Head Case Motorsports

[Grahame]

Maybe they spoke too soon / didn't look at the date on their NDA?,

Or want to remix the audio, as there were lots of complaints in the comments

Edited March 14, 2023 by Grahame

[TMoney]

My goal for my first timed autocross with the Porsche Club was to be faster than at least one 911. I really wanted to send someone home in their sports car knowing they got beat by a practical family four-door.

I felt like I could go quite a bit quicker, but mission accomplished.

Only car I’m sad I wasn’t faster than was the Dodge Challenger. The rest of them I had no chance of beating if they were driven competently.

This is a very fun hobby other than the long drives to and from the remote locations where they host these things.

Doing another one in two weeks.

[robm321]

Congrats TMoney. I'm enjoying the updates on your journey. 

[HemiSam]

That's awesome!  Congrats and may your tires and brakes last long...

Sam

[HemiSam]

This looks like way too much fun....

https://www.hagerty.com/media/motorsports/my-miata-sort-of-won-americas-oldest-off-road-race/?utm_source=SFMC&utm_medium=email&utm_content=MED_UN_NA_EML_UN_DailyDriver_Monday&hashed_email=5a40c51c3d4254d5f58319200ca2ac8bb44b94437291b38bd1d989d5554293b0

HS

[Grahame]

Plug-in Lambo, anyone?

 

"The powertrain alone sounds bonkers: a 813hp, 6.5-liter V12, bolstered by three electric motors for a combined 1,015cv (a metric unit of horsepower that translates to 1,001hp)"

So a metric shit-tonne of Horsepower?

https://www.theverge.com/2023/3/29/23661484/lamborghini-revuelto-plug-in-hybrid-aventador

https://www.topgear.com/car-news/supercars/new-217mph-hybrid-lamborghini-revuelto-hypercar

 

Also,

get them while you can!

https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/eu-countries-poised-approve-2035-phaseout-co2-emitting-cars-2023-03-28/

 

Edited March 29, 2023 by Grahame

[mikeymad]

I guess if you are a car guy - you have to learn to do this.

or

[TMoney]

Another fun weekend out autocrossing! Vroom, vroom!

I never was able to put a clean run together and felt like I left at least a second or two out on the track, but we still were able to beat some of the modern 911 drivers.

I was the only crossover in the field, and the most common thing I heard was "my wife really wants one of those!" I take it as a compliment.

A few random observations:

• Had a ride along with my instructor driving his GT3. I see why people go crazy for them. What a machine. So much grip. I want one. Badly!
• There was a 911 Turbo in my run group and I can't believe how fast that thing is in a stright line. He was probably the second heaviest car in the field after me.
• Watching the older cars run the course is my favorite. They look so majestic out there and I'm glad the owners don't baby them.
• After-market exhaust on most cars is so stupid. You already are driving a sports car with factory sport exhaust. Making it twice as loud is silly.

Some random photos I snapped. 

Edited April 2, 2023 by TMoney

[HemiSam]

So much fun you're having, Adam....awesome!

Love the stories and the images.  That white 240Z....yummy chow!

HS

[TMoney]

For as big and heavy as she is I am amazed how flat she stays under cornering. 
 

[HemiSam]

Big girls can get jiggy too!

HS

[TMoney]

A few more autocross shots from my event Sunday. Loving autocross. It is like cars and coffee and racing in the same day, only the folks all actually drive their cars they way they were meant to be driven! 

[HiWire]

24 Hours of Nürburgring - Top Qualifying:

 

Highlights:

 

Edited May 22, 2023 by HiWire

[TMoney]

I had fun tracking these two back-to-back at Exotics Racing in Las Vegas. Expensive to lap their cars, but where else are you going to get to drive them on track at pace?

I can see why KG bought the C8 w/ z51. It is a riot to drive and the v8 sounds amazing.

My lap times were quite a bit faster in the GT4 despite the horsepower advantage of the C8. Porsche cars are just so easy to get in and get up to speed and the GT4 is no exception. They make you feel like a better driver than you really are.  The bigger, heavier 'vette felt like it might bite if you didn't keep a handle on it. I can't even imagine how quick the z06 version must be.

I somehow was fastest of the day and 12th fastest of the month, which I am very happy about. I think it is because I know from auto-crossing how to find the limit of what the tires will do and use that to carry a more speed in the medium and slow corners than the other drivers in higher horsepower cars. I also am used to driving a pretty quick car so the speed doesn't scare me the same way it would someone who isn't used to what a modern sports car can do.

My lines and brake points sucked, but the instructors riding along gave great advice. I've got to be a lot smoother on the big track than I am on the autocross given the speeds involved. Unsettling the car at 60mph vs 100mph feels pretty different! Rolling on to the pedals really helped vs just smashing the brake and letting the ABS figure it out.

In case you wondered how they feel confident letting people off the street walk in and drive 700hp cars with a minimal safety briefing, each car had the brake pedal wired so that the instructor had their own brake pedal in the right side seat so they can save you from yourself.

Edited May 23, 2023 by TMoney

[HemiSam]

A GT4 is the most balanced car I've ever ridden around a track.  Amazingly forgiving and doesn't beat one up along the process.

What a super experience you had...congrats!!!

HS

[HiWire]

24 Hours of Le Mans!

 

[TMoney]

I survived my first HPDE track weekend with the Audi Club up at Thunderhill Raceway. What a cool track. Way out away from the Bay Area but lots of interesting elevation changes. Coming over the hills on some of the blind corners requires guts when you can't see what is ahead of you.

My goodness, that was fun. I was so glad to have explored my limits and my car doing autocross before getting out there on the big track with other drivers. Knowing what my tires and brakes can and cannot do helped a lot.

Audi Club was really accommodating to us first timers. Only the most advanced drivers and the instructors are allowed to go out solo. Every one else has an instructor riding along in the right seat. I really enjoyed the coaching and we were able to pick up pace each session out there.

Unlike autocross, you get a ton of seat time doing HPDE. There were 4 26-minute sessions each day split between the morning and afternoon. 26 minutes goes by in a blink when you are locked in and focused.

Driving on a race track at pace... oh my god is it fast. I was very nervous to start and only started to relax after a few sessions. Driving in traffic on track was also new to me. The speeds you can get up to out there are no joke. I hit 130 on the front straight before I started to be a bit more judicious and easy on my brakes by coasting a bit once I hit triple digits.

I used to wonder how people memorize all the corners, but after two days on track and a bunch of study time I could recite them from memory with my eyes closed.

Lots of fun... also very expensive. I bought a full track day policy just in case, and my tires and brake pads are pretty well used up and will need to be replaced this week. They call them consumables for a reason, but the butchers bill from my mechanic shop is not going to be pretty.

Can't wait to get back out there in the fall!

[HemiSam]

That is awesome!  You picked one of the country's best tracks based on what I've read.

It looks as if you've gotten pretty serious about the track activities.  If you get to the point where the consumables get to be too much you might consider an older Miata.  So much cheaper to maintain....brakes, tires, axles, etc...  Parts are abundant and relatively inexpensive.  They don't give them away, but I figure it might pay for itself if you keep up with all this racing fun.

HS

 

[TMoney]

Yes. Thinking the same thing. The other Macan at the track towed a Miata race car. He may be on to something.

[HiWire]

My other Porsche is a Mazda...

[HemiSam]

I picked up this tin can a few months ago to learn how to turn....LOL.

It's a '91 (aka NA model).  Nothing fancy, but it gets the job done.

It's going to be about 100 degrees when I track it this week.  I need to get a Cool Shirt system installed or my butt may turn into a puddle in the mean spirited race seat...

HS

[TMoney]

Looks amazing! Something like that makes a hell of a lot more sense to me after finally getting out on track.

My dream track/autocross car would be a used Cayman, but the cost-to-run and amount of aftermarket parts available for the Miatas is hard to argue with.

The Spec Miata racer guys are also crazy. I've watched them out on track and their passes are so aggressive!

Maybe some day if I move somewhere where I can have a garage.

Edited June 13, 2023 by TMoney

[HemiSam]

I have had the pleasure of going around our track in a Cayman GT4 (a friend's) and it was nothing short of amazing...so balanced and forgiving.  It makes one a better driver...better than they are anyhoo.

I absolutely love the idea of an older Cayman for the track.  Like you, I fear it would not be inexpensive but boy would it be a hoot.  I got to visit with an older gent tracking a newish Gentian Blue Cayman S....damn that car was sexxxxxxy.

HS

[Dusty Chalk]

On 2/17/2023 at 12:51 PM, TMoney said:

Got another car control class on the books (with the BMW club, hopefully they accept my car 🙃) and I'm going to try my first road rally with the Porsche club.

When I thought rally I thought of sliding cars around on dirt rally stages but this isn't like that at all. It is more like a scavenger hunt that you do from your car and that rewards precision, not speed. I like it! Trying to nail down a co-driver/co-navigator (@Grahame ?).

I think maybe I'll do my first auto cross in April.

This car hobby is quite the rabbit-hole of stuff to do. It is helpful that a large portion of hobbyist motorsport seems to be organized on a single website, https://www.motorsportreg.com, making it easy to find out a good amount of what is going on nearby.

My ex used to do rallies like that when she was young.  She had a real knack for that sort of thing (she could guess most dinner bills to within a dollar, and usually got it closer).

Also, billiards (the whole thing about rebounding and getting it as close as possible, but not touching...

Sounds like a blast!  Do get someone who is good at simple math like that.  You can speed, but only if you're making up for lost time.

[HiWire]

I've been a passenger around the racetrack in both the Mazda Miata and a Porsche Cayman... you can go so deep into the curves and out very fast. Great cars for lapping and competing.

Obviously, the Miata has the advantage in cost and weight, but it doesn't have enough power for some.

Edited June 14, 2023 by HiWire