Blog – 3/22/2021
March 22
The Blue Ridge Blogger
New Members
No new members this week.Upcoming Activities
2nd Annual Gary Bell Rally – April 10
Join the Blue Ridge Region PCA for our 2nd Annual Gary Bell Rally!
The Blue Ridge Region PCA has prepared a rally for April 10, 2021! The course is approx. 105 miles with an estimated drive time of about 2 1/2 hours +/-. This event will include a midpoint break stop. Awards will be given to the top three finishers based on driving time based on posted speed limits and score on questions.Advance registration is required! Sign up at RegistrationAll cars are to arrive at the Montvale Public Library – Montale, VA by 9:00 AM with the first car off at 9:30 AM. Expect cars to be release every 1-3 minutes. The rally will end at Devils Backbone Brewery Lexington, VAEach car must have at least two individuals. The first is, of course, the driver. The second is the navigator and is responsible for following and communicating the instructions, recording items per the instructions, and being an extra set of eyes ensuring safety. This event will take place on public roads, at posted speed limits, and in a safe manner. Compliance with Commonwealth of Virginia Covid restrictions and Driving Laws is required by all participants. Also, everyone attending must complete the PCA Liability and Communicable Disease waivers.
HPDC April 30-May 2
Upcoming is an excellent event for those new to track events. Our friends at First Settler’s Region PCA are having a 3 day HPDE for all skill levels at VIR April 30 to May 2. A chance to let your thoroughbred run!
PCA – First Settlers
Friday, Apr 30 — Sunday, May 2, 2021Virginia International Raceway, Alton, VA
Registration ends in a month at April 24, 2021 10:59 PM EDT
Registration Fees:
- Drivers: $595
- Instructors with one student: $295
Are you new to DE and on the fence about whether Driver’s Education is for you?
Sign up for their DE INTRO! For a $ 75 fee, they will get you out on the track in your car with an instructor for a single at-speed session mid-day on Saturday. Standard DE safety requirements apply, so you’ll need a Snell SA 2020 or SA 2015 rated helmet . FSR has just a few loaners available, so please email the registrar before you sign up if you’d like to borrow one. You will also need to have your car pre-inspected by a shop prior to coming to the track.
If you are interested, please email the DE Registrar and they will steer you in the right direction.
=========================Swap Meet May 1
Link to Swap Meet
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Werks Reunion May 22
Schedule
Schedule| 7:00 AM | Event Check-in Opens |
| 7:00 – 9:00 AM | Registered Judged Cars placed on judging field |
| All Day | Porsche Corral open for registered cars |
| 7:00 – 10:00 AM | Coffee and breakfast items available for purchase |
| 9:30 – 12:00 PM | Judging |
| 10:00 – 4:00 PM | Bars stocked with variety of beers & wine for purchase* |
| 11:30 – 1:00 PM | Lunch available for purchase |
| 2:00 – 3:00 PM | Awards Ceremony |
*please note that food and drinks will only be allowed in designated seated areas. Masks are required throughout the event as per PCA Event Participant Guidelines.
4477 Buccaneer Trail
Amelia Island, FL 32034
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Werks Reunion Amelia Island – May 21
Registration will open on Wednesday March 24, 2021 12:00 PM (EDT).
Porsche owners interested in displaying their vehicles must register in one of two categories:
Porsche Corral — Display your cherished Porsche proudly alongside others in its model type. Corral participants are not considered in judged competition.
Porsche Judged Field — Compete against other owners to take home a Werks Reunion Award. Register early as this category sells out fast!
**please note that there is no spectator parking and all Porsche owners wishing to attend must register and park in the Porsche Corral.
The link for registration will be available here on Motorsportreg.com. Registration for this event is fully refundable.
Virtual Car Show – Starts March 15
You asked for it and we’re happy to bring it back! With the current climate still postponing or cancelling most large events we all have been looking forward to,
we have brought back our Virtual Car Show that you can enter from the comfort of your own home!
The 2021 Pelican Parts Virtual Car Show is live and open to submissions!
With Spring right around the corner and Winter projects being close to finished we would love to see what you have been working on or have you showcase Show Car after a long Winter.
This years Virtual Car Show is looking to be bigger and better with even more fun categories and even more great vendors on board!
Timing:
• Submissions Open: March 15, 2021 – April 5, 2021
• Judging: April 6, 2021 – April 13, 2021
• Public Vote: April 14, 2021 – April 28, 2021
• Winners Announcement: Week of May 3rd 2021
Pelican Parts Virtual Car Show
Cars and Coffee
Unfortunately, still no Cars and Coffee this month. Many of us have gotten our Covid shots. So, it won’t be long before we are able to get together again. Keep an eye out for the next Cars and Coffee.
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Board Meeting
You are invited to our quarterly Board of Directors Meeting coming up on April 14, 2021 from 5:30PM to 6:30PM. Because of the Covid-19 virus, this meeting will be held as a Zoom Meeting. If you want to participate, email Reid Kuder at president@brr-pca.org.
ALL MEMBERS NEW AND OLD ARE WELCOME!
Social Meeting
Due to the Covid virus, we are temporarily curtailing our monthly Social Meetings. We will advise you when and where they will resume.
Your Next Porsche
1997 Porsche 911 GT1 Evolution 993-GT1-004 – sold for $1,265,000 Factory Entry at the 1997 24 Hours of Le Mans. Raced in Two FIA GT Championship Events with a 3rd Overall at Laguna Seca. Retained by Porsche AG for Use in Tire Development. Successfully Campaigned in the Canada GT Cup Challenge. Presented in Original Mobil 1/Warsteiner Le Mans Livery. Offered with Extensive Spares Collection Including a GT1 Customer Engine. Auction Source: The Amelia Island Auction 2012 by Gooding & Company
Or this little beauty can be yours
Racing
After just three days, 2021 pre-season Formula 1 testing is over – and despite the carryover cars, the picture is far from what would’ve been expected.
Our F1 writers have ranked the 10 teams based on our assessment of who’s really fastest and slowest when the headline times are adjusted for fuel loads, tyre compounds and track conditions.
A SAD Week for the Women
Sabine Schmit famed European driver passes away at age 51 from cancer.
Sebring
It is Sunday evening. I got all my work done, and I am upstairs, catching up. I read a chapter in my book and then switched on the recording on Sebring.
I watched the beginning yesterday. BORING I love racing but this was a real drag. After an hour, I switched it off and watched golf. Much more exciting.
So, today I have a few minutes before dinner. I might as well watch the ending. GTLM is the sports car class. Yesterday, I saw the new plastic pig Corvettes with their anniversary gray colors. One hell of a car. Clearly they will win it all. But BMW has some hot M8s this year. Some completion. Porsche has a lonely entry. They could not be bothered to bring their 911 and 912 race cars. Did not make Daytona 24 either. But I guess a few factory drivers showed up to help the Weathertech car. So, catching up, I see that one of the Corvettes is struggling. The Porsche is up there but the other Corvette and the BMWs are killing it. Suddenly there is a fire in the pits. It is the leading BMW. Massive flames. They scramble to put out the flames. Meanwhile the drivers are calmly changing out. Flames are out but they lose 2-3 minutes and drop from first to fourth place. Likely out of the running.Now we are down to the last 3 minutes. The remaining Corvette is in the lead. But the other BMW M-8 is right behind. The Porsche is back 10 seconds or so. Coming into #17 corner, the BMW makes a stupid move inside and hits the Corvette. It spins in front of the BMW who pushes him off and jumps into the lead. In the confusion, the Porsche is bumped but holds his line. The Corvette, leading a minute ago, falls to a distant 3rd. The Porsche is in the lead. But the BMW is right behind and pressing (this guy has to be on drugs). AND THEN, with 2 laps to go, the BMW gets a DRIVE THRU penalty.
The Porsche wins!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Another beer for Pete.Also Porsche won the other class. Good day for the home team.
Newsletter
We have a new edition of Blau Rain produced by our hard working webmaster, Dave Hogan.Click Here to see it!
Facebook
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BRR-PCA Facebook
Story
Well, there is much to do still. I mentioned our electrical problems last month. The generator on a Bugatti is on the front. When Scott was in England prior to this race, he had encountered problems with the generator. Over the last 75 years, the generator was pretty worn and it was decided to fabricate an alternator onto the car as an interim repair. So, it was mounted on a special bracket under the car running off of the drive shaft. To fabricate a pulley, an aluminum pulley was used that typically used to drive a speedometer cable. Unfortunately the drag of the alternator spun the pulley and skinned a lot of the inside where it clamped onto the drive shaft. As the pulley has no clamping force, we were puzzled as to how to make a repair. I thought, “Now how would Kurt Mickelwait, my old friend from Potomac Region who could fix anything do this?” We decided to take a coke can and cut 4” strips and used them to shim the inside of the pulley. We then used some gasket cement to bond this together and tightened it onto the drive shaft. We let it harden. Several hours later we tried it out. It lasted about 30 seconds before it spun again. Guess, I’m no Kurt! (Some of you may already know that). Eventually we would later have a track mechanic fabricate it running directly off the drive shaft. We also converted the car back from electronic ignition to points and breaker. This had the net effect of reducing our dependence on charging and we were able to run off the battery for the night session.
We also had a problem with fouling plugs. It was minor and we could not establish a pattern. The Bugatti has a distributor advance lever on the steering column. When you were starting, you had to manually retard the car then when it was going, you would push it down to get it to run smoothly. As you drove on the track, you would adjust it slightly to get the best running position. That could make a big difference in your top speed.
Our plan was for Scott to start the race. I was going to take the second leg of that session. Scott would start the night session and Charles would anchor him for that one. Then Scott would run the final session by himself.
Four O’clock was coming up and we were all ready. The race was spread over 24 hours. Each of the six groups would run in sequence. The 1920-1937 group cars would start the event. Because a Le Mans running start was used during the time periods of the cars for the first four groups, each of these groups would come around the track and back their cars at an angle in front of the grand stand. Then the drivers would go to the other side of the track and wait for a command, then run to their cars, jump in, fire them up and drive out onto the track. (The Le Mans running start was stopped in the 1970s because of the danger). For the race, the cars would then be collected up at the first chicane and then brought around with a pace car and restarted.
LeMans StartSo, at the appointed time, Scott got into the car and drove around to the starting position. We lined the pit wall adjacent to him. Sixty-six cars lined up. We were gridded about ¾ of the way back. Drivers stood on the other side of the track. The stands were full of people. Margaret and the other wives were up in the stands with the cameras. The announcers introduced the event, in French of course. I stood ready leaning on the pit wall in my driver’s suit, holding my helmet. The flag dropped. Scott and the other drivers raced to their cars. Scott was one of the first out as the Bugatti fired right up. The noise was fearsome. Fans were cheering. Flags were waving. He zipped past about ten cars as he pulled out in a great start, up the hill, trailed by a cloud of smoke and out of sight as they rounded the end of the pits. A tremendous start! I walked back to the pit garage where Scott and I would swap positions in about 20 minutes. My knees felt weak. Concentrate, Pete. Don’t pass out. You can do this!
The Start
The cars roared around. The leaders started appearing at about 8 minutes. We figured Scott to appear just about now. No Scott. Nine minutes, ten minutes. Then there he was, coming down pit lane. I put on my helmet. Perhaps I was going in early. No! The car was smoking. I pulled my helmet off and joined the others as we rushed to find out what was wrong.
“The clutch”, shouted Scott. Sure enough that was where the smoke was coming from. Apparently in all the noise and confusion of the start, the clutch was slipping and Scott could not hear it. Now it was over-heated and the car could barely move. One of the mechanics jumped underneath, pulled off the cover plate and did a quick adjustment. In five minutes Scott was back out on the track. I returned to my vigil and waited. Eight minutes came and went. Then nine. Then ten. After about fifteen minutes, my heart was in my shoes. No Bugatti. Then we heard the announcement. ‘La voiture d’Ebert, Ebert, et Kauffman, est arretee′ sur la voie de course.” Later, they brought the car back in. Scott had only made it part way around. The clutch would not hold.
Margaret and the others joined us in the pits. She had the video of the event. I was going to rewind it in case we made it out again when she stopped me. “Pete“, she said sweetly. “Don’t erase it. It may be the only time you ever hear your name announced at Le Mans!”
Between races we were able to properly adjust the clutch and we were good to go for the night session. The pressure of winning was no longer there. We were here for fun now. We got the lights working off the battery and figured that we would have enough power for the 45 minute night session, barely. I could imagine driving at night with the lights getting dimmer and dimmer. I can barely see during the day. I began to worry.
Charles was a pilot for Northwestern. I was sure he could see at night. Perhaps it was better to let him take that session and I will drive the next morning.
Next Week – My Drive
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AND OF COURSE
A Porsche Gone Bad
Firstly
1973 Porsche 914
F1’s first safety car appeared in 1973 at a rain-soaked Canadian Grand Prix when Eppie Wietzes caused chaos by placing his Porsche 914 ahead of the wrong driver, allowing multiple other cars to gain time.
And last,
Porsche Racing Simulators. Ever wonder about how the big time simulators work and who uses them? Watch Here
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