The good news was that I had made it through September to the time trial. It had been a busy month, starting with three days at Laguna Seca for a DE, then four days in Arizona for the PCA Escape and now finally off to Willow Springs, “The Fastest Road in the West.” The 911 ran great at Laguna Seca and I was looking forward to fast times at Big Willow.
The drive up from Dieter’s was uneventful with Steve Grosekemper driving the trailer, and the weather was excellent for the start of fall. The only downside was that it was conflicting with the Coronado Speedfest vintage races. After arriving at the track, we unloaded the 911 off the trailer and then into the garage. We had beautiful postcard skies with clouds and I took advantage to take some pictures of the early arrivals at the track. By the time we were driving back to the Hampton Inn, the clouds had darkened and the wind had blown up, and there were some grass fires in the area. There was no real rain but some nice rainbows while the cars were being teched in the parking lot.
The Hampton Inn was a new facility and had very nice amenities. After registration and dinner it was back to the room and an early turn-in to get some rest. Saturday was an early start after the breakfast (with waffles) at the Hampton. We finished final preparations for the 911 and then off to the drivers meeting with Jack Miller and Robert Baizer. We had a very good turnout, even with the conflict, as it had been over a year and a half since our last Big Willow event.
I was going to be working with a student, Rush Strong, in his Mitsubishi Eclipse. I had worked with Rush at Chuckwalla and he had done well, even though his left arm is paralyzed and he is working the steering and shifting the manual transmission with his right arm. Although the speeds would be higher than Chuckwalla, there would be fewer turns. But the sweepers at turn 2, along with 8 and 9, would give him a good workout on each lap.
Steve was out first in the Red run group and started quickly in the cooler conditions. He was down to 1:37 and Mike Avitt was quickest at 1:33 in his GT3. Orange was up next as Rush and I strapped in for our session. Jack Miller was out in Orange and set the pace in his Lotus with a 1:37. Traffic made for an interesting session, as there were 26 people out with a 15 second spread for best lap times. Luckily, there were plenty of passing zones, but it did take time to clear traffic. The checkered was soon out and we were back in the pits and belting into Rush’s Eclipse.
He headed out onto the grid and did very well. After the two yellow-flag laps he started increasing his pace. He started out at 1:58 and was able to get down to 1:56, although with traffic he had some laps over 2:00 as the 28 drivers sorted themselves out. He had no problems with down-shifting and braking and handled traffic well until the checkered came out.
The next session for Red was when the drivers started picking up the pace as the track warmed up but the air was still cool. Anthony DiLanzo’s 911 led a trio of air-cooled cars at 1:31, with Roger Lai’s and Mark Kinninger’s 911s just behind. There were another 3 drivers at 1:35, with Steve Livelsberger’s 914-6, Steve Grosekemper, and then Michael Cornelius’s 944 Turbo (the first water-pumper). The next 3 cars were all at 1:36, with Mike VanZandt’s 944 Turbo ahead of Paul Young’s 911 and Jad Duncan’s 996.
The sessions came up quickly as Orange followed. More traffic, as in this session there was an 18 second spread from Jaret Smith’s fast time in his BMW at 1:38. I was near the top at 1:41.23 with Don Middleton’s 911, Mark Rondeau’s 944S and Jim Duncan’s 996 all in the 1:41s. Jackie Corwin was leading the 944Spec at 1:43, just ahead of Sean Steele. In the BoxsterSpec Dan Hackett was ahead of his brother Dave.
Yellow was back out next and Rush continued to improve. He was very happy to finally drive this track as he had worked corners there several times in the past but never driven it. His times improved to 1:53. Charles Liu was leading with a 1:43 in his GT3. Rush’s nephew Bret was driving a Mustang instead of his usual Miata and was down to 1:49. Right behind Rush there were 7 drivers at 1:54, including the Elovitz family of David, Michael and Adam, Monte Griffiths’ Lotus, John Cliff, Mark Bray and Tony Nufer.
Steve’s next session ended up being short, as we were shuffling tires to use up some of the older tires for practice. Unfortunately we tried a 245/50/16 in the front and it was too tall and rubbing, so he came in early to put different tires on. He did turn a 1:37.93 before having to stop. The weather was warming up and the best laps were at 1:33 for Mark Kinninger and Mike Avitt.
My next session started a little late after getting the gas and tires done, and I came out behind a pack of cars. It was fun to work thorugh the traffic, but it did keep the times slower, and my best was a 1:40. Mark Rondeau was having a great run in his 944S as he was using his new Hankook Z214 tires and was down to 1:39.90. Ramon Niebla’s GT3RS was fastest with a 1:36.31.
Yellow was up before lunch and Rush continued to improve and had his best lap of the day at 1:52.86. Charles Liu continued on top at 1:40.20. David Elovitz improved to 1:49.19 to lead the clan, but was just a bit slower than Bret Strong’s 1:49.15. Rush handled his traffic well, not only when passing but also when being passed, and was ready for the checkered flag to end the morning sessions.
Lunch was at the Willow Springs grill, which was nicely air-conditioned as the temperatures increased through the day.
Red run group was up first after lunch, and Jad Duncan put down the gauntlet with a 1:28.41 for the first lap under 1:30. Steve improved to 1:36.11 and was mid-pack. A few drivers had been moved up to Red to help balance the groups, and Roman Niebla improved to 1:36.84 but was now also mid-pack in Red.
I was up next in Orange and stayed at 1:40. Mark Rondeau continued to improve in his 944S and was down to 1:37.90 on his Hankook’s. Kris Scheussler’s 911 was next at 1:40.18, and Russell Shon’s Boxster was at 1:40.62, with Don Middleton at 1:41.32. Sean Steele moved ahead of Jackie Corwin with a 1:41.42, just ahead of Philip Strong’s 1:41.52 and Greg Trigerio at 1:41.62.
As the afternoon went on, drivers became more comfortable with the track and also tried to increase their speed and try different lines. Sometimes it worked and they were faster, but occasionally it did not work, and rather than being slower, they were off the track and into the sand and rocks, and then brought some of it back with them. Craig B. made that mistake in turn 8 in his GT3 and ended up on the outside of the track. Unfortunately, after getting back to the pits his car was not running well and he was done for the weekend. Thankfully, it turned out to be a loose hose and air leak rather than bent valves from his spin. Another unnamed driver went off track at the exit of turn 2 and then dragged a bunch of rocks back onto the track to keep everyone looking for the cleaner line through the debris for a couple of run sessions, especially if you were following another car. But the most impressive off for Saturday went to Rochelle B. in her 996 Carrera at turn 9. After tracking wide, she tried to come back onto the track and then spun across into the inside of the turn in a cloud of dust that turned her black car to dusty brown. She needed to use her wipers to clear the dust so she could see out of her windshield and drive back into the pits.
Rush even got caught up in all the off-track excitement. He continued to do well until the end of the 4th session when he miscalculated his line in turn 9 and dropped 2 wheels off on the exit. He was able to keep it under control and drive into the pits without any major problems, but it was a good reminder that the track could still bite if you were not careful. He was planning on doing the last session solo as I felt he was ready. Unfortunately he never got the chance for his solo.
The last Red run session went off without any drama, but as I was driving out for my last session I noted some fluid on the track, and by the time I got to turn 3 the black flags were out for an oil spill from Adam Gill’s car. Luckily, the spill was only from his oil cap coming off and his motor was otherwise OK, but the cleanup shut down the track for the day.
We used the down time to swap tires again, as the sweepers were causing more wear than expected. We would use the Nitto’s on the rear and older RA1’s up front for practice and then use the 710’s for timed runs. At least that was the plan. After clearing up the track, it was back to Hampton Inn to clean up for dinner at the Black Angus restaurant, and then back to the room for some video review. It did not last too long, as Sunday would be another early start.
The next morning it was another Hampton breakfast and then off to the track. Unfortunately, the oil spill from yesterday had not cleared with the oil-dry as expected, and we needed to set up some work parties to sweep it clear and put down some more before we could start the morning run sessions.
Red was finally out first and was a little tentative for the yellow flag laps, but the track grip was OK, and as the green flag came out the times started dropping. Steve went out with Mark Rondeau to help him with his line. Steve found the tires lacked some grip compared to the previous day and his best was 1:37.47. Jad was the fastest for the session at 1:31.18.
I was up next and was solo, as Rush had another engagement for Sunday. I came out behind Jim Duncan, who was also sharing his car, and we were at the end of a pack of cars. It was a little distracting the first couple of times through the oil-dry, but the grip was good and we were quickly up to pace. We had missed the yellow flag laps but my tires were already warm, and by the end of the first lap we were starting to work our way through the other cars. I was behind Dan Chambers and was finally able to catch up and get a point-by, but it took a few laps. His times were improving after riding along with Steve on Saturday, and his best time was now down to 1:41.61. Although the traffic slowed many of the laps, at the end of the session my best was 1:39.31, just slower than Mark Rondeau’s 1:39.12 and Philip Strong’s 1:39.30. Jim Duncan made it a sweep for Team Duncan with a best lap of 1:36.61. Family Hockett were about as close as they could get with Dave’s 1:46.13 just ahead of Dan’s 1:46.15!
The rest of the morning went without incident, no oil spills or major dustings. I should have been more suspicious. At lunch we swapped tires and put the 265/45/16 Kumho 710’s on the rear and 245/45/16 Hankook Z214 on the front. It was time for the drivers meeting to review the time trial procedures, and then we were out for the final practice sessions. As the day had warmed up, the wind had also started blowing harder as a headwind on the front straight.
I was out first as the run groups were reversed. The session went well, especially for Mark Rondeau. He was now down to 1:37.03 ahead of Greg Tigerio, Don Middleton, me, Philip Strong, and Ed McRae, who were all below 1:40. Steve was out next in Red and was mid-pack at 1:35.87, with Roger Lai setting the pace at 1:32.39, just ahead of Anthony DiLanzo’s 1:32.86.
After Red finished, timed runs started and the fastest drivers lined up to be flagged off. The first group was Jad Duncan, Roger Lai, Anthony DiLanzo, Mike Avitt and James Buck. After their timed laps, that was just about how they finished. Jad (996-CC6) took TTOD and was the only driver under 1:30 with a 1:29.48. Anthony (911-CC6) moved up to second at 1:30.64, Roger Lai (911-CC7) followed at 1:31.60, then Mike Avitt (GT3-CC6) at 1:32.52 and James Buck (911-CC5) at 1:32.74.
The next group was flagged off, which included Steve in CC8, Paul Young (911- CC7), Jack Miller (Lotus) and Robert Baizer (Lotus), along with Mike Van Zandt (944 Turbo-CC2). The rest of the top ten was from this group, with one exception. Mike was 6th at 1:33.19, Jack 8th at 1:34.11, Paul 9th at 1:35.07 and Robert 10th at 1:35.20. Jim Duncan (996) was the eventual 7th place driver at 1:33.46.
The exceptional driver was Steve. I was taking pictures from the flag tower as he came through turn 8 to finish his first timed lap and suddenly there was a large cloud of dust. I kept snapping pictures and he eventually was back on track and still pointing in the right direction, but slowly as he came through turn 9. He accelerated down the straight and went on to finish his second lap, but with the time lost in turn 8 his best lap was 1:40.42 after the off-track excursion.
As he headed back to the pits I went over to get ready for my timed runs. But first we had to do some more tire swaps as his slide had flat-spotted one of the rear tires to the cord. We had to move the front tires to the rear and then put on an older set of 225/45/17 tires on the front before I could head to the start line.
After a short wait, I was flagged off and took my warm-up lap. I came down the front straight and started my first timed lap. I was going well through turn 2 as I accelerated towards turn 3, and then it all went wrong. As I started braking for turn 3, the car was not slowing as I was expecting. The combination of cold and old front tires was not working. My mission went from slowing down to turn up the hill to just try and get stopped. That eventually happened, but not before I was in the dirt for many feet. I was able to get turned around and head back on the track, but not with much confidence. I finished that lap and decided to take my final lap (which was my eventual best of 1:47.66) before heading back in to the pits. I was expecting to see flat spots on the front tires, but they were still round, just not grippy.
I am going to blame Otto Obrist who was not able to make it, and Paul Young, who was there but kept his car clean. Since they were not holding up their end of the bargain, the track gods had to use someone else to sacrifice and my car must have been nominated.
In 944Spec, Sean Steele at 1:41.49 beat Jackie Corwin’s 1:43.84. In SpecBoxster Dave beat Dan 1:41.93 to 1:42.29. In CC8, Steve was the eventual winner with Dan Chambers next at 1:42.78 and then me.
In CC9, Mike Cornelius at 1:35.37 beat Don Middleton’s 1:37.12 and Adam Gill’s 1:39.36. CC11 had Mark Rondeau at 1:36.14 ahead of Rick Sylvetri at 1:39.66. For full results, check out the pcasdr.net website, as well as the lap time details on Tom Brown’s wonderful results website.
After loading the car on the trailer and packing up the truck, we headed back to San Diego to ponder our mistakes and plan on our next event at Buttonwillow for the end of the season. New tires are on the agenda. And we are reconsidering the pinup mechanic sticker I had found in the Willow Springs gift shop and decided to put on the car for good luck!
