September Autocross Report from Michelin Proving Grounds

This modified Porsche Boxster (did you notice it's missing a roof, windows, original body, etc?) had the Fastest Time of the Day (FTD.) The 2,000 pound weight, big wing, and huge 14 inch wide Hoosier race tires are nice!

On a beautiful day for autocross out at the Michelin Laurens Proving Grounds in SC, the NMS Cayman set out to maintain first place in class, and to just see how fast they could make the car drive around some cones on 14 acres of pavement.  

Here's my dash view, checking on tire pressures mostly. The orange little car symbol reminds me that the traction control is off. 

While I didn't win my class, I'm still in first, now with one more event for 2026. Worst case scenario I've clinched a tie for 1st in class, so let's look at how the rest of the driving ended up. The course was big, lots of slalom sections, and during the lunch break it was tweaked in two spots to make it a touch easier, and a few seconds shorter. That meant that the morning times weren't going to be competitive, so it was a good reason to go out and drive faster in the afternoon. 

Here's a YouTube link to my fastest run during the afternoon: 

Michelin Proving Grounds September 2026

Driver meeting. 

In a field of only 30 drivers, NMS finished as 10th fastest, and with about  15 Porsches, we took the 3rd fastest Porsche on the day. The fastest car of the day was a highly modified Boxster, running on gigantic 14 inch wide Hoosier racing slick tires, and that driver was fast! Not far behind him was SCCA multi national autocross champion Randall Wilcox, driving a Golf R. It was fun to watch those drivers really wheel around the course, much faster than me!

Here's my view waiting to drive. I have a GoPro camera mounted on the dasy, and a dash mount for my phone to also record video with an app that shows speed and other info. The FTD Boxster is waiting to drive, keeping the seat cool with an umbrella over the open cockpit. That car is followed by the awesome red Cayman GT4 RS. 

All the drivers got five chances on course in the morning, and five more in the afternoon. With 10 runs on the day, there was plenty of time to try some different driving in spots, and see how much you could improve. I tried doing less braking in a few spots, but that didn't turn out so well, and on one run I nearly spun all the way around. That run was off course for me, so the time didn't count. On other runs I managed to wipe out five other cones, so I was definitely finding out how to go too fast in places. 

More of the driver meeting. 

What I really enjoyed was just talking to other drivers, meeting some new folks, and talking about car stuff all day! I guess some folks like to join a golf club, or a quilting bee, and some just want to be car people!

Miata