This issue is chock full of fun. Don Kravig’s coverage of Sonoma is a blast, Steve Eisler shares his experience at the PEC, Paul Wren does a deep dive into vision and focus, Dave Buckholz heads to Ohio, and Dr. Dyno shares his wisdom. Add to that the latest from Porsche, Luis Vivar’s photography, Don Matz’s graphic design and a great group of sponsors for you to support. Start clicking!
I’ve been enjoying your questions and comments. Keep ‘em coming! POCVelocityEditor@gmail.com
VELOCITY Staff Editor
Andrew Weyman
Art Director
Don Matz
Contributing Writers
Don Kravig
Andrew Weyman
Dave Buckholz
Dr. Dyno
Steve Eisler
Contributing Photographers
Luis Vivar
Don Matz
Matthew Hately
Chris Kipp
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
Cover Photo: Luis Vivar
Photo: Luis Vivar
SONOMA
Left to Right: Nathan Johnson, Mike Monsalve and Duane Selby
Photo: Don Matz
The POC at Sonoma
Rise of the SIM
Don Kravig
After a two-year absence the POC returned to one of the seminal tracks in road racing. Initially known as Sears Point, the track was host to some of the earliest road racing on the West Coast. Many drivers from the POC cut their teeth in national, regional, and professional racing events at this world-famous track.
Sonoma is an old school track that gives every driver all the challenges he or she can stand, and then some. From blind late apex uphill right-handers to constant radius lefthanders, off camber braking, downhill esses with sucker corners in the middle, this track gives you all the challenges you need!
The recent repaving offered the opportunities for track records and spectacular spins. Cornering speeds proved to be higher and less breaking distance was needed. NASCAR had eight cautions in their first 25 laps at Sonoma just a month previously and it just seems that this track will lead you toward misbehavior, both pro and amateur alike!
Friday’s practice sessions did not bring about any kind of record-breaking times as it was 100° and people were just trying to get a feel for the new pavement. Saturday’s dawn was slightly overcast and cooler. Lap times started to come down. In Red qualifying, Mike Monsalve laid down a 1:35.261 for pole position. Second was Duane Selby with a 1:37.268, and Nathan Johnson followed close behind with a 1:37.363. In GT2, Razvan Sporea laid down a 1:40.625 followed by the GT3 cars of Ana Predescu and Brett Gaviglio at 1:40.207 and 1:41.962 respectively. Jim Salzer set the pace in GT4 at a 1:45.606.
SONOMA
Now, here’s where it gets really interesting. Most of you have probably seen the new movie Gran Turismo. I must confess I have not. But over the years, I’ve had at least one employee claim that he could beat Michael Schumacher if he could just get in a car. He fancied himself F1 capable because of his extensive time SIM racing. So, the top four cars in Orange qualifying were all 20-something drivers. Two of them are recent graduates of Dwain Dement’s Cup Racing School and have extensive SIM racing experience. The other two have extensive car racing experience and experience with karting. All four of them were down near the track record. This had the makings of an awesome Orange race! We’d managed to get all the way through Friday, two practices and two qualifying sessions on Saturday with nobody touching a wall. There were numerous spins and other off-course adventures. Remember what I said about this track leading people into misbehavior?
Saturday Morning Orange Race
On to Orange race number one. Newcomer and ultra-fast SIM racer Sagar Dhawan qualified on the pole with a 1:51.778 followed by the track-experienced and SIM savant, Alistair Belton at 1:51.949. 3rd and 4th place were earned by veteran Matt Hollander with a 1:52.206 and veteran Nick Khilnani with a 1:52.694. During the race start, both Hollander and Belton were able to exploit a momentary lapse by Dhawan to move into 1st and 2nd with Dhawan finishing 3rd but securing the fastest lap. Other big movers were Ryan Moore and Ryder Liu. The battles from front to back including one between Alan Watts and Adam Abrahms making the whole race exciting to watch. All the cars that started finished unscathed and even though there was lots of spectacular events and sideways moments, everybody was looking forward to the next race that afternoon.
Saturday Red Race
On to Saturday’s Red race. Mike Monsalve led the 16-car Red field to the green flag and proceeded to separate himself by two or three car lengths from Duane Selby and then just lay down lap after perfect lap. At various times Selby got up close enough to present himself in the corners, but a
Photo: Luis Vivar
pass was impossible. Behind those two, Ana Predescu and Brett Gaviglio had a similar battle with Predescu taking an early lead and Gaviglio unable to close the gap. Behind them there were various incidents and spins and lots of good racing with just one car losing it bad enough to get all the way to the wall traveling backwards. There was very minor damage to the car so all in all, a good race. Scott Matz flew all the way from Pennsylvania to take on Sonoma and his new Cup car. Finding the track very intimidating and hard to learn he got some help from Kevin Roush and took off something like six seconds over the course of the weekend. Good on you Kevin for being such a great coach!
Saturday Afternoon Orange Race
Next was Saturday afternoon’s Orange race. Pole sitter Sagar Dhawan led a 23-car Boxster field to the green. Holding his lead to the first corner, a race-long battle ensued between Dhawan and Belton, Hollander and Moore. Good clean racing! Farther back in the pack similar racing was taking place with hard fought one or two spot gains by Larry Haase and others. Just behind them was a 6-way battle taking place. Then, just about midpack, misbehavior! With an attempted pass on the outside of the left hand second Ess. It caused a two-car collision that took both competitors out. Sonoma lures you into bad judgment. The race wound up with Dhawan winning, 2nd place went to Belton and Hollander took 3rd. Afterwards, Dhawan and Belton joked that their cars are like M&Ms. They were amazingly close together. It was brilliant driving by both.
Sunday Red Race
Sunday morning Red qualifying had Mike Monsalve on the pole with Predescu leading GT3 Jim Salzer fastest in GT4. Sunday’s Red race was similar in respect to the Saturday race as there were hard fought battles that might result in one place gained. Monsalve wound up winning the 991.2 Spec class both days and set a new track record in qualifying on Saturday. Way to go Mike! Predescu won both of her races with lots of attempts from the various people chasing her including Darin Moore. She has turned into one hell of a driver! A broken wheel on Brett Gaviglio’s car caused him to drop out. It was a pretty clean race!
SONOMA
Sunday Orange Race
Sunday’s Orange race had a 22-car start with Belton and Dhawan starting 1st and 2nd. The race finished up that way with Rob Walker coming in a hard-fought 3rd. Oh, by the way, Dhawan set a track record in Boxster Spec over the weekend with a 1:50.765 taking the track record away from James McLaughlin by a full second. With all his SIM racing experience, Dhawan commented how much different it was getting all kinds of feedback from the car, angles, different grips on different tires based on where you were in the corner, the effect of the gravity on the uphill and downhill portions, the noise and vibration, etc. All of this made the race very challenging for him but I’m here to tell you he drove precise lines and basically made almost no mistakes. Congratulations to Sagar Dhawan and Alistair Belton! They’re both winners and I hope to see you two at all our future events. We’ll call it M&M racing.
It was a great weekend at one of the West Coast’s preeminent tracks. Sonoma offers some of the greatest challenges in racing. What great fun it is to meet those demands. See you all at Spring Mountain!
Photo: Luis Vivar
SONOMA
Photos: Luis Vivar
SONOMA
Photos: Luis Vivar
SONOMA
Photo: Luis Vivar
SONOMA
Photos: Luis Vivar
Photo: Chris Kipp
SONOMA
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Photos: Luis Vivar
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Photos: Luis Vivar
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Photos: Luis Vivar
My whole life I have always believed that I was a racer.
My earliest memories of sport were watching grainy black and white images of GP racing, both cars and bikes. I had little interest in stick & ball sports. I remember a deck of cards that I was given, like baseball cards but on the front of each was a photo of a motorcycle or racecar, and on the back were all the statistics, year of manufacture, country of origin, and races and championships won.
My financial means never really matched the image in my mind, so as time went by and I started working, I raced whatever my credit card limit would support. Motocross at first, then road racing until a crash put me in hospital for four months. That and the pile of bills had me restart in enduro karting, which is terrific value for the money and when you crash, you’re already on the ground. It also taught me directly that all of driving was basically tire management, and understanding exactly how much grip and life was provided by the one spec tire for the weekend became almost the entire game.
Throughout this time, with each race series I would delve into the best explanations and writing I could find. Early on in motorcycle racing I discovered the original Zen master, Keith Code of the California Superbike School. I was on the east coast and had no money to go to California, but he wrote a terrific book explaining his methodology, and
Paul Wren
my copy was dog-eared and well-worn from many many readings. My first racing school was the rookie introduction at Loudon Raceway (now New Hampshire International Speedway) with Jerry Wood of the Penguin School. He taught the basic form of Code’s methods, which focused on visualization and gradually working up to speed. With Code’s methods you could close your eyes and visualize a lap, and if you were doing it right you would be within a second or two of your actual lap time.
Subsequently I picked up all the usual wisdom we gather from F1 stars and sages of driving. Keep your eyes up and focused ahead. Think about weight transfer and the limits of adhesion. Pay attention to slip angle and the migration of grip through the heating of the tire. Get to throttle early and understand the exact point at which you can do so without letting off till the next braking zone. Motorcycle racing makes you intimately familiar with all of that because you are literally inches from the ground, and actually in contact with the ground in almost every corner… and if you get it wrong, you’re definitely in contact with the ground.
Keith Code
Images: Don Matz
Finally, after getting through my career and raising two kids till they were out of school and on their own, I had been doing track days in a succession of faster street Porsches when I discovered Martina & Dwain’s DK Racing school, and the structured racing provided by Porsche Owners Club. That led to the leap to a real race car, because once you’ve raced karts on real slicks, no street car is even close to satisfactory.
What brings me back to my title was an accident of the inevitable AI-generated Instagram feed that we’re mostly all familiar with. Somehow by watching your purchasing, browsing and clicking behavior, plus probably listening to your microphone, the algorithms can figure out what you’re going to want to see next, because they’ve seen it a million times with every other person on earth. No, not porn, but better: an explanation of the biomechanics of the eyeball.
I’m an engineer not a doctor but I’ll summarize: there are only THREE ways that your eyes move.
Saccade – The motion of glancing from one focus to another.
This is the most common way that we look at the world, by looking at one thing, then another. Our eyes jump from place to place without any conscious thought, and we see perfectly an image of the first thing, then an image of the second. The amazing thing is that while your eye is moving for those 10-20 milliseconds, your brain SHUTS OFF THE INPUT, so you do not see the blurred transition. You can prove this to yourself easily: stare at yourself in the mirror at close distance. Then, look at your right eye, then your left eye, then back. You will not see your eyes move! You will just have one image, then the other, but you will not see the motion of your eyes. That’s because your brain shuts them off for that split second.
Smooth tracking – The motion that your eye doctor will sometimes check, e.g. “Look at my pen and follow it” as they move it back and forth in front of you. You can do this, easily and automatically, and you do not lose any of the image. Your eyes will track a moving object, almost certainly courtesy of millions of years of hunting.
Stabilization – The ability to keep your eyes focused on a single point or object even when your body is moving, and again is easy to test out...
Just look at something, then turn or nod your head. Your eyes will smoothly and easily keep focus with no conscious effort. And this works for almost any amount of movement.
That’s it. Those are the only three ways you can track objects and events in your environment. And to me those limitations prove out a theory of driving focus and state of flow that I’ve always wondered about.
So, to go back to the oldest driving instruction, “Keep your eyes focused in the distance.” We’ve probably all seen a nervous novice driver that stares at the road directly in front of the car, and it makes it impossible to anticipate or be smooth about steering or responding to the demands of traffic. In one simple sense this is just because they don’t have enough warning, but more importantly, it involves the difference between saccade (type 1 movement) and the smooth tracking of the second two movements.
IF YOU GLANCE FROM THING TO THING, YOU ARE BLIND FOR SOME PERCENTAGE OF THE TIME. This
is just a biomechanical fact…we can’t avoid it but we can work to minimize it. However, I think there are limits to only focusing on distant objects: many things that we must control and very close to us (shift lights and gauges, the slip angle of the car to the trajectory, the white lines at corner entry and exit) cannot be fully handled by peripheral vision. The trick is to limit your glances to the “downtime” when it is not critical to have continuity.
I believe there are multiple techniques for keeping a smooth field of view…I personally have to keep my head stable and level and keep a focus on the middle distance. I get disoriented if I whip my head around and try to look out the side window in a hairpin to see up the next straightaway. That breaks my “flow” and to me, creates the glance effect that makes gaps in my sensation of the world. As much as possible, the flow is maintained by engaging the smooth tracking function of the eye rather than the staccato glance of type 1 saccade.
Promises,Promises
Country singer, songwriter legend John Prine wrote his very last song in 2018. Before the song was released, he played it for his family and friends during Thanksgiving at his home in Tennessee. The song is “I Remember Everything.” It’s a simple, beautiful song and a perfect backdrop for the story I want to share. This is the story of my POC experience and of a promise.
DAVE BUCKHOLZ
The POC story began 14 years ago and like every story, there is an ending. Pants and I have raced our last race with the club. It’s hard to write those words, even harder to imagine. What I thought would never change now has, abruptly, in an entirely new different direction - due East. You see, a promise was made and it’s time to make good. Like most marriages, there’s talk. Some significant, some trivial, some forgetful and some everlasting. One topic that my wife and I immediately agreed on long, long ago was where we want to live in retirement. That choice was easy, and it never wavered. We will live by our boy, wherever that may take us. That plan may lead us to Europe in early 2026 should his pro volleyball aspirations materialize. However, our first move does not require a passport. Now 22, Pants has had his own plan simmering since childhood and he too is making good. California was never his thing. Like secondhand clothes, it never felt or fit quite right. The Midwest alternative however, held everything. This summer, Pants chose to stay in Indiana to work and after graduation he’s not coming home. He’s made his move and that activates ours. Let’s go! We got on the gas quickly and in short order sold our home, divested our CA business, carefully dispersed the 1031 Exchange values, and closed on our new homestead in Ohio, along the shores of Lake Erie.
Thank you POC for granting me this corner of Velocity to share our news. More importantly however, for allowing me the opportunity to say thanks to so many. As a club, I can think of no finer. You have been “our place” from day one. The best times of my life have taken place over a POC weekend with my boy. I’m so fortunate to have had those experiences and the bright idea (way back when) to chronicle ALL of it. Now in the making, those pics will form our first book titled “Two Tools Racing - The California Chapter.” Long after memory fades, our story will remain.
My heartfelt thanks to Luis Vivar, Brian Mayfield and Robert Stark. Your photos captured us completely! To my POC buds, I will deeply miss all of you. Thank you for your friendship, and your wonderful part in our journey. To all those who frequented our paddock, thank you for the kindness. To everyone who lent us a hand, shared wisdom and gave guidance, we thank you too. To the shops who supported us, thank you for taking us in and making us feel special. To the safety crews who came to know us and our cars, thanks for watching over us. To Auto Club Speedway, our home track, we will never forget your “Roval.” To our beloved Willow Spring International, our favorite track, we will never forget Turn 9, the Omega, the early afternoon winds, the heat and oh those glorious sunrises. Lastly, to our Crew
Photos: Luis Vivar
Chief (Brother Steve, aka “Ollie), we will miss you most of all. Not for your legendary capabilities, work ethic and calming nature, but rather for the amazing time we shared together. The hot tub conversations, the long drives, the non-stop laughs, the country tunes, and endless AC/DC! Maybe someday brother, we’ll be reunited. Never say never.
Our next book awaits: “Two Tools Racing - The Midwest Chapter.” The pages are now empty and white but not for long. We land in the Buckeye State in early July. #263 and #262 were shipped in advance and are waiting impatiently for us to join them. We’ll be on track, together, having fun and competing Aug 24-25 at Mid-Ohio. And here’s one more promise, a new one. We promise to stay connected, to follow the action and to stay active on the POC Facebook page.
The years sped by, and I guess that’s fitting. Like closing my eyes and effortlessly driving the tracks in my mind - I remember everything, and I wouldn’t change a thing. Pants and I are already talking about a reunion race for my 65th birthday at WSIR. Hopefully she’ll still be there, waiting for us.
Photos: Luis Vivar
Matthew Hately
...is in Love with Racing!
Photo: Luis Vivar
ANDREW WEYMAN
Matthew Hately races BSR #401 in the Orange Group. His excitement about being part of the POC family is infectious. His love for the sport is overflowing. We chatted about lots of things. Here’s what he had to say...
AW: When did you join the POC?
MH: It’s been about five years, I think. Does it say on my membership card?
AW: No.
MH: That would be a nice upgrade.
AW: I can research your membership number.
MH: Before the POC I joined the BMW Club and did track days with them. Also Open Track Racing, FastLane Racing School, Speed District, NASA and a few others.
AW: Which BMW did you run?
MH: An e36. It was a regular 328i. Lesson learned. If you have a basic car and try to turn it into an M with cams, manifolds, exhaust and so on, it would have been cheaper to just buy the M. It started as a daily driver, then over time, stripping the interior, putting coil-overs on it, aggressive brake pads that squeal at every stoplight… The next thing you know you’ve got a trailer.
AW: How long were you enjoying these other track experiences before joining the POC?
MH: I started in ’08 maybe. I moved here from Ottawa in
My 328is e36 at Willow Springs - the car that got me hooked on track days. It started as my daily driver and slowly devolved into a full track car with coilovers, big brake kit, M3 cams, no interior, and roll bar. It was a dog on the straights but kept its own in the corners.
Photo: Matt Hately
’07. It was always a dream to eventually Club race. I started with track days. It took me about ten years, I guess. It’s something I wanted to do since I was 16 or 17 years old. In high school, I worked in a grocery store where the owner had a ’73 911. He was an instructor with PCA. The only track up there was Mosport. We finished a shift one night, went to grab some pizza and took it for a drive. That was it! Game over. I had a love affair with Porsche. It wasn’t anything I could afford. Over time, it became possible. I found an ad online for a car that Vali (Predescu) was selling. It wasn’t a Vali build. I don’t remember who built it. The roll cage wasn’t the best and there were a few other sub-par things. Vali said, “Well, you know, for not much more, I could build you one.” The rest is history.
AW: Speaking of cars, what was the first car you ever owned?
MH: An ’85 Honda Prelude. They rust by just looking at them. I worked hard trying to keep the rust away.
AW: That’s a good-looking car. Without the rust.
MH: It was fantastic. Classic late 1980’s coupe. I had BF Goodrich white-letter tires on it. It had tinted windows. Kind of a dark gray. It was a 4-speed. I loved that car. I had parked it outside one day at work. When I finished for the day, I thought I wasn’t remembering where I had parked, or I had decided to take the bus that day and didn’t remember. It was gone. They were very easy to steal apparently. It probably ended up as parts.
AW: What’s your current daily driver?
MH: A Volvo V60 Polestar.
AW: Getting back to racing, what do you find to be your biggest challenge on the track?
MH: (Long pause) I got into Time Trials with my Boxster Spec and I discovered I was eight seconds off the pace. I couldn’t understand why that was. When I started racing, I was five seconds off the pace and still had a hard time figuring it out. I started to chip away at it. Then I had a hard time finding those last two or three seconds. So, I have to say, it’s probably commitment. When I hear the top two or three guys say, ‘I don’t lift’ I can’t wrap my head around that. I’ve never been a ‘send-it-to-catchit driver.’ I’ve always been a sort of ‘work my way up’ guy. A tenth at a time. I think a lot of that is just like carrying a little more speed, using a little less brake. But I have to ease my way into it. I don’t have that confidence.
AW: I understand. I know it well.
MH: (Laughs) I’m not like Nigel (Maidment).
AW: (Laughs) What, if anything, have you learned about yourself through your experience racing?
MH: That’s a great question. Hmm…
AW: Don’t be shy.
MH: I think I sort of knew this about myself already but… I tend to learn new things very well up to about 70 percent. Like learning enough of a language just to get by or learning a musical instrument or something like that. Or, learning how to drive on the track. The first 60 or 70 percent comes rather easily, I guess. I don’t have to think about it too
much. That last 30 percent I find much more difficult. Having the focus and attention to detail, sitting down and looking at data and all that… I understand that I have to see things. I’ve always considered myself kind of a book learner, but I can learn something faster if I can see it with an instructor. An instructor can talk me through. Ease up here or come into the corner this way. Whatever it is. That’s one thing. I find that if an instructor takes me out for a lap, I can get a lot faster. So I’m a lot more of a visual learner than I thought I was. Or sensory learner. Visual and sensory I guess.
AW: How does racing complement or contrast with other activities in your life? Do you relate other experiences to what you do on the racetrack?
MH: In some ways. My day job is Executive Coach. A lot of that is about being calm and a good listener. Figuring out what’s holding people back in business. That’s why I wrote that article for Velocity a few months back. A lot of people
talk about football analogies or hockey analogies or baseball analogies. Aside from hockey, well, I’m not really into stick-and-ball sports. I found that what I was learning on the track clearly applies to business. Like Mario Andretti said that everything has to be a little out of control or you’re not going fast enough. I’ve found that’s kind of similar. Two of my clients are in the car business. There’s always been a thread there in some shape or form. One of the things I’m excited about is that in a couple of weeks I’m going to volunteer with an organization called Ukrainian Action which delivers trucks and supplies to the Ukraine through Poland. We bring them to the border and a volunteer from Ukraine comes and picks them up. I read about it in Car and Driver a couple of years ago and I put my name on the list to volunteer.
AW: That’s wonderful. Wow. What do you enjoy most about POC?
MH: The support. The people. I love that it’s competitive. There are always people ahead of A monster burnout in my gen 5 Camaro - I used to run sales and marketing at Magnuson Superchargers, and most of our marketing involved burnouts :)
Photo: Matt Hately
me who are so much faster. I love that people are willing to share information, tips… If I ask Anders (Hainer) a question, he’s always happy to answer, to help. I think that applies to all the people in the top ten. If I ask for a little bit of advice, they’ll tell me. There’s not that overly competitive attitude that ‘I’m not going to share.’ It could also be that they don’t see me as a threat (Laughs).
AW: And you’re trusting that they’re telling you the truth (Laughs).
MH: I love that there are people who love racing, and they love cars and they’re open. They’re not ‘clique-y’ and I feel like I can talk with anyone in the paddock. I love that.
AW: I feel the same way. What do you feel could be done to improve the POC experience?
MH: I think the work we’re doing with the Motorsports Safety Foundation is great. I think we could formalize the way we do PDS. I thought the instruction in BMWCC and NASA was pretty good. It was structured. Not all the instructors were great. I probably had better instructors with POC. That’s coming from the passion at POC. But the other clubs’ programs were more structured, and more time was dedicated to technique. I always thought that that was something we should look at in POC. Kind of formalize the PDS. We’re doing that now, which is awesome.
AW: I think Jim Salzer is doing a great job.
MH: I would love to help out with that. Both with the BMW club and POC there were always one or two instructors in particular who were outstanding. One of the first few weekends I
did with BMW in a beginner group they put a chicane in on the front straight at Auto Club Speedway to ‘slow you down.’ My instructor said, “You know, if you position the car here and if you do a little flick here you can pretty much do this flat out.” I was, like, “Really?” So, I was coming around and we were about to go through it. I kept my foot down and gave it a little flick and I remember he went, “Woooohoooohoooo!” He was so excited. I was so excited. It’s moments like that you don’t forget. It’s why we do this. I want to do this forever.
AW: Okay, now be real honest. How often do you read Velocity?
MH: Actually, I read every one.
AW: That’s a good answer!
MH: I skim the race reports because well, I was there. But they’re still interesting. I really like learning about other people in the interviews.
AW: I’ve found it interesting to learn about how what people do for a living or whatever other hobbies they have corresponds to racing. And a whole lot of other stuff. Often unexpected. Well, thanks so much for agreeing to do this. It’s been fun.
MH: Sure. Anytime.
AW: I’ll see you in Sonoma in just a few days.
MH: See ya there.
My ‘75 Firebird from my post-mullet years. It had Kiss Destroyer in the 8 track and a built Pontiac 462 with a 4 speed. Some days I regret selling it, but like many American cars of the 70s, it looked better than it drove.
My ‘85 911 - This is the car I pined for since I was 15, and I finally had the opportunity to buy it in 2016. I found it near Seattle, and my son and I drove it back along the coast back to Ojai. I drive it up Hwy 33 as often as I can (we’re lucky to have the 33 at our doorstep here in Ojai).
Photos: Matt Hately
STEVE EISLER
DRIVING A 911 GT3 ON AN ICY MOUNTAIN ROAD
At the POC Awards Banquet in January, I won a raffle prize for a “90-minute Drive Experience in a 911 GT3” at the Porsche Driving Experience Los Angeles (PECLA) in Carson California.
PECLA, one of two Experience Centers in North America (the other is in Atlanta), is an exciting Porsche brand immersion facility that provides demonstration rides and driving experiences designed to demonstrate the power and responsiveness of Porsche sports cars. Located on a 53-acre plot bordering the 405 freeway, it features eight driving modules designed to simulate everyday driving conditions and provide challenging environments to experience the thrill of driving a Porsche. They also have an excellent restaurant, a gift shop, a lobby with a rotating collection of vintage Porsches and a café with outdoor tables where my wife, Kathy, enjoyed watching me drive.
This was my fourth driving experience. On the first three, I chose a Boxster with a manual transmission since that was the closest match to my 2003 Boxster S. I knew that the professional PECLA instructors always construct a unique experience for each student based upon their skill level and what skills they want to improve. My goals were to initiate and control rotation when turning and to recover smoothly from over-rotation. I have had a few “tank-slappers” lately that I want to eliminate. My instructor, Joe Crooner, was one of the more experienced instructors and took me straight to the Low-Friction skid pad. This circular polished concrete surface is wetted continually, making it easy to experience oversteer and understeer and to practice recovery when rotation or lack of rotation occurs.
I am sure some of you purists are wondering why I would waste my time in a 502-horsepower car driving in circles on wet pavement in second gear! First, even on the 1.3-mile handling circuit, I doubt that they let anyone approach the ultimate speed or capabilities of the GT3. Second, having that much power means that throttle inputs needed to be carefully controlled. Too much throttle and the rotation quickly became a spin. Too little throttle and the traction control corrected before you had a chance to. Also, the power made rapid and noticeable changes in the weight transfer and the handling of the car, which were easy to ‘feel’ and resulted in the proper corrective actions. I know that you race drivers are proficient in rotation and correction, but for the PDS and TT drivers that are still learning these skills, I strongly recommend a Driving Experience in any one of the many model choices available.
After circling both counterclockwise and clockwise we went to the Ice Hill. This seven percent grade on a wetted, epoxy surface imitates an icy mountain road. You start a dry section of pavement and turn as you enter the ice hill. As the rear end rotates you must catch the rotation and straighten the car before you lose too much speed and cannot get up the hill. This exercise also reinforced a very important lesson I learned on the skid pad. We all know the importance of looking as far up the track as possible and using our peripheral vision to see as much of the track as possible. But, as the car starts to rotate and progresses into a slide or the start of a spin, I was shifting my eyes from the track and the direction I wanted to go, to the direction that the car was now
pointing. Since I was looking in the direction of the spin, that is where the car would go. Keeping my vision up the track made controlling rotation easier and prevented tank slappers. The second half of my experience was on the 1.3mile Handling Circuit, which was “designed to mimic a canyon or country road with a number of corners and undulations.” In previous years instructors rode with their students on this track. Now they have switched to a lead-follow system. Joe showed me the radio mounted on the door that he would use to communicate with me, pointed out the hazard lights that I would use if I had a problem, and told me to try to stay two car lengths behind. Then he got into another GT3, and we got on the track. In a few laps I was familiar with the track and began to explore the capabilities of the GT3. The acceleration and braking are exceptional, and all shifting is done automatically. In my Boxster, I brake hard early, try to finish my downshift early in the turn and continue braking as necessary. In the GT3, I would brake hard for the turn, turn in and the car down-shifted much later in the turn (and much smoother) than I would have. Early in the session we were passed by another student/instructor pair and by an instructor doing a demonstration ride for a customer. The rest of the session we were doing the passing.
It is amazing to reflect on the improvements in speed and handling between my Boxster S with racing suspension setup, my 2011 Boxster Spyder with its factory tuned suspension and added horsepower, the stock 718 Boxster with manual transmission, and
the state of the art 911 GT3. As Porsche gets better with time, they also add performance as you move up the model choices each year. That is why PECLA offers several drive and compare Experiences where you can split your experience between two models to decide if you to buy a 911 Turbo S or a 911 GT3!
Since I checked in early, I had a chance to talk with the ladies that ran the registration desk. They said that about half of the Experience attendees were Porsche drivers testing new cars or working on their driving skills. The other half were rookies, many of them receiving employee perks or on team building activities hosted by their employers. PECLA also offers Demonstration Laps, an opportunity to ride in a Porsche of your choice with a professional drive coach behind the wheel. I hope that they tell the demo riders that there is $2500 fee for getting sick in the car!
It is over a month until our next POC racing event at Spring Mountain. Now is a good time to take a day off work and sharpen your driving skills on the Kick-Plate, Ice Hill or Skid Pad. Try off-roading in a Cayenne or Macan or test out the Turbo or Cayman GT4 you have been thinking about buying. You will get a full 90 minutes of top-notch driving instruction, an opportunity to experience the latest Porsche technology, a big smile for the rest of the day, and you don’t have to pay for the gas or tires!
You may have noticed that Karen Robinson’s Boxster “Bob” is sporting new duds these days.
Karen is raising money for Alzheimer’s research and family care.
Now all Bob needs is your loved one’s name.
If you have someone in your life with dementia whom you’d like to honor, add their name and hometown.
It’ll decorate Karen’s car, but it will also appear on our No. 43 Porsche in major national races for the rest of the season.
Every $250 contribution is matched dollar for dollar, and every penny goes to the cause.
Click this ad to donate.
Bob thanks you. And so do all the families you’re helping.
Maybe even your own.
I want to help.
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Dear Dr. Dyno,
Advice to Keep You on Track
I’m a big fan and I hope you print my letter. I’ve been driving in the open passing Time Trial group for the past 2 months behind the wheel of my daily driver, a 2022 Carrera GTS, and loving it! I’m thinking about buying a Spec Boxster and applying for the next Racers’ Clinic. I’ve heard how this hobby can be a ‘slippery slope’ and I feel like I’m two months in and already slipping. Money could become an issue. I have a wife, two young kids, and a mortgage. Should I get a grip and take things slower?
Too Fast in Torrance
Dear Too Fast,
Get a grip? You’re completely missing the point. You must commit to the ‘slippery slope’ just like you should do in Turn 9 at Big Willow. If money is an issue, go to your boss and ask for a raise. Cut back on take-out dinners, childcare, and fancy gifts for the wifey. Pursue your passion, dude. Do what makes you happy. Take the next Racers’ Clinic. What good is a husband and father who is desperately unhappy knowing he’s missing out on the hormonal high of piloting a Spec Boxster? Your wife loves you. Face it. She’s not going anywhere. Try your best to avoid track days on her birthday, your anniversary and Mother’s Day. Notice I said, “Try your best.” Buy a greeting card that tells her you love her and leave it under her pillow. Bring home an inexpensive toy for the kids every once in a while. That will make up for all those trips to Legoland and Disney they won’t be taking. There you have it. The family is taken care of. Now, there are a few well-built BSRs for sale and the Racers’ Clinic only comes around twice a year. There’s no question. Do the right thing for you and your family. I can’t wait to see your new car!
Dear Dr. Dyno,
I just got back from the Sonoma event, and it was a blast. All those warnings about turn 10 paid off. I know I over-braked going into it, but it saved me from the infamous wall. I know I could have been faster through there, but my car is the same as it was when I arrived at the track, and I had a great weekend. I guess it really is better to be safe than sorry.
Happy in Hesperia
Dear Happy,
Safety first. Fun next. If you feel you “over-braked,” it means you could have gone through 10 faster and still have been safe. Next time, adjust your braking in small increments. When you’re absolutely sure you’re slowing just enough to avoid contact with the wall, you’re doing it right. If it makes you uncomfortable, that’s okay. As my good friend Ross Bentley says, “Learn to be comfortable with being uncomfortable.” And always, have fun! Send your questions for Dr. Dyno
911 Design is a full-service repair and restoration facility located east of Los Angeles in the city of Montclair.
In addition to offering standard service, repair and restoration for all Porsche® models, we are known for and specialize in custom fabrication, design and performance upgrades.
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Sporty and luxurious... Porsche News
Porsche Panamera
Two New Models
18/07/2024
Porsche is launching the dynamic top series models with the Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid and the Panamera GTS. The particularly performance-focused tuning of the Panamera GTS is setting standards when it comes to purism and agility. The Turbo S E-Hybrid, in turn, impresses by spanning the range from luxurious driving properties to racetrack-level top performance.
luxurious...the new, top Panamera models
The Porsche Panamera has redefined the luxury saloon segment. It combines smooth driving comfort with the properties of a Porsche sports car in a unique way. Now two particularly powerful and sporty variants have been added to the model range. These are cars with different focuses: the Panamera GTS is a dynamic sports saloon that places the emotional driving experience in the foreground. The Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid is positioned at the very top of the model series as the most powerful, fastest and most luxurious derivative. This top model is the new record holder in the official ranking of the fastest combustion engine cars and hybrid luxury saloons on the Nürburgring Nordschleife. Click below to get the full story!
Now you can order your favorite POC garments and other specialty items “Online” simply by clicking on any one of the above photos!
UPCOMING TRACK EVENTS
Spring Mountain September 6-8, 2024
Let’s go at it again in Pahrump! Charleston Peak has become one of our fa vorites. Be sure to register right away to get your Early Bird Discount!
SIM RACING
July 2024
Be sure to keep up with all that’s going on in this exciting series where members like you are competing against one another on some of the greatest tracks in the world. Register Today!
Registration Open Soon! Click here for Season Results
Frank Gussman In Memoriam
Long time POC member
Frank Gussman passed away this May after several months of illness. Frank was looking forward to attending the last event of 2023 at Willow Springs, but his illness kept him away from the track. He was looking forward to getting back in the car one last time according to his wife, Robby. She described it as his happy place.
