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President's Message
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 --by Bill Dally,
GGR President
President's Message - April Nugget 2009
When I am instructing at autocrosses my students often tell me about the
mods they are considering for their cars - after-market chips for the ECUs,
after market exhaust, turbo tie rod ends, etc.... Occasionally they
ask me which mod will make the most difference. My answer is always
the same. After driver talent, the thing that will make the most
difference for your autocross times is better tires.
I experienced the difference tires make first hand at the March autocross
at Alameda. I had been driving my 914/6 on R-compound cantilever
slicks when Larry Adams offered to let me take a run in his
GT3. This was truly an offer one could not refuse. The
GT3 has more horsepower than my 914 and running on street tires it has less
grip - not a good combination. As I took off down the front straight
I was amazed at the acceleration of the GT3. It really threw me back
in my seat. Around the left 270 it got a little loose - which should
have been a warning. I managed to collect it and put the pedal down
for the next straight which ended in a high-speed kink to the right.
I braked for the kink and tossed the car to the right - lifting and
trail-braking to rotate, and then applying power to settle the rear.
Unfortunately I was expecting the grip of the R-compound slicks and the
street tires weren't able to hold the line. I tried to pinch it
to hold the line and wound up in a spectacular spin - at least a 9.5 on a
scale of 10. The difference between the grip I expected and the grip
I got was all about tires.
Most people start with street tires. Street tires have several
advantages. They are very durable - they can last 30,000 miles of
normal driving - or many seasons of autocrossing. You can safely
drive to and from events on street tires because they are sturdy enough to
handle typical road imperfections and debris and they have deep tread that
sheds water - making them safe in the rain or on wet surfaces. They
also make a lot of noise - screeching as you approach the limit of traction
- adding to the drama of driving and giving you audible feedback.
However, they give limited grip - at most 1G on the skid pad.
You can have a lot of fun autocrossing on street tires. I drove my RS
America in Class M on BF Goodrich street tires and my stock 914-4 in Class
AX15 on Falken Azenis. I had a lot of fun driving and getting ready
for an event was very low overhead. I just put my bag of autocross
supplies and my lunch into the car and drove to the event. At the
event, I just adjusted air pressure. The BF Goodrich tires on the 964
performed best at about 38psi front, 40psi rear, while the Falkens on the
914 performed best at about 33psi all around. At the end of the day I
just readjusted the pressure and drove home. No trailers, no changing
tires. Maximum fun and convenience.
If you have a competitive streak, at some point the need for speed will
drive you to move beyond street tires. The next step is to move
to DOT-R tires. These are Department of Transportation approved tires
with a sticky compound (R-compound) on the tire surface. To get the
DOT approval, these tires typically have two or three narrow grooves in the
tread. Don't be fooled, DOT approved or not, these tires are NOT safe
on wet surfaces. They will hydroplane on even slightly damp
pavement. They also tend to be less sturdy than a real street tire -
more likely to fail if you hit some debris on the road. Hoosier
A6s or Kumho V710s are the quintessential DOT-R tires and are extremely
competitive. You can pull 1.3 to 1.4Gs on a skid pad with a
DOT-R. If you pull 1.4Gs instead of 1G on a turn, you can take the
turn 1.2 times faster (velocity squared is proportional to lateral
force). That translates into faster lap times. The upside is
better grip. The downside is lower durability and convenience.
They also tend to be quiet - when they start sliding they do it without the
Hollywood sound effects first.
Fig 1: A Hoosier A6 DOT-R tire has sticky R-compound rubber for grip
and two narrow grooves to barely meet the DOT regulations for street
tires. Do not drive on these tires in wet weather.
I drove my Boxster-S in time-trial and autocross for years on Kumho V700
Victoracers. The R-compound tires were easily worth 2 seconds off a
typical 40-50 second autocross course. However, the overhead of
preparing for the event went up. At a minimum I had to change tires
(from/to my daily-use street tires) before and after the event.
In the dry season I'd drive to events on the DOT-Rs. If there was any
chance of rain, I'd pull my DOT-R tires behind the car on a small
trailer. I did get to the point where I could change tires in 15
minutes. The durability also went down. Running GGR, LPR, and
Zone autocrosses, I would go through two sets of DOT-R tires in a season.
A set of DOT-Rs would last about two track weekends.
A small step up from a DOT-R is a full-on racing slick. These have a
little more grip, but making no pretense of being a street tire, they are
not legal for operation on the public highways. (They are clearly
labeled "For Racing Use Only" on the sidewalls.) The
difference in both convenience and grip from a DOT-R is small. On the
upside, you can pull about 1.4-1.45Gs on the skid pad. The downside
is that you don't have the option of driving to the event on the tires you
plan to run. You have to either trailer the car or change tires at
the event.
Figure 2: A Goodyear Road Race Special R19 Cantilever Slick, R250
compound - Shadowfax's footwear. This tire has a very sticky surface
and no grooves at all.
I run Goodyear bias-ply cantilever slicks on Shadowfax, my 914/6 autocross
car. (Radial slicks are also available and demand a different
alignment.) On a warm surface, these give slightly better grip
than a DOT-R tire, and I'm trailering the car anyway, so there is no
incremental loss of convenience. Its worth pointing out that on a
cold day - when the slicks don't have a chance to heat up - a Hoosier A6
gives better grip.
One downside of a DOT-R tire or racing slick is that their grip
deteriorates over time. Being of a parsimonious nature, I originally
thought that one should run a racing tire until it was showing cords.
However, at the two-day Zone autocross at Marina last year, I experienced
first hand the degradation of tires with age and heat cycles.
Competitors running on new tires were taking some corners much faster than
me. I would be slip-sliding away around these turns, and
when I went to lay power down, my rear wheels would just spin. The
problem was that I was running a set of tires that I had bought used and
then run about 150 autocross runs on. They had long since lost their
grip.
For autocross the Goodyear racing slicks start degrading noticeably after
about 50 runs - about 6 typical events. Each run counts as a small
heat cycle. The tires heat up during the run and then cool off again
while waiting on the grid for the next run. After about 50 heat
cycles, the tires harden, loosing their grip. Despite showing no
cords, the tires are trash. Cheap as I am, I now realize that I need
to break down and buy a set of new tires if I'm going to be
competitive. I may even need two sets per year if I run a lot
of events.
Another downside to sticky tires is that they pick up gravel. Once
they warm up during a run, their surface is sticky enough that small stones
adhere to the surface. On the slow drive back to the grid area after
a run they literally pick up every piece of gravel that you drive over
leaving the surface of the tire densely covered with small rocks. I,
like most people, try to brush these off the best I can before the next
run. However, you can't get them all. When a tire covered
with rocks comes up to speed, it throws these rocks off in all
directions. Flying rocks chip up the inside of your fender wells and
can cause paint chips on areas that can "see" the rear side of
the front tires. The front side of my rear fender flares tends to be
particularly vulnerable.
So, if you are considering modifications for your Porsche to make it more
competitive in driving events, put your money where the rubber meets the
road - in your tires. However, realize that you are starting down a
slippery slope that starts with R-compound tires and quickly leads to a
modified suspension, a gutted interior, a hot-rod engine, and a re-geared
transmission. While for some, the descent down this slope of building
a dedicated race car can be great fun in itself, you can also have lots of
fun driving a bone-stock Porsche on street tires.
Bill
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Letter from the Editor
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--by John Celona, Nugget Editor
I'll be brief--just trying to get this issue out the wire! No letters
to the editor this month, but the offer is still open so just click on my
photo to send me an email.
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Competition Corner
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--by Wayne Van Norsdall, Competition Director
Spring is here and GGR has completed its first two competition events of
the year. The AX at Alameda went off without a hitch with the continued
hard word and guidance of Matt and Carl Switzer - thanks guys! The other
event was the large undertaking of GGR's first PCA Club Race / TT weekend.
Not only the first TT of the year, but with the added work and planning of
the club race event mixed in. This three day event looked and felt as
though GGR had been organizing this type of event for years. As a
competitor in the club race myself, it ran flawless. I think the only thing
I could find to complain about was the relentless wind you sometimes find
at Thunderhill. I would like to thank Mike and Warren for working so hard
to make this event a reality for our club, and thank all the others in GGR
and at national that helped make this special event happen.
Don't forget to take advantage of one of the free tech sessions still
available.
Greetings GGR!
I want to start by saying thank you for the opportunity to serve as your
new competition director. I look forward to serving the club that has
served me for many, many years. With just a few weeks in, I have an immense
appreciation for those before me and those I will have the opportunity to
serve with - it is clearly a lot of work!
As I am clearly new and just getting my feet wet, I don't have a great deal
to report and promise a more comprehensive report next month.
What I do have to report is that the new race series is moving along well
and it looks like we have good initial interest. As you may already know,
you will be required to hold a PCA club racing license for the racing
events. There will be a PCA club racing license school on Friday March 27th
which is the first day of the first drivers ed/time trial/ club racing
event. For more info go to GGR's club racing page.
We are also looking at adding the spec 911 class to the TT series. More
info to follow! The club has 5 track events on the calendar so get those
cars inspected at one of the free tech sessions and let's drive!
And let's not forget the great fun of AX! Team Matt and Carl are working
away on the final details for the season and it should be another flawless
work of art. And for those of you on the fence, try it! It's a great way to
start high performance driving without the risk of damage, or that pesky
tow truck the highway patrol is likely to call if you go too fast or drive
too frisky on the street.
It should be a great year GGR!
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Board of Directors
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--by John Celona, GGR Secretary
GGR Board of
Directors
Meeting Minutes for March 4, 2009
The meeting was held at the residence of the President, Bill Dally. The
meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. Present were Bill Dally, Larry
Adams, Jeff Kost, Matt Switzer, Paul Larson, Sharon Neidel, Bill Benz, John
Celona, Mark Powell, Claude Leglise, and Rob Murillo.
Call for agenda changes: added discussion of beginners' autocross
school. .
Call for calendar changes: none
Approval of January minutes: already approved via email.
Postmortem of events
2/7/09 Porsche (Boxster) Brunch
2/21/09 Tech Inspection @ Kahlers
2/28/09 Tech Inspection @ David Loop
2/28/09 Tech Inspection @ Carlsen
Directors' Reports
President: nothing to report.
Vice-President
Upcoming event status report:
3/07/09 Ground School
3/21/09 Alameda Auto X
3/27-29/09 DE/TT/CR #1 TH
Certificates are ordered for the following events:
3/7/09 Tech Inspection @ S Car Go
Certificates are in place for the following events:
3/27-29/09 DE/TT/CR #1 TH
Alameda Auto X dates
Treasurer: The club's annual cash balance low point has passed
now that money has started to come in from Motorsports Reg. Another payment
will be going out to Thunderhill.
Secretary: nothing to report.
Social
Upcoming Event Status Report:
- TRG "Wine and
Wrenches" Tech Session: Saturday, 6/20/09. GGR will be having a
Tech Session/Wine Tasting/Catered Lunch at TRG on June 20, 2009.
The cost will be $20 per adult, with children under 12 will free. We will
be able to have up to 100 guests!!
- GGR Family Picnic /
People's Choice Concours: Saturday, 7/25/09. Gateway Pavilion and
parking lot reserved for "Special Event".
Future Events for Discussion:
- TRG Paddock Tour at Laguna
Seca Grand Am Races: Saturday, 5/16/09. Mark has been negotiating with
TRG for a tour of their paddock at the Grand Am races being held at
Laguna Seca from May 15 to 17, 2009.
- Flying Lizard Tour: Date
TBD. Mark has been talking to Dede Seward (a Boxster Babbler and dual
LPR/GGR member) about a tour to Flying Lizard. She is working
with the Lizards to set up a tour and would like to include GGR.
Membership: Membership levels
are tracking new Porsche sales and the overall economy.
Motion to approve the new members was passed.
Competition:
The first autocross date on March 21 at Alameda has been confirmed. Other
dates are in question given the difficulty of confirming dates at Alameda.
Matt and Carl Switzer are actively pursuing options for filling out the
rest of the autocross series.
Laser scanner, printer, and bar code issues for the new timing system are
still being worked. It will be a couple of events before it's fully
deployed, and may not actually be used for the points until next year. New
radios for autocross will also be ordered.
For the possible Bear Valley event, there was consensus to make it a GGR
points autocross. There will also be efforts to possibly make it into a
multi-event occasion with a wash'n'shine concours, hopefully in conjunction
with either Zone 7 or another region or both.
Webmaster: 800 visits in January, and 860 in February.
Topics for
discussion
News from National. The PCA winter board meeting was in New Orleans
over Mardi Gras. PCNA hopes to have a Panamerica at parade. PCA is coming
out with a new web site with all forms online. It will come out after
Parade. 2010 Parade will be in Chicago. There will be a PCA Porsche corral
at Laguna Seca in conjunction with Grand Am (in lieu of ALMS) because
Porsche is running in Grand Am.
Policy Adoption. Motion was made to incorporate policies on Avoiding
Conflicts of Interest, on Records Retention, and a Whistle Blower Policy
into the GGR Operating Manual ("The RedBook") and to review and
affirm these policies annually during the first regular meeting of the GGR
Board. Motion was passed unanimously.
Art Director Search. The question was whether to update GGR's logo
and look and to develop a unified look for all club communications (web,
Nugget, bulletin board) and for car badges, t-shirts, name badges, etc. The
consensus was not to pursue this at this time.
Rule book. Wayne van Norsdall is working on updating the rule book
to incorporate all the changes. The changes are being pulled out of various
emails. The new version will be done very soon.
Red book (and whether to post to web site). The revisions
process is underway. Rob will incorporate the policies adopted and send it
out for board members to review their respective departments.
Beginners' Autocross School: will be held at Alameda, pending site
availability. A budget for the school was presented. Motion to approve the
budget was passed.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:05 p.m.
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February Membership Report
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 --by Jeff Kost,
Membership Director
The recession continues and has expanded to include our membership
numbers. Put more positively, we have experienced negative growth in
the January-February period after the previously positive trend in the
December period. (Isn't that better? Like taxes experiencing negative
reductions in CA) New member numbers are down commensurate with
Porsche's new car sales numbers--historically new car sales have been the
leading source of new members for GGR. However, the member renewal
rate (relative and absolute) remains consistent with that of 2008, but 10%+
off the 2007 numbers. That would indicate, at least to me, many
people continue to derive value from club membership! Regardless, the
total number is slowly shrinking and I encourage each of you to do what you
can to recruit new members and engage and retain our ever more important
existing members!
Total Members: 2390
Primary: 1383
Affiliate:
1003
HQ
Life: 1
GGR Life:
3
New Members: 9
Transfers In: 3
Transfers Out: 4
Congratulations
And Welcome To Our NEW MEMBERS!!!
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Karen
Baumer
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Oakland
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Victor
Borme
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Moss
Beach
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1991
911/964
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Eri Chaya
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San
Francisco
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Cary Chen
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San Francisco
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1996 911
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Constantine
Demas
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Manhattan
Beach
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Kevin
Dillon
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Los Gatos
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2002 996
Turbo
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Cristina
Grimm
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Oakland
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Elizabeth
Johnson
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San Jose
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Gary Jung
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Oakland
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Steven
& Sandra Kam
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San
Francisco
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2006 911
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Manhal
Mansour
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Oakland
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2007
Carrera TT
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Wells
Marvin
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Los Altos
Hills
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2003 911
9963
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Jeff
Rocca
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San
Francisco
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2003 911
996
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John
Smith
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San
Francisco
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2007
Cayman S
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Martin
Weber
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Germany
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Wesley
Wolking
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Concord
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Anniversaries
40
Years (WOW!!! Congratulations!)
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Douglas
Wong
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Palo Alto
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1968 912
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30
Years
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Herbert
Hoeptner
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Gilroy
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1982
911SC
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Jean
Peacock
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San Jose
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Manfred
Sappler
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Germany
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1970 911S
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25
Years
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David
Croom
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Los Altos
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1958 356
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20
Years
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E Harris
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Saratoga
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1987 911
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Susan
Richards
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Menlo
Park
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15
Years
None
10
Years
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Trygve
Isaacson
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Alameda
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1998
BOXSTER
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Ken Jones
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Pleasant
Hill
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2003
BOXSTER S
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Judy Jung
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Pleasant
Hill
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Maria Lee
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Santa
Clara
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|
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Ross
Lindell
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Oakland
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1999
BOXSTER
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Michael
Paluck
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Richmond
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1989 944
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Patricia
Rosenberg
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San Mateo
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|
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Loretta
Chou
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Stanford
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1999 911
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Laurie
Rudolph
|
San
Martin
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5
Years
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Alexander
Ako
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Redwood
City
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1986 911
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Johan
Baeck
|
Palo Alto
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1986 911
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James
Cullen
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Burlingame
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1973 914
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Dayna
Floyd
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Walnut
Creek
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|
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Frederic
Garderes
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Palo Alto
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1969 911
T
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Adam
Green
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Woodside
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2007 GT3
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Marlene
Nettleton
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Anderson
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Beverly
Pacheco
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Hillsborough
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Prem
Pillay
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Singapore
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2007 GT3
RS
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Sherman
Wan
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Sunnyvale
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1998 993
S
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Andrew
Lawson
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Los Altos
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Joseph
Osha
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Oakland
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1988 911
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Norm
Sanders
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Hillsborough
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2001 911
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The Power Chef
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Sorting Guff from Stuff: My Top Fives for Cooking
--by
John Celona, The Power Chef®
Today, like every other day, you've probably needed to sort guff from
stuff. The guff is everything other folks would like you to believe or do
or buy that doesn't quite stand up to scrutiny. "The new model is so
incredibly better than last year's you just MUST buy one right now!"
"Enter the Whole New World of Blue Ray NOW!" "Lose 40 or
more pounds!" "Reduce your risk by diversifying your
portfolio!"
Sound familiar?
Marketing guff is usually pretty easy to pick out: they're trying to sell
you something. Guff based on generally accepted practices or theory is much
more challenging. It's often hard even to figure out the right question,
let alone how to get to an answer.
For example, diets, diet books, and diet foods are a big business, and
pretty much all of us at one time or another would like to take off some
weight (myself included!). But I wonder where most folks' heads are at on
how diets work (or don't work!). Here's a bit from the UC Berkeley Wellness Letter:
All fad diets get you to cut down on calories, usually by
limiting the kinds of food you can eat, so of course you lose weight. Most,
like the Atkins diet, deny that "calories count," but nonetheless
trick you into cutting way down on calories by distracting you with strange
rules and psychological/biochemical babble. As with all crash diets,
keeping the weight off is the hard part. Virtually all crash dieters
eventually gain the weight back, unless they learn the basics of healthy
eating, which crash diets do not teach.
I like to think that this column is all about healthy eating that tastes
great, and about food you can stick with for the long term. Weight-wise, I
just keep trying to fit into the same clothes I did last year, and still am
not expecting a call from Calvin Klein regarding underwear modeling.
Of course, given how busy everyone is today (did folks always have so many
activities?), it would be a lot easier to make healthy food at home if it
didn't take any longer than necessary. This is where sorting guff from
stuff in cooking comes in. Being the skeptical and inquisitive type, I keep
experimenting with where I can cut steps and save time when cooking. The
results to date are in my Top Five Guff List.
On the other hand, I'm also on the lookout for things that really make a
big difference in flavor when cooking, so they're worth bothering with even
though they take more time. These are in my Top Five Stuff List.
Without further adieu, here they are:
My Top Five Guff List: Ways to
Save Time and Effort Cooking
- Forget about peeling fresh
garlic. I
buy the peeled fresh cloves in the big plastic containers, freeze
them, and then thaw them in the microwave as needed. I think the
flavor is indistinguishable from fresh peeled. On the other hand, the
already minced garlic in jars doesn't cut it for me, flavor-wise.
- Use canned tomatoes for
sauces, stews, and soups. I think the flavor is as good as the best,
middle-of-the-summer farmers' market tomatoes, and much better than
what you can buy in fresh tomatoes the rest of the year. Plus you
don't have to peel, seed, and chop them.
- Discover concentrated stock
bases. I
almost never bother making either chicken or beef stock. There are
concentrated stock bases that come as a paste in a plastic container
that to me taste just as good in dishes where other flavorings are
added. These go in the fridge after you open them. Completely dried
cubes and such I find just awful, and canned stock can be good but
expensive and a lot of cans to haul home. With the paste, you can
easily make as much as you want whenever you need it. Secret Trick: 4
parts chicken base to 1 part beef base makes turkey stock
(really!).
- Make friends with canned
and frozen.
I almost always use canned corn or frozen peas and find them on par
with fresh. Canned peas, on the other hand, are awful, as is frozen
corn. Funny how some stuff is better on way or the other. Green beans
are decent frozen if you drop them in boiling water and then drain to
cook them. Frozen vegetable medleys are a great way to finish off a
soup, stew, or pasta without a bit of washing or chopping.
- Make extra and freeze. Cooked foods can often be
frozen and then thawed later with almost no loss of consistency or
flavor. Then you'll have them ready in the time it takes to thaw and
reheat. For example, my southwestern black beans take a few hours of
prep time and simmering, so I always make extra and freeze a quart or
two for later. When they've gone into a black bean chicken enchilada
bake, leftovers also freeze well, too. On the other hand, foods with
crisp vegetables in them (stir frys, for example), would come out
mushy if frozen.
My Top Five Stuff List: Ways to
Make Your Food Taste Better
- Grind your pepper. Store-bought ground
pepper seems to have most of the flavor removed. I always grind
peppercorns as I need them. A cheap ($15) coffee grinder makes it easy
to grind as much as you need. (I use one just for pepper to avoid
pepper-flavored coffee!)
- Use fresh herbs. Their flavor is so much
better than dried, and good fresh herbs are available in the grocery
store year round. I do still keep dried around when I just don't have
time to get to the store.
- Marinate, marinate,
marinate. I
do a lot of meat or poultry that gets marinated in some sort of spice
mixture before cooking. Giving the marinade time to penetrate makes a
huge difference in flavor. I once did a Greek chicken where the
marinade was just salt, pepper, granulated garlic, dried oregano, and
store-bought lemon-pepper---to rave reviews. The secret was just
letting it sit in the fridge for a few days before grilling it.
- Brown on. Lots of dishes call for
browning foods before adding liquids, whether it's browned onions in a
pasta sauce or browned chicken for a Coq au Vin. This makes a big
difference in the fullness and complexity of flavor. I sometimes also
grill things before simmering them, as in grilling pork before cutting
it up and adding to Chile Verde.
- Chop when you need to. Although I make liberal
use of canned and frozen vegetables, I also chop a lot when fresh
vegetables are better. In particular, onions, carrots, cabbage, bell
and chile peppers, etc., I always chop fresh (along with all the
herbs, of course). I do a lot of my own meat cutting, too, though I
think store-cut meat is just fine. The only exception is boneless
frozen chicken pieces (breast or thigh). There is something about the
processing that makes these taste other-worldly to me.
Although these are my Top Five of
Guff and Stuff, they are by no means the end of the story. I encourage
folks to be bold, to experiment and challenge conventional wisdom in the
kitchen. The worst that can happen is one meal doesn't turn out how you
would to like. Why worry? The next one will be better.
In that vein, I'll offer my no-fuss recipe for polenta. Every recipe I've
seen requires either constant stirring, or cooking in a double boiler. I
find, though, that if you just whisk the dry polenta into boiling water and
stir until it thickens (2-3 minutes), it can finish cooking on simmer with
just an occasional stir and no lumps. While you make something else. Or
even just read the paper. What's not to like?
Bon Appetit,
The Power Chef
No-Fuss Polenta
The Gist
Boil water and salt, whisk in the polenta and cook till thick. Add the
butter and cheese at the end.
Ingredients
5 cups water
1 tsp. salt
1-1/2 cups polenta (course cornmeal)
1 Tb. butter
1/3 cup grated parmesan-romano cheese mix
Method
Bring the water and salt to boil in a sauce pan. Add the polenta in a slow
steam while whisking constantly so no lumps form. Once the mixture is
thickened (2-3 minutes), turn your burner down to its lowest setting and
simmer till thick and the corn is soft, about 30 minutes, stirring every
five minutes along the way. Add the butter and cheese and serve.
Notes
Most recipes I've seen specify stirring the polenta constantly while
cooking, but I haven't found this necessary. I'll just whisk until the
mixture thickens, then turn the burner down to the lowest setting and stir
every few minutes. A good, even conducting pot and low simmer setting help.
Variations
Polenta is so easy to make I always make extra-either to reheat, or to make
Grilled Polenta or Polenta Gratin (next Recipe). Just be sure to pack the
leftovers while they're still warm and sauce into a container which makes a
good shape for slicing (rectangular is my usual choice).
Polenta
Gratin
This substantial side dish can double as an entrée for a light dinner. Who
said only pasta came in sauce!
The Gist
Make a tomato sauce with sautéed onions and garlic, salt, pepper, basil, and
parsley. Bake with slices of polenta layered with your choice of cheese.
Ingredients
3 Tb. extra virgin olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tb. dried or fresh basil
2 Tb. dried or fresh parsley
1 26-oz. can ground tomatoes in heavy purée
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
8-10 slices of cooled polenta, 1/2-inch thick
8-10 slices your choice of cheese (such as cheddar, mozzarella, etc.)
Method
Heat the olive oil in a sauce pan over medium heat. Add the onions and
garlic and sauté until the onions are softened. Add the basil and parsley
and stir for a minute or two (this helps bring out the fragrance in the
herbs). Add the canned tomatoes, salt, and pepper and bring to a simmer.
Slice the cheese and polenta (if not already sliced). Butter a high-sided
baking dish. Pour 3/4 of the sauce into the bottom of the dish. Place the
polenta and cheese slices in the dish in alternating layers. Pour the
remaining sauce down the middle of the top.
Bake uncovered in a 350ºF oven until the sauce is bubbling thoroughly,
about 30-45 minutes. Serve.
Notes
This dish can be assembled well ahead of time and then go into the oven
when dinner is getting close. It also can be baked in advance and kept warm
(probably covered) in the oven.
Variations
I used cheddar cheese for the photo, but other cheeses also work well. You
might try mozzarella or provolone. For an extra punch, sprinkle crumbled
bleu cheese over the top before baking.
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Porboys Beginners' Autocross School
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 Announcing the Famous
Annual GGR Porboys Beginner
Autocross School !!!!!!!!!
It is that time of year to start thinking about all of the great Porsche
driving opportunities in 2009. On Saturday, May 16, Howard Yao,
Claude Leglise, and John Seidell will again run this school. It is
really for beginners or people who have autocrossed only a few times.
If you have ever wondered what it is like to experience driving your
Porsche on the edge (but safely in control) then this is for you.
This is a good safe place for drivers to learn about the handling of their Porsche.
The school will be on one of the large runway areas of Alameda Point (just
past the Alameda Ferry Terminal). The day begins at 7:30 AM
with registration, teching of cars, and then a driver's meeting at
8:15. Students will then walk the course with their morning
instructors. After that, students will be driving on skidpads in
order to learn the feel of an oversteering and an understeering
car. It is a lot of fun!! The day will proceed with students
running the Autocross course with their instructors, while half of the
students learn to work the course. As in the past, Mr. Larry Sharp,
who is a world famous course designer, will make up the course for this
year's event.
After the lunch break we continue to run cars in hour sessions until 5
PM. It is truly a fun day with lots of learning. One of the
best parts is that students get a few rides in their instructor's
car. We try as best we can to have instructors that have had
experience with cars similar to the students. You will also have
different instructors in the morning and afternoon.
The school is sponsored by Joe and Annie Zeiph, the owners of Porboys
German Automotive Service. They are located at 3640 East 9th ST. in
Oakland. Joe and his technicians are experts in the repair of all
German makes, but they specialize in the maintenance, repair, and complete
rebuilds of 911, 944, 914, 928, 996, and Boxster cars. If you have
questions or need repairs, call Porboys at 510-437-9400. They do Smog
Checks, excellent work on all German makes, and are highly recommended.
If you sign up and pay the $99 fee, you get:
- Instruction from the best
and most experienced instructors in the west!! (Really)
- A lunch including Porboys
sandwiches, chips, cookies, sodas and water.
- A Porboys Autocross School
T-shirt.
- A knowledge of how an
Autocross is run, and how to work different jobs.
- A basic knowledge of car
control and you will learn tips on how to handle your car.
- You will drive home with a
big smile on your face!!!!
If this sounds really good then sign up on www.Motorsportreg.com
Here is the link to sign up. You will first need to
create an account, then go to the Saturday, May 16 date and select the GGR
Porboys Autocross School. If you have questions email Howard Yao, or
John Seidell.
We do limit the number of students to 55 so that there is plenty of driving
time.
Advance
sign up and payment is required. See you there!!
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Monterey Historic Races Events
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The Porsche Club of America - Monterey Bay Region (MBR) is organizing the
Porsche Corral parking and other club activities surrounding the Monterey
Historic Automobile Races at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, August 14-16,
2009. Porsche is the featured marque at the Historic races. MBR
is organizing the following events to occur during the week leading up to
the Historic Races:
- Monday, 8/10 - MBR "Heritage Avenue
Exhibit," at the Carmel-by-the-Sea Concours on the Avenue, where
Porsche & Ferrari will be featured
- Thursday, 8/13 - Driving tour showcasing Monterey
County and post-tour reception at the Poppy Hills Golf Course in
Pebble Beach
- Friday, 8/14 - Welcome Party at the historic Carmel
Mission
- Saturday & Sunday, 8/15 & 8/16
- Corral parking, hospitality area, catered lunches and a Parade
Lap at the Monterey Historic Automobile Races - Mazda Raceway Laguna
Seca
- Monday, 8/17 - Driver's Education Day at Mazda
Raceway Laguna Seca
MBR's event registration will be through www.motorsportsreg.com and
will open in the near future. Registrants will need a free user
name/password on that site and elect to "join" the PCA - Monterey
Bay club. Future email announcements of MBR event details will be
sent through motorsportsreg.com and made available on the MBR website. Some events
have space limitations. Participation in the Heritage Avenue Exhibit
and acceptance in the Driver's Education Day will be by MBR organizing
committees. New this year, MBR's registration fees will be discounted
through May 31, 2009.
Registration for the Heritage Avenue Exhibit will occur separately.
Concours on the Avenue information is available from Motor Club Events, LLC,
through their website.
Monterey Historic Automobile Races tickets must be purchased separately
from Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca through their ticket ordering website or
by calling 1-800-327-SECA.
Lodging information and assistance services can be found on the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca website.
# # #
Links:
http://mby.pca.org (MBR
official website)
http://www.motorsportreg.com
(MBR event registration)
http://www.motorclubevents.com
(Concours on the Avenue website)
http://www.mazdaraceway.com/pages/tix-historic09
(Historic races ticket order page)
http://www.mazdaraceway.com/pages/hotels_restaurants (Lodging
information & services)
Porsche Club of America - Monterey Bay Region Contacts:
Ginger Mutoza,
Historic Races Event
Coordinator
George Von Gehr,
President
831-596-4041
650-888-1848
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Boxster Register News
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The Boxster Register is just one part of the many Special Interest Groups
(or SIG's) that exist as a vital part of PCA. The various groups are
shown on the last pages of Panorama, and cover many models from 356's,
early 911's, specialty 911's like turbos and others, 924's, 944's, 968's,
Caymans, and the Boxster. The Register groups could probably best be
described as a "community" of owners who have a special interest
in a particular model of Porsche. No additional fees are required for
Register membership.
There are now two Boxster advocates sharing responsibilities: The
West Coast Advocate is Nita Burrows Nita is a member of the Las Vegas
Region. The East Coast Advocate is Bob Purgason. Bob is currently a member
of the Central PA and Chesapeake Regions, and formally a member of First
Settlers and Potomac Regions. The two areas are divided roughly by the
Mississippi River. Contact information for both advocates is listed on
www.pca.org and in the back of Panorama each month. To access the Boxster
Register website, go to www.pca.org, open the "Register Groups"
tab, and scroll down to the link for Boxster 986/987 Register. Bob's
direct email is: jab64@comcast.net and Nita's is: nb986@aol.com. The
Boxster Register web site is 986sig.pca.org
The Boxster advocates will be working to develop a stronger and more active
group of Boxster owners. Our goals are to increase the membership,
and also provide good communication with and between members. To help
him achieve this, enthusiastic new members are needed. It's a great
way to promote the Boxster model, and for their owners to share information
and develop new friendships.
The U.S. Boxster community is truly anticipating the debut of PCA Club
Racing's new 2009 competition class, Boxster Spec Racing (BSR).
Interest in Boxsters has definitely seen a spike since the
announcement of this series, the impetus for which started on the west
coast by the Porsche Owners Club (POC). The 2009 PCA Club Race BSR
rules mandate performance specs for these cars to be close to identical-
thereby putting the racing results back into the hands of the most skilled
and capable drivers. The rules specify only 1997-1999 Boxsters with
the 2.5-litre M96 engine, with modest allowances for other performance
upgrades. Because the BSR class is new, it may take some time for
Boxster enthusiasts to see these BSR cars on track, but based on the
current interest level, there's a lot of hope for the future success of
this class. Several race-prep companies and individuals are starting
to build Boxster spec cars, and as soon as they start appearing at PCA Club
Race events, o
thers should follow as well. Boxster owners everywhere have much to
be excited about with the establishment of BSR. Additional
information can be obtained through one of the major BSR websites, the
Boxster Spec Racing website- http://www.boxsterspec.com/
As West Coast Advocate, I would love hear from you with your ideas to
expand the Boxster Register and develop new activities and gatherings.
Nita Burrows
West Coast Boxster Register Advocate
Nb986@aol.com
702 395-3886
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40th Birthday for the Porsche 917
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The car described as the "Greatest Racing Car in History"
celebrates its 40th birthday
Atlanta - March 9, 2008 - Forty years ago on March 13, 1969 at the
Geneva International Motor Show, today's Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche unveiled
a car that, even by today's standards, is underestimated when it is
described as the "super sports car": The Porsche 917. It became a
legend as one of the fastest and most successful racing cars of all time.
Porsche fired the starting shot for Project 917 in June 1968, after the
international motor sports authority or FIA had announced a class of
"homologated sports cars" with up to five liters cubic capacity
and a minimum weight of 800 kilograms. Under the supervision of Ferdinand
Piëch, the stipulated 25 units of the new racing car model were completed
by April 1969 so that the 917 could begin its racing career in the same
year. After it initially dropped out of its first three races due to
technical problems, the 917 success story began in August 1969 at a
1,000-kilometer race at the Österreichring with a victory by Jo Siffert and
Kurt Ahrens.
The engine configuration of the 917 was just as unusual as its different
car body versions: Behind the driver's seat extended an air-cooled,
twelve-cylinder engine with horizontal cylinders, whose crankshaft
designated it as a 180-degree V engine. The 520 HP engine had an initial
cubic capacity of 4.5 liters. The tubular frame was made of aluminum, the
car body out of glass fiber reinforced synthetics. Porsche engineers
developed different car body models to best meet the different demands of
different racetracks. The so-called short-tail model was designed for
heavily twisting roads in which a high contact pressure was necessary for
fast cornering. The long-tail model was designed for fast racetracks and a
high final velocity. Then came the open 917 Spyders, which were used in the
CanAm and Interseries races.
At the end of the 1970 race season, Porsche confirmed its superiority with
the 917 and 908/03 models, winning the Racing Series World Championship
[Markenweltmeisterschaft] in nine out of ten possible victories. This
series of victories began in Daytona and continued in Brands Hatch, Monza,
Spa, on the Nürburgring racetrack, at the Targa Florio, in Le Mans, Watkins
Glen and the Österreichring. However, the season's high point was the
long-desired overall win of the Le Mans 24-hour endurance race, a trophy
that Hans Herrmann and Richard Attwood brought home to Zuffenhausen on June
14, 1970. Their 917 short-tail model painted in the Porsche Salzburg colors
of red and white with the start number 23 not only successfully defied its
competitors but also the heavy rainfall.
As in the previous year, the 1971 season was dominated by the 917 model so
that the Racing Series World Championship [Markenweltmeisterschaft] went to
Porsche again with eight out of ten race victories. And once again, a
Porsche 917 was victorious at the Le Mans 24-Hour race - this time with
Gijs van Lennep and Dr. Helmut Marko, who set a world record with an
average speed of 222 km/h and 5,335 kilometers driven, a record that still
stands today. One special feature of their 917 short-tail model, visually
characterized by its "shark fin", was the tubular frame made of
magnesium. A 917 long-tail coupe model set a further record in 1971: On the
Mulsanne straight stretch, which is part of the route in the Le Mans
24-Hour race, the sports car with the start number 21 recorded the highest
speed of 387 kilometers per hour. Another Le Mans racecar achieved major
recognition: The Porsche 917/20 was a mix between the short-tail and the
long-tail models and was notable for its broad proportions. Although the
pink colored racecar, nicknamed "the Pig", dropped out halfway
through the race, its unusual paint color made it one of the most famous
Porsche models ever.
When the European FIA regulation for the "five-liter sports car"
expired at the end of the 1971 season, Porsche decided to enter the
Canadian American Challenge Cup (CanAm). In June 1972, the private Penske
race team in motor sports used the turbo-charged Porsche 917/10 Spyder for
the first time. With a performance of up to 1,000 HP, the Porsche Spyder
dominated the race series and won for Porsche the CanAM championship with
victories in Road Atlanta, Mid Ohio, Elkhart Lake, Laguna Seca and
Riverside. In the following year, the 1,200 HP 917/30 Spyder had its racing
premiere. The superiority of the monster car driven by Mark Donohue was so
obvious that the regulations of the CanAM series had to be changed in the
end in order to exclude the 917/30 from competing further in the 1974
season. Typical for Porsche: The technologies for increasing performance
developed for these races were successfully transferred to the on-road
sports car. That's how the 911 Turbo, with its side-exhaust turbocharger,
began its career in 1974 and has been, since this time, a synonym for the
performance capacity of the Porsche sports car.
To date, the reputation of the 917 is legendary. Therefore, 50
international motor sports experts from the famous British trade magazine
"Motor Sport" nominated the 917 as the "greatest racing car
in history". All in all, Porsche built 65 units of the 917: 44 sports
cars as short-tail and long-tail coupés, two PA Spyders as well as 19
sports cars as CanAm and Interseries Spyders with up to 1,400 HP turbo
engines. Seven of the most important 917 models - among them the Le Mans
victory cars from 1970 and 1971 and the 917/30 Spyder - are currently on
exhibit in the new Porsche Museum in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen.
###
Typ 917 at Zuffenhausen (c. 1969)
courtesy Porsche AG
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Zone 7 Concours School
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SVR Autocross
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Stompin' AX
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Snake Eyes Rally
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Yosemite Concours
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Zone 7 AX 3 and 4
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Redwood Porsche Corral
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LPR Rallye
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SVR Concours
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Palo Alto Concours
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Yosemite Region 50th
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No shortage of events to do! Add one to washing your car...
As always, thanks for reading.
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