**************** tom, sorry to hear that. not hooking it back onto the track is Day 1 DE stuff. A club racer should 100% know better.

Hopefully the bulk of the drivetrain is fine and you just have some body work to attend to.

Well, its been a long week since the accident.

You know how they say that you don't really feel an accident until a day or two later? Well, its amazing how true that is. By Monday, my shoulder and chest were hurting pretty bad from being restrained by the harnesses. It felt like I'd been beat up. My left shoulder is still sore. Man, stuff like this sure was less painful when I was 30!

The car is at Pro Motorsports in Burbank, CA. Tyson Schmidt is the head mechanic there and he built my Spec Boxster when he was at Hegesheimer Motorsports so he knows it inside and out. The list of parts needing replacement is growing daily so I'll wait until they get a good handle on things and then post the list.

Here are a few pictures ...

Let's start with a Facebook photo on Friday after practice. I had an excellent day and was looking forward to Saturday's racing... (if I only knew!) And yes, its late August and I have a running pullover on to keep warm from the cool Monterrey ocean breeze...
http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1567571444.jpg


I was hit in the right rear wheel and the quarter panel just behind the engine compartment vent. With the toe link snapped in two, the right rear wheel was kind of flopping in the breeze...
http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1567571603.jpg


The front was damaged when I was spun around and hit the inside wall. It was more of a glancing blow than head on so the front wasn't too heavily damaged but the front bumper cover was almost scrapped through from sliding along the wall...
http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1567571713.jpg


This is why it made a really loud grinding noise when I tried to drive it into the paddock - right rear axle broken in two!
http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1567571794.jpg

Well, worse than i'd hoped for ya, but not as bad as I'd feared, I guess.

I tell people all the time that the stuff I thought had healed at 30, started hurting again at 45. The days of "walk it off" are definitely over. Haha

Keep us posted. Some of us live vicariously through your exploits!

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Thanks to HURRICANE DORIAN, I was able to read this post from beginning to end. Great details and I am looking forward to seeing what happens next. Racing is not cheap and I cannot imagine what it takes to run a complete season.

Thanks for the kind words. You deserve a medal if you read thru this entire thread!

The whole point of this thread is that ANYONE can do this if you put forth the required time, effort, and money.

I'm just a regular guy (person?) like all of you: I work. I have a family. I wasn't born wealthy so I've earned every dollar that I spend. There is nothing particularly special about me in terms of driving or racing. Sure, I'm motivated and capable of learning but so are you. I had to start from knowing nothing about performance driving and racing and learned as I went. I have decent eye-hand coordination and fine motor skills but I'm definitely not a natural born racing driver. It's been a long and arduous journey but one that I wouldn't want to have missed. Persistence, commitment, and hard work are my primary skill set.

There is no doubt, if I can do this, you can too. Anyone can.

P.S. Stay safe, hope that you and your family were out of harms way.

LOL! Yep, youth really is wasted on the young! :D:D:D

The GOOD NEWS is that those somewhat expensive aftermarket 718-style taillights made it through the accident without any damage!! :cool:

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1567725744.jpg

That's great news, but you're going to need another one of those pesky headlight corner pieces!

I am cursed by those damn things!

Boxster Headlight Corner $54.25

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1567743822.jpg

I stopped by Pro Motorsports to see how the repairs are coming along and all of the mechanical work is complete. The car will be heading to the body shop tomorrow.

Parts replaced:
- Right rear axle (broken in two)
- Left rear axle (bent)
- Right rear adj toe arm (broken in two)
- Right rear adj sway bar drop link (broken in two)
- Right rear lower control arm (bent)
- Right rear control arm (bent)
- Right rear track arm (bent)

As for me, I have recovered and am back to training (running & lifting weights). I am hoping that the car is ready in time to make it to Sonoma Raceway (aka Sears Point) at the end of the month for a weekend of practice in prep for racing with the PCA there in October. I've never been to Sonoma so this will be a new track for me but I've always wanted to race there and am really looking forward to it.

Corkscrew video!

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/FeUlRne8vMo" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

In one of my sessions 5 yrs ago, I early apex-ed 8A and was WAY out of position for 8B. Rather than over-correct and possibly spin, I decided to ride over the gators and straighten out 8B. There was a tremendous metal sound and I thought I'd torn something off my car. Took it easy for the remainder of the lap and everything was OK so I sped back up. Looking for any parts next time thru 8B, I see there was a metal drainage grate that I'd run over. Kind of made me feel better, but not really. NEVER early apex 8A.

Of course, the track photographer saw my miscue and caught several frames of it.

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1568120782.jpg

Yeah.... kinda jelly right now.....

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Oh my! That is not where you want to be!

This is what makes Laguna Seca so epic - it takes practice/skill to line up the car properly starting way back on the blind run up the hill. Get any of it wrong and its a mess.

Glad that everything worked out ok for you.

that depends on who you are! haha

Here's Vale pulling the move on Stoner:
http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1568130195.jpg


And then a couple of years later, Marquez out-Rossi-ing Rossi in the same place.

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1568130242.jpg


That is ALSO what makes Laguna so epic: the heroic moments that stand-out when someone does something .... er.... differnt. haha

Oh crap! Those guys are insane (and insanely talented!).

I went to the PCA race in Sonoma for the first time 2 years ago, it WILL be your favorite track to drive. Make sure you take your physical POC racing license, they want to see it in order to be allowed on track for the Open Test days.

Well, the repairs are coming along pretty well. Here are some photos from the body shop. There wasn't any frame damage so only repairs to the front and rear fenders along with the rear quarter panel - ready for paint!

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1569300037.jpg

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1569300078.jpg

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1569300061.jpg

Since the Boxster is still in the body shop, that means that it won't be available to make the trip to Sonoma this weekend to learn the track and practice in prep for the October PCA race.

So I could cancel going to Sonoma this weekend or ... I have another Porsche sitting in the driveway... and it happens to have new tires and new brakes ... and this weekend is only a DE so I don't really need a race car...

I have never had the SC on the track so this will be a great experience! I use this car as my daily driver. It's my only car these days so I drive it everywhere. It has 205,000 miles and it runs and drives perfectly. I drive all over California for business so its nothing to drive it 800 miles over a couple of days. Its a blast to drive on the I-5 autobahn between SoCal and NorCal and will cruise at 90mph all day long. Not bad for a 40 year old car with only 185 hp.

Here is a recent pic when I was on a business trip visiting farms in the California Central Valley...

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1569300849.jpg

The #254 House Automotive Spec Boxster is back!

Beyond the suspension components, there was no chassis or sub-frame damage, so it was just simple body work to get it back to looking brand new.

There are a couple of small things left that I will do myself - install a new right radiator screen, replace the short shifter bushing clip, swap the alternator, and have new House Automotive graphics installed on the passenger door. Other than those items, the car is ready to race.

Thanks to Brad Keegan and Tyson Schmidt of Pro Motorsports in Burbank, CA for the top level professional repairs.

The plan is to do a shake down test at Willow Springs next Friday (10/11) and then do two back-to-back PCA races; Oct 25-27 at Sonoma Raceway (Sears Point) in NorCal and then the following weekend, Nov 1-3 at Buttonwillow Raceway in Central California.

Sonoma will be a new track for me so I've been studying video and getting generally familiar with the track via Forza. I've practiced learning a new track extensively through karting so I am hoping to get up to speed quickly. With that being said, I'm just hoping for a good solid weekend at Sonoma. Expectations will be higher at Buttonwillow where I've raced quite a bit.

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1570320388.jpg

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1570320604.jpg

Excellent - glad you are back in action.

Congrats and good luck at both Sears Point & Button Willow.

Keep us posted on your results!

:)

Well, that didn't go as planned!

I spent 1.5 hrs trying to get from South Pasadena to Palmdale this morning (normally 45 mins) to test at Willow Springs Raceway. No bueno!

All of the freeways heading north out of LA; I-210, I- 5, and CA-14; all had fire closures, but Hwy 2 showed as open (but with slowing). After about an hour of heading north, it was blocked solid with no movement for 30 mins. I gave up and came home.

But I had a beautiful morning drive through the San Gabriel mountains!

The Boxster ran perfectly and handled great in the canyons. That car can seriously haul ass on a canyon road.

Onward to Sonoma...

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02/Hwy21570832916.jpg

Yer kinda my hero, y'know?
I'm probably not the only one living vicariously here.....

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Thanks for the kind words. Just an average Joe trying to make a go of this racing thing.

One of my other racing friends commented today that I seem to be cursed with bad luck lately. Some days can certainly be frustrating when things don't go your way despite putting all of your effort into them.

I think that there is some sort of life lesson that I was supposed to learn from these recent experiences. But I am pretty hard-headed when it comes to life lessons - which means that I'm sure to have several more future opportunities to learn this same lesson!

I had the House Automotive sponsor graphics re-installed this week. That's it. All of the damage has been fully repaired. A little prep this weekend and we'll be ready to race at Sonoma in 10 days!

Thanks to Greg, Alex (pictured), and Joey at House Automotive for all of the support.

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1571374713.jpg


http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1571374731.jpg


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Yahoo - AWESOME! So happy you're back at it, Tom!

Good luck at Sonoma - we'll be cheering you on :)

Very nice. Well done.
Out of curiosity, did the driver who hit you end up kicking-in to help? I know you said he was apologetic.

Im watching a trend, recently. That's why I ask.

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Isn't it great to be done ahead of time? That way any little items that pop up are just that - no big deal. Makes for a much more enjoyable race w/e.

He helped with ~10% of the total bill (which had 5 digits to the left of the decimal).

And even that was bizarre. About half of that amount was comprised of used air-cooled 911 parts. He offered them to me to re-sell. Thanks, but I thought that he should have sold them and then offered me the proceeds. Ultimately, the repair shop took the parts and gave me a cash credit that was less than the re-sale value of the parts since they had to store, list, sell, and ship them.

Haha! Yes! I hate rushing around at the last minute to get everything ready for a race weekend. This makes everything so much less stressful.

Looking good Tom! Glad you are back!

Ouch --

I'll be honest, I don't expect to be paid from an on track incident... I drive what I can either afford to fix or afford to walk away from.

There are some folks I share the track with whose cars cost more than my house!

Not sure what my mental state will be when I cause something.
things can go wrong so quickly on track -- and we're all amateurs out there.

I try really hard to play nicely and in the big picture of things, conservatively.

I think I'm more of a "just stick my head in the sand and hope for the best" kind of racer, as opposed to the "stick my nose in the corner and pray :-)"
I'd rather give space or spots than trade paint.

Probably why I get to watch a lot of good racing in front of me :-)

Mike

This has always been my approach as well. I'm coming from the bike world, but it would have never occurred to me to ask someone who ran into me at the racetrack to participate in the repair costs. That's why I asked the question, though. I'm allowing for the possibility that it's different in the car world.
And truthfully: I'm also witnessing a trend that people are now suing track day promoters and race organizers for injuries and damages incurred. It's like they think the waiver means nothing.....

Not talking about this incident specifically, of course... just generally


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Its not different in the car world. I am the same as you - I assume that I will have to pay for any damages to my car regardless of fault. And I have.

This situation was a little different and let me explain - there is a certain level of agreed and accepted risk that every driver takes when going wheel to wheel racing. But its a shared risk. We accept that none of us are professional drivers and mistakes will be made and that comes with the territory. And if you can't live with that, both personally and financially, then you shouldn't be out there racing.

After 100 races, I know what a racing incident is and I have no problems with that. If we were side by side racing for position and we hit, there would have been no hard feelings on my part. That is just racing and I accept it just like everyone else.

But in this case, the mistake was so egregious that it went outside the bounds of accepted risk. This was a rookie driver's mistake, something that should have been learned during a driver's HPDE days and something that no licensed racing driver should make.

And that set it apart. The other driver violated the agreed risk by acting negligent.

Why do I consider this negligent?

This driver already had a 13/13 and was on probation from a previous accident. He should have been on his best driving behavior.

This driver was racing two Boxster's who weren't in his class.

This race had a split start which means that he started a half-lap ahead of us. He was in last place in his class and last place overall. The two Boxster's were racing in the Top 10.

The Competition Director announced in the drivers meeting NOT to try to pull back onto the track after putting two wheels off since doing so would surely result in a wreck.

Add all of that up and you have a driver who isn't meeting the minimum expectations for being out on a track and racing in a safe manner. Racing while not meeting the minimum requirements for safe racing is negligent in my book.

That's how I saw it. I might be wrong, but you might feel different when someone plows into you and the reason it happened is that they don't know what they're doing.

At the next race (which I did not attend), I was told that the Chief Driving Instructor took to the podium in the drivers meeting and told 911 drivers that if they are being passed by Boxster's then they aren't in the race and to let them go.

And at the end of the day, the other driver mostly agreed with my viewpoint. He knew that he effed up big time and he knew that it wasn't a racing accident. It was caused by his doing exactly what the CD told everyone not to do. That is why he offered to pay what he could. Fair enough for me. But the 911 parts thing caught me off guard. I wasn't expecting that at all.

I hear ya. And I think it's fair to say that every incident should be considered independently.

During a pre-race-weekend track day in '06, I was hit just before the apex at the end of a fast straight, by a "hero" who blew the corner entry (early-apexed it, if you could call it that) and would've ended up in the gravel on the outside of the turn anyway..... but he t-boned me and collected me with him.

I was doing about 65mph with my knee on the ground, and he was doing over 100mph when he hit me, straight up and down. Very clearly negligent. Something even a beginner shouldn't have done, let alone someone in the "experienced" group.

I broke my tib and fib, and totaled a brand-new cbr1000rr..... with fewer than 200 miles on it. Nothing was salvageable.

It cost me not just the bike and the medical bills, but some time off work as well. Add it all up, I was well over $20k out-of-pocket. I sure would've appreciated a more considerate approach from the guy in that incident.

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Totally reasonable -- and in fact I'm often the caboose in the SPB world (or close to it) but -- as a newish SPB guy I was evaluated by an experienced racer as -- you're fine, you're just a tad slow everywhere :-)

With a lot of Endurance racing experience -- I'm situationally aware and I also am very cognizant of mixed-class racing. Heck I enjoy the thrill of racing, but I just as much enjoy the bench racing with beers after -- and if you can't coexist on track -- who's going to want to have a beer with you after.

I'm glad he made the reach -- even if it was with paper weights :-)

More importantly -- I'm glad you're back on track!

Mike

Amen to all of that.

I know myself well enough to know that if I'm ever the guy causing an accident that's not clearly a "racing incident", I'll feel responsible too. But, as was said previously: some of those guys are racing cars worth more than I make in a year. How do I decide what the line is? And does that mean that if I'm not willing to give-up a year's salary (or more) if I have a brain fart, that I should stay off the track?

Like was said below, I've always believed (and taught newcomers) that if you aren't willing to leave the track without it, then you shouldn't arrive WITH it. But why would that apply to my "cheap" boxster, and not to some guy's 6-digit cup-car?

Like I said: just trying to find the line in the grey area. I think it's likely at some point that each of us experience an on-track incident that somebody would say we were at fault for.

It's a tough spot I'll find myself in when that happens to me, if I agree that I was at fault.

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Good conversation and definitely one worth having. Now, all of my focus is on getting back out there and having a decent run at Sonoma with the NorCal PCA guys this weekend. Then onto Buttonwillow the following weekend where I hope to do well. Nothing like a screaming flat-six at 7000 rpm to make the outside world fade away. I'm ready to rock & roll!

Glad your back Tom. Go kick some ass

Overall, it was a good weekend at Sonoma. Good, but weird.

First, the good. The car ran and handled perfectly. It felt really good to be back in the drivers seat. This was my first time at Sonoma and I had spent a good amount of time watching video and using the sim (Forza 7). I really credit both of those with making me feel reasonably comfortable the first time that I went out onto the track. Sure, I still had to "learn" the course but it was much, much better than having done nothing.

The most surprising thing about the sim vs the real course was that the sim made the course feel longer, like there was a lot of time between corners. The reality is that the course felt fairly short and kept me quite busy as the corners come at your rather quickly. This meant that it was important to look ahead and plan ahead. This was especially true in Turns 2/3/3a which are a quick succession of blind uphill curves and in the S's, Turns 8/8a/9. Getting the flow correct was key to getting through quickly.

The most challenging was Turn 2 at the top of the hill. You come flying up the front straight (which actually has a turn (T12) in the middle of it) and have to get properly lined up for the blind right at the top of the hill - all while braking and downshifting.

It is downhill into Turn 4 which made it difficult to gauge the proper speed and the exit is deceptively shallow so it was easy to over-cook the entry speed and put two wheels in the dirt. Ask me how I know.

I spent Friday getting to know the track and working on getting some basic speed. My best lap time on Friday was 1:58. The track record is 1:52 and a decent BSR time is 1:54-1:55, so I had still some work to do.

On Sat, I qualified 10th of 12 Boxster's but I only got 1 clear lap. And I apologize to the Spec911 that was caught behind me for half of that lap but I really needed to maintain my line (I respectfully let him by as soon as we passed the Start/Finish line). With around 45 cars of all types in a single run group, there was constant traffic from catching slower cars and being caught by faster cars.

The race went well. I was stuck behind a couple of cars that had more power than my Boxster but were slower in the corners, so I'd catch up and almost pass them, then they'd drive away from me on the straight, only to repeat it again at the next set of corners. This allowed the group in front of me to pull a big gap which I couldn't make up and I finished 11th out of 12.

But I put down a couple of good laps during the race at 1:55 and was hoping that would bode well for Sunday's two planned races.

And that brings me to the weird stuff...

I drove the Boxster up on Thursday (6 hrs) and went for a run on Thursday afternoon and suffered a migraine headache while running. I had to walk a couple of miles back to the hotel and then rest up most of the afternoon. This has happened before while running but it always throws off my routine (which I try to adhere to on race weekends).

Then on Sat evening, the power company turned off the power to most of the region due to high winds and fires in NorCal (even though the fires were 20-30 miles away). The hotel staff went room to room handing out glow sticks prior to the power outage but I always keep a small flashlight in my suitcase. The power went out at 8:30pm so I went to sleep. The hotel made arrangements to get a generator and it came on at 1:30am because that was when all of the lights in my room came on - I had forgot to turn them off after the power went out!

I went to the track at 7am only to find that the track had no power and that all of the ambulances had been called away to support fire evacuation efforts. No ambulances = no racing. Everything was cancelled for Sunday so I packed up and drove the 6 hrs back home.

Also, the PCA announced that they had cancelled the Buttonwillow race (but Time Trial/DE is still happening) for this weekend due to the low number of racing registrants. In my opinion, they should have run the race regardless of how many race cars showed up - especially since they were still running the TT/DE event and the fact that I selected to miss another racing event to attend this one. In the future, I'll now have to consider whether to skip another race for a PCA race since they might not hold the PCA race. Which probably means that I'll do fewer PCA races in the future. Which is too bad, because the PCA hosts great events but I can't be left out in the cold and not racing.

Overall, Sonoma was a really cool track to visit, it was good to hang out with the NorCal racers (who are a group of really nice and very talented drivers), and I really enjoyed the weekend even with all of the weird stuff.

I'll post up some video soon.

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