Archive for category: Autocross

NER’s 2026 Autocross held its second event on Sunday June 21st at Moore Airfield in Ayer – sponsored once again by our friends at SSA European Auto Repair. 60 drivers made the trek to Devens on a sunny Father’s Day to enjoy a day of cone chasing around the runways at Moore field.

 

We had 21 novices registered including two driving Taycans and one in a Tesla. By the end of the day, it was Adler Tuck posting a 68.04 in Dad Chris’s Boxster S  to take first place in the Porsche Novice class and Ryan McCarthy in the Tesla first in the non-Porsche Novice class. Welcome to the regular classes, guys …     

 

Adam Small posted a 66.9 in his 1984 Carrera to take the top spot in Class 1; In Class 3, Ryan Hubert posted a 64.2 managing to beat his Dad Chris as well as Lev Tabenkin driving Chris’s ’99 Boxster. Old friend Jeremy Mazzariello who showed up with his son Adam for the event posted a 63.1 to take Class 4 from perennial winner Mark Skala. Jon Bond in his Cayman GTS blew away the competition in Class 5 by 5 seconds with a 61.7. In Class 6 it was a tight race between Will Koscielny and Dan Quaroni with Will pulling out a win by less that .2 seconds with a 61.264 which was also Porsche FTD. In the non-Porsche Classes, Barrett Niedecker took Class 8 driving his Subaru BRZ with a 64.7 and Ryan Field posted a 59.7 in his Mazda RX8 to take Class 9 and overall FTD for the day.

 

Thanks again to everyone for coming out on Father’s Day to help make a great event and thanks to our sponsor Justin Becker at SSA European Auto Repair. Our next event will be on Sunday August 9th   and registration is open on motorsportreg.com.

NER’s 2026 Season continues on Sunday June 21st  at Moore Airfield in Ayer and will be sponsored again by SSA European Auto Repair (formerly South Shore Autoworks). We hope to see all our regular autocrossers along with any newcomers interested in attending. We welcome all cars, and you do not need to be a PCA member to participate.

For those new to Autocross, it is a safe and accessible introduction to motor sports and a fantastic way to improve on your driving skills both for motorsports and street driving.  It is also a competitive event: the runs are timed and you compete against similar cars in your class at each event. Participants at our autocross events are a dynamic mix of veterans and novices, enjoying what is both a Club social event as well as a friendly competition. Novices can always count on help from the autocross veterans and no one takes it so seriously that it interferes with the spirit of camaraderie. We’ve even implemented a new class for novices this year and will provide an instructor during the event for those that want one. To give you a first-hand look at what to expect, we have a series of excellent “Introduction to Autocross” videos on our website, produced by one of our long-time members Richard Viard. They can be seen on the Autocross page of our website at www.porschenet.com.

Registration is open for all 2026 Autocross events on motorsportreg.com. You must register online for this event by midnight, Thursday June 18th .

Gates will open at 7:00 am. Please do not arrive before that time unless you are part of the setup crew. When you arrive, the check-in crew will ask to see your driver’s license and e-waiver badge on your phone.

Park in the paddock area and empty your car, put your assigned numbers on your car, and get in the tech line with your helmet in the car.

Tech lines will be open from 7:15 to 8:15; Plan to arrive no later than 8:00 to get through Tech before it closes.

You should bring a helmet (Snell 2015 or newer), sunscreen, water and lunch if you did not order it. Loaner helmets are available on a first-come, first-served basis.

The Drivers Meeting will take place near the Control Tent around 8:30 am. 

There will be a course walk after the driver’s meeting; Following the course walk go immediately to your assigned work stations. We will begin runs at about 9:30 am.

We’ll take a short lunch break between the morning and afternoon run sessions. If you ordered lunch when you registered, it will be available for pickup. Soft drinks, snacks, and water will be provided by the Club.

Further event details, including a video series describing how autocross works and what to bring to an event can be found at the autocross section of the NER website at porschenet.com

The cost for the day is $55 for members, $65 for non-members. Lunch can be pre-ordered online when registering.

We look forward to seeing you at this event.  Questions:  contact AX Chair Chris Ryan ([email protected]).  For registration information, contact the AX Registrar Alan Davis ([email protected]).   

 

Directions:  The event will be at Moore Airfield on Route 2A which is separate from the main (former) Army base. The Google maps address is 90 Fitchburg Rd. Ayer MA.     From Rte128 or I-495: Take Route 2 West. Take Exit 38B (Route 111 North) for 2 miles. At the rotary, take Route 2A West toward Ayer. Stay on 2A as it turns right in downtown Ayer.  Follow Route 2A bearing left at the fork by Tiny’s Restaurant. Continue past the Shop & Save market on your left – the entrance gate will be on your left just after the railroad tracks with a sign reading “Welcome to Moore Field”. Enter through the main gate, then look for the “Autocross” sign and bear left up the hill to get to the airfield. Everyone should have signed the e-waivers prior to arriving. At the top of the hill there will be someone to check you in. Please be prepared to show your driver’s license and PCA Membership card if asked.

NER opened its 2026 Autocross Season on Sunday May 17th at Moore Airfield in Ayer – sponsored once again by our friends at Kachel Motor Company. Dave Seavey and Anthony Bitsoli from KMC were on hand to do some cone chasing – it was great to have them come and participate. Overall, we had 45 drivers for the event, allowing for a full course around the airfield which we always enjoy.

We had 11 novices registered including several who had just participated in the 2026 Autocross School on April 11. By the end of the day, it was Jeff Louie driving a 2022 911 C4S taking first place in the Porsche Novice class and Benjamin Do in his 2026 Toyota Supra taking first in the non-Porsche Novice class. Welcome to the big leagues, guys …

In Class 1, featuring the air-cooled cars, we saw Adam Small put up a 70.737 in his 1984 Carrera to take the top spot in Class 1 over Chris Darminio. In Class 2, Luis Rivera in a 2015 Panamera posted a time 82.334 to take the Class. In Class 3, Alan Donkin prevailed over Dan Wright (2nd) and Tony Miniscalco (3rd) with a 72.809. Mark Skala dominated Class 4 with a 66.727 handily beating Chris Ryan and Dan Gramm. Charles Comeau posted a 69.268 to take Class 5 with a win over Jeff Johnson and Ernie Grasso. Krishna Harpanahalli took Class 6 with a 66.375 over Dan Quaroni and Alan Davis. In the upset of the day, KMC driver Dave Seavey posted a 66.328 to take Class 7 and beat both Krishna and Mark Skala! Nice going Dave!

Ryan Cassillo was the winner of Non-Porsche SCCA Street Class 8 with a 66.918 in his2024 BMW M2 and Chris Lindquist topped SCCA Street Prepared Class 9 in his 2023 Toyota Supra with a 66.155.

Full results can be seen on our Live Timing/Archive site by going to https://porschenet.com/ax, scrolling down to the date of Autocross #1 (May 17, 2026), then selecting “Results”.

Thanks again to everyone for coming out to our kick off our 2026 Season and to our sponsor, Kachel Motor Company. Our next event will be on Sunday June 21st   and registration is open on motorsportreg.com.

 

 

NER held its Autocross School early this year – on April 11th. The event was sponsored once again by Conway Autoworks in Hanover, MA. (Thank you, Kenny!) At this year’s event, we mixed things up a bit by inviting a group of drivers and instructors from NER’s HPDE Team led by Tim Canfield to host a car clinic in conjunction with our event. The two groups ran their respective exercises separately during the morning sessions followed by a Pizza lunch provided by the Club. In the afternoon, both groups combined to run a full Autocross Course – putting into practice some of what they had seen during their morning exercises.

This year’s event attracted 32 students at the Autocross School and 16 drivers for the HPDE car control clinic. Both groups had a number of their own experienced drivers on hand to instruct the students.

The Autocross Students had been advised (prior to the event) to watch the 3-part NER Autocross Video produced by Richard Viard (who was one of the instructors attending) to get acquainted with what to expect at an invent and pick up a few tips on driving technique, safety issues, and more. After a brief morning driver’s meeting to cover a few basics on Autocross and Safety, instructors and their students were turned loose to drive the morning exercises.

This year, we set up two comprehensive exercises – a “Figure 8” exercise to help with turning and following a course, a “Clamshell” exercise to practice more braking with turning. A “Slalom” element introducing students to a frequently used autocross element was also integrated into the Figure 8. Students were broken into groups of drivers and course workers and had 45 minutes of driving each exercise allowing plenty of repetitions for each student.

Following a Pizza lunch provided by the Club, we held a brief driver’s meeting before running an actual autocross event for the afternoon.

Students were driven around the course in their own cars by their instructor at a moderate pace to get familiarized with the course and a driving approach. Then, each student was given a chance to do 4 timed runs with their instructor riding along. By the end of the day, there were a lot of smiling faces and a number of students saying they were looking forward to signing up for our first regular event for the season on May 17th.

A look at the posted times for the day shows most of the students managing to improve their times considerably over the course of their four runs showing that they learned something during the day’s activities. Once posted, full results can be seen by going to NER’s Live Timing site at https://porschenet.com/ax, scrolling down to the date of the Autocross School (April 11, 2026), then selecting “Results”.

Thanks again to Kenny Conway at Conway Autoworks for sponsoring the event and hopefully helping to generate some new autocross regulars …

NER’s 2026 Autocross Season kicks off on Sunday  May 17th at Moore Airfield in Ayer and will be sponsored by Kachel Motor Company in Lawrence. As always, we welcome newcomers to the sport as well as veteran Autocrossers, Porsches and non-Porsches are welcome.

For those new to Autocross, it is a safe and accessible introduction to motor sports and a fantastic way to improve on your driving skills both for motorsports and street driving.  It is also a competitive event: the runs are timed and you compete against similar cars in your class at each event. Participants at our autocross events are a dynamic mix of veterans and novices, enjoying what is both a Club social event as well as a friendly competition. Novices can always count on help from the autocross veterans and no one takes it so seriously that it interferes with the spirit of camaraderie. To give you a first-hand look at what to expect, we have a series of excellent “Introduction to Autocross” videos on our website, produced by one of our long-time members Richard Viard. They can be seen on the Autocross page of our website at www.porschenet.com. Registration is open for all 2026 events on motorsportreg.com; click here for event info and registration. For the May 17th event, you must register online by midnight, Friday May 15th .

Gates will open at 7:00 am. Please do not arrive before that time unless you are part of the setup crew. When you arrive, the check-in crew will ask to see your driver’s license and e-waiver badge on your phone.

Park in the paddock area and empty your car, put your assigned numbers on your car, and get in the tech line with your helmet in the car.

Tech lines will be open from 7:15 to 8:15; Plan to arrive no later than 8:00 to get through Tech before it closes.

You should bring a helmet (Snell 2015 or newer), sunscreen, water and lunch if you did not order it. A limited amount of loaner helmets are available on a first-come, first-served basis.

The Drivers Meeting will take place near the Control Tent around 8:30 am. 

There will be a course walk after the driver’s meeting; Following the course walk go immediately to your assigned work stations. We will begin runs at about 9:30 am.

We’ll take a short lunch break between the morning and afternoon run sessions. If you ordered lunch when you registered, it will be available for pickup. Soft drinks, snacks, and water will be provided by the Club.

The cost for the day is $55 for members, $65 for non-members. Lunch can be pre-ordered online when registering.

We look forward to seeing you at this event.  Questions:  contact AX Chair Chris Ryan ([email protected]).  For registration information, contact the AX Registrar Alan Davis ([email protected]).    

 

Directions:  The event will be at Moore Airfield on Route 2A which is separate from the main (former) Army base. The Google maps address is 90 Fitchburg Rd. Ayer MA.     From Rte128 or I-495: Take Route 2 West. Take Exit 38B (Route 111 North) for 2 miles. At the rotary, take Route 2A West toward Ayer. Stay on 2A as it turns right in downtown Ayer.  Follow Route 2A bearing left at the fork by Tiny’s Restaurant. Continue past the Shop & Save market on your left – the entrance gate will be on your left just after the railroad tracks with a sign reading “Welcome to Moore Field”. Enter through the main gate, then look for the “Autocross” sign and bear left up the hill to get to the airfield. Everyone should have signed the e-waivers prior to arriving. At the top of the hill there will be someone to check you in. Please be prepared to show your driver’s license and PCA Membership card if asked.

 

The AUTOCROSS Schedule for 2026 is set – mark your calendars! If you are new to the Club or your Porsche, Autocross is a great way to get introduced to Motorsport activities and meet new friends. Come to Moore Airfield in Ayer to check out our AX Events this year … as a reminder, you don’t have to be a PCA member or drive a Porsche to participate in our events. Eight car clubs run autocross events at the site so sign up and become a part of the Devens Autocross Community today. NER members who are first-timers get a free registration – contact Alan Davis, Autocross Registrar, at [email protected].

Our new sound requirements Moore Airfield have been in place for a couple of years now. For most cars, this has not been an issue, but please do not bring a loud car to our events–you will likely fail the sound measurement and be asked to leave.

Our first event is an Autocross School (April 11th) which is highly recommended for anyone wanting to learn about the sport in a friendly, instructional setting. Participants also receive one free autocross registration. For event dates and other information, click here: https://porschenet.com/activities/autocross/

If you have questions, contact Chris Ryan, Autocross Chair, at [email protected] or Alan Davis at [email protected]

Saturday, April 11th
at Moore Airfield in Ayer (Devens)

(THE Place for AUTOCROSS!)

Sponsored by  CONWAY MOTOR WORKS

The NER Autocross Team will be holding its popular Autocross School at Devens this year on Saturday, April 11th. The format will be similar to prior years with driving exercises held in the morning, followed by lunch (Pizza supplied by NER), with actual timed runs on a full autocross course in the afternoon. We welcome all cars, and you do not need to be a PCA member to participate.

We will be pre-assigning students and instructors again this year, with one instructor assigned to a pair of students for all morning exercises to provide increased instruction and feedback on the students’ driving. 

While attendance at the school is not requisite for attending events during the season, it is highly recommended. Regardless of whether you intend to autocross or not, this is a fabulous introduction to the art of driving at a fraction of the price of most schools of its kind.

You must be a novice to attend this school.  Please don’t sign up expecting a Test n’ Tune.

Autocross allows you to learn car control skills in a safe environment. We are fortunate to enjoy probably one of the best venues in the area (Moore Airfield in Ayer (Devens)). The wide runways and ample open space allow participants to get close to or exceed the performance limits of their cars without risking damage to cars or participants – so you can see what your Porsche feels like when pushed like it was meant to be. The driving skills you’ll learn here are not just useful for autocross events, but also for DE events on the track as well as driving on the street. Plus it’s also a social event – you’ll have the opportunity to meet a friendly group of men and women who enjoy socializing with each other while

having fun with their cars, and working on driving skills together. We hope you’ll come out and give it a try! In the meantime, check out our excellent instructional videos produced by Autocross Team member Richard Viard. They will give you some good ideas on what to expect, how to prepare, etc. On the NER website at porschenet.com, go to “Activities” in the menu banner, then select “Autocross” to get to the Autocross Page. Click on “Autocross School” in the yellow banner and scroll down for the videos.  

Registration: You must register for this event in advance. Registration is currently open online at www.pcaner.motorsportreg.com. We have limited spaces, so register now to insure a spot. You do not have to be a PCA member to register.

Price: $60 (includes a free registration to one NER Autocross Event in 2024)

Eligibility: This event is for novice autocrossers only! To register, you must have participated in less than 5 autocross events in the past two years.  As always, special circumstances may apply, so contact Chris Ryan at [email protected] with questions.

Instructors: You must register for the event on motorsportreg.com as an instructor (you will not be charged) Please be on site at 7:00 AM.

Students: should plan to arrive after 8:00 AM but no later than 8:30.

For event and eligibility questions contact NER Autocross Chair Chris Ryan at [email protected] . For registration/payment issues contact NER Autocross Registrar Alan Davis at [email protected] .

Directions:  The event will be at Moore Airfield on Route 2A which is separate from the main Army base. The Google maps address is 90 Fitchburg Rd. Ayer MA.     From Rte128 or I-495: Take Route 2 West. Take Exit 38B (Route 111 North) for 2 miles. At the rotary, take Route 2A West toward Ayer. Stay on 2A as it turns right in downtown Ayer.  Follow Route 2A bearing left at the fork by Tiny’s Restaurant. Continue past the Shop & Save market on your left – the entrance gate will be on your left just after the railroad tracks with a sign reading “Moore Field”. Enter through the main gate, look for the “Autocross” sign and bear left up the hill to get to the airfield. At the top of the hill there will be someone to check you in, and greet you with instructions.

 

 

NER held its Autocross School again this year on May 4th. The event was sponsored once again by Conway Autoworks in Hanover, MA. (Thank you, Kenny!)

This year’s event attracted 28 students all eager to see what Autocross is all about and to learn more about what they can do with their cars. 18 of our veteran autocrossers came out to instruct and help out with the event. 

We held an abbreviated chalk talk at the beginning of the event, highlighting some of the basics on car dynamics and safety. Students had been advised (prior to the event) to watch the 3-part NER Autocross Video produced by Richard Viard to get some background for the day. Most of the students complied so they had some prep under their belts to start. 

We pre-assigned students and instructors again this year. The morning exercises included a slalom exercise, and offset clamshell exercise, both with a couple of added elements, with one instructor assigned to a pair of students for both exercises to provide increased instruction and feedback on the students’ driving.

The students were assigned to two different run groups with one group driving while the other worked shagging cones along the exercises. By the time we completed the exercises and broke for lunch, everyone was ready to try out their new skills on an actual timed course.

Following a Pizza lunch provided by the Club, we held a brief driver’s meeting before running an actual autocross event for the afternoon.

Students were driven around the course in their own cars by their instructor at a moderate pace to get familiarized with the course and a driving approach. Then, each student was given a chance to do 4 timed runs with their instructor riding along. After the fourth timed student run, we opened things up allowing instructors to drive students’ cars on the course or taking them for rides in their own cars. This opened the students’ eyes as to what they and their cars could be expected to do.

A look at the posted times for the day shows most of the students managing to improve their times considerably over the course of their four runs showing that they learned something during the day’s activities. Full results can be seen by going to NER’s Live Timing site at https://porschenet.com/ax, scrolling down to the date of the Autocross School (May 4, 2024), then selecting  “Results”.

PCA NER Autocross 2022