s start with Eric’s motorsports retail operation, Westwood Racing Supplies. He started the company a little over two years ago. He described it like this, “I had been thinking about a motorsports business for a long time, about 20 years, and with more free time I decided to do it. I started it first with internet only, no store location, and began building things from nothing.”
I asked Eric about the business now, after the startup phase, and he said, “After about a year of internet only sales, I opened the store, in Bel Air/ Westwood, about 1200 square feet. I’ve been really happy with the walk in traffic and customers from all kinds of motorsports, of all ages, autocross, on
track, rally, desert. I’ve also noticed recently more SIM related customers, that are starting to do track days, and need all the appropriate gear.”
I have yet to visit the Westwood showroom in person, but I plan on it as soon as possible. After seeing a picture of the store, it’s clear Eric keeps a sizeable inventory on hand. He said, “I like to keep about $200,000 of inventory, since I like having it on hand, and not have to order too much when customers are in the store.
When I started the business I had nice support from Alpinestars (also a POC sponsor), and I like to feature their products as much as I can.”
After starting with 100% internet sales only Eric said, “Now I’m at about 60% in store, 40% internet sales. And I’m starting to sell items like Garmin, driver cooling systems, transponders, and electronics.”
As far as his working hours, he said, “I’m the owner and employee, I do the website, the store, really everything.” Let’s just say Eric is busy! I asked him what he would like to work toward with the business the next three to five years, and he said, “I’d like to keep growing, expand the business. There aren’t really any store fronts, motorsports related in this area, so I think I can grow more, as more people know I’m here.”
Now, let’s go from the business world to the track and personal life for Eric. It’s really interesting to hear how the racetrack and motorsports came into a person’s life, and often becomes an important part of it. I think almost everyone reading this can relate! I asked Eric what began this 40+ year “hobby.” His reply was, “I started getting the driving-on-track bug
when I was a teenager, beginning with my VW. My friends and I would drive Angela’s Crest fast as we could in those old cars, but that turned to Porsche interest, in the mid 80’s. I was 22 and my Dad helped me buy a blue 1986 Carrera. I was looking at a used one, but one thing led to another and I ended up doing a Euro delivery in Stuttgart.” I stopped Eric there and I said, you surely were pretty early in the Stuttgart delivery program (I’m saying this not being aware of when that program started!), but I have done that as well and it’s one of the highlights of all things Porsche I’ve done. It should be on all your bucket lists to take delivery at the factory, have a week vacation driving it, return to the factory and fly home to wait six to eight weeks for the car to arrive. For Porsche street cars, I don’t think it gets better than that.
Back to Eric. He said, “In 1986 or 1987 a doctor friend of mine, Dr. Ralph Martin, a POC member beginning I think in 1955, got me going on track and POC too. I started at Riverside Raceway in that 1986 Carrera, all stock until I morphed it into a GT1 car making 350 hp, and into a race car in the early 90’s.” Eric went on, “At that time, Riverside, and POC too, had a huge Speedsters group. TT in Speedsters. We didn’t have wheel to wheel racing ‘til into the 90’s, so I did TT and Autocross a lot. Also, I started in karting, where I did my first race. I also did the Russell Formula programs. In 1992 I modified the 1986 blue Carrera and started wheel- to-wheel racing in POC, until about 2000 in that car. I think that first POC race was at Riverside in 1992. And amazingly, just a few short years ago, I was offered to buy back that car that I began with, but I passed on it.”
Eric went on to run bigger and national level series in the 2000’s, with World Challenge in Porsche Cup Cars around 2006-2008.
The highest level. He said, “Those were some of my best memories on track, and really a big memory is the World Challenge at the Long Beach Grand Prix weekend, running Cup Cars. I won’t forget passing Andy Pilgrim (World Challenge major driver), feeling really good about it, then crashing into Turn 1 at Long Beach. My family was there, and a huge weekend crowd. I remember a lot of eyes on me at that point, but not for the best reason!”
Eric also said, “I think my most exciting race in that series was Mid-Ohio, since that track is so good. With 30 Cup Cars, I passed quite a few and just missed the top 10, finishing 11th.”
It’s really inspiring to hear about Eric’s track experiences and longevity. I asked him, what keeps him fresh and coming back to the track after 40 years? I really liked his answer, “I love the challenge, and learning new things, with different race cars. I like that feeling of buckling into the harness for the first time on a weekend, rolling out on Friday, and thinking, I can’t believe I’m doing this. Also, the Monday ‘buzz.’ I love feeling all that happened over the weekend and still feeling it on Monday.” May we all know and keep feeling all that!
Eric grew up in Pasadena (thus the Angela’s Crest access), and lives in Bel Air with his
wife Maryam, who is a big part of Eric’s track life too. It’s always great to see her out at the track! Maryam has a store connected to Westwood Racing Supplies, offering women’s active wear and gym, yoga wear. He said, they’ll have customers come in with the man getting his track gear, and his wife or girlfriend getting items with Maryam. Nice combination that is! Maryam and Eric have two grown sons each. Maryam’s are Andrew (30) and Ash (24), both in the LA area, while Eric’s sons are Markus (30) and Karl (27), with Markus living in Germany and Karl in Idaho. I asked Eric if any of the boys caught track fever and he said, “Markus did, he joined POC, got cup race licensed with a 2012 Cayman R. He loved it, but he’s built a life in Germany, so no more POC recently.”
Eric’s interests and hobbies outside of being on track are, drumroll please… as he said, “F1 and other forms of motorsports. I just love it. We’ve tried to go to F1 races every few years, my favorite being Monaco in 2018.”
I can’t thank Eric enough for spending some time together and letting us all know more about one of longest serving, and currently racing, POC members. Good luck building Westwood Racing Supplies and thank you for your sponsorship and commitment to the POC.
Good luck to everyone going to Sonoma and have a great summer!
Steve Town Sponsorship Director
Did You Know?
ANDREW WEYMAN
The California Highway Patrol deals with thousands of highway traffic related incidents every year. I gathered some statistics from the California Office of Traffic Safety, the UC Berkeley Safe Transportation Research and Education Center and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). They’re eyeopeners.
In 2019, 15 percent of injury crashes in California were a direct result of distracted driving. Nationwide, distracted driving incidents in 2021 amounted to 424,000 injured and 3,142 killed. In 2021, 3,522 fatalities were the result. Do you see a trend? Let’s hope more recent statistics illustrate an improvement.
Texting while driving increases the probability of a crash by 23 percent. Need I say more? Maybe not, but I will. On average, it takes 4.6 seconds to read or send a text. A crash will occur within three seconds. Do the math.
?
Texting isn’t the only problem. Talking to other people inside your vehicle, eating and drinking or manipulating navigation and audio systems are other well-known distractions. In an opinion piece in the Mercury News, Joe Simitian offered a good reminder, “Current state laws prohibit drivers from using a cell phone or mobile device while holding it in their hand, even when stopped at a red light. Mobile devices can only be used in a hands-free manner, such as speaker phone or voice commands, but even that’s distracting. And remember, drivers under the age of 18 are prohibited from using a cell phone while driving (except emergency calls), even hands free.”
Distracted driving fatalities increased nationally by 11.7 percent between 2020 and 2021. In California, they increased by 27.3 percent. Not good. Nationwide, the peak period of all distracted driving fatal crashes in 2021 was Thursday evening, between 6 pm and midnight. The peak period in California of all distracted driving serious injury crashes in 2021 was Saturday afternoon, between 3 pm and 6 pm. California counties with the most distracted driving fatalities are, in order of frequency, San Diego, Kern, Fresno, Orange and Los Angeles.
Now you know. It’s up to you to stay focused while you’re driving. Do your part and stay safe.
Steve Town
MAN OF MYSTERY REVEALED
ANDREW WEYMAN
Photos: Luis Vivar
AW: Who are you anyway?
Board Member Steve Town drives his GT5 car, number 822, in the Orange Group and ran it in the 30th Annual Tribute to Le Mans enduro.
Steve joined the POC around 20122013. So, I’ve known him for about 12 years. Then again, I realized that for as long as I’ve known him, I don’t really know him. That prompted me to get in touch with Steve and ask him a few questions. Here’s how it went.
ST: Ha! Hey, I hope you and I both find out after this!
AW: Let’s start with some simple questions. What was your track experience prior to joining the POC?
ST: I had done track days since the late ‘90s through 2010. Not that many. Probably about twice a year, in my street Porsches, a ‘96 911C2, then ’97 Targa, and then ‘06 C4. Mostly in Texas and Colorado. My business was in Houston, and I did track days at Texas Motor Speedway when it was in College Station as an old NASCAR track with an infield. There was also a road course piece of pavement in a field. Actually, it was more like a swamp. It was about an hour south of Houston that was used for track days. In Colorado I ran with Rocky Mountain PCA at High Plains Raceway. It’s a good track but has essentially temporary facilities unfortunately, and it’s really remote, about an hour east of Denver. I sold both of those 993 street cars. Boy, I wish I hadn’t.
AW: And your first dedicated track car?
ST: In 2012, I bought a ’99 996C2 that had been raced in NASA, which I ran in TT and then as a practice car after my other race car was built in 2014-2015. I ended up selling it to Bill Durant in, I think 2021, and he races it in our GT5 Orange race group.
AW: You moved around a lot. Was that for your ‘business’ or…?
ST: Ha! After living in Houston from 1990-1999, we were fortunate enough to pick some wonderful places to live. I was in the energy business in Houston. We completed the sale of the company back in 2008. It was located just outside of town. In 1999 we moved the family to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, then the Denver area in 2005. I commuted to Houston from Jackson and then Denver for those nine years. Kind of a long commute!
AW: So, it was for your job, not the Witness Protection Program. That’s been the rumor, you know.
ST: (Laughs) It’s funny you say that. My kids were quite young, nine and five, when we left Houston, so they were basically never in my office after that, and the business wasn’t easy to explain to the kids anyway. Around the time my son was 18 he told me he always thought I worked for the C.I.A., which is hilarious. My time in Houston and commuting across the country just didn’t add up when he was younger. He thought it was a cover. Actually, he was hoping it was a cover. (Steve laughed.) “That would be really cool Dad!” You know what boys are like. Reality was far less interesting.
AW: What exactly were you doing?
ST: We brokered transactions primarily in natural gas and electrical power. We also dealt in refined products, carbon credits, and retail power deals. We served the wholesale energy market in derivatives, futures, physical product, existing in-between the bi-lateral contracts of most every wholesale participant in those markets, production companies, banks, trading firms, utilities, merchants, retailers, etc. It was a very interesting business, and there are plenty of days I wish we never sold it.
Photos: Luis Vivar
AW: Where were you born and raised?
ST: I was born in Portland, Oregon. We moved to Bellevue, Washington when I was one. From 11 to 18 I lived in Walnut Creek, California. Then I went off to college.
AW: You and your brother, Phil, race together. (Phil races in GT4 as well.) It’s great to see you guys at the track. I’m envious.
ST: Thanks Andrew. It’s been really special racing with Phil. He’s based in Georgia. His first day on a racetrack was with me was in 2017 at Chuckwalla. I had just completed my first race. I qualified last. In that first race, I got into my car about five minutes before the race. I looked at the dash and I saw that I had about an eighth of a tank of gas. Panic. I drove over to the fuel pumps and there was a car in front of me. Panic. I got fuel and back to the grid just as the cars were exiting the grid. I was putting my gloves on, buckling my harness and panicking. I obliterated the rookie list of don’t do this or this or this. I did it all. After my ‘not- so-pro’ level start to racing, Phil rode in the right seat for a session or two. When he got behind the wheel, his first oh s#*t moment on a racetrack happened. He was coming into the last corner before the front straight and I told him to brake. My next “Brake!” was louder and my next one was even louder. He finally realized there was a massive turn, which somehow, he made. When we came off the track he said, “I hate this. I can’t do this.” Seven years later, he’s racing hard and running near the top of GT4. He’s really enjoying it and doing a lot of racing.
AW: Tell me a little about your current racecar. ST: I bought the car in 2014, a ‘04 996 street car. I had met Mark Hergesheimer and HRG at my first day with POC at Auto Club Speedway. He and Eric Oviatt (his stepson) took that ‘04 down to the bare bones and built a GT4 race car out of it. It had the stock engine from the factory build. We didn’t do anything to the motor, and I never did until it died in 2020. I started driving it in Time Trials, then racing it in 2017. I tracked it until November 2020, winning the GT4 Cup season points in 2018-2020. The last couple of corners of my last race in 2020 I thought I ran out of gas. The car sputtered but I won the race, barely. It went back to Vision and we planned to send an oil sample to Blackstone for testing. Well, it didn’t look good. When the oil came out yellow, it was clear the block had cracked sometime during that weekend, but the car made it through. I put a lot of laps on that engine, as hard as I could. It just kept going and going until… it died. Nick at Vision said, “I bet you had one more lap left in that engine.” It was a miracle stock engine. We put a GT3 engine in the car and ran it for 3 years, but it went kaput last October. The transmission, and the clutch was destroyed too…. It was pretty much a fiasco. I spoke with the guys at Vision and decided to put in a stock Cayman engine out of a street car, put on some Hoosiers and run in GT5. The first time I used it was last month’s Tribute weekend. It was great. I really enjoyed it. Until the Tribute race itself. That was such a s#*t show, it became funny. Our team of two, me and brother Phil, had three mechanicals and a comm system break down. From pole, I didn’t make it to T2 on the out lap. I restarted the car four times on the out lap to get into the pits. The pros at Vision diagnosed the problem, reset the car and 20 minutes later I went back out. Then Phil had a loose control arm and he lasted one lap, pitted, and went out 25 minutes later. We were about 40 laps behind or something. I don’t know but it had to be the farthest behind a relay team has ever been. We were determined to legally finish the race somehow, that is until the fire/rescue teams hit our comm frequency, and Phil couldn’t hear our instructions to pit, so he stayed out one lap too long. I went back out for the third stint and after five laps I heard a sound like a pop exiting T1. One of the cylinders had given up. That was the end of our race. As Ricky Bobby so eloquently said, “If ya ain’t first, yer last.” We were as last as last can be. So, we went to the dinner and laughed about it all.
AW: I know how much you love racing. Your smiles at the track are infectious. Do you have any other hobbies?
ST: Aside from our racetrack addiction, I try to stay in shape with a few hobbies. Cycling, the gym. But my real hobby is three grandsons. Jackson, August, and Bode. Ages four, three, and two. They’re so much fun. They keep me on my toes. Speaking of kids, I chose my car number, 822, because my daughter Emily’s birthday is on the 8th and my son Hayden’s is on the 22nd. Emily and her husband, Brian, live in Ventura. Their sons are Jackson and Bode. Hayden lives in North Carolina with August and works for the National Lab system within Homeland Security.
Hmm. Maybe that teenage C.I.A. theory of his kicked in. They’re all such a source of pride in my life. I’m also a very lucky guy to be with my fiancé, Rhanna Prado. We’re getting married in October, in her hometown of Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
AW: Anything you’d like to add?
ST: I guess what I’d like to say is the that the memory I have being at my first POC event, the feeling I had, really sticks with me… the special nature of it. Let’s just say it wasn’t like a PCA event (sorry PCA)! It was what I wanted, serious amateur track action and not travel all over the country to do it. The members of the POC are truly special to me… I’ve done quite a few races and track experiences outside of POC, with WRL endurance for instance, racing against NASCAR winning drivers and real professionals. Through those experiences I realized quickly that in Red and Orange Cup in POC, there are some of the best drivers you could possibly have. That’s just a fact. You want to be a competitor and do your best. You develop these special friendships. You compete hard, often 12 inches off the bumper in front of you, or door-to-door, with confidence. To be able to do that event after event, it’s pretty darn special. Wow. The friendships, the after five o’clock fun. It’s a fulfilling, special part of my life. We’re all just very lucky to be able to do it. It’s incredible.
AW: I couldn’t agree more. I am so grateful.
ST: Not many people are able to do this. To do it the POC way is truly special.
AW: Before I let you go, what have you learned about yourself because of your participation in motorsports?
ST: Interesting question. I think the primary thing I’ve learned about myself is that I’ve come to really enjoy combining a high level of competition, camaraderie, and fun all rolled into one sport, and the POC embodies this.
AW: Amen. Well, I hope everything we talked about is true and not just part of your cover.
ST: (Laughs.) For sure I can tell you my son wishes the C.I.A. fantasy was true! Thanks for the interview Andrew, and thanks for what you’re doing with Velocity and the club.
Photo: Luis Vivar
Photos: Luis Vivar
Taking Instructors to the Next Level
Matthew Hately
19 POC members, along with three members of other organizations, attended the Motorsports Safety Foundation (MSF) instructor training at The Streets of Willow. Organized by Jim Salzer, this was the largest group attendance to date for an MSF course on the West coast. It’s a testament to Jim’s vision and dedication. His goal to provide top quality MSF certified instruction to POC members has become a reality.
The Motorsports Safety Foundation was founded by Henrique Cisneros, a racer who has competed in the ALMS and Grand Am series, and a two-time winner of the Porsche GT3 national championship, after his friend and fellow racer Sean Edwards was killed while instructing another driver. The MSF aims to make HDPE (High Performance Driving Education, or as we call it, PDS, Performance Driving Series) instructing safer for both the instructor and the student.
What’s remarkable about 22 of us attending the training program is that the course is a serious commitment. To qualify for the full-day in-person training, every attendee was required to complete an online training course, taught by Ross Bentley. Then, candidates had to pass an online exam, which required a 90% score or better. Some of us had to take the exam more than once to get a 90%. I blame it on the tricky wording of some of the questions. John Momeyer passed it on his fourth try.
Because the MSF program is new to the POC, the course was taught by Erin Vogel from the Audi Club North America. Before becoming active with the Audi Club, she was an active POC driver in Boxster Spec. Erin is now an accomplished driving instructor and racer who has competed in SRO and GT World Challenge America. Erin’s experience as an instructor and teacher was obvious as she managed to keep the attention of the group for the four hours of classroom training. She covered a lot of ground, from how to engage with students on their background and goals, to how to tailor your instruction to various skill levels and personalities. She also handled questions and comments with aplomb.
Photos: Luis Vivar
The genius of the MSF course is that it combines the classroom training with on-track instructing experience. It’s one thing to learn techniques in class, but it’s another thing to apply them in real-world situations. 11 more experienced POC instructors joined the course as mentors, pretending to be students and playing out some of the common personalities and traits we see with PDS students, albeit more pronounced. Some of the imaginatively named roles played included the timid “Forgetful Frank” or the more aggressive “Twitchy Richie.” Some of the mentors gave Oscar-worthy performances. Martina Kwan in particular played multiple personalities in our in-car session, throwing curveballs and keeping me on my toes. Mentors showed up with everything from race cars to pickup trucks and SUVs, adding to the mix of challenges and situations for the instructors.
In talking with other instructor candidates, I think we all had our own lightbulb moments throughout the day. Mine came in the first on-track session, where I realized that no matter how much time I have behind the wheel, I wasn’t prepared for dealing with a difficult student, or connecting with a student who just “didn’t get it.” Being able to roleplay different real-world situations throughout the day was invaluable. It left me better prepared for similar situations when instructing PDS students, rather than trying to navigate them on the fly.
Whether we Time Trial or Race, most of us start in the POC with PDS. It’s our first interaction with the club and it sets the tone for how we drive in future events. For some members, the experience they have with their instructors is what motivates them to stay with the club (or not) and even whether they pursue performance driving as a hobby (or not). The MSF certification is a huge step to raising up the quality of instruction at the POC – making it better, more consistent, and most importantly, safer. A huge thanks to Jim Salzer, the Audi Club, the mentors, and everyone involved in making our first MSF course a reality.
Here’s a list of POC participants, including mentors (in no particular order) who completed the course: Nathan Apelbaum, Dwain Dement, Andrew Weyman, Martina Kwan, Vivek Hazari, John Momeyer, Nico Silva, Curt Richardson, JD DeBoer, Deeno, Shannon Yauchzee, Val Ascencio, Bruce Blockus, Matthew Hately, Kunal Hinduja, Ryder Liu, Calvin Park, Reuben Raveendran, Pamela Susslin, Mick Yanoschak, Bob Micheletti and Craig Barrett.
19 POC members, along with three members of other organizations, attended the Motorsports Safety Foundation (MSF) instructor training at The Streets of Willow...this was the largest group attendance to date for an MSF course on the West coast.
Photo: Luis Vivar
Full Circle
“ My goals remain clear: to push boundaries, to learn continually, and to ensure every enthusiast who crosses my path leaves with not just improved skills, but a deeper love for motorsports.”
Calvin Joon Park
It felt like coming around full circle when I drove to the Streets on June 15, 2024. This was where it all began. I took the SCCA Novice License school with FastLane Racing School in May of 2022. The day began at the Streets! At the time, I had no track experience and when I signed up for the class, I was under the misguided impression that I would end up with the skills of a pro racer after the weekend. Ha!
Well, I didn’t graduate the two-day weekend school with the skills of a pro race. However, I sure graduated with the bug. I was hooked. I had signed up for that class with another Porsche enthusiast buddy, but he didn’t come back after the first day. I guess it’s not for everyone. But it was definitely for me.
Fueled by newfound passion, I began searching for a dedicated track car. I ended up finding the right car for me, a SPEC 944 from Michigan. I chose responsibly rather than going for the raw power, unsure if this infatuation would last beyond the initial thrill. Yet, as fate would have it, I fell deeper in love with the sport.
Enter Bob Chang. He invited me over to a POC event at WSIR and I fell in love with POC. I spent the first night tent-camping in the parking lot with Bob Chang and Luis Vivar, sharing a bottle of wine.
Fast-forward a couple of years, and I found myself back at the Streets, but this time, not as a novice. Somewhat experienced now and with a determination to give back, I enrolled in the Motorsport Safety Foundation Level 2 Instructor class. The circuit where it all began became a classroom where I could impart knowledge and ensure safer, more fulfilling experiences for others. Becoming an instructor wasn’t just about sharing skills; it was about crafting meaningful experiences. Every session, every interaction with the mentors became an opportunity to refine my own skills and elevate the journey of those around me. Mentors Andrew Weyman, Nico Silva, JD deBoer and Nathan Apelbaum, all threw me curve balls throughout the day. From novices eagerly absorbing every tip to seasoned racers fine-tuning their techniques, each moment reinforced my commitment to growth and community.
As I look ahead, my goals remain clear: to push boundaries, to learn continually, and to ensure every enthusiast who crosses my path leaves with not just improved skills, but a deeper love for motorsports. Because in the end, it’s not just about the finish line — it’s about the journey that gets us there, and the community that makes it unforgettable.
Ask
Dear Dr. Dyno,
Advice to Keep You on Track
I attended the event at The Streets and had a great time. I asked around but nobody seemed to know, why is it called “The Streets?”
Wanting to know in West LA
Dear Wanting,
Good question. I’m glad you asked. The Streets of Willow Springs is the 1.8-mile road course at Willow Springs International Raceway. It was named “The Streets” after the microbial life forms that lived in the area during the Protoerzoic era, about 1.5 billion years ago. Prior to the completion of the track, two construction workers, Zachary and Carlos, got into an argument about prehistoric life forms of the Mojave while paving the paddock. Zachary insisted that Strets, a little-known microscopic bugger that slithered through the hills of Willow Springs deserved to be acknowledged. He suggested that the track be named to honor the Strets. Carlos disagreed. He thought a more poetic name like “Laguna Seca” or “Nurburgring” would be a better choice. They agreed to disagree. But it didn’t end there. Zachary was friends with Harold, the guy hired to paint the signs for the track. Unbeknownst to Carlos, Zachary secretly offered to pick up Harold’s sizeable whiskey tab at Coach’s Bar (which is still in business on West Rosamond Boulevard) if he painted a sign to honor the Strets that once inhabited the area. Since Harold was often under the influence, he misunderstood and created a sign reading, “The Streets of Willow.” The rest is history.
Dear Dr. Dyno,
My boyfriend introduced me to the POC two years ago. I started in PDS and recently moved up to Time Trials. My boyfriend has been Time Trialing for six years. We’re both in the same car class. Last weekend, I beat his butt big time. In fact, I had the fastest time of the day in our group. He finished behind me in second place. I jokingly called him “First loser.” He didn’t find it funny. You would think he would have hugged me and congratulated me, but he did none of that. Ever since then, our relationship has suffered. I confronted him about it, but he said he didn’t want to talk about it. We’ve been together for seven years but I’m thinking of breaking up with him. What should I do?
Conflicted in Culver City
Dear Conflicted,
Let’s be clear. I’m not a licensed therapist but I happen to have a lot of experience with this kind of thing. As much as I hate to say it, it’s time to move on. Your boyfriend sounds like an insecure jerk. Why have you been with this clown for seven years? I don’t know how old you are but none of us are getting any younger. It’s great that your boyfriend, I’ll call him “Bozo,” introduced you to high performance driving. You’ve made great progress in a short time. Bozo should be happy for you, not threatened. There are so many great single guys in the club if that’s what you want to explore. Check out the championship standings and pick yourself a winner! Or just take a break from it all. I mean relationships, not driving. Keep driving. Maybe sour puss Bozo will realize what a gift you are and beg your forgiveness. Make him work for it. Maybe a new set of tires or some upgraded suspension bits….
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Atlanta 06/13/2024: Porsche Cars North America, Inc. (PCNA) today announced it has signed an agreement with ChargePoint, a leading provider of charging solutions for electric vehicles (EVs), which will enable access to its charging network within the Porsche Charging Service. The collaboration will increase the number of chargers available to Porsche customers to more than 86,000 across the United States.
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SIMRACING
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