by Dean Chapman, Northern New Jersey Region PCA

Congratulations – Welcome to Installment 11!

You have found yourself on the pole position at the Dean’s List!

The Dean’s List is the place for me to ask questions of fellow PCA Sim Racing competitors, hopefully gleaning tidbits of information about their likes, dislikes, and equipment.

Hello again, here we are in the midst of Series 7. The PCA SIM racer membership has been growing at a fast clip. So i thought it’d be great to say hello to some of our newbs. To keep them company in this installment, we have Donald Lee Binkley, who would care for them and nurture their tiny spirits to help them grow into responsible ZERO incident racers!

Obviously, as you can see on the track, JR Gregory has sprung to life. From his early days racing- from his 1930’s upholstered armchair to his elevation up the ranks and his newly found lust for all the gadgets and gizmos that make the immersion so sweat-inducing… Our other rookies are Martin Gibbins and Chris Saari both capable of driving irl some powerful drool-worthy machinery…watch out!

so without further flim flam or wafflery from me,  we’ll set off with our eyes on the entry, the apex and the exit…..

Donald “Lee” Binkley, Preferring to be called Lee. Musik-Stadt region. Pleasant View, TN. 1979 930, 2016 Macan Turbo

J.R Gregory, Oregon Region. A 924 fanatic, He owned a 924 Turbo for many years. “It carried us all up and down the west coast to Porsche Parade San Diego, Joshua Tree, Sears Point, Laguna Seca, all without a hitch. I have a 924S race car, and since selling my 931 I am close to finishing a 924S with 951 driveline, brakes & suspension.”





Martin Gibbins, RTR Region 2, 2019 GT3RS Weissach

Chris Saari, Golden Gate PCA Region. GT3 Touring

And now, the questions!


“What is your favorite car-specific movie or documentary?”

Lee Binkley, “Le Mans, Rush.”

J.R Gregory, Truth in 24 II – nothing gets me going like endurance racing. I have been lucky enough to drive at night at a couple of enduros (my first W2W racing was at a “Chump Car” enduro in a 944), and there is absolutely nothing like being rousted out of your tent at 3 AM and stuffed into a race car. Awesome!

Martin Gibbins, Original Italian Job.

Chris Saari, “‘Cannonball Run holds a special place in my heart, as does The Gumball Rally which I only learned of much later in life.”


“What is your favorite movie with a car featured? (i.e action scenes: James Bond, Baby Driver, 6 Underground, Mission Impossible, Bullitt, etc.)”

Lee Binkley, Bullitt! as my first car was a Mustang.”

J.R Gregory, LeMans.

Chris Saari, The driving in Ronin always has it at the top of my favorites list. For the car itself, the submarine Lotus Esprit is a fond early memory, but the TVR Tuscan in Swordfish is a car I really wish made it into the states.”


“What equipment do you use for your Rig? (Be as specific or brief as you like)”

Lee Binkley, Amd, HTC Vive VR, G 27 wheel, V3 pedals, 8020 rig, VW Passat seat. Looking to upgrade my GPU, VR, and add a DD wheel.”

J.R Gregory, I7-2600k, Sandy Bridge, rx5700xt, Logitech G27, crappy old desk chair, and 30” QHD Monitor.

Martin Gibbins, Logitec G29 with a single screen bolted to a table.


“If you could, what Car would you like to drive? (Any era, any value)”

Lee Binkley, “If I’m dreaming, 917.”

J.R Gregory, RS Spyder.”

Martin Gibbins, Porsche 959 S.”

Chris Saari, I love the sound of the various Ferrari 250 V12s, but they’re all so valuable I’d be worried about driving one of them the way it should be done. Maybe one of the high-quality replicas so if I miss a shift it isn’t such a dramatic loss.


“What’s your favorite non-Porsche iRacing car?”

Lee Binkley, I actually enjoy most all the cars in iRacing. Some are more difficult and certainly take more practice time than others.”

J.R Gregory, MX5

Martin Gibbins, “Williams F1.”

Chris Saari, “I’ve only spent time in the Miata outside of P cars in iRacing”


“What’s your favorite iRacing Porsche?”

J.R Gregory, “Porsche 911 GT3 RSR.”

Martin Gibbins, “Porsche 911 GT3 RSR.”

Chris Saari, “Modern 911 R as it feels like my GT3.”


“Do you have a favorite iRacing circuit?”

Lee Binkley, Daytona, Road America.”

J.R Gregory, Nordschleife.

Martin Gibbins, Lime Rock.”

Chris Saari, “Laguna Seca is my home track in real life, so I feel most comfortable there in iRacing too.”


“Shoes, socks, or slippers when you drive your rig?”

Lee Binkley, Puma speed cats. As recommended by Jim Huth.”

J.R Gregory, Au natural.

Martin Gibbins, Shoes.”

Chris Saari, “Driving sneakers until recently when I’ve been trying out socks”


“Gloves (what brand?), au-natural, or …mittens??  when you drive your rig??”

Lee Binkley, I don’t wear gloves. Maybe when I upgrade to a DD wheel.

J.R Gregory, Au natural.”

Martin Gibbins, “Au natural.”

Chris Saari, “Au natural.”


“How long have you SIM raced?”

Lee Binkley, My first sim was NASCAR 2003 but for a limited time. I have been sim racing regularly for approximately 5 years.

J.R Gregory, Since the release of Atari’s “Night Driver” in 1976.”

Martin Gibbins, I’m a newbie.

Chris Saari, I tried it briefly when iRacing first came out but couldn’t get into it. Only back in with more effort in the last year.


“Is there another SIM car race platform you’ve tried? (Like?)”

Lee Binkley, since joining iRacing, I haven’t tried any other sim.”

J.R Gregory, I love GT Legends, and hope that iRacing will bring it back like they did Grand Prix Legends.”

Martin Gibbins, I loved the old PC F1 games by Geoff Crammond.”

Chris Saari, Assetto Corsa is fun too, but I haven’t been racing in it, just practicing tracks.”


“What are your most used Steering Wheel Hot Keys (mapped buttons)?”

Lee Binkley, I’ve got Radio communication, pit speed limiter, brake bias adjustment, and a VR recenter button on my wheel. Nothing like going along and suddenly be driving from the roof or floor pan!

J.R Gregory, “Flashlights.” (…..tee hee hee! DC)

Martin Gibbins, Still figuring out how to set up.”

Chris Saari, I’m very old school in the cars I drive and how I drive them… the only mapped button is pushed to talk for PCA! I like my real cars with no buttons on the steering wheel and so far I’m treating sim racing the same way. Yes, I know that makes life harder.”


“Do you follow any Car related websites? Blogs? YouTube Channels / Twitch? Etc..please share with us.”

Lee Binkley, “I follow more automotive-related sites than I can keep up with. Most are Porsche car-related. PCA. Jeff Zwart, Magnus Walker, many others on Instagram. And of course, Jakester Racing, live on Twitch!

Martin Gibbins, “Smoking Tire, The Parc Ferme and Chris Harris”

Chris Saari, “Autoblog, and on Youtube; pcasimracing, Harry’s garage, Tavarish, Bernal Dads Racing, Carfection, Curated TV, Driver61, EverydayDriver, Garage Time – DIY Porsche Restoration, Home Built By Jeff, Magnus Walker, Mr. JWW, Nick Murray, etc.”   (that’s some good intel! DC)


“What’s your favorite tipple (drink)?”

Lee Binkley, I’m a teetotaler but consume way too much diet soda. Enjoy bottled water while in sim.

J.R Gregory, Athletic Brewing Co IPA (non-alcoholic).”

Martin Gibbins, Single Malt Scotch – Anything from Speyside.”

Chris Saari, “Manhattan.


“Given a few hours locked away, what would you prefer to watch…”

Lee Binkley, Most of my early life was spent watching NASCAR. But my interest has transitioned towards all types of racing.”

J.R Gregory, IMSA Endurance.”

Martin Gibbins, F1 all day, grew up to WRC in the ’70s and ’80s, love going back and watching the crazy group B days.”

Chris Saari, I prefer to spend time driving IRL or in the sim over watching it.


“Does SIM racing ’scratch your itch’ for car racing? or would you always prefer to race in real life?”

Lee Binkley, PCA sim racing does a good job of satisfying my racing habit. Except for an occasional autocross, I have limited time and resources for track events!

J.R Gregory, I am 56 years old, without a team to help me. I like the track, but the ease of hopping on the sim is doing a great job of scratching that itch these days without the physical labor.

Martin Gibbins, There is no substitute for real racing, but iRacing is brilliant.

Chris Saari, I’ve never raced IRL, but have done a bit of track driving. It isn’t the same as actually driving on track, which I definitely prefer and find much easier, but for wheel-to-wheel racing the lower cost and zero risk of the sim is great!


“If you were the boss at iRacing command, what new feature, improvement, race category or class would you make?”

Lee Binkley, “I would like to see iRacing incorporate more AI tracks and cars for practice. Also, include a way to practice specific sections of tracks without making full laps.

J.R Gregory, Incorporate cars from GT Legends.

Chris Saari, “My machine is not slow, but loading a sim isn’t fast. Speeding that up would be nice.”

 

Thank You, Drivers, take care, keep an eye on your relative, stay off the grass and see you out there on the track!

Don’t forget to check out the Tip Jar for more wisdom and general SIM racing good practice …


Read other Dean’s List Installments here!