PCA at Summit Point

[FTS]

Imagine 97-100 deg weather with humidity, dew point was around 78-80, and heat index was near 110 deg. One of the worst heat waves in a long time. We could not stand under the sun for more than 1 or 2 mins, it would bake you if you did. Even under the shades it was tough, breathing was difficult at all times even after sunset. I know I should not complain, FL guys would have me for breakfast, but this was bad.

Of course it was not enough to stop us from tracking Who ever had A/C in their car, used it, it was just miserable inside the car, and mine is show room stock. We were off by several mph every corner, and on the straight, I was off by 10 to 12 mph. I would brake earlier and softer. All cars, particularly Turbos had difficulty breathing.

Although my tires were near end of their life, they performed better than expected. Actually the heat was helpful for my tires; normally during this last phase of their life, the R888s don't come up to temp easily and pressures barely increase. I started with 24 psi front and 28 in the rear, and the maximum pressure I achieved was 30 front and 35 rear, and they did well considering.

Lots of GT cars of course, the red run group was as fun as it gets with 45 cars. Lots of passing, predictable, safe and just the right level of agressiveness. The red run group with the Founders Region is quite different than the black run group. Red is more consistent, more respectful and predictable, which all make it for fun time.

The best part of the weekend was how well the car held up to the heat. Nothing gave away, engine, oil, coolant and brake temps all stayed within normal. Engine oil temp barely went up above 225 and I was not being gentle for certain. The reliability of this car is just beyond my expectations, every time it surprises me and tell me that I spent my money on the right car and brand. There is not way I would believe a BMW, Aston, Lambo, GTR, etc. would have been able handle the weekend. May be Ferrari, McLaren? I am not sure.

Since there was no chance of breaking or renewing fast lap times, instead I worked on collecting data, trying different approaches to various turns, different gears, etc. The data I collected has been tremendously useful as I have found untapped 0.6 secs in the first three turns. Considering my average speeds through any and all turns were significantly slower than usual, the time I found were mostly gained at corner entry by coming off the brake earlier, following slightly different line through the turn, and using different gears through 2nd and 3rd turns. I only had time to analyze those first three turns, so may be there is more time on others that I haven't seen yet.

I also purchased the RacePak ODB interconnect, so next outing I am hoping I will be able to get more data to do more accurate analyses.

[FTS]

PorscheFest Day 3 Clips:

[FTS]

We just had our final event at Summit this past weekend, and it was a cold one each day starting below freezing temps and hitting high 50s as the day progressed. Nevertheless, the event was well attended with 170+ cars, and all drivers were well behaved with few innocent incidents.

The first day, we also had a new Corvette Stingray on the paddock, a blue group student, unfortunately it completely broke down during the first session start of the 3rd lap. Something about the diff locking up completely, very sharp and nasty clutch smell, etc. The car was towed out and never saw it again; I was looking forward to observing the car/driver, we did not get the chance. The car looked very nice and attractive to me, it certainly is a great value IMHO if all works.