Entries by nnjr-pca

Racing at Porsche Rennsport Reunion IV – Mazda Raceway – Laguna Seca

January 5, 2012 in /by

Dave Roberts is a member of PCA and has been a DE Instructor and Club Racing enthusiast for many years. As the Chairman and President/CEO of Carlisle Companies, a global diversified company that owns, among other companies, Hawk Performance and Cragar Wheels, Dave has the perfect job for a real car guy. His Porsche stable includes a 997 GT3 RS, Boxster S and a 944 Turbo Club Sport which he campaigns in vintage and Porsche Club Racing.  A car guy with eclectic tastes, he has a replica of the Penske/Donohue ’69 Trans-Am Championship – winning car (featured in the November 2011 issue of Chevy High Performance) that he also races. He owns the Hawk World Challenge Corvette, as well as a low-mileage 1990 ZR1 Corvette.
Ken Ernsting

NNJR Racing Results for Summit Point

January 5, 2012 in /by

NNJR Racing Results for Summit PointSummaryNumber of NNJR Racers 5Podiums 6 out of a possible 7 Fastest LapsDriver                                 Class     Best Lap      ClassRecordH ALTMAN / T DAWE            GTC3    1:16.104     1:15.363HOWARD ALTMAN                GTC3    1:16.985    1:15.363DANIEL CURRY                     GTB1    1:19.980    1:18.425CHRIS PALUMBO                   GT4S    1:20.114    1:18.147W DiGIOVANNI / J ABRUZZO   SP2      1:28.609    1:26.339   Race ResultsRace Driver                          Class […]

NNJR Racing Results for Laguna Seca

January 5, 2012 in /by

SummaryNumber of NNJR Racers 2 Fastest Laps       Driver           Class        Best Lap           ClassRecordTHOMAS EVANS   GTC4        1:36.028         1:31.281CHARLIE BOYER   SPB          1:44.522         1:43.694 Race ResultsRace      Driver      Class       Best Lap      Position in Class      Overall PositionGroup 8: Rennsport Reunion Cup Race 1THOMAS EVANS    GTC4       1:36.463            DNF                     DNFGroup 7: PCA Club Racing RaceCHARLIE BOYER    SPB         1:45.062            5/6                      41/48Group 8: Rennsport Reunion Cup […]

On Track December 2011

January 5, 2012 in /by

 

This is my last column as the Driver Education chair. The last two years have been challenging and rewarding at the same time, but I consider it a way of giving back to a club that has given me so much over the years. Before I relay my many thanks, let me tell you about a few upcoming events. First, our annual Mid-Winter Track Event is being held on Sunday, January 29 (for football fans, no worries- this is the off-week before the Super Bowl). The Mid-Winter event is not conducted at a track, but will be held at The Villa in Mountain Lakes. There are further details in this issue of the magazine, but this event is intended to inform members, who have not been to a Driver Education event, about the program. We will have presentations on various aspects of the program, on-track video, and plenty of time to ask questions of senior driving instructors. The cost is only $25. This includes a hot buffet lunch and a coupon to recoup your seminar fee at your first DE event. Second, although we have not settled on a date at this writing, Brian Till has agreed to join us for the Advanced Driver seminar. If you watch races on Speed you may have seen Brian reporting from the pits. He also is a former Indy Car driver and a longtime high performance driving instructor at the Mid-Ohio School. Watch for an announcement in next month’s magazine for the date and location!

IF IT’S OCTOBER, IT’S NEW MEMBER RECEPTION TIME

January 5, 2012 in /by

 This time of year while many NNJR member thoughts turn to a beautiful and relaxing ride though the New Jersey countryside in their Porsches to view the changing colors of autumn, the New Members thoughts turn to the second of the Clubs New Member Reception. With this in mind we began the planning several weeks ago. This included selecting the menu for the hot and cold hors d’oeuvres, making sure the chairs for the clubs programs are notified to be present and preparing the information packets we give to each new member. All this being accomplished prior to the event, we were confident the evening would go well.
 The evening of the event we decided to leave extra early to avoid arriving late as happened at the last event due to heavy traffic on 287. Arriving at the Villa, we set up our New Member table and were ready in plenty of time to greet the New Members. Shortly the Event Chairs arrived and we were ready for the New Members. As each arrived we greeted them, gave them there information packet and introduced them to the Event Chairs. While this was going on, the staff at the Villa put out the food. At this point for some reason most of the attendees gravitated to the end of the room where the food was. Go figure! Anyway the New Members got to meet the Event Chairs, have their questioned answered and have some great food while sharing their Porsche stories.

AutoX For December 2011

January 5, 2012 in /by

 As promised, here is the next installment on car setup basics for Autocross. In previous articles we covered some of the fundamentals of tires, tire pressure and alignment. This article will cover sway bars and shocks.
 The resistance of a car to leaning, or roll, while cornering is a primary factor in how a car behaves. There are two reasons for this: Roll affects how the tires touch the pavement and relative roll resistance determines how much weight transferred each corner of the car will carry in a corner. It is clear that a car’s body roll influences grip by tilting the tires on the pavement, but tires are also sensitive to how much vertical load is placed on them. More load equates to more grip, but the tire is also less efficient. Increasing the roll resistance of one axle of a car causes more load to be transferred at that axle, making the tires on that axle work less efficiently. It is this principle you work with by stiffening or softening the chassis. Sway bars and shocks are part of a car’s roll resistance. They are commonly adjustable and work in different ways to affect a car’s behavior.

Wrapping Up the Season, December 2011

December 30, 2011 in /by

 

 Oktoberfest is not only celebrated in the homeland of Porsche, but also here in New Jersey at the Deutscher Club in Clark, NJ. This year NNJR was again invited to participate in their final biergarten fest of the season on September 30. The Deutscher Club, in conjunction with NNJR, sponsored a lively dinner, complete with German food, plenty of beer, and a traditional oompah band, in combination with a people’s choice concours event. 
 After what seemed like a summer of continuous rain, we finally lucked out and had great weather for our Oktoberfest celebration – at least before 9:00pm after which, you guessed it, it started to drizzle. This in no way, however, hampered the enjoyment of the NNJR members who turned out for this fete. Once again we had an outstanding turnout of spectacular Porsches that our members put on display for all of the Deutscher Club attendees to view and enjoy.
 Jeff McFadyen took first place in the people’s choice concours with his outstanding 1957 356 outlaw. Murray and Akemi Kane took second place with their always immaculate 1994 911 coupe, and Anthony Cristello took third place with his beautiful metallic blue 1989 911 turbo.

On Track November 2011

November 21, 2011 in /by

The 2011 Driver Education season wrapped up at an advanced/solo event at Watkins Glen September 19-20. No one left thinking they did not get enough track time – sixteen half-hour runs were available for all drivers, which was almost too much of a good thing. Day 1 was spectacular with bright sunshine and cool but pleasant temperatures. Storms blew through overnight, which left the track damp through mid-morning, but all drivers had plenty of dry running for the rest of the day. David Murry, pro-racer and driving coach extraordinaire, was in attendance and provided in-car coaching sessions for a number of participants. As I had done last year, I had hired David for an hour of coaching. While the focus of last year’s session pertained primarily to line adjustments, the session this year was targeted at making refinements to technique, particularly regarding corner entry.

What Happens at the Meadowlands Stays at the Meadowlands

November 21, 2011 in /by

 All right, not really but that sounded cool. Actually what happens at our events at the Meadowlands is talked about, debated and argued for several months after each event. We use what we learned to tweak our cars, our attitudes and most of all our reputations albeit strictly in our own minds. Yes, we can tell our friends and loved ones how incredibly fast we are and how knowledgeable we are but sooner or later the results (granted mostly later and sometimes never) get posted. OK boys and girls, this is one of those times when if you read all of our articles on preparation and strategy and got a good nights sleep in advance of the event and put your heart and soul into it, you actually have the right to brag that you are the fastest in your class (not kindergarten) on any given Sunday, especially July 31, 2011. Oh yes, these are actual results from that event. And by the way a special thanks to our X class and Audi Club drivers for bringing it and laying it all out there. Most of all the course setters for us this season were led by Perry Adlebaum of SCCA fame and our own Robert Ida.

Somerset Hills Learning Institute Trek for Kids

November 21, 2011 in /by

One of the joys of owning a Porsche or other sports car is actually driving the car. Many times I have volunteered to go get that gallon of milk or pick up that bag of dog food (I have two 100 plus pound Bernese Mountain Dogs so it is more frequent than you might think) just so I could get the car out on the road. Now, driving the car and raising money for a good cause only makes it all the more worthwhile. Hence the idea for our fundraiser for Somerset Hills Learning Institute (SHLI) on July 24. SHLI is a school for children and adolescents with autism and is our designated charity for this year.