2017 NCR Autocross #5

What do sunshine, fog, burgers, cones and Porches have in common?

On Saturday September 16^th 2017, in the early morning hours, 78 intrepid adventurers from 8 different PCA regions gathered with their Porches at Moore Airfield in Ayer. The purpose of this gathering? To be at one with their machines in the ultimate test of driving skills known as autocross.  The event? The PCA Zone 1 Autocross hosted by North Country Region.

Some drivers extol the virtues of track driving with their Porches, but autocross isn’t simply about going fast – autocross is about learning to handle your car beyond its limits – a test of driving skill at the very limit of grip and beyond.

Every year PCA autocrossers from across the northeast United States (and sometimes Canada) gather in Ayer, MA to pit their skills against the clock and each other at the PCA Zone 1 Autocross. It’s always interesting to see who has improved their skills enough since last year to come out on top (some people choose to upgrade their cars, but it’s rarely the car upgrades that determine who will take home first place).

It’s not just seasoned autocrossers you’ll see on the course at Zone 1, there’s plenty of novice drivers who come along just to have some fun driving around cones and meeting members from other regions. This is a two-day event with your fastest time each day combined for a total time for the event.

Saturday began in the cool sixties and overcast, but by mid-morning the sun was out and heading to the eighties. The main event following the driving was the annual Zone 1 autocross BBQ at the Springfield Suites hotel – where there was plenty of bench racing over beer, wine, burgers, hot dogs and sausage.

After a great first day of driving, NCR region led the standings going into Sunday. Despite a very foggy start to the day, Sunday turned out to be a great day for weather … and for driving. Competition heated up with the weather. Drivers in all classes fought over tenths of a second for the lead in their class.

By the event’s end, NCR’s 17 drivers brought home eight first place finishes (Nigel Fenwick, Lisa Roche, Ollie Lucier, Rachel Baker, Jeremy Mazzariello, Walt Lunsmann, Akira Mochimaru and Graham Mingst) for a perfect max score of 80, five second places, and three third places, holding off NER to retain the Zone 1 Region Challenge trophy!  NCR’s Rachel Baker also collected the Ladies Fastest Time Trophy.  Men’s FTD went to Henry Hoeh.

Congratulations to all the drivers for a fabulous win and to all the volunteers who helped make the event so much fun!  Thanks to Dan Fishkind, Zone 1 Autocross Chair, and Graham Mingst, Zone 1 Autocross Registrar, for organizing this great event and choosing us to host it.  Thanks to Don and Barbara Colburn for putting on the Saturday night BBQ and thanks to Mike Bryan, Zone 1 Representative for making the trip down and getting a first-hand taste or what autocross is all about.