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Well, the party continues with a trip to Road America near Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. This event was a little different in that it was an HPDE sponsored by the track itself. One difference is that it started at 2 pm on a Tuesday afternoon. I gather they usually start at 9 but someone with deep pockets had rented the track for part of the day. We started by meeting at one of their classroom buildings out by the go-kart track. After introductions etc. we headed out to a parking lot to do some autocross as a warmup. This was pretty basic stuff. Slalom, 270 around a cone, ability to hit a stop box. It was fun and got the juices flowing. Then back to the classroom for a turn by turn discussion of the track. Finally around 5 pm it was time to hit the track.
They use a lead-follow format. This was basically a first for me, if you discount the lap I did in a stock car at Charlotte many years ago. The lead car is a Corvette. 3 cars follow. They are selected to try and match performance. I was grouped with 2 Miatas, which considering some of the alternatives (Ferrari, Porsche GT3, Tesla sedan) was just fine with me. They start out at a slowish pace and build speed over the session. At the end of each lap, the lead car of the 3 drops back to the rear spot. That way everyone gets a mix of placements in the group of 3. As I have found, you have to force your brain to look through the cars ahead of you and just hit your marks as you normally would on an open track. There are two "trains" on track at a time, roughly 1/2 of a lap apart.
The other train on track with us consisted of the Tesla, a Cadillac CTS, and a VW Golf Type R. They went out before us. Much to my surprise, within a few laps we were reeling them in. They have a provision for this where the group that gets caught has to roll through the pits to give the following group a pass by. Maybe all the drivers of those other cars were total newbies but it was a sweet moment for our little underpowered group!
I think each session on track was about 20 minutes. We did 3 sessions on track. I had been skeptical about lead-follow but I found it actually to be quite a bit of fun. I noticed a dynamic in that the car right behind the Corvette in effect set the pace for the group. If the lead car screwed up a corner, the other cars just had to adjust. But if the last car screwed up a corner, the Corvette didn't wait. He just had to claw back his gap as he could, which is difficult in an underpowered car. Again, it was a lot of fun. By the time we were done, the sun had set and it was getting hard to see but it all worked out with no one having any major incidents. I did suck down the fuel at a great rate, since there is a lot of full throttle motoring on this track. I had to go back to my tow vehicle between the 2nd and 3rd sessions to add a splash of gas. But it all worked out.
Road America Notes
-Historic track in a lush setting. Gradual elevation changes.
-More of a classic layout with long straights separated by distinct corners. Only one section with connected right-left-right turns.
-The Carousel is a nice constant radius 180 degree turn which is good for checking the steady state cornering limits of your car.
-The famous Kink: they warned us in class to treat it with respect. Based on the skid marks and damage to the barriers, it has caught out a number of drivers.
-Probably not the best track for a low power momentum car.
-Great job done by the RA HPDE staff!
So it's on to Gingerman in Michigan. I've sprung for a ticket for my truck and trailer on the Badger
car ferry. Not cheap but if it allows me to avoid the interstate system between Milwaukee and south of Chicago, it's worth it.
I took the big car ferry from Manitowoc WI to Ludington MI, in order to avoid Chicago traffic on my way to Gingerman Raceway. I had envisioned a sunny cruise but no, it was stormy and I had to work hard to keep breakfast down. I survived. The ferry, the SS Badger, is maybe the largest boat (ship?) I've ever been on, as I am not a cruise person. They were originally designed to carry loaded railcars across Lake Michigan but now everything is on rubber tires. The staff backs every large vehicle on the boat at the departure and then drives them off at the destination. Here is an unusual perspective on my rig, taken from the back of the boat as they drove it off. For what it's worth, the only guy on the staff with an actual naval uniform personally drove my rig off the boat. Probably because he knew how picky Porsche people can be
I was on the car ferry before the Mackinac Bridge was completed about 65 years ago. I remember it being set that the Great Lakes can be rougher than the ocean with certain wind conditions. The ocean wave has a long periodic motion while the Great Lakes is much shorter because of the land constraint. Happy motoring😄
I attended a SCCA Track Night In America event at Gingerman Raceway on Thursday. This is my first time for a TNA event. I have only favorable things to say about how the SCCA has formated these events. Low key but safe. Starts late enough in the day that you only have to leave work a little bit early and can get back the same day. Self tech on the cars is allowed. It looked like they had a robust program for the drivers new to track events. I got three 20 minute sessions.
Gingerman was fun. It is clearly a "club" track but has lots of different, challenging corners. 90 degree corners at the ends of the 2 straights. Everything else was a mixture. The track is pretty flat but that in itself allowed me to learn the track very quickly. I had a lot of fun here!
Gingerman Track Notes
-Short 2.14 track with 11 turns
-Flat, with a variety of corners
-Generous runoff areas. A great track to explore the cornering limits of your car.
-Expansion joints make themselves evident
-Low key atmosphere
My latest update: I spent this last weekend back at Mid-Ohio, with the Mid-Ohio region of the PCA. Since I discussed Mid-Ohio in great detail, I won't go into it again except to say that I really enjoy running this track with the 944, due to its tight technical nature. The weather was great and I had a great time parked next to 2 Old Farts Racing. Unfortunately they had a no-start issue Sunday morning that we could not resolve with our limited diagnostic abilities at the track. Now I have several days of visiting relatives before I head to the National Corvette Museum next weekend. We're off to the Auburn-Cord Museum today.
So I have now completed my track weekend at Mid-Ohio. First let me say, the Allegheny Region of PCA put on a very nice event. As a newbie, I received sufficient "hand holding" from organizer Carol Neal and my coach Tom Mueller. Tom and I were able to get out on the track late Friday in his 944 Turbo S to do some very helpful familiarization laps. Within a couple of sessions on Saturday I was feeling confident about the track. ARPCA invests in some quality stickers and free hats. No shoe polish numbers in sight. Also the Friday night track walk was very beneficial. The car did have a weird case of rough running all through the rev range after I pulled it off the trailer. I was getting pretty panicked when it suddenly cleared up. I don't like random issues with cars but am keeping my fingers crossed. I was able to meet DaddyGlen. I'll let him make the detailed post but unfortunately his weekend did not go well.
Mid-Ohio Notes
-The tightest twistiest course yet in my trip. It is not as high speed and flowing as Watkins Glen but, that said, the back section starting at Madness is a lot of fun with almost constant steering inputs required.
-Lots of elevation change.
-A scenic setting in the country and close to a real town (Lexington). Pretty close to a major interstate.
-Was fortunate to not have to drive on a wet track because as we found on our Friday night track walk, this track is very slippery when wet.
-The track could use a repave but then again, like Sebring, the roughness gives it character and maybe will chasten those folks who have gone with very high spring rates and shock settings.
My obligatory photo follows. So at both Watkins Glen and Mid-Ohio, it is very hard to find signage with the actual track name on it. Almost every possible surface on the tracks that has signage is used for paid advertising.
Just found this thread. It was good to meet you at Mid-Ohio. For those wondering, I lost my engine on pit out for the second session. Ended my weekend and season. Over the winter, I'll be rebuilding a used engine I picked up from Plyhammer. Harvey, I'll be referencing your website during that process.
I have planned several road trips with HPDE or races as destinations. Never got farther than planning though. Maybe I'll just have to join you some time.
This track is in Bowling Green, KY and is situated next to both the National Corvette Museum (NCM) and the GM plant where all Corvettes are built. The track apparantly is designed to throw at lot of different corner patterns to the development engineers for the Corvette. It is 3.2 miles long and has 23 corners! Of course, with 23 corners to learn, I had my work cut out for me in the initial track sessions. By the 3rd session, I was getting things figured out and was able to pick up my pace. The track is very technical and once I got my bearings, I found it to be very entertaining. Also interesting, as the sight is in general flat, there are several corners that are totally blind. Corners 5 and 16 are quite fast and once I gained a confidence level, they were quite exciting. As I will discuss in my wrap up, my 944 performed flawlessly and I ended the weekend driving onto the trailer, no issues.
NCM Notes:
-Technical track with 23 corners. Entertaining.
-Nice use of what little elevation change was available on the site.
-Next to the National Corvette Museum, which is worth seeing.
Wrap Up
So, all in all, a great trip! It was of course great to get so much track time over just 3 weeks. It was great to be at such iconic tracks like Watkins Glen, Road America, and Mid-Ohio. It was a lot of driving (see Stats) but I was fortunate to have 3 weeks to devote to my quest. A bonus was I got to see great swathes of our country that I had up to this point spent little time in. All I can say is there is a lot of corn and soybeans being grown in NY, Indiana, Ohio, and Illinois!
Which track was my favorite? That is hard choice. In a high powered Formula car, I'd have to go with Watkins Glen. For my 944, I'd give Mid-Ohio the edge. But they were all fun. All the tracks were completely new to me so it was challanging and satisfying to learn each track as I went.
I was on edge before and during the trip about mechanical issues that might spoil my venture. As it worked out, the car performed flawlessly. My oil was topped off when I started. By the end, after 22 hours of hard running, it was down 1/8 of a quart! I don't know about you but I think this trip has dispelled the belief that a 944 is subject to oil starvation. I exposed it to every corner type possible and it did fine. I will admit that I drove most of my laps at 9/10s. The way I suspect any endurance racer at Lemans would have done in the day. I was running street tires, which aren't as quick as specialty rubber but give me great feedback (tire squeel) as I learned the tracks. A good tradeoff, as far as I am concerned.
So, a great trip, a great time, and a great experience. I'm already planning a similar trip next year. I'm thinking COTA, Leguna Seca, and Sonoma would be fun
Stats
1985 Porsche 944, track prepared
-22 hours of running time over 10 events.
-1/8 quart of oil consumed.
-Fuel consumption??? Probably 5-10 gallons per day.
- Kuhmo Ecsta AST 225/50-15 tires.
-Paragon 944Spec suspension.
-2400 pounds with 3/4 tank of fuel.
Tow vehicle: 2016 Ford F150
-2.7 litre Ecoboost engine
-Best truck I've ever owned. Pulls like a 5.0 litre V8.
Trip Stats
-3600 miles
-72 hours
-14.8 mpg
I went to 10 track events and all I got was these wrist bands
09-11-2019, 10:20 AM
