Its been awhile since I've been to a DE but our local PCA Region recently decided to host a Sunday DE at the relatively nearby Streets of Willow track. My race sponsor, House Automotive, was the event sponsor and House's owner, Greg Hwang, invited about 15 of his best clients to attend the event and wanted me to attend to interact with his clients - many of whom I already knew.
This was the first ever DE event for our region and they did a fantastic job. More so, I had kinda forgotten how much fun going to the track for fun can be!
I was in the Red/Fastest group (still only point-by passing) and there were several cars who wanted to see how fast I really am in the Spec Boxster. Now, I have to say that I cut my teeth on the Streets course back in my DE and Time Trial days - I logged a lot of laps and had a lot of instruction there so I know the nuances of how to get around the track quickly.
In the first session, there were two 991 GT-3's, a couple of G-series 911 hot rods, and a Camaro ZL1 1LE (650 hp) that were clearly pacing me. I kept things under control and focused on re-familiarizing myself with the track to find the optimal turn-in, shift, and throttle points. It all came back pretty quickly.
In the second session, I decided to go hard so I lined up first, the others lined up behind me, and the when the session went green, IT was on.
At the end of the session, I had left the entire field behind, came all the way around, worked my way through traffic to lap them all, and gapped them all again - except for one 964 hot rod. The 964 was about 3/4's of a lap behind but I never overtook him.
The guy in the Camaro ZL1 1LE came over after the session and wanted to know how much power I had. He was positive that I had to be running a 3.8L motor with at least 400hp.
He was astounded when I said that I only had 200hp (and still lapped him and his 650hp). This kind of thing is always enjoyable in a Boxster!
But what was most enjoyable was simply spending a day at the track without the pressure of racing and all that comes with it.
If you have never been to a race track in your Porsche or if its been awhile, find a local track and give it a try. I guarantee it will be some of the most fun that you've ever had in your life.
