News Flash!

[Cajundaddy]

PCA-SDRs own Russell Shon takes Top Time Of The Day at the Fairplex Pomona Time Trial today! Bravo Russell !!!! There were 77 cars on the grid and some very well known fast drivers in GT3s, GT3 RS, GTX, and some fully stripped and caged, race prepared 911s. Russell showed them all his tail lights in a Boxster street car on quality tires. Steve Grosskemper, Chuck Sharp, Paul Young, and Mike Avitt turned some blistering times but it wasn't enough this weekend for 1 golden lap with Russell at the wheel of his 2001 Boxster S.

[Don Middleton]

PCA-SDRs own Russell Shon takes Top Time Of The Day at the Fairplex Pomona Time Trial today!...

Tell him what he's won, Dave!

Seriously, I believe the San Diego Region dominated the top 10 times of the day. Post them for us?

[gulf911]

It was a fun event! A little too tight in the back section for a DE IMHO but still fun.
I had to leave early but my lap timer shows 1:48.69 for my best timed, anyone know What Pauls mikes and Steves blistering times were?

[Steve Grosekemper]

I forgot to take a picture of the time sheet but as I recall...
Russell 1:47:low
Mike 1:47:mid
Me 1:48:08
paul 1:49:??
I may have missed someone between myself and Paul.
Just was concerned about beating Paul.
Russell really pulled one out here and driving was the biggest factor for sure.
But let's not kid anyone that this is a stock boxster S with sticky tires.

But that being said, there will be no more hiding in the shadows for Russell. We are onto him now!

[Don Middleton]

...But that being said, there will be no more hiding in the shadows for Russell. We are onto him now!

Yes, but as a new member of the TToD club, I hope Russell doesn't forget those of us that knew him when he was just another gearhead in the pits wondering what it takes to go fast...

[ChuckS]

Hopefully we can get the results sheet posted, but as I don't know how to do that, here are the top 10

Russell Shon 1:47.26
Mike Avitt 1:47.35
Steve Grosekemper 1:48.07
Dan Andrews 1:48.09
Paul Young 1:49.22
Tom Mueller 1:49.81
Craig Booth 1:51.00
Adam Gill 1:51.25
Chuck Sharp 1:51.44
Don Middleton 1:51.53

[martinreinhardt]

Hopefully we can get the results sheet posted, but as I don't know how to do that, here are the top 10

Angela sent me Chuck's screenshot, here it is:

[AGill]

Sweet driving to you top 5! Great event as always. I think I liked the old track even with the bumps better than the AX-style course put in its place but that's just me. I don't have as stiffly a sprung car as most.

[rshon]

Thanks for all the kind wishes and good-natured haranguing.

When we ran the earlier version of this track last June, it became pretty obvious to me that the bumpy surface would favor suspension compliance over stiffness, so I think the full race cars that had no means of softening their rear suspensions were at a slight disadvantage this time (you should have seen Loren Beggs' Cayman/Boxster/Fabcar swap ends in the braking zones last year). And the current track is an unusual combination of two tight Autocross-ey sections, two very long straights, the big sweeper turn, and other humps and bumps here and there (not to mention the new-ish pavement which turned to butter by mid-day).

Although my car is not stock, it IS a (slightly stiff) daily driver street car that is driven to and from the track on a regular basis, and those who know me know I’ve worked hard to maximize the chances of making it home at the end of the weekend, as well as performing well, despite the compromises that need to be made (I'm not giving up the AC, stereo, and full leather ).

Thanks to all the organizers and volunteers who made the event possible!

p.s. Don? Don who?

[Cajundaddy]

Thanks for posting the screen shot Martin. Yes PCA-SDR was very well represented in the results. We are pretty new to TT timing and scoring so it may be a few days for official results by class to be posted. Thanks to all for coming out to play.

For those of you that were unaware, one of our board members and key driving event organizer suffered a mild heart attack just prior to the morning drivers meeting. A big thanks to Greg Phillips who acted as first responder until paramedics arrived. Marty is doing well and annoying the nurses at Pomona Valley Hospital so they will likely release him soon. With Marty down and Skip going along to the hospital to make certain he received proper medical care, we pressed on with the event and did our best to provide a great driving experience to all with a short-handed crew. Thank you for your patience and understanding when things didn't go exactly as planned.

The track at Fairplex is still pretty rough, a work in progress much like the "Q" and we will continue to seek the layout that provides maximum fun without risking damage to our cars. Unexpected warm temps in the afternoon brought oils to the surface in recently repaved sections that added a "car control" element to timed runs keeping things interesting. No drivers managed to back their car into the wall so I count that as a win for PCA.

See you all at Auto Club Speedway Fontana. And how about that Russell Freaking Shon??

[gulf911]

Thats funny , Dave made it sound like Steve got waxed in CC11 by a grocery getter...
I looked and I looked and couldnt find a 2001 S with a 3.4 , probably just an option I wasnt aware of..
Nice job Russell , was your arm tired pointing me by in practice? , you sandbagger..

[pdy]

Sandbagger, indeed Russell! Inspired and inspiring drive!

Just was concerned about beating Paul.

Steve, on saturday you said - and I quote - "Buy Crack". Is that where you found the speed to beat me?

[Steve Grosekemper]

I only remember asking your times Paul? If I used the word crack it was certainly in reference to the track surface.

[rshon]

... there will be no more hiding in the shadows for Russell...

(Darn! I rely so heavily on the "Element of Surprise"...)

...was your arm tired pointing me by in practice? , you sandbagger..

Sandbagger, indeed...

Yes, well the actual situation was (as usual for me) more complicated:

I had recently started setting my tire pressures to try to come up to target on the second or third lap (to help optimize timed runs) instead of at the end of a long run, so I kind of expected to start losing grip sometime after the tires started heated up. In general, traffic in the Red run group prevented me from getting a clear lap in the first few laps of the two morning sessions.

As the morning went on, I started experiencing “car handling problems” in the first chicane section. Every time I went through that section at speed, I thought I had a low-tire, or a busted sway bar bushing, or my tires were going off, so I’d back off and point by whomever was coming up on my bumper. But for some odd reason, I didn’t have any problem following them for the rest of the lap.

It took me almost until right before timed runs to realize that that section was actually getting greasier and greasier throughout the day, and that there wasn’t anything going on with the car at all. (But I still did a 90/180/90 at the first chicane on the first lap of timed runs). Oh well.
http://youtu.be/Vg-QJgtPAy0

p.s. Time to put my RA-1s on and head to the grocery store...

[Don Middleton]

(Darn! I rely so heavily on the "Element of Surprise"...)

Imagine what he is planning to unveil at Fonana in April ...I'm under nondisclosure