The only thing left on our schedule after the race was the parade lap around the racetrack. This allows family or friends an opportunity to experience the racetrack. Jeffrey rode along and took pictures of the drive. There were a lot of cars on the track and I had to pay attention as we would suddenly slow down. The race car in front of me is valued over $5mil so I really didn't want to rear end him during the parade.
The morning started with qualifying. It's basically a race to determine the starting position of the final race. The Speedster probably had the least amount of power and had the narrowest tires but Thomas was able to gain positions during the qualifications. However as the engine temps got hotter near the end it started to go down on power so he brought the car in early to prevent any damage.
The actual race was after lunch. We started in back and ran until the engine temps started climbing so we left the race early. I stayed out to take some additional photos of the next race group that were of mostly 911s. Thomas was racing his orange 914-6 GT in this much faster grouo. He started in the front row and was leading the race until his car had ignition problems in one cylinder at the last lap and he finished third.
The car went out for two practice runs today. Thomas hadn't driven the Speedster so he took it easy in the first run. The car ran fine but was one of the slower cars. For the afternoon run group we told him to drive it harder. About halfway during the session the engine temps started increasing and it was losing power so he brought the car back early. Qualifying is tomorrow morning. I think Thomas will take it easy for the qualifying and race to preserve the motor.
The downside of a huge event like Rennsport is parking. Crews and drivers have to park outside the pits and take a shuttle to the pits. The race stewards offer a special parking pass for special vintage porsches that allows those cars to park in your pits. We were able to get a pass for the RS so it's now the grocery and coffee getter for the crew. It's was a challenge this morning loading it up at Safeway with a few cases of water, forty pounds of ice, snacks and coffee but it was worth it not having to carry it in.
If you don't like loud noise or the smell of unburned fuel you should never go to a race track. However it's worth if from a visual perspective. Just driving in and seeing all the street and race Porsches was awesome.
It was busy in the pits with all the race teams getting their cars out of the trailers and setting up the pits. Terry and Brett had our pit area set up when I arrived on Thursday. It was uncomfortably hot during the last couple hours of my drive down so it was nice to hide under the trailer awning and stay cool after the long drive.
Whenever we drive to California we always stop at this store called the Olive Pit. This part of California is full of olive orchards and this store sells lots of styles of olives and oils. My favorite is the Muffuletta salad. I was surprised they were open at 7am so that saves me a stop on the way back home.
There are a set of mountains between southern Oregon and northern California with about 120 miles of changing elevation and curves. I have driven down the I5 corridor many times but never went through that section in the dark. My initial plans were to stop at Medford for the night but with my early departure from Seattle I decided to press on to make a shorter drive the next day.
There was still some daylight when I started the climb out of Ashland Oregon but it got dark fast. Soon it was just the Semi trucks, me and an occasional other car. The light traffic in the mountains was a surprise as it was super congested in Portland and then there was a steady stream of cars till Medford. It was really dark when I was going between the packs of semis in the mountains.
My RS was optioned with a set of under bumper fog logs and thru the grill driving lights. Combined with the standard headlamps it's an imposing look from the front. Both are pretty rare options so it's also makes the car stand out when it's is on display at a car show. This was the first time that I really appreciated the usefulness of all these lights. The fog lights really lit up the sides of the road and the driving lights increased the viewing distance of the high beams. The 40 year old lighting was better than the new cars today.
I ended up in Corning CA for the night. 640 miles in 10 hours wasn't bad considering the congested traffic in Portland and the left lane hogs afterwards in Oregon.
I was fretting over my departure time for my drive down to the Monterey Bay area. Seattle traffic has been horrible this week due to the Premier of China's visit. Our highways have been closed without advanced warning which has made commuting a challenge. My route takes me by one of his destinations so I wanted to leave before the roads were closed again. Plus I wanted to avoid rush hour traffic in Portland.
I ended up sneaking out of work early. I had a morning meeting at the district hq till noon and just got on the highway instead of going back to school.
I was a little nervous parking the RS at the district offices as the spots are narrow and there are lots of transients in the area. At least it's going to be a nice day for a road trip!
This is my weekend where I will be immersed in Porsches. I'm heading down to Rennsport Reunion 5 at the Laguna Seca racetrack. My 58 Speedster will be racing in Group 2 and driven by Thomas Gruber. Thomas is the co-author of the book Carrera RS which definitive reference book of these cars. The other co-author is Georg Konradsheim who was the previous owner and restored my Carrera RS.
The Speedster will be trucked down and managed on site by Terry at Racecraft. I'm not sure how many other cars Terry will take in the transporter but we should have a nice group in our pits. I'll be driving down in the RS.
