Pre-registration for Feb 6 AX is now open

[MarthaMc]

Pre-registration for the Saturday February 06, 2016 AUTOCROSS is now OPEN! This autocross will be held in the West Lot. The pre-registration fee is $60.

PCA-SDR Autocross participation is limited to PCA Members only. PCA-SDR requires AX participants to produce a valid PCA membership card and a valid Driver License at Tech Inspection. The name on the Driver License must match the name on the PCA membership card and AX Tech form.

PRE-REGISTRATION FOR THIS AUTOCROSS CLOSES SATURDAY January 30 AT 11:59 pm.
YOU MUST PRE-REGISTER IF YOU HAVE DRIVEN IN FEWER THAN 5 AUTOCROSSES WITH PCA-SDR.

REMINDER. PLEASE READ AS THIS IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY!!
There is an updated tech sheet available as of May 24th 2015. You must use this version from the Zone 8 Car Classification site. Print and present this form at tech inspection.

Click on the following link for Autocross Registration: https://www.motorsportreg.com/index.cfm/event/dashboard

**NEW for 2016**
Any person with “student” status must be driving a Porsche!!!

Pre-Registration Closes at 11:59 PM the Saturday one week prior to the event to receive the rate of $60. If you miss the pre-registration deadline AND you have 5 or more days of Autocross experience with PCA-SDR, you can register at the trailer on the morning of the event for $90. If you miss pre-registration and you DO NOT have 5 or more days of Autocross experience with PCA-SDR, you may not register at all.

**NEW for 2016**
Cancelation of registration Deadline: Any Cancelation requested after the Wednesday prior to the event at 11:59 is $20. Late entry fee at the trailer on the day of the event is $30.

Car Classification: Please ensure you have classified your car on the Zone 8 classification website to determine your 2016 car class. This is mandatory. If you have not classified your car on the Zone 8 classification website, your registration status will be put "On Hold" and you will not be considered as having registered for this event until you comply.

Who may Pre-Register: To pre-register you are required to be a Member of PCA, join the PCA-SDR group on this website and classify your car on the Zone 8 Classification page. To join PCA, go to http://www.pca.org. You must own a Porsche to join PCA.

[Gary Burch]

**NEW for 2016**
Any person with “student” status must be driving a Porsche!!!

what is up with this?
you have to be a member to attend so what difference does it make what you drive?

[Greg Phillips]

**NEW for 2016**
Any person with “student” status must be driving a Porsche!!!

what is up with this?
you have to be a member to attend so what difference does it make what you drive?

They want to be sure we have plenty of DE students for the big tracks?

Greg

[Gary Burch]

**NEW for 2016**
Any person with “student” status must be driving a Porsche!!!

what is up with this?
you have to be a member to attend so what difference does it make what you drive?

They want to be sure we have plenty of DE students for the big tracks?

Greg

I just don't know how it makes a difference, wouldn't it be more beneficial in one's own car, rather than borrowing a porsche for 4 ax's.
is this an attack on x cars at the pcasdr autocross?

[marcus981]

Gary,

I don't have any insider info on what prompted the policy change, but I thought of some of my own reasons why the policy makes sense.

1) Car familiarity for the tech inspection team
The team is very knowledgeable about many things to look out for in Porsches (well beyond basics like tire condition, that apply to any car).
If a new participant rolls up in a random car, there might be some gotcha with that particular model that the inspector and the student might not yet know about. That could lead to a safety issue, especially when the vehicle is in the hands of an inexperienced autocrosser.

2) Car performance capability
I've been to a few SCCA autocross practice days, and some of the unusual vehicles I've seen being driven by inexperienced drivers make for a downright scary combination. A big old 1980's era Mercedes 300D loaded with five giggling teenagers who were completely over-driving the car to the point of insane body-roll. An old beat-up pickup truck also driving beyond the driver's and vehicle's capability. And the list goes on. At least with Porsches, we're pretty well aware that their performance capabilities are going to meet a certain level, which seems helpful with a student behind the wheel. So this is another potential safety issue.

3) Instructor familiarity with the car
I think instructor familiarity with the student's vehicle is pretty important. This will help the instructor tailor their instruction based on knowing how the car will behave under certain conditions. It will also enable the instructor to provide advice about appropriate tire pressure, vehicle dynamics settings, and any other possible adjustments. All of this Porsche-specific knowledge will help the student get more out of the instruction. It will also make it a safer experience for both student and instructor.

Just my $0.02,
Marcus

[ScandinavianFlick]

Marcus,

With respect, I have to disagree. I can't speculate as to the reasoning behind the new policy, but I don't think your theory holds up (also just my $.02).

1.) Safety critical items are essentially universal among all cars. Condition of the tires, brakes, suspension components, restraints, and controls are the most vital, and are checked by the tech team on every car for that reason. Model specific issues are exceptionally rare (Fiesta base model rollover at low tire pressures when autocrossing, for example) and most have been found by the SCCA, with their rules specifically barring those models from competition. Adopting their exclusion list would be a much more logical means of addressing that concern.

2.) If a car is unsafe for autocross (worn out suspension, etc) it can and should be excluded by the tech team, that's their singular purpose. If a student with an autocross-worthy car is still overdriving, then it is down to their instructor to control the situation or remove them from the event. Porsches are just as susceptible to this as any other car; the last PDS proved that. That's why we have an exhaustive driver's/safety meeting at every event- we have clear expectations and clear consequences for repeatedly violating them.

3.) The fundamental principles of vehicle dynamics (weight transfer, straight line braking, progressive inputs, looking ahead) that we strive to impress upon our students are common to every make, model, and configuration of car. The finer points of model specific driving (trailbraking in 911s, power to recover from oversteer in a FWD car, never lift midcorner in an S2000, etc) are only taught to more advanced students once they have shown basic capability and common sense. Any instructor worth their little blue card can provide valuable training to a novice regardless of the car.

[Gary Burch]

Marcus,

With respect, I have to disagree. I can't speculate as to the reasoning behind the new policy, but I don't think your theory holds up (also just my $.02).

1.) Safety critical items are essentially universal among all cars. Condition of the tires, brakes, suspension components, restraints, and controls are the most vital, and are checked by the tech team on every car for that reason. Model specific issues are exceptionally rare (Fiesta base model rollover at low tire pressures when autocrossing, for example) and most have been found by the SCCA, with their rules specifically barring those models from competition. Adopting their exclusion list would be a much more logical means of addressing that concern.

2.) If a car is unsafe for autocross (worn out suspension, etc) it can and should be excluded by the tech team, that's their singular purpose. If a student with an autocross-worthy car is still overdriving, then it is down to their instructor to control the situation or remove them from the event. Porsches are just as susceptible to this as any other car; the last PDS proved that. That's why we have an exhaustive driver's/safety meeting at every event- we have clear expectations and clear consequences for repeatedly violating them.

3.) The fundamental principles of vehicle dynamics (weight transfer, straight line braking, progressive inputs, looking ahead) that we strive to impress upon our students are common to every make, model, and configuration of car. The finer points of model specific driving (trailbraking in 911s, power to recover from oversteer in a FWD car, never lift midcorner in an S2000, etc) are only taught to more advanced students once they have shown basic capability and common sense. Any instructor worth their little blue card can provide valuable training to a novice regardless of the car.

well said andrew,
I have since learned the change was precipitated by the refusal of instructors to instruct in x class cars.
I find this to be an oversimplification. I was never asked if I found instructing in an x car offensive, and I never refused to instruct in an x car when asked.
with the diversity of the current porsche line up, it would be hard to not find an x car similar in most driving aspects.
I sincerely hope this not the beginning of an effort to ban x cars altogether, it was fine when we needed them to fill out the ax field, but now attendance is up so...
the tag line, "it's the people, not the cars" is now, " its the cars, not the people"

[rshon]

Here is the rationale/argument against/rebuttal provided to the board and chairs prior to the January BOD meeting:

"Proposed: Only “students” (as defined in SDR Standing rules) registered in and driving a Porsche are eligible to participate in AX.

For: The cultivation and retention of Instructors is a Club labor and requires many resources. In essence an investment. Instructor burn out and unavailability is a common recurring obstacle. By only Instructing Students in Porsches we will relatively increase the number of Instructors. Instructor burnout will be decreased by not assigning Porsche Instructors to non-Porsches.

Against: There are currently several Instructors not driving Porsches. They could be assigned to non-Porsche students. Non-Porsche students (and drivers) saved the AX program when times were lean. The Club owes them a debt.

Rebuttal: A relative increase in Instructors will decrease the incidence of a non-Porsche Instructor teaching a Porsche Student. In reality, the contentious addition of non-Porsche students (and drivers) during the economic downturn, did not save the AX program. Budget and attendance review reflects a break even AX program, even during the slowest seasons."

(Edit. note: Not all Chairs or past Officers/Board Members agreed with the assertions made above.)

[Gary Burch]

if a person is a member or an associate member they should be allowed to drive what they want, student or not...
the board or the cdi's should not make a decision without consulting those affected by that decision

[LUCKY DAVE]

or the cdi's should not make a decision without consulting those affected by that decision

The AX CDIs didn't make that decision. Indeed it is not within our power to make such decisions, only the board can do so. The AX CDIs only job/responsibility is to manage the instructors and run the PDS. In truth it's mostly a paperwork job.
Any member who wishes their opinion to be heard by the board on any subject may do so by attending the board meetings.




Note:edited for clarity

[Ryan McClune]

I would love to know a more thorough explanation of the thinking behind this decision.

I would certainly not hesitate to instruct in an X-Car, particularly with a beginner. The fundamentals are all the same at that stage.

From my perspective, this action only excludes the possibility of adding good participants and volunteers to our already awesome AX program.

What of the member that has a 100 point Concours Porsche that wants to sample some track time in his/her daily driver WRX/BMW before committing to another Porsche for track use?

Also, does this rule apply to the PDS?

[ttweed]

Also, does this rule apply to the PDS?

AFAIK, the PDS has always been for Porsche club members driving Porsche cars. Very few exceptions have been made for X cars that I can remember, usually only in the case of a mechanical problem putting the member's Porsche out of commission.

TT

[jenniferreinhardt]

We have some Fantastic X Car people in the club but, oh, not this story again! I prefer not to instruct in X Cars. I like and want to instruct in the performance, handling and safety of a Porsche, not a Ford Fiesta Wagon. I'm a paying Member too. Go back thru the AX database when we allowed so many X Cars and see how many people were consistently coming and then bought a Porsche to drive with us - not an impressive amount. Do we need to burden our Instructors with these people?

As for us benefiting financially when we allowed all X Cars in (non members) - they benefited from driving with us too. Plus, many of these people just bailed after their runs were finished anyway, not helping with cone pick up or hanging out and being part of the group.

[ScandinavianFlick]

Jennifer,

I can only speak for myself here, but the most educational experience I've had as an instructor was in a 1968 Beetle with a 2.1l motor. It had too much power, no handling, and no grip; a total departure from any previous instructing experience and one that taught me a lot about reading the car from the passenger seat, adapting instructions on the fly, and thinking ahead of not just the next corner but your student as well. It was a real "lightbulb" moment for me, and I would like to think that by forcing me to be a better instructor, it's benefited the students I've had since, including all those in Porsches.

If you would rather not instruct in non-Porsches, I respect that choice, but I think each instructor should be able to choose for themselves rather than making it a matter of club policy.

It's easy for me to say, because I enjoy it and so it's not a burden, but I think of instructing in part as a way to "pay forward" the time, effort, patience, and enthusiasm given to us by our own instructors when we were novices. Doesn't hurt that it makes us all faster too

[jbrennen]

Question -- what about check rides in a non-Porsche? I'm thinking of an experienced AXer who is new to the club (much like I was a short time ago).

My buddy who set "Fastest BMW" (in an M235i on RE-71R tires) at the last BMW CCA event was talking to me earlier this evening about needing a Porsche VIN to join the club so that he could do the PCA events. He doesn't need Student status -- he's a pretty safe and serious driver with a couple of years AX experience and has a fair bit of big track experience (much more than I do).

I could name him as an affiliate member to get him involved, but could he show up at a PCA autocross and do a check ride in his M235i? Note that it's probably academic in his case -- I'd let him do a check ride in my car if that's what it took.