Summit Point, 9/9/2011

[ChuckP]

Instructed at "Friday at the Track" HPDE. My student had an identical Comp Orange Boss 302. Check the attached video and you'll see a bit of humor from this. BTW: the Porsche in the video is a 911 GT3. It rained in the morning and temps were in high 70's. No overheating problems at all...unlike the last time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5v9Qza_wQAQ

 

[cloud9]

Nice work Chuck! Forget the M3, Ford should put the bullseye on the GT3.

 

[racered302]

I was on the waiting list in the middle of August for the "Friday at the track" never got an email and was going to go anyway to watch and then drive the carts around, but it rained. Wouldn't have been much fun driving 1.5 - 2 hours to watch and not be able to participate. I even had a room reserved in Winchester. Maybe next year. I really want take the class and see what its like driving this thing around a track. Back roads are fun but too risky.

 

[ChuckP]

FATT is very well run (I could be biased since I instruct for them). Instructors are a combination of BSR (Bill Scott Racing) employees and non-paid instructors like me that come from the ranks of SCCA, MARRS, PCA, BMWCCA, HSR etc. We get compensated with free lunch (yippee!) and track credit. Instructors get credit towards open track and test days that you would normally have to pay for. If you do do a FATT event, make sure it's at the main Summit Point Circuit and not the Shenandoah Circuit. Shenendoah is pretty tight and not well suited to our 444 BHP.

You may also want to look into PCA Potomac Region HPDEs. They are very reasonable and accept non-Porsche entries. We have an event at Summit Point coming up on 10/29 - 10/30:
http://pcapotomac.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=17:de-event-schedule&catid=2:drivers-education&Itemid=36

 

[racered302]

I appreciate the info and thanks for the tip on which track to look for. I think I'll be waiting for spring time before I sign up for the next FATT. I'll be putting my car away for winter in the next couple of weeks. I will be dedicating more of my time next year learning how to drive this car the way it was meant to be driven including a trip to Utah for the track attack. You mentioned something about your car not overheating this time, was it hot when you took it out the last time when it overheated? I know it' was a pretty consistent 95deg around Balto most of the summer. I will be following the manuals recommendation that came with the car. Is there anything else I may need to do or get before spring so car is ready to roll? I'm guessing tennis shoe's, helmet and a green light from my insurance co.. Thanks

 

[ChuckP]

The first time at Summit Point it was in the mid 90s and the car would not do 4 or 5 laps before temp gauge was in the red. One easy lap shifting around 6000 and it would cool down. Last time (9/9) it rained in the morning and by lunch it was in the high 70s or low 80s. Temp gauge never went above mid point. I'll be running again at Summit Point this coming weekend (9/30 - 10/2) so we'll see how it goes. I have a Roush billet grill that I have not installed yet. I know this may irritate Boss purists but I think it looks a lot better than the stock one with its faux foglights. More importantly, it should pass a lot more air. Hopefully I won't have to go the 302s radiator upgrade as Gary has done but that sounds like the ultimate cooling fix. As for checking with your insurance company on HPDE coverage, BE AFRAID, BE VERY AFRAID! Some have a zero tolerance policy on track events, non race or otherwise. They assume if the car is on a race track it's being raced. USAA cancelled a 20 year customer with 0 accidents, 0 tickets and 0 claims just because he called and asked about HPDE coverage. I've decided to go the track insurance route. It's expensive but you get "stated value" coverage. It will be costing me about $250 for $45,000 coverage for 3 days at Summit Point. Pricey, but since I instruct I usually get into events free or at a generous discount. That helps offset insurance cost. I crashed my Porsche race car at Watkins Glen in 1994. Cost me $19K out of pocket to put it back together. Wish I had track insurance then! Well, I'm off to Miller to check out the Porsche Club race today and get a preview look at the track. Will be back there Tuesday for the Track Attack!

 

[racered302]

I won't be making that call now, thanks! As for the cooling I may be ok first time out, it will be there in spring and probably won't be running flat out until I learn the car. I have no track experience but 10+ years driving in Germany on the autobahn, could help with the high speed part.