This weekend I was hanging out with the Porsche Club of America as they held their open track day Sat/Sun at MidAmerica Motorplex. They welcomed the scion with open arms and the group was actually a great group of people to hang out with. I'd definitely attend another one of their events later in the fall.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41k7VIxEco0

Included is a brief 3 min highlight reel with a special guest appearance by an M3. Passing was restricted to the straightaways and only if the person in front of you waved you by, however it was awesome nonetheless.

 

yeah i race this a different chapter in Oklahoma and they are defiantly some nice people and don mind out little scions on the track. plus me and the 994 make it a competition.

 

Awesome video, Ty.

You eyes jump around sometimes mid turn as you're checking the distance between yourself and the other cars, but otherwise your hands were solid and smooth. Well done sir!

 

Thanks, yeah I'm still getting used to having all these cars around me. My head is in Autocross mode sometimes where I'm used to being the only one out there. So for these track days, sometimes I get really nervous. I suppose the more I do it, the more confident I should get, at least that's what they tell me.

 

Don't worry man, it's a huge difference going from auto-x to big track stuff. I wasn't trying to get any digs in on you, just commenting so that you're aware of it for your next time out. I hope I didn't come across as harsh or rude or anything, but one of the things I've learned (especially when you have video to go back and re-watch) is to have others look it over and provide critique points. It sometimes sucks hearing that you're doing something wrong, but next time out there you'll be aware of it and know what to not do.

Eyes are very important in big track (just like in auto-x), but because the track is bigger/wider you need to be able to maintain the focus on the place you want to go for a little longer than in auto-x so it's a little more important to know what to do with your eyes. In auto-x your eyes sort of need to be 'fast twitch' to get from the one cone to the next, but in the track you need to stick with your visual ques a little longer.

The more you do it the less you'll be afraid of the other cars. Always respect them and their distance to you, but don't be afraid. Fear leads to irrational decisions and emotional reactions. Both are bad on-track things to do.

In the end, everyone is pretty concerned about smashing up a perfectly good car as much as you are so most people will be focused on getting in a nice safe, but fast as possible line. This means that most people at HPDEs will stay in their lines and even if you're not directly focused on/looking at them, your peripheral vision will pick them up and will alert you to something happening that might impact you. Again, this comes from doing it more often and getting into a rhythm with the other drivers. A lot of times if you are in formation with a group of cars for enough laps you'll start to learn their lines, braking points, and any weird quirks enough that it'll be come almost robotic and you can focus less on them and more on you and your own lines.

You'll be surprised when you let your peripheral vision and brain do what they're good at. I couldn't belive how aware you stay when you keep your focus and let your side view practice more.

 

No offense taken, I actually welcome good comments. I always want to improve myself such that I can kick some serious butt in a car that was designed for going to the grocery store and back. It'll take me a few years but I think I can do it.

 

Good to see you guys tracking your tc's! I am a member of the Lone star chapter porche club #479. I love the tc on the track. Good momentum car. With only mild mods I run in yellow group and hang with many porche, BMW, miata,etc. Let me know if you or anyone interested in attending a weekend at Texas World Speedway in College Station, Tx

 

Better still, Ty drives an xA if I recall correctly.

 

if i am ever in the area, i would be more than happy to get on the track in college station. I am happy and like the advice given in this section so far. The video is extremely good and will help you out a lot glad to see you already did that!!

 

Correct, you can tell it is an xA dash in the video because the tach is in the center of the console, quite odd if you ask me...took me a while to get used to.

 

September track weekend in College Station Tx. Porche club registration starts soon!! Check it out at clubregistration.net