AZ Region Season Kickoff
Kicking Off With a
Squiggly Course
Spring 2007, Event 1 of 4
By Greg Rubenstein
Firebird International Raceway –
February 10, 2007
In
spite of the fact that this intrepid reporter checked in with another mediocre
performance (though at least it wasn't quite DFL in SPM), the course for the
February 10 event was a brilliant execution, offering one of the best driving
experiences AZSolo2 has provided in the last four years on the Firebird
"postage stamp" skidpad No. 4.
Kudos
and a tip of the cone to Elliot Speidell for
conceiving a course that had tremendous flow, good speed and hardly a slalom. Yeah!
Proving
the axiom "proof is in the pudding," this course created a bit of a
shake-up in the recent status quo, with Don Sattler putting in TTOD at the
wheel of his CSP '91 Mazda Miata, while Larry
Petrucci continued his string of impressive performances, this time putting the
smack down with a 1000 PAX in his ESP '95 Pontiac Firechicken.
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Photo by Rob Rockefeller |
Photo by Kevin Venisnik |
On
paper, Speidell's "Squiggly Bastard" course
looked to be both confusing and perhaps a tad constipated. Once the cones were
actually put down on asphalt, however, this
A
big left out of the top chute set up a true optional slalom—choose inside the
first cone if you were tidy, giving up entry speed in exchange for earlier throttle
through the crossover and onto the middle chute, setting up a big right-hander.
Alternately, a power-on approach through the big left led to an outside attack
of the slalom, with either approach working if set up properly.
Out
of the middle chute was a paired complex of R-L nearly constant-radius corners,
the latter a big left that was very easy to make into a drift—if you weren't
interested in posting in a quick autox time. A little
flick right-hander led to the finish, completing an outstanding course for the
second-straight event on skidpad No. 4, following
last November's challenging “Cone Snake" designed Rob Rockefeller.
The
event started crisp, cool and on pavement that appeared for the most part to be
surprisingly clean—unusually nice and providing a decent level of grip for
those of us who chose or were assigned to compete in the course-sweeping run
group A. Considering Sattler's TTOD came out of A, those of us that would like
to use surface temperature, cold tires or a dirty track as excuses probably
better think again. Thanks a lot, Don!
Running
assigned in the opening group were CSP and DSP (there were no entries in ESP or
FSP Open), and as usual the action in these two classes was hot. PAXing 997 to claim top spot in CSP Open was Sattler,
followed by David Lahey, Steve Ashcraft, Dawn
Maxwell,
In
the more diverse DSP Open, Clint Child ran his '00 Acura Integra to a 986 PAX,
topping Ben Clement ('95 Integra), Dan Martin ('02 Sentra),
Jeremy Galo ('02 Sentra)
and Michael Wesala, in the field's lone VW GTI.
After
the course cleaner group, drivers in the Pro, Prepared and Modified classes had
their chance at the Squiggly Bastard, and in the two-entrant Pro class David
Webb ('01 Ford Focus) topped the '96 Camaro of Ted
Lewis. Michael Wittkopf "won" XP by virtue
of being its sole entrant, turning in a 937 PAX in his '86 Corvette, while
Kirby Goodman topped the one-car field in EM, driving his '90 RX-7.
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Photo by Rob Rockefeller |
Five
other classes had single entrants, with Steve Ryan topping all under-subscribed
groups, driving his '91 Corvette to a 998 PAX in AS. In CS, Brad Owen topped
the one-car field in his '99 Miata, while Tom Tkacik ('96 Miata) posted a 969
PAX in ES, Ram Cruz cruised to a BSP 833 PAX at the wheel of his '03 EVO,
Victor Malchesky ('86 CRX) delivered a 953 PAX in SM2
and Kevin Venisnik ('93 Miata)
hit 910 PAX in STS2.
PAXL
and STL had three drivers apiece, and Deb Eymann was
the fastest female in PAXL, turning in a 935 PAX at the wheel of a '06 Corvette
Z06. Mindi Cross ('01 Focus) and Teresa Clement ('95
Integra) were second and third in class, separated by a slim three PAX points,
928 to 925. In STL, Kendra Albers ('06 330i) topped Glenda Meyers ('02 Acura
RSX) and Suzanne Lipke ('05 Mini Cooper S).
The
Novice 1 class boasted the largest field of the day, and Michael McCune ('04
Focus) topped 27 other entrants with a 894 PAX. Sam Alquashari ('86 Corvette) finished second, with Frederick
Szepe ('07 Sky Redline), Steve Sears ('03 350Z) and Chris Nuszloch
('99 Boxster) rounding out the top-five.
Sportsman,
always a hangout for the fast and furious crowd, served up 23 entrants with the
top 13 posting a PAX of 950 or higher. At the head of this class was Petrucci,
at 32.554, followed by Doug Rowse ('05 RX-8), Steve Eymann ('06 Corvette Z06), Marc McCombs ('04 S2000), Jay
Balducci ('05 WRX STi), Joel Schotz
('06 Corvette Z06), Dave Young ('02 M3), Speidell
('04 RX-8) and Craig Meyer ('96 Corvette). Also of note in SPM was Paul Lemke's
12th-place 956 PAX, his highest PAX performance to date and proof that a
normally-aspirated '96 300ZX can be fast. Well done, Paul!
Street
Tire 1 was the next biggest group, and Aytinc Akad posted an impressive time of 34.373 (943 PAX) at the
helm of his '05 EVO to top the 21-entrant class. Wil
Evans ('05 Elise) finished second, followed by Tom Evans ('05 Elise), George Sklyarevsky ('06 RX-8) and
In
Street Tire 2, 13 drivers signed up and the Teutonic-driving duo of Jim Rohn ('00 Audi TT) and Mark Shaw ('04 Beetle) claimed first
and second, respectively, conquering Land of the Rising Sun entrants Manfred Reysser ('01 Celica GT), Mike Rogers ('03 Acura RSX) and
Scott Meyers ('02 RSX-S).
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Photo by Rob Rockefeller |
Photo by Kevin Venisnik |
In
a David vs. Goliath SS match-up, Darrell Covert ('03 Corvette Z06) was fastest,
topping Kim Kemper ('06 Corvette), Gary James ('05 Lotus Elise) and Dan Hawrylkiw ('05 Elise).
Street
Modified witnessed an interesting shakeup, with
In
the 10-car STS field, Britt Dollmeyer ('90 Civic) had
the field covered by 34 PAX points, posting a quick time of 34.704, good enough
for a 972 PAX. Travis Gianelli ('90 240SX) finished
second, followed by Aric Trust ('03 325i),
Christopher Vasilakos ('03
Rounding
out the Novice classes, Pete Pedersen ('94 Miata) was
tops in NV2, followed by Enrique Bones ('06 Mini), Michael Green ('00 Focus),
Jacob Langkilde ('99 Miata)
and Mark McCarthy ('05 PT Cruiser). In NV3, Ryburn
Ross ('03
Last
but of course not least, Patty Duncan ('06 Mini) finished first in the five-car
NVL field, followed by Alexis Rice ('05 Mini), Mitzi Burrow ('87 325is),
Jeannie Huish ('03 Mini) and Nancy Green ('05
Mini). Full results for the Feb. 10th
event can be seen here.
The
event brought out numerous competitors that will certainly lead to a season
full of excitement. Bring on your best
skills and keep an eye on the competition, even if it is through the fence. See you in April.
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Photo by Kevin Gleaton |
Driver’s
Workshops
By Dawn Maxwell
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Photo by Rob Rockefeller |
Are you new to the sport of Autocrossing? Did you miss the last driver’s school? Or are
you just in need of a few pointers? Arizona Region Solo has a new program to
help people new to the sport get some pointers from experienced drivers. Driver’s Workshops are being held during time
only runs.
What is the intent of the Driver’s Workshop program?
It is an opportunity for
developing drivers to have one on one coaching from advanced drivers.
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Photo by Rob Rockefeller |
Photo by Rob Rockefeller |
Where will it happen?
Drivers who want to
participate should sign up for Time Only runs and request the Driver’s Workshop
sign up sheet when registering on-site.
Why participate in the Drivers Workshop program?
Everyone has their own
motives, but potential reasons are driver development, feedback on one’s
driving or car set up, a chance to ride with a quicker more experienced driver
or just for fun.
How does it work?
All training happens in Time
Only runs after the official competition is complete. Registered drivers are
paired with an instructor. The two will discuss the goals, set up a plan and
go. For instance, the registered driver may want feedback in his own car. The
driver will make a run or two, then the instructor may
drive the student’s car to demonstrate a technique for a run or two.
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Photo by Rob Rockefeller |
I’m an experienced driver and would like to be an
instructor. Who do I talk to?
Email Dawn Maxwell at madmaxdawn@cox.net
Several
drivers participated in the Driver’s Workshop in February and positive comments
were abound.
This is an excellent opportunity to better understand autocrossing and improve your driving skills.