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Porsche Club of America
The Northeast Region

By Steve Boris
NOR'EASTER Online - June 2002

What a month this has been. With all the work I had to do on the new car this winter, it was finished 2 days before we headed down to VIR for the Zone 2 event, and the start of my instructor training. As usual the 12 - 14 hour ride is a tad on the long side but good weather and good company made the trip go by pretty quickly. Thursday night we arrived at the track and proceeded to set up our trackside Klubhaus. Friday morning was a bit chilly for Virginia but we were at one of the best East Coast tracks. After the typical morning talks and check-ins it was time for us to head out for our first 45-minute session. Friday was Instructor Training day so we had a lot of track time scheduled.

Once out on the track I started to get the winter curbwebs worked out. The car felt good and seemed to be running well in the cool Virginia air. I started the session with a bit under half a tank of gas so with all the track time ahead of us I drove until the yellow light flickered on. I got a good 25-30 minutes out there and didn't feel the need to push it.

After we came in, 4 of us had our first Instructor classroom session. This was pretty cool and kind of fun. When that was over I headed back to retighten my new front wheel bearings and change rear pads. Once that was all done and I was sure the car was ready I started it up to head over to the gas pumps. As I started the car there was a loud clicking noise from under the hood. Thinking it was a stuck lifter I applied a bit of throttle and it all but went away. So I went to the gas pumps. The noise was still there at the top of the RPM range if I revved it.

Well, still convinced it was a lifter I headed out onto the track. I didn't push it and stayed at very low RPMs. The noise got worse so I brought it back in. This was not a stuck lifter. This was the dreaded #2 rod bearing known to go on early 944s without the oil pan baffles. So I packed up all my stuff and headed home. I couldn't bear to stay and watch everyone have a great time while I worried about fixing the car with no money left from the winter's work.

Needless to say, the 14-hour ride back, alone, was tough to take. Upon arriving at home I decided that the car was too close to being perfect to stop now. I had done everything over except the 156,000-mile motor, hoping it would last a bit longer. It didn't!

As I write this I have received the block and head back from Circle Performance in Brockton where John has worked his magic on everything. A great deal of work was done to make the engine oil itself better for the bargain cost of close to $6,300. I am currently in final assembly and will report back to let you know how the story ends.

In the meantime I would like to share with you how I kept from going crazy with out a car in the first part of the 2002 driving season.

The first thing I did was to instruct at the Autocross School at Deven's airfield. In past years I have had the desire to work the exercise that appears to be the most fun, and has the most cones. It's fun because you get to blast through the course in many different cars. This year I decided to help the students by working the skidpad. Most new people think this is a waste of time when they could be over in another section knocking down cones and scaring instructors. That could not be further from the truth. The skidpad is probably the best exercise for learning, providing lasting influence on your ability to control the car.

The other instructor's and myself decided it was best to try and get the driver to spin their car. You would think this was an easy thing to do. It's not! These drivers were screaming, "I can't, I can't go any faster, it will spin" as I was screaming, "That's the whole point, goof". Then they would give it just a bit more and the rear end of the car would start to go and in a panic they take their foot off the throttle. Eventually most of the drivers would come close to spinning and along with a little throttle modulation they would get the drift of what we were trying to teach. Then all of a sudden, you could see the light come on. Yeah! They got it. Steering the car with the gas pedal. Who would have thought it was possible. Most of them did really great while a couple just couldn't bring themselves to make their tires squeal. Their loss, we tried! One funny thing I noticed was that the new drivers did better when driving their significant other's car. Hmmm, makes you wonder if we should ever loan them the car again. I guess being selfish has it moments.

I had so much fun trying to get these newbies to spin that all I could think of later that night was how exciting it was when I was just starting out. When just strapping on my helmet made my cheeks and eyes hurt, and yes, I know which end it goes on. Now after a few years of doing it I'm not satisfied unless I'm going mach 2 with my hair on fire.

Next I went to Lime Rock to help my buddies at the Lime Rock Club Race. I assumed the position of crew chief for four of my closest friends. Three of which were driving in their first Club Race and needed some good coaching, calming down and an occasional slap when they didn't follow instructions or got hysterical. When I arrived at the track I felt right at home. Maybe it was due to the fact that I was sitting in my trailer, looking at my rain tires holding down my tent and putting gas into my generator. If only I had a car there too. Sharing is a wonderful thing if you charge enough. Maybe I'll learn to do that some day.

Wednesday night I shared a hotel room with Steve and Andy. Sean went home to his mother and Dennis was somewhere else. Thursday night 4 of us slept in the trailer after watching Cannonball Run on the laptop (better motivator than the other movies Sean brought). I thought sleeping in the trailer was great. There is something about sleeping at a racetrack that completes the racing experience. Kind of like the smell of napalm in the morning. Don't get me wrong it was chilly and it really became obvious when Sean rolled over and his cheek stuck to the diamond plate floor. We had to get anti-freeze and a pry bar to get him undone. Good thing he was wearing his clothes. In the morning there was a bit of frost to be scraped off Andy's car, but it turned into a perfect race day.

Being crew chief was tougher and more expensive than I thought it would be. I helped with all the tire changing, brake bleeding and more. One thing I noticed was how many wives don't let their husbands take the checkbook to a race weekend. So another of my duties was to buy brake pads for one of my boys. I still don't know anything about the disappearance of the Mobil 1 that was on the shelf of my trailer.

But it was fun and the best part of the job was talking with the drivers on the radio while they were on the track. Some of the newer drivers felt the in-car radio would be a distraction, but realized after using it for the race that it's a necessity. I like someone to talk to me once in a while. Mostly I like them to remind me to breathe. Oh Yeah! No really, racing is very stressful and I feel the occasional chat or warning of an incident can break the tension and keep you relaxed. It also gives the driver the opportunity to get feedback on a particular move or incident. The chief can also tell the driver if he thinks the move he's about to make is a bit too aggressive and to have a little patience, waiting for the right moment.

Sean the GT3S driver required a lot of mushy, uplifting motivation to keep him focused and feeling confident in a very difficult class. If a driver has any doubts about his or her ability there is no way they will be fast. They have to be confident, perhaps even a bit cocky. So in his case I had to say nurturing things like, "Hey butthead is the car broken", "Did you leave the emergency brake on", "Do you want to come in for a nap", "Did you run out of gas'', typical motivational techniques like that. Actually I had to rough him up plenty during practice, but during the race it was all business. He actually drove a really good race and I was very proud of him. I was in constant touch with him during a very tough 27-lap race. Letting him know how many laps were left, what type of times he was running and letting him know when he put a good move on someone. I also had to try and detect any deterioration in his ability in case he was getting tired. A 27-lap race is a long time. There is a great deal of concentration needed in a Club Race, especially at Lime Rock because you are always in traffic. This, however, was not an issue. The Team Northeast guys stayed sharp right to the end.

Let me mention that the other 3 drivers; Andy, Steve and Dennis all did really well in their first Club Race. I guess we'll be hanging and racing together for quite a while. Look for the Team Northeast guys at the Watkins Glen Sprint Races and Enduros. Souvenirs will be available at the Team Northeast KLUBHAUS in the paddock.

Well, I have to admit that even without a car I had a blast these past few weeks. I am usually real selfish. I think I made up for blowing out of VIR early.

Remember, my driver's window is always open.

Porsche Club of America The Northeast Region

Porsche Club of America
The Northeast Region