Winter Workshop 2018 – snow, snow and more snow – well, that was the way it was supposed to be for this year’s Winter Workshop Car Control Clinic. We had hoped that having the event in mid-February would at least give us a chance of Mother Nature laying down some snow or at the least, being cold enough to make snow with Lime Rock’s snow-making machine.
One week prior to the event, CT had record temps for February, reaching 60 and 70 degrees, which would normally be great, but when we were hoping for snow, not so great. The temperatures made for a few changes in how we approached our event. With the expertise and guidance from Lime Rock’s Simon Kirkby and Indian Summer Racing’s Travis Washay, we had a great event.

Here’s how it went: We gave the participants the choice to register either with their own car or to pay a little extra to share a rental vehicle. The split was almost 50/50 with half the people bringing their own car (we did not require them to bring their Porsche) and half opting to share the rental cars. We started off the morning with registration, a t-shirt for each driver and a light breakfast. I introduced all of our sponsors and they each spoke for a few minutes to the whole group. With the drivers divided up into four groups, the Car Control Clinic followed.
The weather turned out to be in the mid 40’s with some light precipitation around mid-day. Any regular DE driver knows that we always hope for dry weather, however for this event, the drizzle actually made for some fun and challenging car control situations. Our pro-coaches that we hired set up three different car control cells, all challenging the driver’s vision and reaction times. We had the upper autocross track separated into two different car control exercises. The lower autocross was set-up for the drivers to drive through a set of cones at two separate sections of the course at a speed where they would get the car to transfer the weight side to side, getting the car to over-steer. Then they would have to catch the car from spinning and to say that no one spun, well let’s just say that from the beginning to the end everyone was “getting the feel of it”. The people who opted for a rental vehicle got a VW Golf with slicks up front and worn old tires in the rear, with a really soft suspension. This car was really, really loose with enough body roll that if you were trying to drink a cup of coffee, you would have ended up wearing it before you could get a sip. The participants who had brought their own cars were encouraged to shut of all of their electronic nanny controls and then compare their skills with electronic driver’s aids on and with them off.
At the course on the upper autocross we had two different exercises – the first part of the exercise simulated a high speed corner entry similar to Big Bend where the driver had to approach the corner at speed but then come to a complete stop toward the end of the corner. This concentrated on working on initial breaking into a corner and then trail braking and stopping so as to not spin the car. After mastering the turn and brake exercise, the drivers advanced to braking, trail braking and getting back on the throttle instead of stopping.
The third cell was held in B Paddock where we had a ‘vehicle dynamics exercise’. Each driver would go from a standing start and drive in a straight line approximately 150-200 feet to a group of cones set up to simulate someone pulling out in front of you (a car, a person, a ball, whatever) and the driver’s goal was to control the car through the left, then the right and then straighten the car and come to a complete stop. The coaches did not want any brakes being used until after the evasive maneuver was performed. This led into a slalom course that ended promptly with a full on ABS-engaged braking scenario. These two exercises were very relatable to everyday street driving. Besides being very helpful to the drivers, these exercises were entertaining to watch. Two cars in particular were super-fast on the standing start – the Cayman with Launch Control and the Tesla that was just amazingly fast.
When participants were not on one of the three courses they did a track walk of Lime Rock with Simon Kirkby. Simon is always very sharing of the fast way around the track – he knows all the little tricks a driver needs to learn to be even better at LRP. I can’t thank Simon enough for all the work he did in helping us pull off a successful event.
We had some great sponsors at the event showing some of the cool goods and services they have available. Stable Energies came up from New Jersey with a nice display of just some of the many new products they have for sale at their store and online. Their display included seats, harnesses, HANS devices and communication systems. When you are in need of any of those items or a new helmet, gloves or just have a question related to track-related accessories, call on Bob or Laurette or one of their great staff – they will hook you up.

Insurance specialist Will Corr was on hand to talk a little bit about what Hagerty Insurance can do for all of us, from everyday insurance, on-track insurance for DE and declared collector car value for those lucky enough to own a higher value car. His knowledge is a great resource for everyone in the club. Be sure to reach out to Will the next time you are looking for the right policy for your car.
Bobby, from Elm City trailer, had a real nice trailer on display outside, along with some accessories that everyone that has a trailer needs. I hope that everyone that was there got to take a peek at what he had set up. Bobby spoke about the importance on doing maintenance to trailers, at least once per year. When the time comes to have service done or to get that new trailer, be it a small landscaping one, a single enclosed car trailer or even a stacker, Bobby and his great staff are always there to help guide you in your decision making.
Peter from Car Lifts Plus/Lift Line was on hand to talk about the services that his company can provide, from installing a lift to servicing a lift that you already have in your garage. I can’t say enough about how nice it is to have a lift available whenever I want and I encourage any of you with the space in your garage to contact Peter and get one for yourself.
Automobila is a new sponsor for the CVR DE program. They were so busy on the day of our event that they were unable to spare anyone to come up and talk to us but I gave a brief overview of everything their company offers for a complete line of car protection (protective film, ceramic paint coatings and a one day track apply and peel-off mask). If you have any questions, Christian and Alex are always ready to help with your car protection needs, so give them a call.
Danbury Porsche and their truly amazing team went out of their way in setting us up with two brand new, fully detailed cars to put on display in front of the LRP Chalet. We had a very cool Rhodium Silver Macan with 20”wheels and a Silver Boxster S with two-tone interior. Chris Partelow, the sales manager for Danbury Porsche is always behind the CVR DE program and I am very thankful for his support. Danbury Porsche sponsored the food spread – both breakfast and lunch, so for all of you that enjoyed the food, Danbury Porsche was the one that made you happy. When you are looking for that next Porsche or just have a question, give Chris or one of his sales ambassadors a call – they are ready to help you with that next Porsche purchase you may need (want).
Look for Danbury Porsche at this year’s LRP Club Race – they will have a multitude of cars on display and there will be an opportunity to sign up to drive one of the cars around the LRP track during the lunchtime tour. It will be a great opportunity to try out that Boxster S or Panamera you’ve been thinking of buying and getting to do that drive on the historical LRP track. The on-track driving will be offered on a first-come basis and will take place at lunchtime, on both Friday and Saturday. You must register and sign the waiver at the Danbury Porsche Car Corral tent before 11 a.m. the morning of the drive.
I also must thank the owner of the Dunkin Donuts in Danbury (and surrounding towns) for the generous donation of donuts and bagels. This is the second year in a row that Dunkin Donuts has been part of our Winter Workshop.
This was the first time the CVR DE Winter Workshop put on a car control clinic of this type. From the feedback received, I think that most everyone had a great time and learned something new. Since this was so successful, we hope to continue bringing the DE program more educational control-type workshops in the future. CVR DE thanks all of our great sponsors and our friends at Lime Rock Park for their support in putting on this Car Control event – Ryan, Mike, Jen and the entire maintenance staff who had to shuffle all the chairs and tables and get the water flowing in the building. And of course, huge thanks to Simon Kirkby for his help with creating a curriculum that all would enjoy and for enlisting Bob Green to help run one of the exercises.
See you at the track – our first DE of the season is on April 9th at LRP.
Dave