Han Solo, the Kessel Run, and Porsches, what could be better? The AMR Porsche Club found out on Saturday, 5 Aug that not much more could be better! The AMR Autocross at Pikes Peak International Raceway was tremendous fun for 29 drivers who performed 6 runs each of the Kessel Run course. We started off walking the course a couple times, pointing out to the less experienced some of the tricky spots in the course and areas where you should expect you can use your thrusters on full blast. After a short driver’s meeting to go over safety considerations and Autocross rules, we lined up the first set of drivers to hit the course. Most drivers took the approach of easing into the course, making the first run nice and slow to really get a feel for the course. Others pushed the pedal all the way down and came out screaming on the first run.
The first run group blasted through the course. Each driver got 6 runs to try and continually improve their time from run to run. Many drivers took advantage of the certified driving instructors that were onsite to both help them through the course but also give them insight on how to attack the various turns. The first run group set the bar high for the second group, with several drivers setting some very aggressive times.
After the first run group had finished, we took a short break to swap course workers between the run groups. We also re-striped the course to allow the second run group to have a good visual of where the course went as they made their runs. Then the second run group hit the course and took their shot at bettering the times from the morning.
It was great time. We had a large array of different cars, across various models of Porsches but also Subaru WRX, Toyota Scion, Honda S2000, BMW 328, a Datsun 240z (old school!) and others. If you haven’t done an Autocross before, you are highly encouraged to consider one for next year! And, if you have any interest in co-chairing to learn how to organize the event and possibly running an autocross in the future, please contact Tim Drummer (tim.l.drummer@gmail.com).
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