Winter is a tough time for sports car enthusiasts. Days are short, tires don’t have the grip in the cold that we’re used to, and sand threatens our shiny paint. To compensate we start thinking about the longer days that lay ahead. And so it was that ten members of SNR-PCA met in early March to discuss high performance driving opportunities in Nevada and California.
The meeting covered autocross, PCA driver education, hillclimb and open road racing options in the area. Let’s take a closer look at each of these events.
Local autocross competitions are sponsored by the Reno Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) and are held at nearby Stead Airport. These events are open to non-SCCA members, cars simply need to be in good working order, and speeds are relatively low due to the technical nature of the course which is defined by cones on the airport’s runway. These events are a great low cost way to improve your car control skills.
The next step up is track driving. With increased speeds and costs, these events can be a little intimidating. But the Porsche Club Driver Education (DE) events are a great way to dip your toe into the water. New track drivers get plenty of classroom time before heading out to the track with an instructor. In fact, you can’t get rid of the instructor in your passenger seat until he or she signs off on you. This is very much a good thing as you get a lot of one on one advice. And since most DE event are two days, you can get a lot of instruction over the weekend.
Hillclimbs are races on closed public roads. As the name implies, these roads are uphill. The events are typically held on weekends with Saturday devoted to practice and Sunday to timed competition. Cars always drive the course one at a time. The driver with the lowest time in their class wins. These events are best suited for experienced drivers as there is limited margin of error. We are fortunate to have the popular 5.2 mile Virginia City Hillclimb in our backyard. It is being held September 15-16 this year on the bypass section of NV 341 south of the city.
The majority of the meeting was devoted to discussing one of the least known driving options: open road racing (ORR). Surprisingly few people know that eastern Nevada is the center of the ORR universe with two events annually in May and September. ORR events are held on closed public highways, vary in length from 50 to 90 miles, and drivers compete in speed classes from 95mph to 150mph to finish the course in a certain amount of time.
But ORR is much more that the race itself. These events are just as much social as they are competitive. Typically, the events spans 3-4 days which are filled with car shows, parades, half mile and one mile acceleration competitions, dinners, drivers meetings, and the like. It’s a great opportunity to make new friends, see old ones, and talk cars nonstop.
Much like Porsche DE events, you can’t start ORR until you’ve been qualified. For events organized by the Silver State Challenge Classic (SSCC), this means new participants have to go through rookie school the Thursday before the race. Once this is completed, one is qualified to compete in the Touring Division with a top speed class of 110mph. Drivers can work their way up to faster speed classes as they gain experience.
Race day starts early. Cars are staged by 7am and then proceed through a final safety check. The race starts at 8am with the fastest classes going first at one minute intervals. Since the rules encourage participants to stay close to their target speeds, the one minute starting interval results is very little passing. In fact during my last race, I never even saw another car.
Needless to say, it is great satisfaction to pass by sheriffs and NHP officers at triple digit speeds as they nod approvingly. Much sooner than expected you pass the finish line on your way to the awards banquet in Las Vegas that evening. I can’t think of a more fun legal way to have fun in a car.
Well this just scratches the surface. For more information, please contact Deven Hickingbotham (activities@snv.pca.org) or Doug Driver (competition@snv.pca.org).
