Goals for 2021

Pre-Pandemic visit to the Ghostbusters, I mean, a Firehouse in Manhattan

Mostly in 2021 we're looking forward to the end of the COVID pandemic! A  return to normal life (like in the photo above) for all of us would be much appreciated, thank you vaccine makers and health care workers!  Hopefully, the new year will include these items on the NMS-North wish list: 

-Not driving related, but just staying healthy and returning to normal as we go through the year. If this comes true, everything else will just fall into place. 

-If we get around to driving, then I'm hoping to compete in most or all of the Metro NY Region Porsche Club of America autocross events, and then if I'm fast enough, qualify for the end of season Top 10 Shoot-out.

    My work schedule sometimes gets in the way of other things (whaaaa) but I should be able to do the majority of the monthly events from say March-November. The club has the top 10 drivers on PAX scoring compete at an event at the end of the year, so my goal is to drive fast enough to qualify for that. The fun part of this shoot-out is that each driver takes turns in the same car, with the same set-up, so it's just driving talent...although now that I think about it, if I can manage to be the last driver, and that same car has now used up a gallon of gas, and therefore weighs about 5 pounds less and goes faster....

NASA Track Day, yeah, that's the ticket!

-Drive at some great tracks like Watkins Glen for some more High Performance Driver Education (HPDE), and move up from the NASA group 1 to group 2

    Besides my positive experiences with NASA at CMP, Pocono, Watkins Glen, and Palmer, the NASA Northeast region will be be hosting weekends at Lime Rock and New Jersey Motorsports Park in the Northeast, so experiencing more tracks sounds like a great idea! In addition to NASA, I have a half price coupon for a track day with the Porsche Club of America, so I'll be sure to cash that one in during 2021 too! This half off deal is just one of the membership benefits of PCA, so if you happen to own a P-car, I'd recommend you look into joining up. BMW, Corvettes, Mustangs, and other makes and models have clubs, so I'll bet there is someone near you into cars too.  

They call me Ruby, as in Ruby Red Metallic

-Keep the Cayman in great shape, oil change, brake fluid, belt, spark plugs, etc.

    With the winter time here, I've gotten a good start on some basic items like the oil change, so I should be able to get all this done over the holidays, and then keep everything maintained next year with a lot more driving along the way. As my only car, the Cayman isn't racking up a lot of mileage now that I can walk to work every day, although I suppose there is a slight increase on wear and tear of shoes and socks to balance out whatever few pennies I save not driving every day.  

Formula 1 tickets, yeah, that's the TICKET!

-Drive in another Lemons Race

    The only Lemons Race I've done was a lot of fun, even when I overdid it and went off track, and even when the gas tank developed a leak and the fumes got pretty bad...so naturally it would be even more fun to do it again. Hopefully, this time getting to drive more than one stint would be great. I remember seeing an interview with pro bicyclist Eric Vanderaerden right after he raced in the toughest bike race in the world, Paris-Roubaix. After listing all the horrible things that had happened in the long race (mud, crashes, broken bikes, cobblestones, crashes, rain, more mud, more cobblestones, etc) the interviewer asked if he'd ever do it again. "Yes, of course!"

-Attend the US Grand Prix Formula 1 race in Austin TX in October

    The race was cancelled in 2020, but we had way too much fun at the race in 2019, so going back to Texas for some more racing, more BBQ, and all the other fun things to do in Texas sounds like the Anti-COVID secret to happiness. Compared to 2020, we'll see some new drivers, all new cars, and even some new teams (sort of) in F1 during 2021. Team wise, the Renault team remains about the same, but changes names to Alpine, which is the Renault high performance brand. Over at the Racing Point team, they also remain the same but change main sponsor, resulting in the return of Aston Martin to F1. Driver wise, lots of big names switching teams, as 4 time champion Sebastian Vettel moves to Aston Martin, and 2 time champion Fernando Alonso returns to the sport with the Alpine team. At Haas, two new drivers move in, including Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin. Other moves include Carlos Sainz Jr. moving to Ferrari, Daniel Ricciardo moving to McLaren, and Sergio Perez now at Red Bull. Whether you are a fan of a particular driver, or a certain team, 2021 should be another good year of racing.  

Whatever makes you happy, I wish you a whole bunch of it in 2021!