View Poll Results: Does your PCA chapter offer time trials (TT)?
Yes.
10
22.73%
No.
14
31.82%
No, but I would like them to.
16
36.36%
No, and I would not like them to.
4
9.09%
Voters: 44. You may not vote on this poll
Does your PCA DE offer Time Trials?
10-23-2009, 06:59 PM
#1
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Does your PCA DE offer Time Trials?
Just curious how common it is for PCA DEs to offer time trials.
I ran with a group this year (COM,....where I met Paolo!) who does a time trial on the 2nd day of the DE. I found it somewhat enjoyable.
I ran with a group this year (COM,....where I met Paolo!) who does a time trial on the 2nd day of the DE. I found it somewhat enjoyable.
10-23-2009, 07:21 PM
#3
Drifting
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10-23-2009, 07:41 PM
#5
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I think my driving needs another season (or more) before I'll think about the Club Racing thing. The car is going to become a Spec Boxster this winter so who knows what will happen down the line.
10-23-2009, 09:26 PM
#6
Potomac ran a once a season TT until 2002. It was a big event that drew lots of vendors and some really quick cars. Mike Levitas would tune a monster engine for the event, and turned some amazing lap times. Wayne Johnson ran his 962 and even offered to take passengers for charity auction laps!
The TT took up all of Sunday afternoon, and eventually the club decided that giving up half a day of DE run time was a better proposition. We were over subscribed for every event in every run group, so that demand overtook the TT event.
The TT took up all of Sunday afternoon, and eventually the club decided that giving up half a day of DE run time was a better proposition. We were over subscribed for every event in every run group, so that demand overtook the TT event.
10-24-2009, 12:17 AM
#7
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Golden Gate Region have a well developed Time Trial series, and only just this year brought back Club Racing. Time Trial is not CR and the groups do not run together.
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10-24-2009, 12:18 AM
#8
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PCA-Golden Gate Region offers a full season of time trials every year. Always has. Its amazing what kind of focus a driver develops when you put a transponder on their bumper.
I believe the San Diego region offers them too, plus one or two other zones/regions.
Chime in if you know the rest of the list. Shame it's so uncommon.
I believe the San Diego region offers them too, plus one or two other zones/regions.
Chime in if you know the rest of the list. Shame it's so uncommon.
10-24-2009, 12:55 AM
#9
Three Wheelin'
The Golden Gate Region program as John points out has been quite a bit different from many PCA DE's. In my early experience I did one DE with PCA at LRP and 1-2 at Blackhawk... and have since done many DE's with various non-PCA groups here in the Bay Area. And of course TT's with Golden Gate and plenty of racing. The big difference between DE's and TT's, in my experience, is the culture it creates in terms of skill and experience development. The TT environment for me is one in which a large majority of participants are highly focused on the goal of getting to 100% of what their car can do. I find this true for DE's, but I think there are fewer participants focused this way on a percentage basis.
10-24-2009, 02:18 AM
#10
Rennlist Member
Until Club Racing came around in '93 (?), and the first one was run in Northern California by GGR at Sears in '95 (?), Time Trials WERE the only competitive non-SCCA thing going on a race track. NASA hadn't been invented yet. I don't believe POC had started wheel-to-wheel until about the same time as PCA. (When I lived in Arizona in the mid-'80's, there was a sub-SCCA group called ASRA that had catch-all wheel-to-wheel.....Eloy Grand Prix!)
So when I first got involved with Porsches, the time trial series was a Big Deal. Walt Mass, fresh off his IMSA championship was running! Some really developed cars were being turned out, and with the clock going, it was damned competitive. Just the names that were out on a typical weekend: Woods, Anderson, Garretson, Pasha, Walton, Milledge, Zaccone, Bontempi, Chmura.........just off the top of my head.
Then it all pretty much went away with club racing as the classes didn't mesh so well. Just a ghost of its glory now.
So when I first got involved with Porsches, the time trial series was a Big Deal. Walt Mass, fresh off his IMSA championship was running! Some really developed cars were being turned out, and with the clock going, it was damned competitive. Just the names that were out on a typical weekend: Woods, Anderson, Garretson, Pasha, Walton, Milledge, Zaccone, Bontempi, Chmura.........just off the top of my head.
Then it all pretty much went away with club racing as the classes didn't mesh so well. Just a ghost of its glory now.
10-24-2009, 12:15 PM
#12
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Thread Starter
For anyone wondering how it might work, here's how COM does it. The TT starts at around noon on the 2nd day of the event. Before that, everyone tells the 'timekeeper' your approximate lap time. For the NHMS 1.6 miles track, they send cars out in groups of 4 cars, releasing one car about every 15-20 seconds. You go "hot" immediately after leaving the pits and drive three laps. After the third lap, you re-enter the pits using an alternative gate that otherwise would never be used when there are many cars on the track running hot. It works quite well. They simply put cars out there with similar lap times so that you hardly ever catch or get caught.
The times are all reported at the end of the event and they do give out little trophies!
After the TT is over, they usually take whatever time is left for the day and run open track. Last time there was about 1.5 hours left over.
The times are all reported at the end of the event and they do give out little trophies!
After the TT is over, they usually take whatever time is left for the day and run open track. Last time there was about 1.5 hours left over.
10-24-2009, 11:09 PM
#13
Three Wheelin'
Sounds great! Not seen one yet at NJMP w/ any of the grps I've run with.. Understand the 'go racing' comments - but there is some real merit to me to pushing an open lap or three (several times) to advance skills b/f that step. I'd love to run one (or some 
) .. BTW, did the Bertil Roos Drive Your Own solo this past Fri at NJMP T'bolt - three one hour sessions w/ less than 15 cars (8 for me, of which 3 were pro series cups - which would come up on you like a starship dropping from warp), very good value for the $ ... Dont tell too many 
) .. BTW, did the Bertil Roos Drive Your Own solo this past Fri at NJMP T'bolt - three one hour sessions w/ less than 15 cars (8 for me, of which 3 were pro series cups - which would come up on you like a starship dropping from warp), very good value for the $ ... Dont tell too many
10-25-2009, 03:21 AM
#14
San Diego region TT series
Occasionally we will run our timing in the afternoon in run groups and the best lap of that session determines the winners.
Our most recent event was at Spring Mountain in Pahrump,Nevada with results here:
http://results.pcasdr.org/event_stan...=0&database=tt
Next event will be a Buttonwillow in November the weekend before Thanksgiving.
Greg Phillips
10-25-2009, 04:11 AM
#15
Three Wheelin'
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i'm one of the few who voted "no, i don't want one" because if it's a timed event, it hoses my insurance coverage. i'm just out there to get educated and see the leaves on the trees change, thank you very much. 