I used to instruct for both the LA and San Diego BMWCCA many years ago, when I had the (then) brand new Z3 Coupe 2.8L. I trained both Karl Assieley and Mike Simanyi when they were first starting out in their //M Coupes as rookies. Before Karl moved back home to Lebanon, SCCA Sports Car magazine had him listed as one of their top picks for Solo II national champ in his class. Mike Simanyi has been national champ a number of times.
I had also been an instructor with the Audi Quattro Clubs, Subaru, and SCCA.
Going way back to the 1st gen Mazda RX7 days, I used to be both friend, and competition for Peter "PD" Cunningham, way before his Realtime Racing team days, and before his days with the PTG BMW racing team. Depending on who you ask, one of us was the better driver, LOL. But if you looked up the results, say the annual NW Indiana Region's Portage Grand Prix (Autox on the city streets, even having a 3 day festival, a queen, parades, etc) which was held for many years before SCCA had to ban street events, I won nearly every year we entered
That same RX7 was also a legend at Blackhawk Farms during time trials. Having headers and a 7" Supertrapp which I would gut to an open megaphone (before the days of db limits), a modified 4bbl carb, and a redline of 9000 rpm, people could hear me anywhere on the track, LOL. At Road America, it would belch out flames when coming down to the famous Turn 5.
But now that I got older, I suck. Argh!
