I've owned Boxsters for over two years now and had only driven on the road. It was great to have an opportunity to get out on a racetrack and play with the car. To anyone who wants to get the most out of their 986, or for that matter any sports car, I highly recommend doing some driver education at a track with your local club. This year, I joined the
Cimarron Region PCA and they sponsored this event, The Cimarron Sizzler at
Hallett.
The middle of August in the middle on Oklahoma, we expect sizzling temperatures, around 100 F and dry. It was not. The morning of the event we had pouring rain and temperatures in the 70s. We enjoyed the break from the heat, but by the time we took to the track we were soaking wet, the leather door trim was getting saturated from the mandatory windows-down requirement, and the track was slick.
In the weeks leading up to the event, I had studied videos of the track, I had learned proper cornering and driving technique. In my mind, I was ready to go out on the track solo, maybe even race. Sitting in my car at line-up, soaking wet, helmet strapped on, a stranger sitting next to me doing strange hand signals and speaking muffled words, suddenly my mind was blank. I barely even knew how to drive. We careened around the track at speeds up to 65 mph under a yellow flag, missing shifts and apexes, as it all went by in a soggy blur. Fun? No, but it cleared all my preconceptions and misconceptions. For the next session I was really ready to listen and learn rather than just apply what I thought I knew.
I think that my wife had a similar epiphany. She is a good driver and likes to go fast. She was determined to beat my lap times and thought she had a good grasp of driving on a racetrack. Her instructor demonstrated two laps, then turned the car over to her. Her first lap, turn one, she slid off the track and went spinning into the grass. No damage to the car and only a bruised ego, she recovered without stopping. Her instructor let her continue after they pulled off for a quick inspection. We both had great instructors; skilled, patient, and nerves of steel.
By our second session the rain had stopped and the track was drying. I knew what 'wrong' looked like and I was inspired to take on each turn and make it better than the time before. My laps were not fast and my driving was not perfect, but I started to enjoy it and push the car harder. It was starting to come together. By the end of the third session I had regained my feeling of competence and knew that I was going to want to do this again. ...and again.
I experimented with video recording for my runs. On the third session I actually got it to work and record the whole thing. I used an old Galaxy S4 phone held in place on the back of my wind deflector with double-stick tape. Shooting through the deflector to what I hoped would be the mid-point was awkward, but worked out better than I expected. Strategically edited, this clip starts after a bad shift and ends just before a 997 Turbo blasts past me.
Not to make excuses, but it had been a tough week leading up to it. Our 9 year old Basset Hound had died a miserable death on Wednesday morning from ingesting toxic (made in China) dog treats. My wife had been sick. I had been working night shift 7pm to 7am and really hadn't slept in the day/night leading up to the event. That considered, we decided to leave in the mid-afternoon before our last run. We left on a good note, worn out, but looking forward to our next opportunity to do it again.
On a final note, RedTele58 (Rick) first informed me of this event and helped us along every step of the way. He shared his raceport and assisted us throughout the event. Thanks Rick!
