Sunday, April 28, 2024

Autocross Report From Winston-Salem

At least it's not raining inside the car. 
I don't think any Porsche drivers were intimidated with my 2018 G Street Champion jacket from the Tidewater Sports Car Club in Virginia Beach. Maybe I'll try a WORLD'S GREATEST DRIVER AND I'M FASTER THAN YOU t-shirt next time!
Hey, come on, that was a joke! It's the Ohio state flag on my helmet that should be scaring people!


Yes, there really is a city named Winston-Salem in North Carolina, and there is much more there than Winston and Salem cigarettes! Specifically, last Sunday there was a Fairgrounds, and along with the Carolinas Region Porsche Club of America, it was time to autocross! 

Attention race fans! The grandstands are PACKED, so get your tickets NOW!

The course was set up on basically a figure 8, with the start in the middle of the 8. Oh, and it was raining the entire time, so it was a bit slippery! To tell the truth, most people don't want to go drive (or drive fast) in the rain. However, after experiencing 10 runs in the wet, I think I prefer it! Yes, the rain makes you slower, but it also makes it more fun and easier to rotate the car around the cones.  It made me feel like the car was close to the edge of losing control a lot more than normal, so maybe that's what real racers experience when they're pushing it on track. I'll just sum it up with some words of wisdom from Mr. Mario Andretti, who once remarked that:

                “If everything seems under control, you're just not going fast enough.”

If you're not familiar with Mr. Andretti, just picture someone that won the Indy 500, won NASCAR races, and won a Formula 1 world championship. Oh, and this was after his family lived as refugees after WWII in Europe, and then moved to Pennsylvania! He knows what he's talking about!

I was back with #77 and found a handy table to keep my stuff dry. 
2009 base model Cayman in Ruby Red Metallic. 

In a class of only 2 cars, I managed first place, and grabbed the overall 2nd fastest RAW time of the day. That was fun! In addition to Porsches, there was a 2013 BMW M3, a 2004 Mini Cooper, and a 1989 Ford Mustang. 

The other fun part of autocrossing (even in the rain) is meeting other car enthusiasts and talking about cars all day! I enjoyed working on course (in the rain) with a gentleman who was there to drive with his son and daughter. He's a pediatrician, so I tried not to act like a baby. 

Here's my fastest run, and some photos from the day. 

49.3 On YouTube


For a rainy chilly day, we had a good number of Porsches and some other cars too. 


Driver's meeting, NOT in the rain!

Very nice blue 2021 718 Cayman and a red 1986 944

#37 2006 Cayman S

#21 is a 2009 Cabriolet 911

You gotta love a #986 Boxster.
HINT: 986 is the internal Porsche model number for this 2002 Boxster S. 

This 2017 Carrera S 911 took fastest time of the day

PRO TIP: You can autocross a hybrid!
PRO TIP PART 2: You can autocross a Cayenne SUV!

#7 is a 2013 911 

#31 is a 2016 Boxster S
#
2024 Cayman GTS 4.0

#505 is a 2008 Cayman

#611 is a 2009 Porsche 911 4S


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