As we continue to take a look at ‘Behind the Gates’, this month we had the opportunity to reach out and discuss the Intermountain Regional Porsche Club of America with Ed Mineau. A tenant of UMC since 2006, Ed and his program are a great story and a great feature of our Behind the Gates program.
UMC: How long have you been a garage tenant at the Utah Motorsports Campus and what does the Campus provide you to aid in the successful operation of your business?
Ed Mineau: I have been a tenant since 2006. Having a secure storage facility on campus makes participation and support of the track very easy.
UMC: Your company has a large presence trackside and online. How did you get your start, how long have you been involved in motorsports and what are your future plans?
Ed Mineau: I have been involved in Porsche racing in the West since 1993. I have raced with the Porsche Club of America, Porsche Owner’s Club, Miller Park Racing Association, and NASA. I started with a 1988 Porsche 911, but since 1995, I have raced the same Porsche 1979 911 SC. Since I just had the engine rebuilt, I will be racing for several more years.
UMC: Why did you choose UMC as your home base?
Ed Mineau: This is a magnificent facility. I have raced all over the West, including Laguna Seca, as well as Road America, and Circuit of the Americas. The track configuration (especially the full course), physical plant, garages, & Mountain Suites are as good as anything else I have seen and better than most. Of special note is the quality & cleanliness of the bathrooms. The other advantage is that it is only 45 minutes from home, whereas, before Larry Miller built the track, our home track was Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
UMC: For people who do not know much about Ed and the Intermountain Regional Porsche Club of America, can you tell us what you do and where your focus is?
Ed Mineau: IRPCA is a regional club with 1000 members that is part of the Porsche Club of America. The local region has been active for over 60 years. We provide many car-related activities to our members, including socials, car tours, car shows, autocross, High-Performance Driver Education, and Club Racing. We also offer HPDE and autocross to non-members. We have held track events here every year since 2006 when the facility opened, and in fact, were the first organization to schedule an event here (the night Larry Miller announced the track in 2005). We focus on anything Porsche.
UMC: Can you tell us a little about your customer base and your programs?
Ed Mineau: The membership is limited to Porsche owners, so most of the participants come from the club, although our track events attract a number of other cars. We have drivers come from Colorado, Idaho, Wyoming, Arizona, Nevada, and California to participate with us. This year we are holding three autocross events and three HPDE events at UMC.
UMC: Anything else you want to share with our readers?
Ed Mineau: Come out and drive our next HPDE event on June 9 and 10 and watch Porsche Racing. Register for HPDE at http://msreg.com/IRPCA2023-HPDE-2
UMC: Thank you for taking the time to sit down with UMC and all of this information.
Ed Mineau: Thanks for having such a fantastic facility for all car fans to enjoy.