GGR Time Trial Outtakes & Excerpts: GGR time trials are much more than the timed run sessions on Sunday afternoons. But often that's all that gets recorded and saved. In this section, we aim to provide some memories of the excitement of becoming one with our Porsches, of 48 hours smelling vaguely like gas, and of the friends we've made. If you write up your adventures for your friends, and would like to share them with the entire GGR time trial community, send them to me. You can read about other time trials here
October 20-21, 2001: Thunderhill Park, Dave Kuhlmann,#260
The last Porsche Club Thunderhill time trial in mid-August ran down to the final moments before the winner of Ai class was known. The same is true for the October event, with Jim Stark & I running head to head. It has been exciting to have close competition this year.		Dave Kuhlmann
The weekend started when I arrived with my 912 to the paddock Friday evening for registration and tech. Everything was in order and we left for the motel in scenic (not) Willows. This being my thirteenth event, I knew something unplanned would happen. The first room I was assigned had an inoperative refrigerator. After lengthy investigation it was decided to move next door. The key did not work. I marched back to the room with detailed instruction on the use of the key. It still did not work. Back to the office for a different key and viola, the room was mine.
		Jim Stark
Saturday dawned clear, cool and calm. After unloading and attending the drivers meeting, the Yellow run group assembled for its first morning practice session. For some reason I have always been a bit squirrely during the first and second track sessions on Saturday. This was a repeat performance but without the usual intensity. Good sign? The car was a bit sluggish, especially coming off the corners. All else felt fine. By the end of the second session I could see improvement over the August event. The entrant list from the Monterey Bay Region was pretty short. Ken and Janet Holladay were again my hosts in their pit. Ken's car was running much better. He seemed to be driving better too. The weather was a huge improvement over 100 degree August. Bill Fergus and Richard Park completed the contingent.
		Steve Taty & Ken Park get into the October spirit
Chief instructor Henry Watts had agreed via email to drive the 912 with me in the passenger seat so I could benchmark car and driver and learn how to go faster. With the addition of 220lbs of ballast (me) and the car not up to full power, Henry managed to knock 2.5 seconds off my track record, in traffic. He introduced me to the sliding threshold for sticky Kumho tires at almost every turn. That was a great confidence builder as I had not broken them loose very often and was not sure how they would behave. The last run of Saturday followed with me back behind the wheel, solo. All of a sudden I seemed to be going quite a bit quicker with more confidence. Nice way to end the day.
Sunday morning I advanced the ignition timing 2-3 degrees and dropped tire pressure from 36.5 to 34 cold. The 912 rolled out in position four of 35 cars. The front four took off and my mirror went blank. It was a challenge keeping up with the three in front of me. All were theoretically much faster cars. The engine was right on and the tires seemed to have more stick. This was getting to be big time fun. Until turn thirteen...the engine went on three cylinders. I guessed the problem was a repeat of Laguna Seca in the spring of 2000. I was right. The lock nut for #2 exhaust valve adjuster had come loose and fallen off. A quick reassembly and adjustment and we were ready to return to the track. We missed the first session but both car and driver were on song for the last practice session before Sunday afternoon timed runs.
		Instructor Warren Walker explains how to install a race seat
This event saw the little 912 scheduled for the next to last timed run out of 150 cars. The wait was agonizing, especially after watching #418, Jim Stark's 1.7 liter 914 running in Ai class best my track record by a full second. That meant I had to improve on my best timed run to date by more than a second or depart without the victory and track record. Hmmm, time to pucker up and go for it. With plenty of time to think through the input from Henry Watts plus what I had been able to do in the two practice sessions since, it looked like 2:32 was possible. If I got it all right, 2:31 was an achievable stretch goal.
		Amy Hammer, waiting for her session to begin, and enjoying her first year time trialing
Time to suit up, buckle up, don the helmet and wait for the chief steward to wave me on the track. The car felt good. I concentrated on hitting the apexes exactly right and dialed in more speed in turns two and three. It was working, the car was responding. Up and over turn five just nipping the apex berm and sliding to the outer edge rumble strip. Then out of six onto the back straight. Redline came a foot or two sooner, a good sign. Into fourth then fifth. Did I have the guts to go flat out through eight? Yes! The 912 pulled a full 5000 rpm in fifth up the hill to nine. Tap the brakes, down to fourth, turn in to the blind corner cresting the hill. The car gets light, an unnerving feeling somewhere around 85mph. Down the hill, into fifth then a tap on the brakes, into fourth gear, turn in, full throttle sliding out to the rumble strip.
		Bert Del Villano,
Whew! No time to rest, brake again, down to third, sharp left up the short hill called turn eleven then through the esses onto the back straight. Redline in third came 6 hay bales sooner than ever before. We were flying. Here comes turn fourteen, my nemesis. At the #3 entry marker hit the brakes, shift to fourth then third, hold the line until the turn-in cone. Hard right, full throttle, hit a very late apex, slide out to the edge, hold the throttle wide open into turn 15. Wow, we are at redline half way through the turn. A quick shift to fourth and another shift to fifth at 6200 rpm redline. Hold it down past the timing light and head to the right to set up for 105 mph turn one again. The second timed lap was a duplicate of the first, no mistakes.		caught napping
I knew the 912 had outdone itself and even felt we might have hit the stretch goal of 2:31. We pulled into a nearly empty paddock wondering about the result. One of my fellow safety workers shouted "are you happy with your time?" I shouted back I did not know what it was. He yelled 2:29. I screamed with joy. Unbelievable. Sub 2:30 for a dead stock 1582cc 912 is the thresh hold of legitimacy. Jim Stark, driver of car 418 who had held the class record for two hours came by to congratulate. What a wonderful bunch of people in Porsche Club Time Trialing.
		Economic downturn? But there were so many more zoomys in the red run group!
It was time to change back to street tires, put the Yakima rack on the roof and head home. Somehow the 4.5 hour drive seemed shorter. There is joy in mudville tonight.
		Couldn't do it
[ Photos: David Leong, Doug DeVetter, Pam Jeong. ]		without the volunteers