Greg H.

I had the privilege of meeting Randy Pobst at a Thunderhill track event yesterday. If you don’t know who he is, you should (www.randypobst.com). Meeting him is truly one of the highlights of my Motorsporting activities and it gave me an appreciation of why he is a successful professional driver. Fast, yeah - but that isn’t even half the story. What a great world it would be if all professional athletes remembered what Randy keeps first and foremost in mind: it is people like us that ultimately pay the bills. Beyond that, Randy is a genuinely great guy - the ultimate Motor sports ambassador. He always has a good word, is full of great stories, is accessible, interested in learning and sharing information, will and did BS all day long with us average Joes. I’m not sure if he was even being compensated for the appearance as he was there giving a friend some driving lessons and then spent every spare minute talking cars and giving rides to the rest of us. And what a ride I got in my car...

If you ever have the opportunity to go to an event where Randy is present, I’d urge you to attend. He even races Porsches, occasionally.

Greg H.

a4944

He is one of my favorite drivers. Here is some video from an Audi event that I found on another forum where he is driving. He gives a narrative of VIR Full.

http://www.routethis.net/video/

Mark

Benton

Randy seems like such an awesome guy. He actually lives in my town (Gainesville), but I have yet to see him driving around. I gotta get in touch with him and hang out.

BrandonH

Randy was at last year's quattro club event at Mid OH and I chanced to have breakfast with him at a B&B. Agree 100%: he is an absolutely great guy, totally in love with cars and with what he does. Later at the track he hopped from one car to the next, eagerly and generously wringing the most out of whatever folks brought to the track that weekend. I asked Craig, the organizer, what strings he had to pull or favors he called in to get Randy there that day; he said, "I wrote him a letter asking him to come..." His monthly collumn in "Sportscar" is a terrific window into the life of a hard working pro driver.

rdstemler

At my first car event (BMW OctoberFest at NHIS) back in the '90s, Randy was there. He got in the new BMW Z3 on the skidpad and did one handed figure 8s with the tires smoking and stayed in the same track the whole time! Masterful car control. Compare and contrast to NASCAR guys who can't even get a complete circle done well, much less change directions each time!!!

Reminded me of when I was a high school track star. A friend of the coach came to work out before he went to Pro football training camp. He was just getting loose. We were running wind sprints. I was the fastest guy on our team. I was running as fast as I could. He left me in the dust!!!!!

That's when I knew I'd never be a pro sports player.

I had the same feeling when I saw Pobst doing those figure 8s!!!

911

Talk about Mr Enthusiasm - that's Randy Pobst. And, the guy can flat drive! Does anyone here remember when he did the Porsche Cup race at Indy (w/ the F1 GP) a few years ago? He impressed the hell out of me. He wasn't even a regular in that series (which is SUPER competitive in Europe) and I believe he was running in the top 5. He was a guest speaker at the POC Banquet a few years ago. He's an easy guy to support & root for because he's a great guy. Randy's definitely one of my favorites.

mooty

greg, you are talking about hooked on driving event? i was there too in a white M3 with a large red banner on the windshield. which porsche were you in? there were two black c2s, one red TT and one white TT.

Renn 951

Randy has shown up at a number of the Audi Club events at VIR and has a great time just hanging out with all the car people and taking them for rides on the track. He has all that talent and there isn't one "stuck up" bone in his body. He's a super nice guy.

He took me for a ride in my 951 at VIR two years ago and it was a real eye opener for me as to what the car was capable of doing with a driver like him at the wheel! We found we had to rein in some of the students, however, because after they would go for a ride with him they'd think, "If HE can do that in my car then I should be able to do that too!" We now warn students at the Drivers Meeting, "don't try to do those tricks on your own!"

APKhaos

Its impressive how the truly good guys are more than willing to keep in touch with their roots.
At a recent PCA Potomac DE, Mike Levitas volunteered to spend a day with us. This was the weekend before the Rolex series race at Watkins Glen. Mike is a member of PCA Potomac and PCA Club racer [before his success in the Rolex series].

The Saturday turned out brutally hot, but Mike was in two cars at least every run session of the day. He was advising guys on setup, technique, and more. Everyone who got to ride with him was amazed at how helpful and enthusiastic he was. Its great to see this happening!

Eric S

I was glad we attended the night before the event w/ Randy getting to know him and hear the cool stories. Truly a great guy who is just in love with cars. He was just having fun in California between the ALMS @ Infinion and Portland next weekend.


On the track day I had asked him if he would like to drive my C2S and he just showed up saying let's go later in the day. 4 laps of incredible driving pitching the car sideways every chance he got and having a great time. WOW, I have a new appreciation of what my car can really do in the right hands. Also really cool feedback about suspension setup and handling which he loved the feel of.

Here's a couple of photos w/ Randy at the wheel. Thank you David (Hooked on Driving) for putting on such a great event, I'll be back for sure. Thunderhill is a great track to play on.

carreracup21

I had the same experience in my car at VIR. It was my third DE event and just last year. He left a very good impression. You know... if he keeps this up, he will have quite a loyal following.

TheOtherEric

My fiancee was at the Mid-OH event that Randy attended last year and said the same thing; he's a great guy, and a real treat. Took a bunch of people for rides in their cars. It was really funny, he drive my gal's S4 and every picture that was taken showed his left arm just dangling out the window. Like it was just a leisurely stroll...

Greg H.

I was in the white TT. I remember the white M3. I wish I'd known it was you, it's always nice to meet Rennlisters. Do you know Eric in the white GT3? Having Randy drive my car and harrassing Eric was pretty fun.

Greg H.

mooty

ah, greg, we did meet then. i was the asian with glassess commenting on how rare it is to find 993's without sunroof when we chatted.

yes, i also chatted with eric a bit. he was running well in his GT3.