2009 Autocross #5

A ragged start to the day as GWS AX guru Joe Wozney was not feeling well and had to leave before the event got under way. The GWS regulars showed the proper spirit by stepping in to keep the event on schedule. It was a quite a bit more serious than Joe made it out to be, and he ended up hospitalized for several days. Joe's back on the mend, but that was quite a scare.

With 35 registered participants, the field was a little light, and Mike Wirt's “Thrice Minus Twice” course had everyone going in circles – but quickly. Participants seemed eager to volunteer, and course stations were promptly readied for each run group – that made morning practice sessions go very quickly and we were off to lunch shortly after noon. The pace picked up again in the afternoon – workers on station promptly and drivers lining up quickly meant that we finished the timed runs by 3:15, with time to spare for a few fun runs. All in all, a pleasant day even if it did get a little hot during the afternoon.

Debbie Hirtes and her 1967 230SL was back representing the Mercedes-Benz veterans group. Sadly, she ran unopposed (again). It sure would be nice if a few other owners of older Mercedes-Benz models would come out and give Debbie a little competition.

Having stepped in to take Joe's place at the Timing Table, Paul Vandenberg decided not to drive, leaving the 16 valve group consisting of Denise Dersin, Ted Joseph, and Bill Stewart. In a reversal of the trend this year, Bill took first with 55.640, edging Denise by a little more than five hundredths of a second. Ted Joseph wasn't far behind with a best time of 56.625. Both Bill and Denise earned Fastest Time of Day - Denise for the overall Ladies FTD and Bill for the Mercedes-Benz Gentlemens' FTD.

In the six-cylinder class, Jim Smith showed last year's form as he beat Ben Weber by a little more than five tenths of a second - that's Jim's first win of the year and a possible sign that Ben's 300E five-speed may not have as big an advantage as past autocrosses seemed to show. Bill Hopper rounded out the six-cylinder group. In the V8 class, GWS VP John Heflin was off at a wedding leaving Henry and Laurie Harrell to take first and second place respectively. Chris Mazzola and Steve Spector battled it out again in the SLK class, with Steve taking the win – this is a tight contest, with each having two wins and two second place finishes. Jim Glenn was back with his 2003 E55 AMG to take another first place in the AMG group.

In the “Other Marques” Marty Gallagher again took first place with an index time of 44.500. Mike Wirt took second with an index time of 41.954. Howard Leiken took third (and Fastest Time of Day) in his super-nice 1986 Porsche 944 Turbo. In a bit of an upset, the long-absent Brett Hack showed his talent by driving his 1990 Mazda Miata to a solid fourth place finish. Ron Hougham, Pete Gochman, Brad Blase Juan Guzman, and Mike Kallam rounded out the top finishers group. Barrie Gochman, still competing against the guys, ran a respectable 58.216 and had an index time of 49.206.