Tahoe Shark

We have been working on a new Open Road car all winter and received our "Beast" just 5 days before the NORC. Marc & Susan (DEVEK) delivered the car Monday night and Marc and I took it out to do a little tuning for altitude. The car ran well and I was impressed with our choices on the suspension, seats, engine and all of the other little things you never think of.

Cheryl & I were sad to have to miss Bill's Sharks at the Park, but we needed to shake down the car in a high speed environment. We moved up the the 150 mph class for this event and wanted to see how the car behaved.

Thursday morning we loaded up the car and all of our gear and headed out to Ely, NV. We arrived about 2:30 in the afternoon and since our motel room was not ready, we decided to unload and take the car for a spin on the actual road we would be racing on. The car fired right up and off we went. 110 miles later we had nothing but smiles on our faces. The car pulls harder in 5th gear than my GTS does in 3rd. We came back, checked in and had dinner with everyone asking why we had this stupid grin on our faces.

Friday morning we went back out (checking tire pressure, etc) and ran the entire course both directions and after this bit of seat time we were sure we were in car heaven. We parked the car and got ready for the parade through Ely at 5:30. We were very excited to share the sound of the car with other racers we have come to know. Pulled up to the parking lot with the ground shaking and numerous puzzled stares. The most common of which was "What in the He!! is in that Porsche, it sound like a big block".

The parade starts and the whole town is lining the streets. It's about a 5 mile course at about 5-10 mph. Clutch in, Clutch out, repeat if necessary. About 300 clutch engagements later and in the middle of town my clutch pedal goes to the firewall and stays there. What the F@#k!!! Quick, shift into neutral, OK at least I didn't hit the car 20 ft in front of me. Some good hearted locals jump into the street and we push the car off the route. I look under the car and we have a swimming pool of brake fluid. Uh Oh, not a good sign. We check the resovoir and it's way down, pump the pedal a few times and resign ourselves to looking for some Porsche parts in Ely. (not). I give Susan a call and she conferences Marc in. I describe exactly what I know and performs some tests that Marc suggests and narrow the problem to a couple of things, none of which exist in Ely.

Cheryl and I were so disappointed we decided to trailer up and leave that night for Tahoe and pack it in. Susan calls back about 7pm or so and says "hold on we have options" Marc says he is up for a road trip. I say " Susan it's 550 miles from Redwood City to Ely, NV, no way I'd have Marc come out here. She then tells me that to bad but he has already left with a GTS full of parts. Talk about above and beyond!!!!

I get up in the morning and Marc is sleeping next to our trailer in his car. We talk a little and decide the first thing to do is rent a lift for the day. We find a lift and at 8:30 Saturday morning we start on finding the problem. We narrow it down to one of two hoses, either the steel hose from the master cylinder or the flex hose that crosses over to the slave hose. Both are replaced and by 11:00 we are on the road to test the car.

Marc wants to drive and off we go out to the course. Since exceeding the speed limit is automatic DQ for the event the following is hypothetical. Run up the canyon at about 90 - 110 just to see if everything is OK. Clutch OK, handling spot on, tires properly inflated and passengers belted in. Drop the hammer on the straight (7000 ft. elevation) and take it to 160 everythings great. Since we missed the standing mile because of the clutch problem we decide to do a standing mile. Kind of idle off of 1st, shift to second and nail the car. 153 mph (by the gps so it can be off a little). Not bad for 7000 ft. The standing mile in town was held at about 6000 ft. Don't know the results of that so I can't compare.

Marc is satisfied and we return to the motel. He doesn't want to stay so he jumps in his GTS and halls butt back to Redwood City for a DEVEK event at 8:00 that night for the Porsche Club.

We show up at the startling line with our spoiler and wings adjusted and are gridded in #7 position. The 150 class is first out and is the biggest class today with 24 cars starting one minute apart. We glance at the start list and notice we are the only 928 at the event, and only 2 Porsches total out of 119 entries. The flag drops and off we go breaking loose the tires through 3rd gear. I watch the GPS and at the one mile marker we hit 158 mph (not official but with a GPS). YEE HAW. We continue for the next 50 miles at 165 mph and then slow to get back on time. This car is stuck to the pavement and I'm exceeding my course notes speed on every turn. How fun is this. We go through the canyon at a reserved 115-120 and still have to slow for a couple of miles. By the finish at 90 miles our watches show us at a little less that a 1/4 second off of perfect. Now all we can do is wait until the awards to see the official time. Sunday night the results are handed out and we took 3rd in the 150's less than 1/10th of a second off of 1st place. Cheryl is really a great navigator. 928's rule.


So a big thank you to Marc, Susan and Julie at DEVEK for the over the top, unexpected, and above and beyond service to a 928 owner. Our GTS is now officially retired from ORR and will be returned to stock (sort of).

I'll post some pics of "The Beast" tomorrow. Oh and by the way, we did this with 0 lbs of boost.

Richard S

Tim and Cheryl....that is simply AWESOME! I was hoping the weather would not cancel the event, sounds like you had good conditions. to Marc for coming to your rescue too! Can't wait to check out your new ride. I'm going to refer to it as big brother, and mine as little brother (both are Diamond Blue 5 speeds, mine will make it's ORR debut later this summer).

Congrats!

Rich

Bill Ball

I get goosebumps just reading about cruising at 165 for 50 miles. Great report. 0.1 off first place? Egad! Looking forward to seeing the car at Bonneville in July.

Marc has driven outrageous distances in the middle of the night to deliver parts and service on a number of occasions. Kudos to Marc and DEVEK again.

fbarnhill

Tim,
Man that is great. I have been harboring fantasies abou the ORR for years. I even had the link in my favorites for a while. I always felt that a properly tuned stock shark could do pretty well in this race. These cars do so well at speed. Are you thinking about moving up in class next year? It sounds like you had a little pedal left at the end... Congrats on your finish Do you have any idea who won overall? I read once that the folks that break 200 spend a fortune on their cars. I hope you will post lots of pics.

Frank Barnhill
79 Euro on the east coast where 75mph is technically ileagal.

Tahoe Shark

fbarnhill,

I think Richard Hille won the Unlimited @ 186 Average. Jeffy Vette comming in 2nd in the 170 mph class at 170.XXXX. The others DNF'ed I think.

These guys are really not my competition this year. I will be running 155 all year which is a step up from 140 last year and the fastest average you can run without a cage and fuel cell. That will come next year. I'll let George chase the unlimited guys if he wants to this year, he has the saftey equip & car to do it.

In the speed classes in ORR you may not break your tech speed for any reason. Mine was 165 mph. As far as having throttle left I had a lot. The car was loafing at 160 @ 4800 rpms. This car will reach 200 mph as is, no question. It's got the hp & tq to do it. I just don't have the safety equip to legally do it and prove it. I'm in no hurry and I can wait till next year. Speeds like that take a lot of experience to handle and I don't mind getting some more.

Jim bailey - 928 International

Great story ! well done. And very nice of Marc T. to literally save the day ! Running headers there can be a LOT more heat on the clutch rubber flexible hose and that one is typically the failure.

fbarnhill

Tim,
Man it just sounds like fun. I had read about the speed requirements. I think it sounds like it is well organized. I remember seeing a vette that a guy had spent a fortune on. It may be the one you mentioned. I think the guy owned some sort of eatery.
Keep us posted on your progress and we will keep you in our prayers. Have fun

Frank Barnhill
79 Euro - chasing grannies on walkers until I can afford a little boost

Shane

Tim what do you have going on under the hood, to get your shark to 200mph?

Great write up! One of these years I'll have to come join your guys, I'm just afraid that if I do, I'll end up like George!

Bill Ball

Frank:

No need for fantasies. We've had as many as five 928s at one these events and have taken numerous 1st's. Tim & Cheryl have won or placed a number of times in their GTS and are poised to move way up the speed classes with the new car. George Suennen has won many times and has run recently in the 165 class successfully with his Murph'd 90 S4. He should be joining Tim & Cheryl in moving up speed-wise over the next year after we do a tranny swap to get a 2.2 rear into his car.

My 89 when bone stock ran easily in the 145 class and was clocked at 165 cruising at 6000 feet outside of Bonneville. I could go into a higher class with a good navigator. Practically speaking, a stock S4/GT/GTS can run in the 150 class easily. Although the car in stock form will cruise faster than that, averaging over 150 is tough with the turns involved. Of course, Marc & Susan Thomas were clocked at 210 in ORR in their stroked White Car, which they drove to the event - no support team and semi. George, Rich Sanders, Dave Lomas, Paul Mooradian and I drive our cars to these events with no special preparation at all, drive 1,600 miles in 4 days including the 100 mile race and then drive home. My car goes straight to work with me.

So, yes, you are right - these cars were designed for this kind of event. I can't think of another unmodified 17 year old daily driver car that can do this. It surprises a lot of others when they find out how little we have into our cars and how fast they are. Oh, and I like to leave the AC on so I can stay comfy in the summer heat.

Tim has plenty of pedal left.

A 928 team would be formidable.

Rich9928p

Tim and Cheryl,

Congratulations! You showed the world what two very smart and talented people can do with a great team of supporters and a fantastic Porsche.

IcemanG17

Tim & Cheryl
Congratulations!!! Thanks to Marc of a last second save too!! I can't wait to take a look at the "Beast" at SATL..... We are looking forward to another great event!!

jorj7

Tim (and Cheryl),

Congratulations. Glad it's all falling into place. The 928 is a great platform for
this kind of competition, and with a "little" tweeking, it's as good as it gets. I
look forward to seeing the new car at Sharks at the Lake and the two MKM
open road races.

Nicole

WOW - what a nice story! And Kudos to Marc for his great support.

I'm sure we'll hear a lot more great storys about this car. Keep it safe, and keep it up (especially the shiny side...)

sweanders

Wohoo!

Good job Tim and Cheryl!

I wish I could have gone on the road trip with Marc.

Rick Carter

Great job Tim & Cheryl. This also shows Marc in a much more positive light than recent past history; none of us are without flaws but often willing to throw the second and subsequent stones.

Again, great job Tim ad Cheryl, woohooo!