Automobile Club de FASRI

The Top Ten Reasons to Never Roll Your Wife's Car

For the two of you left on Earth that live under rocks and don't know that I recently went shiny-side-down in my wife's BMW wagon, it was a thing. Not a good thing. You still wouldn't know if you followed me on twitter since I don't post there much - follow this guy instead.

It's rather surreal to be driving down the road and then suddenly be upside down. But I can't say I recommend trying it for the experience. Here are a few reasons to not try it.

The top ten reasons to not roll over your wife's car:

10. AAA does not, in fact, offer roadside assistance to vehicles whose wheels are not in contact with the ground. Who knew? Not even with AAA Plus! They will call the police to help you out. Who will, in turn, contact the same towing people that AAA could have called if your car was still on it's wheels.

Results from the 2016 French American School Grand Prix

On February 6, 2016, the members and friends of the Automobile Club de FASRI (The French American School) visited F1 Boston, a karting facility in Braintree, MA, for some good-natured and exciting kart racing competition. There was a good field of 12 total drivers and a decent gallery of spectators, young and old.

Our racers included: Sam ("Faster than Light") Ang, Joe ("Watch Me Win, Win! Watch Me Nae Nae!") Acceturo, Martin ("Alain Prost") Claeys, Alain ("Gilles Villeneuve") Tranchemontagne, Alex ("Ayrton") Silva de Balboa, John ("Jam") Kiang, Ash ("Linebacker") Saddul, Jean-Yves ("Il Commendatore") Carpenese, Guillaume ("Schumacher") Lepine, Michael ("Mark Donohue") Brown, Caroline ("Smooth Speed") Sauve, and myself.

We raced three "qualifier" races to amass points that would determine the starting positions for the final, trophy-determining final race.

A new local option for learning to drive well

The skid pad at Lime Rock - wet and slippery!

For many of us with young kids, the prospect of shipping ourselves off to a far-flung race track in a far away neighboring country...like Connecticut...to do something that is all about us, well, it's quite a challenge. Trekking to Lime Rock for the Skip Barber school was great fun when I did it back around 2008 but, amazingly, it feels like we all have even less time for things like that as the kids grow up! But there is a more convenient way to do it suddenly! Skip Barber's instruction is coming soon to Thompson Speedway just 35 minutes from Providence in Thompson, CT!

Santa Raises the Bar

Happy holidays, merry Christmas, happy Hannukah, joyeux Noël, happy Festivus and whatever other things you celebrate to you all! I hope Santa filled your garages with everything you wanted this year!

I'm happy to report it was a year of safety upgrades for me. A Simpson Hybrid is on the way to keep my neck in one happy, healthy piece along with a new helmet with the attachment posts to match. It will be far more comforting to know that I'll have about 20 times more protection in the case of any unplanned incidents in the coming year. I might have to dig around for a metal-to-metal fire extinguisher mount soon, just to quell the perennial inspection-day shenanigans where my inspection shop reiterates that my factory-supplied plastic mount does not meet the specifications of the Porsche Club. It's all rather ridiculous, but most of life is, isn't it?

I Will Not Go Softly Into That Good Winter

It's the middle of November and track season here in New England is just about officially shut down. There is one last ADSI autocross event on 11/29, but I'm going to miss it to uphold my ACF pledge of not neglecting my family (too much) for racing. I'm sure the groans I here are all commiseration, right? So what are we planning for the next few months and beyond you ask?

Kids Make The Best Racers

When someone asks you how you can have the most fun on four wheels, what do you say? Of course you say, "kids in Barbie PowerWheels vehicles without motors drag racing downhill." How could there be any other answer?

Smiles Per Gallon

What is your definition of the most fun you can have in a car? As a kid, I dreamed of the chance to drive a Lamborghini Countach. To hear the noise of twelve angry Italian cylinders shouting at Ferraris each time they fired up. Only to then want a Ferrari F40, which I still consider to be the pinnacle of automotive achievement. Or perhaps to slide behind the wheel of a Porsche 959 to get the feeling that when you add classic design and the latest (for the early 90's anyway) engineering, you come away with something so technically marvelous that it defies belief. Over 200mph? In 1986? Wow, wow, wow. I chased the supercar dream right up until about last year. Then I saw the light.

What Drives Us?

Over the course of a driving season, I find that my emotional love of the sport changes dynamics severely. A dialog is constantly playing in my head: "Am I just going in circles? Do I need to improve my car? Do I need to improve myself? Do I still enjoy this?" And it is quite surprising, even to myself. I constantly assess what makes me enjoy this sport so much. Why do I do this? Why do I spend time and money driving in circles?

Houston, We Have A Problem

Yes, I think I have a racing problem, that is. This past Saturday, I went to Palmer with NASA (the National Auto Sport Association, not the space agency) to crew for my friend Ron's race effort and to sample their HPDE offering.

When It's Time To Call In The Professionals

Have you ever wondered how much faster than you a pro driver would be in your own car? I often have. But how would you ever find yourself in a situation where you could find out? Well, I found myself there just the other day. And here is how I did.

Photo of Lee Carpentier, Lamborghini Trofeo race driver, from his Facebook page