Porsche Club of America - Upper Canada Region: 35th Anniversary September 2011
Upper Canada Region Porsche Club of America
Bob Carmichael
Stan Carmichael
Yarko Matkiwsky
Tim Sanderson
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Northwest Atlantic Targa Newfoundland 2011 Northwest Atlantic Motorsports - Targa Test
Northwest Atlantic Targa Newfoundland 2011 Northwest Atlantic Motorsports - Targa Test
Northwest Atlantic Motorsports - Targa Test
Fourth in a Series.
Because we have made many changes to the car, we decided that we should test the car before we leave for Targa Newfoundland. Fortunately, there was a Driver Education event at Shannonville on August 27 & 28. A quick phone call to our Chief Instructor, Stephen Goodbody and explaining what we wanted to do. We didn’t want to interfere too much with the event and it meant that Tim and I would need less duties to give us the time in the car. Stephen kindly agreed that we could test the car at Shannonville, assigned Tim and I to IDS on Saturday and one student on Sunday. We would have five sessions to test the car, one session on Saturday afternoon, four on Sunday.
In addition to testing the car, we wanted the opportunity for Yarko and Bob to work together on the car before we got to Newfoundland. They will have enough to absorb and do when they get there, their first service stop should not be a learning experience.
The entire Northwest Atlantic Motorsports team was present at Shannonville, we would shake down the car and the crew in one weekend. Since we had made many changes to the car’s suspension, Saturday afternoon, Tim and I drove the car in the final session to get a feel for what was a new car. Sunday, we began to test the set-up and then tune it so Tim could drive it hard, with confidence in Newfoundland.
When we arrived at Shannonville, we got an unexpected surprise. Glen Clarke, multiple Targa competitor and 2006 overall champion arrived in the paddock. He declared he was there for us this weekend. Glen was a great help, working with Yarko and Bob on our suspension testing and helped them prepare for their roles at Targa. This left Tim and I free to concentrate on learning to drive the car. Thank you Glen.
Sunday we performed a shock sweep. Our crew set the dampers to nine different combinations and we took the car out for one lap of Shannonville on each setting, pitted and reported our impressions to Glen. While we talked to Glen, Yarko and Bob changed the suspension settings, then we did another lap. It took both morning sessions to complete the first part of our test.
After our lunch break, the crew set the car up, using Tim and my comments and their experience, to a setting they thought would be close to optimal. We fine-tuned that setting during the third session of the day and, after a few tweaks, arrived at our final car set-up for Targa. For the final session of our test, we mounted the tires we would run in Newfoundland and did a few laps to get a feel for them.
During the weekend, we also completed our ‘to do’ lists, car preparation, crew preparation, spares, tools and logistics. Everything has to be checked and re-checked until we are satisfied we are prepared for the challenges that lay ahead.
So there it is, the final chapter in the story of how we prepared for the 10th annual Targa Newfoundland. The crew appears to be ready, the car appears to be ready. All that remains is that we start our journey. A journey that will take us 3,000km from home then 2,200km around eastern Newfoundland where we will test ourselves against some of the best tarmac rally teams in the world, for five long days.
In addition to testing the car, we wanted the opportunity for Yarko and Bob to work together on the car before we got to Newfoundland. They will have enough to absorb and do when they get there, their first service stop should not be a learning experience.
The entire Northwest Atlantic Motorsports team was present at Shannonville, we would shake down the car and the crew in one weekend. Since we had made many changes to the car’s suspension, Saturday afternoon, Tim and I drove the car in the final session to get a feel for what was a new car. Sunday, we began to test the set-up and then tune it so Tim could drive it hard, with confidence in Newfoundland.
When we arrived at Shannonville, we got an unexpected surprise. Glen Clarke, multiple Targa competitor and 2006 overall champion arrived in the paddock. He declared he was there for us this weekend. Glen was a great help, working with Yarko and Bob on our suspension testing and helped them prepare for their roles at Targa. This left Tim and I free to concentrate on learning to drive the car. Thank you Glen.
Sunday we performed a shock sweep. Our crew set the dampers to nine different combinations and we took the car out for one lap of Shannonville on each setting, pitted and reported our impressions to Glen. While we talked to Glen, Yarko and Bob changed the suspension settings, then we did another lap. It took both morning sessions to complete the first part of our test.
After our lunch break, the crew set the car up, using Tim and my comments and their experience, to a setting they thought would be close to optimal. We fine-tuned that setting during the third session of the day and, after a few tweaks, arrived at our final car set-up for Targa. For the final session of our test, we mounted the tires we would run in Newfoundland and did a few laps to get a feel for them.
During the weekend, we also completed our ‘to do’ lists, car preparation, crew preparation, spares, tools and logistics. Everything has to be checked and re-checked until we are satisfied we are prepared for the challenges that lay ahead.
So there it is, the final chapter in the story of how we prepared for the 10th annual Targa Newfoundland. The crew appears to be ready, the car appears to be ready. All that remains is that we start our journey. A journey that will take us 3,000km from home then 2,200km around eastern Newfoundland where we will test ourselves against some of the best tarmac rally teams in the world, for five long days.