CVR DE was back at it with our first event of the 2021 season – our annual Winter Workshop Car Control Clinic at LRP was held on Saturday, February 27th. Every year we hope to have snow coverage on the courses that are set up for the participants and this year’s conditions looked really good up until about four days prior to the event. Temps climbed and the rain was a major threat for the day of the event. On Tuesday, I went up to check out the track and there was snow still covering B paddock and there was some coverage on the two upper courses.
As the temps got into the 40’s for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, and with heavy rain predicted for Saturday it looked like we would only have wet track surfaces to work with. I’m not saying that rain isn’t good for learning car control, but snow is the real challenge. And it’s fun as well. As it turned out, we left our home in Danbury on Saturday morning, with snow covering the truck and driveway, and things looked promising. As we drove to LRP it snowed for most of the ride up and when we arrived at the track we were happy to see snow coverage on all of the surfaces. It was nice and slippery, including walking to the Chalet, with the boxes of food and t-shirts to be handed out.
We got all of the participants through registration and breakfast as quickly as we could so that we could get right into a driver’s meeting to discuss the safety rules, and then another meeting to describe how the event was going to play out. We wasted no time getting the three groups out onto the three courses, not knowing how the weather was going to be for the rest of the day. Travis, owner of Indian Summer Racing, along with his two instructors were in charge of the courses and the schedule for the day. We also had help from CVR’s good friend Bob Green (SurviveTheDrive.org and Green Works B&B).
Travis had a car control curriculum planned for each of the courses they had set up. The three courses all had some snow coverage, giving the participants the opportunity to learn what their car would do in extremely slippery conditions, in a controlled environment. As the day went on, the snow turned to icy rain and then plain rain which made for even more sideways driving. And shortly before the event came to an end, the weather cleared. We were so glad we had the bad weather during the event.
Everyone was encouraged to test their skills and their car’s capabilities with the electronic nannies off. It is always amazing to realize how good the nannies work. We had two LRP tow trucks on duty, plus tow straps that Travis and I had brought with us (just in case). We used the straps and the tow trucks throughout the day as many drivers slid off and got stuck in the snow on the side of the courses. It was great for the drivers to test the limits of their car with no fear of hurting their car. There was nothing to hit so the worst that could happen was that a car would have no traction in the snow and would have to be pulled out. For many drivers, this was their first tow, ever!
We took a lunch break at noon and everyone enjoyed a bagged lunch (no buffet allowed due to Covid-19), while talking about their morning, the fun they had, and what they were hoping to accomplish during the afternoon sessions.
As the participants were relaxing (driving at the Car Control Clinic is hard work!), Travis was outside changing up everything. The two upper courses were combined into one giant course. While the morning sessions had the drivers going clockwise, he set it up so that the drivers went counter-clockwise for the afternoon. On the lower course, in B paddock, Travis moved several corners over to fresh snow and also had LRP plow off some areas to smooth out some of the ice bumps. Each driver got to drive through the lower circuit twice, exit out and then line up to go again. With several drivers out on the course at the same time, spaced way apart, the drivers had tons of run-throughs on the course. It was fun to drive and it was fun to watch the other drivers sliding their cars in the curves.
Thanks to CVR Club Photographer Bob Reinckens for coming to LRP to stand outside in the cold, wet conditions to take pictures. He will be posting the pictures (or maybe the photos are already up) on Challenge (CVR’s digital monthly magazine). Take a look – he takes great pictures.
We would like to thank our sponsors for their continued support. Danbury Porsche has been a long-time sponsor of our DE Winter Workshop. This is the first year in a long time that they were not able to provide us with a car to put on display – their salesmen are so busy they didn’t have a spare dealer plate to tie up on a Saturday. Congratulations to Chris Partelow and his sales team for all of their success at Danbury Porsche. We appreciate everything they do for our DE program.
Our five shops continue to support our events, both in the Winter and during the rest of the season on track: Speedsport Tuning, Musante Motorsports, Automobile Associates of Canton, Daniel Jacobs LLC and our newest shop, European Performance Specialists (EPSsport.com). We also have to thank Hagerty Insurance for always saying “yes” to our Winter Workshop. Hagerty sent up their rep Victoria to hand out a free hat to anyone that wanted one. In the small world that we live in, we’ve known Victoria since she was very young because her dad John has been a long-time CVR DE member. Also, thanks to Bobby at Elm City Trailer – he always comes to our Winter Workshop and also to some of our DE Track events. He’s your go-to-guy for a new trailer or for service on your old trailer. Final thanks go to Dunkin Donuts on Hayestown Ave. in Danbury. They have always very generously said “yes” to donating donuts, muffins and bagels for our Winter Workshop breakfasts.
Indian Summer Racing along with Bob Green (Skip Barber instructor) put on a terrific event. I can confidently say that everyone had a great time. If you haven’t tried the Winter Workshop Car Control Clinic, it’s something you should plan for next year. We accept all cars – this year, besides all of the Porsche models, we had Audis, BMWs, Subarus and VWs. Every year we sell out the event, just because it’s plain fun. With such a great turn-out for the Workshop, we hope this is a sign of good things ahead for CVR’s 2021 DE.
Registration for our Solo events in April opens next week. See you at the track. And remember, your helmet must be Snell 2015 or newer (PCA rules).
Dave
Want more photos? Check out the 2021 DE gallery here.
