It feels like my tires have barely cooled from 2014 and the 2015 track events are already lining up nicely. I've compiled a starting list for 2015 and will do my best to keep it up to date and add more autocross items as they are announced. I should really add some rally and rallycross items too!
After a chilly run up to Sunday November 30th, we awoke to a day that would prove to be absolutely gorgeous - sunny, relatively warm, and no better than we could ask for at the end of November!
I fired up my season-worn car and hit the road early on the way to meeting up with a few folks before pulling up to the unmarked gates of Valhalla known as ADSI at Quonset Point. Attilio was ready to roll in his driveway, thankfully, since the local ATM machines were not cooperative with my schedule that morning and I was a little late. We rolled out of Lincoln quickly and set off to rendezvous with Jean-Yves in Cranston to add another turbo-charger to our fleet. He, too, was quite ready to roll that morning. After punching me for some sort of thing (in jest of course), we jumped into our trio of rides and set off to meet Josh for the first time.
The morning was clear and cold. The breeze was stiff off the water. The smell of gasoline and burnt tire hung heavily in the air. It was good.
Just like the immersion program my (our?) kids are enduring in French at the French American School of RI, I thought it might be interesting to see what track immersion felt like. 20 or so hours at Thompson Speedway over two days seemed like a worthy experiment. Can you learn that much more quickly when you keep at it for a while with an instructor by your side? I'm sure you can guess the answer. But what exactly do you learn when you are immersed in a racetrack?
When measuring our performance at anything in life, whether you are a call center worker or a race driver, the data and metrics we are using may not really be helping us as much as they should be. How do we even know? I backed my way into this problem and am now trying to find a way out.
The weather looked threatening, but I was heartened as I drove down to Newport by meeting up with a 964 Cabriolet and a white 997 with an aerokit and GT3-inspired stickers on the way down.
Now that we are all back to school, all of you - my fellow automobilisti - are reminded that what I think is the best Porsche event on the calendar is coming up this Saturday 9/6 at 10am at the Elms in Newport. As you can see from the photo above, the venue is breathtaking on its own. Now add a few hundred Porsche's of all sizes, shapes, colors, and vintages - and you and your kids - and you have the makings of some fine memories.
Getting ready to head to the track? Whether it be your first time or your twentieth, it is still something I find to be rather stressful. I have to say that it's gotten far easier with experience but I'm also surprised that it's not yet "easy". So let's try to gather some good info here to help make things better. We'll break things down into the basics, car prep, and driver prep.
My first track experience at Lime Rock Park in 2008
The short answer: I don't really know. You may have to figure it out for yourself by coming next month.
