San Diego Racers rock!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!+

[JHPGT3]

Wow!!!!!!!!!!!!
http://www.mylaps.com/results/showrun.jsp?id=1022542
Everyone who watched the POC Cup School race on Sunday said it was one of the best and most competitive "Blue Group" races we've ever had. AND, part of the reason for that was our San Diego PCAers who really rocked!!!
Congrats to all, especially Martin R who was beating up on a Cup car for most of the race until the very end.
I watched the whole race with a huge smile on my face the whole time!
You guys are really terrific!!!
Major sympathy for Ron Palmer who grenaded his motor and missed the race but shined, BIG TIME, the whole weekend.
Best,
JP

[kurquhart]

To echo what Kary said a while back: attending this school will make you a much better driver, even if you never intend to race with POC. IMO, all PCA Z8 time trialers should qualify for and then take this school. I know that I am now a safer (and faster) driver due to what I learned this past weekend. Plus it was incredibly fun.

[Krokodil]

It is great to hear the Blue Race was as exciting to watch as it was to run. The entire weekend was a blast and certainly made me a better and much safer driver. And while the final blue race was the main event of our clinic weekend the inverted start race in the previous session was even more exciting. Moving through the pack and getting to pass 20+ cars in one session. Wow is right. The morning session in the rain on Hoosiers? What a way to learn car control.

I am getting know several of the SDR folks now running with the POC and I am certainly impressed (faint praise I know). I started running AX two years ago with OCR and then progressed through POC STS into TT and now on to cup racing and believe that this is the proper path. Having folks like John to mentor you (us) along is a major benefit.

Thanks to all SDR members (and other clinic competitors) for an amazingly fun and safe weekend.

See you in Vegas baby.

Duane - POC 241 LI R6 (2007 Black Cayman S - Driven home and then to work this morning thanks to plenty of "racing room")

[ChuckS]

This weekend was a total Blast!!!

Thanks again to John Payne for getting so many of the PCA crowd into the POC group to have the opportunity to "play" with our Porsches.

As both Duane and Kris have said, we learned a lot and had fun doing it. In the Blue race, there were multiple passes with Martin, Tawfik, Duane, Kris, Dave G, Gunter, Derrick Shiba, myself and others. We missed racing with our other San Diego friends who suffered mechanical problems and missed the Blue race, but we were with on the track for the rest of the weekend including Jeff Schmidt and Ron Palmer. (I hope I have not forgotten anyone!) And for those who don't know, Kris U suffered a transmission problem and still beat almost everybody in an unfamiliar rented car. Martin R was again fantastic. By the way, the Cup car that he was racing with was on Yokohama slicks to his worn Toyo RA1's!

Car control, in the rain, at over 100 mph, teaches you quickly (especially in a Turbo)! We all made a lot of new friends, but we also got to play with a lot of old friends in a new environment. There were 37 (36?) in the Racer Clinic, with an incredible number of San Diego people.

The POC Cup School (Racer Clinic) and the Driving Concepts Race Clinic should be mandatory for getting into Porsche racing in Southern California. And as Kris (and Kary) have said, we all should take them as they will make you a much better and safer driver!

[JHPGT3]

And, I know that in addition to the Blue race, some of you also got to race with Orange or Red. How was that? Anyone enjoy the setting sun?
Also curious how many saw "the rat"???

[ron palmer]

I also enjoyed the blue group school I was very impressed with all the performances all though I missed the races it was very exciting to watch knowing next year we all will be cup racing. I special thanks to Mr. Payne he has been a great mentor to me and a very good example of what you can do with a little encouragement and positive reinforcement. Thanks John

[993Panzer]

And, I know that in addition to the Blue race, some of you also got to race with Orange or Red. How was that? Anyone enjoy the setting sun?
Also curious how many saw "the rat"???

I have to admit I missed the rat.

As far as the clinic goes, ditto on what everyone else said. Simply "F word explitive" awesome.

According to mylaps I turned a 1:37 in the Blue Race on a tire that was going flat, it did feel like it wasn't working well and I couldn't figure out by everyone was pulling away from me. The next lap I limped back to the pits on a flat right front tire. I did get to see the battle up front as well as the spin Tawfik had coming out of 9. I believe his new POC name is "Turn 9 Tawfik".

For anyone considering progressing past Time Trials I highly ercommend the POC Racer's Clinic.

[kurquhart]

And, I know that in addition to the Blue race, some of you also got to race with Orange or Red. How was that? Anyone enjoy the setting sun?
Also curious how many saw "the rat"???

I ran in the Orange race. Frankly, the best compliment I can give to the school was that Orange race felt exactly like the Blue race. I was only lapped by the podium finishers and I in turn lapped a few 944/914s. Unfortunately, I think I was DQ'ed since I mistakenly registered my rental car as V2 (Red), when it was really V3 (Orange). Sun was not a problem in the Orange race.

I never saw the rat at turn 1 (*). Nor did I see the debris flag at turn 2 at Laguna Seca after the GT3 spilled its guts. I really need to work on looking at the last flag station before a hard braking zone.

* For those who weren't there, during the school, the turn 1 flag station held out a 2-foot tall, black, rubber rat, just to see who would notice. Not many of us did.

[Krokodil]

... I did get to see the battle up front as well as the spin Tawfik had coming out of 9. I believe his new POC name is "Turn 9 Tawfik".

I hope he posts the video (even though it will also show him passing me in the Omega). The advantage of being passed was that I had a front row seat for the off road portion of the clinic. Does anyone want to chip in for a new Cayenne badge to replace the Carrera logo on the back of Tawfik's car?

In addition to the rat (missed it ), how many noticed the big piece of cheese the corner worker was holding out in following session? We did not discuss this in class, but it was there.

Cheers,

DAS

[ChuckS]

I almost didn't go out for the Red race as my rear Toyo's were bald!. But, I decided that I couldn't miss such an opportunity. It was fun, but not as much as the Blue as I was the slowest car in Red and was lapped by most of the fast guys. The sun was brutal! Turn 2 and 9 were so bad that I needed to use one hand to block the sun in order to see the track.

I missed the "Rat" the first time. The last lap that it was out, I spotted something in the corner workers hand as I went by, but couldn't tell what it was. I thought it was odd that a guy in a tower would have a car part in his hand! Oh well, next time I will pay more attention.

[Gunter]

What a weekend!!! As I told my wife:"Christmas came early this year". I agree with all of you that this was an awesome learning experience. Joe,Jeff,Marty and Jim were absolutely great instructors. Hey, anybody then can run a 1.17(Joe)or a 1.35 in a 944 Spec(Jim) at WSIR -I listen very carefully.
Our first session on Sunday: Big Willow in the rain, no wipers- FUN,FUN,FUN!!
John, I did see the rat( you do see a lot of scenery at my speed) but did not know what it was or what to make of it. My first thought was: Did I miss something during the class room session??
One of our fellow students showed incredible commitment to this class: In order to participate he asked his wife and her doctor to change his first child's C-section delivery date!!! And they did!! Now he has a healthy new baby and a free set of Yokohamas as a special reward from POC.
"Turn 9 T"-at least you did not hit anything ....

[kurquhart]

"Turn 9 T"-at least you did not hit anything ....

Especially me! Seeing a Targa top in my rear view mirrors was interesting...

[Tawfik]

Ok I give up.
I had decided to stay quiet but since I now have a nickname (T9Tawfik), here's the story:
I started 10th and worked my way to 4th.
Dave: that means I passed you.
Chuck: that means I passed you.
Duane: that means I passed you.
Of course all of teh above means nothing since I never finished the race. Had a lot of fun with Chuck for a while
I caught up to Chris in T5 then he got away (that 996 rental race car has some HP), I eventually got to Chris at T9 and was side by side with him through T9 (Chris was on the inside), got in to the dirt outside T9 and lost it
I do have video of the above and will be posting it soon.

To me the funnest part of the day was the Australian pursuit exercise we did in the morning. I am in the process of posting that video as well.


T9Tawfik

[JHPGT3]

[quote="Gunter"]John, I did see the rat( you do see a lot of scenery at my speed) but did not know what it was or what to make of it. My first thought was: Did I miss something during the class room session??
quote]

Now THAT is funny!!!!!!!!!

[martinreinhardt]

Thank you John for everything you do for us and the great article in the Velocity.

I also recommend the POC Cup School. The classroom and exercises were excellent. I now feel safe racing with every driver who completed this course as we all have the same basics.

I learned a few tricks the hard way, do not put your transponder on a on/off switch, because without lap-times you will practice an extra inverted start i.e. from the back

The blue race was a lot of fun and the encouragement from everyone was very nice.

I will post some videos on YouTube in a few days, there were some interesting and some fun moments like off roading in T9 and the contact between the cup car the the 944-vette during the blue race which allowed me to take the lead until the cup car got by me on the last lap. Chuck and his Turbo S came alive on this track.

As for the rat, I saw something black held by the corner-worker, but couldn't identify it.

While getting ready for the Red race, Orange was out racing and I only saw part of the race. The Red race was fun too, there were no rats in the red group just the drivers door from "James Bond's" Cup Car in turn 3.