Dan Cole
David Whitlock
Henry Becker Aniano Arao Marsh Buss
The Tech Guys Greg Hartke Bob Rassa
Henry Becker David Whitlock Porsche Media Gallery Ken Wilmers Ryan Boxler The Tech Guys Marsha Buss
Editor
Henry L. Becker, Jr.
The Chesapeake Region invites you to attend the 55th Annual Chesapeake Challenge! This event has something for EVERY Porsche driver and enthusiast. People get together to look at and show their Porsches while having a fun-filled day of activities, good food, and great company! During the morning Concours event, we will welcome PCA members and their guests to view the cars and socialize for a $5 registration fee.
For over 50 years, Chesapeake Region has invited its members and friends to celebrate the annual Chesapeake Challenge – the oldest running multievent weekend in PCA history. The Challenge quickly became popular among Mid-Atlantic owners, and attendance grew to well over a hundred cars in the ensuing years. The Challenge has moved around Maryland throughout its history.
The 55th Chesapeake Challenge - Sunday, September 15th
This year’s event will be held entirely at Circle D Farm in Woodbine, Maryland. In 1953 Circle D Farm was purchased by the Dowd family and operated as a dairy farm. The family continued to maintain the herd of over 100 cows and milling operations for several years. In 1979 a portion of the land was developed into a summer camp, and eventually, the family began to offer corporate events and weddings.
There will be a continental breakfast (fruit, donuts and coffee) in the morning.
CONCOURS - The day will open with a Concours d’Elegance with cars grouped into Full Concours, Street/Prepared Concours, and Display Only. In addition to the standard class awards, Full Concours cars will compete for the coveted Knowlton P. Long / Lufthansa Trophy, while Street/Prepared cars will
compete for the Chesapeake Cup award. All Concours cars, including the Display Class, will compete for the People’s Choice award.
LUNCH – A picnic lunch will be served in the Circle D picnic area.
GIMMICK RALLY - After lunch, a Gimmick Rally will be held featuring a scenic and delightful route created by Rich Ehrlich, made even more enjoyable and satisfying by clever gimmicks. Individual 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place trophies will be awarded to the topperforming drivers and navigators.
TECH QUIZ - Upon your return, we will participate in a Tech quiz prepared by our illustrious Tech Team, testing your Porsche knowledge. The quiz is intended to be FUN and a learning experience. It is multiple choice, so anyone is likely to win! All attendees are encouraged to participate in the Tech Quiz. Even the best multiple-choice guessers have been known to win a trophy or two!
DINNER - The final event of the day is the Awards Dinner. Following dinner, we will have the awards ceremony.
SILENT AUCTION - There will be a silent auction of Porsche / car enthusiast items held throughout the day to raise money for Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter (BARCS). When you register please sign up to donate items to be auctioned off the charity. Be ready to bid on the many terrific items available at the auction table to support BARCS!
Knowlton P. Long / Lufthansa Award - For the attendee that scores the best in all three events, Full Concours, Gimmick Rally, and Tech Quiz, they will be awarded the coveted Knowlton P. Long Award. Their name will be placed on the trophy, and they will receive an elite take-home trophy in honor of their accomplishment!
Chesapeake Cup Award - For the attendee that scores the best in all three events, Street/Prepared Concours, Gimmick Rally, and Tech Quiz, they will be awarded the Chesapeake Cup Award. They will receive a takehome trophy in honor of their accomplishment! So come and join us for a fun-filled day of Porsches and people. All of your favorite cars and friends will be there, and so should you!
It’s not just the cars, it’s the people.
WHEN Sunday, September 5, 2024, Event Sign-
In Table to open at 30 A WHERE Circle D Farm, 5535 Carrs Mill Road, Woodbine, MD 2 9
Schedule
30 AM -- Event opens for sign-in, continental breakfast & Concours Preparatio
9 00 - 30 -- Concours judging
30 - 00 -- Lunc
00 - 4 00 -- Gimmick Rally
4 00 - 4 30 -- Tech Quiz
4 00 - 5 00 Cocktails and Appetizer
5 00 - 00 PM -- Dinner & Awards Banquet
REGISTRATIO
COST $5/PERSON - Mornin
our fee is good for viewing the cars on display during the Concours event and continental breakfast
MotorsportReg charges a $2 booking fee for every registration (not for every person). Minors are free.
COST $ 0/PERSON - Chesapeake Challenge Competitio
our fee is good for Concours, Gimmick Rally, Tech Quiz, Commemorative swag, lunch and dinner per person
MotorsportReg charges a $2 booking fee for every registration (not for every person)
Registration closes at midnight on September
There will be a limit of 00 attendee
Please fill out ALL sections of the event registration
QUESTIONS Please feel free to contact C esapeakeC allenge@pcac s.org
Henry L. Becker, Jr.
Editor, Porsche Patter
The DMV has been blessed with many much cooler days in August. I don’t know about you but, I took advantage and got out to drive. I think I’m one of the rare Chesapeake birds that live in Frederick County. Although a little far from most of the membership, I’m fortunate to have great driving roads literally on my doorstep. My 1999 996 is my daily driver and gets plenty of exercise. However, as we creep up on fall I look forward to more days out of the office and on the road.
Like many of you dear readers, most of my early experience with the Porsche brand was reading about them in magazines. The only thing I read cover to cover until I was 19 was car magazines. The script was flipped early in adulthood where a love for reading took hold. Now, I can’t read enough! Even stranger, I like to write.
Between issues of Patter being released, I spend a lot of time reading other Porsche material like 000, Panorama, books, and other regions’ newsletters. I actually have a Google Sheet with links to a few dozen other PCA regional newsletters to make it faster to get my Porsche content fix.
In this month’s issue, we have a great article about a hill climb and a notable 904 from the Absoroka Arrow (the newsletter for the Absoroka Region of PCA). The editor of the Arrow permitted me to republish the article in Patter.
PCA is a big club with many great stories to tell and uncover. I encourage all Chesapeake members to tell their stories. Whether you tell your personal story through our 10 Questions: Your Story questionnaire, write a story about an experience or tell me your story and I’ll write it for you. Patter is here to tell your stories.
If you have a Porsche, there is a story in there somewhere. Complete the Chesapeake so other members can get to know you. Ten Questions: Your Story
the Ten Questions:Your Story Questionnaire If you have an article to submit, send us 300 - 1,000 words (and some pictures). Email your story and pics to editor@pcachs.org
PPRESIDENT Steve Buss president@pcachs.org
S SECRETARY
Ken W ilmers secretar y@pcachs.org
Executive VP
Michael Murphy executivevicepresident@pcachs.org
Autocross
Greg Hartke / Mark autocross@pcachs.orgHubley
Historian
Bob Rassa historian@pcachs.org
Driving Instructor
Ellen Beck instructor@pcachs.org
Community Service
Dan McNally comunityservice@pcachs.org
Concours
Paul Koenig concours@pcachs.org
Chesapeake Chlng
Stacey Hawver / Tracey Jennings Jen Kocsan chesapeakechallenge@pcachs.org
VP VICE PRESIDENT
Mar k Miller vicepresident@pcachs.org
TTREASURER
Andy Powell treasurer@pcachs.org
Insurance
Wayne Nelms insurance@pcachs.org
Membership
Rob Carter membership@pcachs.org
R Marshaegistrar Buss msregistrar@pcachs.org
N ewsletter Editor
Henry Becker editor@pcachs.org
PCA License
Laurie & Bruce Tarsia pcalicenseplates@pcachs.org
PCA Zone 2 Rep
Phil Grandfield zonerep@pcachs.org
Photography
Jim McKee / Ryan Boxler photography@pcachs.org
Publicity
James Beavan III publicity@pcachs.org
Saf ety
John Jensen safety@pcachs.org
Social
Thomas & Amanda Mason social@pcachs.org
Sunshine
Doug Ehmann sunshine@pcachs.org
Webmaster
Henry Becker webmaster@pcachs.org
Tour & Rally
Aniano Arao / Rich Ehrlich tour@pcachs.org rally@pcachs.org
Tech
Jim Earlbeck / Randall Richter Rick Hawver tech@pcachs.org
Hello fellow PCA’ers. Wow time surely flies when we are having fun. It is September already and the dog days of Summer are mostly over. Some of the best months for driving our Porsches are upon us. So, get out there and enjoy all the activities we have planned.
August was a busy month. It began with a joint Chesapeake and Potomac Speed Limit Sign Rally. Congratulations to the first-place winners Dave and Lizzie Schenck.
The Tech Committee organized a Tech Talk event at Porsche Annapolis where discussions about suspension systems and center lock wheels were discussed with the experts.
The Concours committee hosted a Judging School at Porsche Silver Spring in preparation for the Chesapeake Challenge.
The monthly social dinner was held at The Lodge in Annapolis.
Summer Movie Nights at the Belmont Manor showed Captain America and we conducted another People’s Choice competition. This month’s winner was Dan McNally.
Forty members joined the overnight West Virginia tour organized by co-chair Aniano Arao. The weather was perfect and the WV roads were terrific. We attended the Lewis County Bluegrass Festival Saturday evening culminating with a humongous fireworks display sponsored by Chesapeake member Chuck Goldsborough.
For the 18th consecutive year, the Chesapeake Region Crab Feast, sponsored by Porsche Silver Spring, was held at Kemptown Park in Monrovia on August 24th. Thanks again to Ellen and Bob and Linda and Ron for organizing another spectacular outing with family and friends. And thank you to all of the volunteers that helped make this event possible.
The next day Chesapeake and Potomac Regions met up again for an adventurous off-road tour in the Frederick Municipal Forest near Thurmont. The tour ended at the Springfield Winery, Brewery and Distillery where we enjoyed lunch along with our favorite beverage.
On the last day of the month, we conducted our 5th Autocross of the season. Greg and Mark, and their team of volunteers continue to do an outstanding job providing a safe and well run event. As usual the event was a sellout and drivers were able to get in seven runs. From the comments I saw, everyone loved the course layout and had a great day.
Ladies and Gentlemen, that was just one month’s worth of events and activities! I am very proud of all the committees and the outstanding events they provide for us members.
Now on to September!
PCA National will open its doors for their 13th annual Open House on September 7th from 10-2:00. Members from all around the area descend upon Columbia for an afternoon filled with beautiful Porsches and fun with fellow Club members. PCA Headquarters tours are available. Mission BBQ caters lunch. Kids are always welcome. It is a fun day for all.
On September 14 Autocross is back in action with their 6th event of the season.
Sunday September 15th is our 55th Annual Chesapeake Challenge.
This year’s event will be held at the Circle D Farm in Woodbine. The day will begin with a Concours d’Elegance. After a picnic lunch Rich Ehrlich will launch us off into the Gimmick Rally. An always challenging and educational Tech Quiz will follow. That leads us to a happy hour then dinner and awards. The next Board Meeting is on Tuesday the 17th at the Green Turtle in Hanover. Board meetings are open to all members, and I encourage you to attend one. Please email me at president@pcachs.org if you plan to attend.
On Thursday the 19th, we will again have Movie Night at the Belmont Manor with a People’s Choice award. This month’s movie will be Princess Bride. Doors open at 7pm.
On September 28th we will be sharing our love of Porsches with the residents of Lutheran Village at Miller's Grant, a senior and assisted living community and rehabilitation center. Breakfast sandwiches, pastries, and refreshments will be provided at this cars and coffee style event.
PCA Treffen Mt Washington New Hampshire begins on September 29th. Fall colors, covered bridges and great roads will make for a memorable week for 400 PCA members. Many members from our Region are attending. Safe travel to all.
There are many opportunities to volunteer, make new friends and meet new members. Please contact me at president@pcachs.org if you wish to become more active or have comments or suggestions.
Thanks to all of you for making Chesapeake Region so much fun!
It’s the cars that bring us together, but it is the people that make it special.
Steve
50 Years 10 Years 1
Theodore Goodwin
35 Years
Jeffrey Reinhart
30 Years
Matthew Reinhart
25 Years
Mark Hubley Nicolas Hubley
20 Years
James & Pamela Taylor
15 Years
Martin & Linda Hansell David Drake Louis Amitrano
It’s not just the cars, it’s the people.
Brian & Robin Znamirowski
Tom & Kay Morton
Paul & Tracy Halsch
Ira & Elana Katz
Gavin & Heather Pommernelle
Amanda Jia
5 Years
Dan Ruddick
Brian & Tracie Machi
Ellen Williams Lucan Tyssowski Donald Malozi
Christopher Voigt
Robert Lyon
Jeff Lavery
Timothy Smith
Richard Hope
Sean Dougherty
Steven Anderson
Michael Ignatysh
Craig & Linda Davidson
Walter & Sandra Geissdorfer
Michael Washington
Heather Robinson
Deborah Jones Nicole Moore
Keith Brown
Gregory Jones Li
Mitchell Goetze
Billy Moffitt
Alan Cason
Peter Simpson
Robert Leininger
Daniel Urban
Scott Goldstein
*** Please excuse us for any inconsistencies in reports as PCA HQ continues to improve the system. See CHS PCA website for full Membership Committee Report***
Ernest Corvese 1997 911 Carrera 4 Cab
Michael & Kathleen Minardi 2000 Boxster S
Adam Maizel 2011 911 Turbo S Cab
Thomas Abernathy, Jr 2024 911 Carrera GTS
JD & Cheryl Diday 2001 911 Carrera
Christopher Sajewicz 2020 911 Carrera 4S
Bruce Penn 2017 Macan
Melanie & Earl Reed 2024 Cayenne
Diane2018Sypolt Macan S
Adnan Khan 2023 718 Cayman GT4 RS
David Hicks 1966 912
Dennis Zadra 2013 Boxster
Roy2014Illingworth 911 Carrera S
by: Rob Carter
words & photos from Dan Cole
A Porsche 904 story from July 25-26, 1964
I love it when people send in content for the Absaroka Arrow. It’s what makes the job as editor of the Absaroka Arrow fun. Recently, Fred Magers sent me an old newspaper clipping about the Black Otter Hillclimb from the Billings Gazette in 1964. Pictured in the article was a Porsche 904 Carrera GTS, a very rare car for 1964 in Billings. That got my curiosity up and I went on a quest to find out more about the Black Otter Hillclimb and the Porsche 904.
The Hillclimb
The hillclimb was listed as an amateur event and allowed participants to test their abilities, and cars legally. The event’s program said the driver’s received no money, just a trophy and satisfaction.
Fred said he had recently moved back to Billings and was part of the local Jaycees. The Jaycees and the Montana Sports Car Club teamed up to take over the running of the hillclimb.
During the course of the weekend, Fred got to know Gary Wright, a hot shoe sports car driver from the Portland area. Gary was sent over to Billings from the local Porsche dealership and owner with the new Porsche 904 to tackle the hill climb and hopefully set a record in doing so. After the racing concluded, Gary gave Fred a ride down the hill in the Porsche.
Fred said “the passenger seat was big enough for a sixyear-old’s butt, certainly not his!” On the way down Fred ask the question “How are you able to drive so fast?” Gary replied, “You look way down there, because it gets here quick!”
Gary and the Porsche 904 were successful in their quest to set the top time with an overall new record of 1 minute, 5.4 seconds over 1.1 mile course.
Another interesting note, in the list of competitors is Bob (aka Evel) and Nic Knievan (Knievel) came over from Butte, Montana. I’m sure you know who they were (circled next page).
1964 was a great year at Porsche, the 911 and the 904 GTS, both designed by Ferry Porsche’s son F.A. “Butzi” Porsche were introduced. Both would and continue to be, icons with motoring enthusiasts to this day.
A unique detail of the 904 was the use of fiberglass construction from use in the aircraft industry for its bodywork, a first for Porsche. The 904 was a very lightweight car; weighing in at just 650 kilograms, or 1,433 lbs. The new 904 was developed as a true dualpurpose car – equally capable of winning on the track or driving to work.
The 904 was powered by the now legendary Ernst Führmann designed, four-cam, four-cylinder engine. A work of art and still prized. The production 904 version of the engine was the most advanced, the Type 587/3. It produced around 200 bhp.
After the official debut in November 1963, the 904 was campaigned heavily by Porsche’s factory racing team and privateers. The 904s would win over 300 class wins and 145 overall victories at international venues. Quite a resume for the new Porsche.
Porsche 904-042 driven by Gary Wright was completed in March 1964 in the classic color scheme of Silver Metallic with blue velour upholstery. Only 24 Porsche 904s were exported to the US. This car was originally sold in Portland, Oregon to Knute Qvale’s Riviera Motors.
Robert Rosetta and Gunther Knapp, executives at Qvale’s dealership took 904-042 and prepared it for racing. Hired to drive the new Porsche were local Portland sports car aces Gary Wright and Mike Eyerly. Throughout the 1964 racing season, they shared duties campaigning the car with great success. Both Gary and Mike enjoyed victories wins and podium finishes.
Mike Eyerly continued to race 904-042 through July 1965, when it was sold to fellow Pacific Northwest racer Wade
So what happened to 904-042? Since there were only 24 imported, it’s easy to find a particular car. So, with a little digging online, I found 904-042. The car that won the Black Hill Hillclimb in the summer of 1964 is still around.
The Porsche had a long career racing, and enjoying car shows through the years. In 2017 Porsche 904-042 came up for auction at Gooding & Company in Pebble Beach. Then painted in the colors of red and silver.904-042 been restored to its original silver body color.
Photos from: Mike Spicer, Used with Permission. Please visit Mike Spicer’s site Spicer Collection for some great stories and photos of beautiful classic cars.
https://spicercollectorcars.com
Please check out the following two web sites for more on 904-042.
https://www.classic.com/veh/1964-porsche-904-carreragts-904042-8p6xxjn/
https://forestgroveconcours.org/news/2019/07/18/porschepassion-ernie-spada-and-his-porsche-904-carrera-gts
significant milestone in its journey of showcasing the rich heritage and innovative spirit of one of the world’s most iconic brands. Opened in January 2009, the museum is a pilgrimage site for car enthusiasts worldwide, drawing visitors with its stunning architecture and an unparalleled collection of Porsche vehicles that span the brand's illustrious history.
Since its inception, the Porsche Museum has been
deep dive into the evolution of design, engineering, and the relentless pursuit of performance that has defined Porsche since its founding. The museum features over 90 vehicles, ranging from early models like the Porsche 356 to modern masterpieces like the Porsche 918 Spyder. Each car tells a story of innovation, passion, and the pursuit of excellence that has propelled Porsche to the forefront of the automotive industry.
This year, the museum's anniversary coincides with another significant celebration: the 50th anniversary of Porsche's groundbreaking turbo technology. Introduced in 1974 with the launch of the Porsche 911 Turbo, the turbocharged engine revolutionized the automotive world, setting new standards for performance and driving dynamics. The 911 Turbo, with its distinctive wide stance, iconic rear spoiler, and eye-popping speed, quickly became a symbol of Porsche’s engineering prowess and a benchmark in the sports car segment.
The introduction of turbo technology was a gamechanger for Porsche. The turbocharged engine allowed for never-seen power delivery, significantly enhancing the performance of Porsche’s vehicles while maintaining the brand’s hallmark precision and balance. The 911 Turbo was not just a faster 911 but a technological marvel. Turbo pushed the boundaries of what was possible in a production car. Over the last five decades, Porsche has continued to refine and develop its turbo technology, integrating it into a wide range of models, from the Cayenne SUV to the Panamera sedan, and most notably, in the modern iterations
To celebrate the turbo milestone, the Porsche Museum curated a special exhibition dedicated to turbo technology. The exhibition that runs from 7/30/2024 until 1/12/2025 not only highlights the evolution of turbocharged Porsches but also delves into the engineering breakthroughs that have kept Porsche at the cutting edge of automotive innovation. Visitors can explore the development of turbo engines, from the early prototypes to the sophisticated powerplants found in today’s models, and see firsthand how Porsche has continuously pushed the envelope in terms of performance, efficiency, and driving experience.
The 15th anniversary of the Porsche Museum and the 50th anniversary of Porsche turbo technology are testaments to the brand’s enduring legacy and its relentless pursuit of innovation. As the museum looks back on 15 years of celebrating Porsche’s history, it also looks forward to the future, where the spirit of innovation that brought us turbo technology will undoubtedly continue to drive the brand to new heights. For fans of the marque, this year offers a unique opportunity to put eyes on the past, present, and future of Porsche.
What year did you join PCA?
Marsha joined the PCA in 2018; I’m her co-member.
What Porsche(s) do you currently own?
We currently own four of six Porsches we purchased since 2017. We have a Lava Orange 2017 991.2 4S Cabriolet, Meteor Grey Metallic 2018 Cayenne, White 2016 981 Cayman, and most recently a Midnight Blue Metallic 1992 Carrera 2 964.
What’s your Porsche story? Tell us about what started ‘it’ for you.
My first car was a 1929 Model A Ford. And then moved into the sports car mode and bought a 1969 MG Midget and if we parked the cars just right, we could fit three cars in my parent’s two car garage. I sold it to a friend and bought a “Vette” (really a Chevette) as I needed a car to move in and out of university dorms.
Marsha came from a car family. There were 8 children and many cars were needed. I’ll always remember her Dad in the driveway working on cars. At one point he decided he really needed a lift in their yard so he started digging out the footprint. When the install was about half complete, a County Inspector stopped by and told him, “No, no, no, that has to come down.” He was heartbroken.
When Marsha and I met, she was driving an NSU. I thought it was a BMW because it looked like a BMW 2002. Her Dad actually owned two of them, one was a parts car and after those became unserviceable, she had a 1970 Dodge Dart without power steering. Five months after college graduation, we married and we went back to sports car mode with a 1979 MGB, Supra and then a 300ZX 2+2 so there was room for a car seat!
Eventually a second child was born and the car wasn’t very practical anymore. We despised mini vans, so we became a Volvo family as back in the day they were the “safe car”. We went through a 240, 740 wagon, 850 and a V90 wagon before transitioning to a BMW family. The first BMW was a 1996 Montreal Blue Metallic convertible with a removeable hard top. We received an invitation from Towson BMW to the unveiling of the 1 Series and unfortunately, I was out of town, but Marsha and our son went to the unveiling. Later that evening I received a phone call letting me know she bought one! We also had a 330, 335, a couple of X3’s and a X5. We both fell in love with the German engineering and handling.
These cars were just so much fun to drive. As the children got older and moved away, we had one too many cars in the driveway, so we agreed to sell the convertible. Less than three months later, Marsha revealed, “I miss the convertible”. And that started the foray into Porsche life. We discovered the PCA and fell in love with the camaraderie, developed new friendships and truly have tons of fun.
While Marsha was working in Maui a work friend asked if I was interested in her Arctic Silver Metallic 2004 4S
Cabriolet manual. I sent a picture of the car to Marsha, and she said that would be enough to entice her to leave paradise and come home. We had the car transported from California and it arrived in Maryland in October 2017. We both went to Maui for nine months and when we returned home, we joined the PCA. After a few months we left for Maui for one more 9 month term before Marsha retired in August 2019. We sold the 996 to her boss and bought a beautiful 2009 Ruby Red Metallic 997 4S cab.
If you could own any Porsche which would it be and why?
We just bought it! A beautiful Midnight Blue Metallic 1992 964. It was love at first sight when we were at the Ralph’s Auto Service happy hour before the Fratelli’s dinner social in July. Chuck Goldsborough had the car on consignment for a customer and sold us the car in August.
What changes or updates have you made or planned to make to your Porsche?
We have only done cosmetic changes to our cars –paint protection film and ceramic coatings. The 964 will require some tender loving care due to its age.
Any hobbies? Tell us about what you enjoy doing. Marsha recently started collecting 1:64 scale Porsches. The first 50 were used to make wine stoppers for the After Holiday Party this past January. She continues to buy them even after the initial project was completed –she says it is addictive. She also likes to plan and share routes on the Scenic app and is working on hitting the top 100 users in the USA (currently 211th). We both enjoy travelling, either by car or plane and enjoy staying in historic B&B’s, meeting the owners and visiting their town. Steve enjoys golf, and in the winter will get out and ski, but not as much anymore. Lastly, not actually a hobby, but anytime we get to spend time with the grandchildren is truly a blessing.
What do you like listening to on road trips? I like to listen to the Stones, Springsteen and Tom Petty but I enjoy all music except opera. Marsha likes to listen to just about anything else. And I let her because I enjoy them all except for some of the movie soundtracks she insists on playing.
What is your favorite place you have traveled to and why?
In August 2022 we bought our Cayman at Porsche Freemont, CA so we could drive to Treffen in Bend Oregon. We took the long way there by travelling east to Yosemite and the Mighty Five national parks in Utah before heading northwest to Oregon. After Treffen we headed east again to the northern national parks – Glacier, Yellowstone, Grand Tetons, Mt Rushmore, and the Badlands. Rt 16 in Custer State Park in South Dakota was outstanding.
What is one place you’ve never been but plan to go? We are looking forward to driving to Banff and Jasper and then head west to drive more of the Canadian Rockies.
words by Bob Rassa
50 years ago
PATTER was being printed on a spirit duplicator machine (mine, as it turns out) and we only have one 1974 issue in the historical documents– February –and Bob Schmitt was President, Frank Shap was VP, Rod Baker was Secretary, Lee Raskin was Treasurer and your author was Technical Chair.
The PATTER editor was Joe Farace, and we’ll bet that almost none of our PATTER readers today recognize most of those names. President Schmidt did an editorial on the energy crisis, which actually started on Thanksgiving weekend in 1973 as a result of OPEC cutting gas supplies due to a political dispute and resulted in the dreaded 55-mph national maximum speed limit (NMSL) being enacted into on January 1 of 1974.
He allowed that this might affect the still-fledgling Chesapeake Challenge, since this would be its 6th year and was growing with its weekend format and attracting attendees from a half-dozen (or more) nearby Regions, including Riesentoter, Northern New York, Central PA, First Settlers, Hudson-Champlain, Connecticut Valley, and Potomac.
The 1974 Parade was scheduled for the Inn at Pocono Manor [since burned down due to a fire just before Thanksgiving, 2022 as it turns out]. Gas rationing was ongoing (you could buy gas on odd- or evennumbered days depending on your registration number) and could only buy 10 gallons at most places. Editor Farace opined that we sure couldn’t do any autocrosses – but what about a rally? Probably not, he thought. We were still meeting as a whole club at Peerce’s Plantation Restaurant on Dulaney Valley Rd.
In the for-sale department, long-time member Don Riggs was selling an enameled PCA car badge, headrest covers from the Vilem B. Hahn Catalog, clutch cables for either 356 OR 911, and 5 AC P203 oil filters. Your author was selling a pair of brand-new, never mounted Head TG-M (metal) skis, 203 cm. Lee Raskin had a pair of Dunlop 165R15 radials – WITH tubes –85% of tread remaining, for a mere $20 each. And an article was included that was basically a letter to all Region Presidents from then-PCA legal advisor Bob Cornell, discussing the gas rationing that was ensuing.
In October 1994, our President was Manny Alban, with Bob Gutjahr as VP, Brian Melani as Secretary, Dan Ball as Treasurer, and Jim Vecheck as Patter Editor. The birth of Col. Gutjahr’s son Joshua was announced, and Pres. Alban recounted some fun trip that he had taken to nearby PCA Regions (First Settler’s and Blue Ridge). Club meetings were at Fiori’s Country Fare Inn, and entertainment was planned.
We were doing “dine & drive” events, and October’s was through Hollywood and California (Maryland) with dinner at Penwick House in Dunkirk. A short article on energy losses in a typical car was included and shared the following for losses: Driveline, 5.6%; aerodynamic losses, 2.6%; standby losses, 3.6%; internal engine losses, 62.4%; accessory loss, 2.2%; rolling losses, 4.2%; and braking losses, 5.8%. This totals 86.4%, leaving a mere 13/6% of the power in your tank of gasoline actually reaching the rear wheels.
Autocross chair Dennia Howard reported on a planned autocross at Camden Yards. In the for-sale department, you could buy a ’74 914 2.0 for $6,500, and a ’76 912E sunroof for $5,900. Ralph’s Auto Service ran their ad, with owner Ralph Simmers claiming that he “started working on Porsches back when I could still afford one”.
Saturday, September 7th
House
Thursday, September 19th
Get ready for our Annual Open House as we celebrate 13 years at the PCA National Office! Join us on Saturday, September 7, 2024, for an afternoon filled with beautiful Porsches and fun with fellow Club members. Kids are welcome too!
You will learn the exciting history of PCA from our Executive Director, Vu Nguyen. You can also purchase PCA Merchandise, listen to great music, and eat a delicious lunch from Mission BBQ. And, of course, we will be raffling off amazing prizes. Hope to see you there! Please note that you must be PRE-REGISTERED TO ATTEND.
From 10:00am until 2:00pm
Get more info and register here.
Can you possibly imagine a better location for watching a blockbuster movie, seeing your Porsche family of friends and showing off your Porsche than on historic grounds, behind a historic mansion, and under the stars? Let’s drive our Porsches and line them up for a People’s Choice competition before the movie starts. This event is open to the public, our Porsche's will have a section of the parking lot in the front to display our cars.
The large movie screen is set up behind the Manor house, there is plenty of space to set up lawn chairs or to spread out on a blanket. All visitors are encouraged to arrive early to enjoy the gardens - there is plenty of parking, super clean restrooms, food trucks, frogs, manicured lawns, fireflies and stars!
Get more info and register here.
Saturday, September 28
Join us for the Region’s Traditional Crab Feast at Kemptown Park on August 24th For the 18th consecutive year, the Chesapeake Region Crab Feast, sponsored by Porsche Silver Spring, will be held at Kemptown Park in Monrovia, MD on Saturday, August 24th- rain or shine!
Bring your appetite and your Porsche for a wonderful, relaxing outing with friends and family.
There will be tons of crab, shrimp, burgers, dogs and drinks that the Region will provide – not to mention tables of side dishes and desserts that you will provide. Lighthouse Seafood of New Market will once again be steaming our crabs and jumbo shrimp. We’ll have two pavilions at Kemptown Park with reserved parking.
Get more info here.
Sunday, October 13th
This tour will feature four of the key elements of fun: Porsches, great people, delicious ice cream and, most importantly, a terrific drive. The route will take us along some of Carroll, Baltimore, and Harford counties’ country roads.
Bonkey’s is a small family-run business with several locations in Maryland, Delaware, and Pennsylvania. It offers a wide assortment of homemade flavors, as well as a large selection of toppings.
We will have an optional pre-tour lunch at Cinco De Mayo-Hampstead, 721 Hanover Pike, Hampstead, MD, 21074. They are a family run restaurant that has grown so popular that they now have eight locations. Their food is reasonably priced and is yummy (you will be responsible for paying your bill).
Get more info and register here.
words & photos by The Tech Guys
The morning of Saturday, July 27th dawned clear and bright. It was filled with anticipation of the multifaceted kind of adventure when you can see great cars, learn about new technology, and have a delicious meal all with your Porsche friends.
Our first stop was a beautiful sparkling clean garage with a wonderful variety of Porsches with a Ferrari, Austin Healy, and a Jaguar XKE thrown in for your viewing enjoyment. Note that this description is limited to safeguarding the owner and the garage location.
Next, we were off to Westminster Speed and Sound to hear from the Escort Radar representative who joined us for the day all the way from Ohio.
He shared some of the latest performance enhancements that Escort has developed including stealth mode that denies others from detecting your radar detector. He also emphasized the growing trend of greatly increased use of laser speed detection. Westminster Speed & Sound President Mark Miller shared with us the ability to install the Escort devices in a way that was covert. There were two Porsches on display with these installations.
Mr. Miller also demonstrated some of the sound upgrades possible in Porsches and participants were able to occupy the vehicles and be stunned with the impressive musical sound available. Finally as added treat WS&S allowed the Porsche Club to be the first members of the public to the debut of their very impressive Artistry sound environment. This amazing opportunity allowed people to understand how varying components and sound adjustments would improve the sound in their vehicles.
For a finale, we were off to Bullocks restaurant for a delicious lunch repast and conversations with friends. Many of us enjoyed their famous fried chicken and extensive salad bar.
All in all a great three pronged tech event. Thanks to our garage host, the team at Westminster Speed and Sound and Bullocks for a delightful day.
The August social dinner was at The Lodge in Annapolis on August 13th. About 40 of us enjoyed great food and drink on a beautiful summer night in Annapolis.
On the 15th we returned to Blockbuster Movie Night at the Belmont Manor. There were five Porsche’s on display competing for the People’s Choice award. The entire audience enjoyed seeing the cars and participating in choosing their favorite Porsche. Dan McNally’s Black 2017 718 Cayman came home with the trophy. It was a beautiful moonlit night while we watched Captain America. Movie night is sponsored by Howard County and will continue until October. The Belmont Manor grounds are spectacular and centrally located near I-95 and Rt 1.
Upcoming events:
No social dinner is scheduled for September but there are many ways to socialize as noted below.
Many of us will be at the PCA Headquarters Open House on Saturday, September 7th. It’s a fun day to see our members’ beautiful Porsches, purchase PCA merchandise, listen to great music, and eat a delicious lunch from Mission BBQ.
words by Marsha Buss
The following weekend is Chesapeake Challenge 55. This year the morning Concours d’Elegance is open to pre-registered members who just want to come and see the beautiful cars and socialize.
We hope you will join us for the September movie night, featuring the 1987 comedy Princess Bride on Thursday, September 19th. Gates open at 7pm. You can register on Motorsportreg.
There are 29 cars registered for the Porsches and Pastries community event at the end of the month. If many of us weren’t already committed to Treffen Mt. Washington we would join you. It is a fun morning to show your Porsche to the residents of Miller's Grant, a senior and assisted living community and rehabilitation center.
We hope to see you at our future events! Our dinner socials are generally on the third Tuesday every month. Breakfast socials are the first Saturday of some months.
We continue to work with Thomas and Amanda Mason to transition the Social Committee responsibilities. Feel free to reach out to them at social@pcachs.org.
(1) - April 7 - Tour & Rally School by Steve Graham, Bob Rassa, Aniano Arao, 18 people, 12 cars
(2) - April 14 - Eastern Shore Tour, guest tour master Tom Divilio, 89 people, 49 cars
(3) - April 27 - Drive to Porsche Swap Meet in Carlisle, tour master Rich Ehrlich, 23 people, 15 cars
(4) - May 5 -Cinco de Mayo Poker Rally & Picnic, guest rally master Marsha Buss, canceled/rain
(5) - May 19 - Safeway to the Bay Tour & Charity, guest tour master Hank Lucas, 65 people, 35 cars
(6) - June 2 - Linganore Winecellars Tour - guest tour master Ron Farb, 63 people, 36 cars
(7) - June 23 - Mason-Dixon Line Tour - guest tour master Steve Graham, 39 people, 23 cars
(8) - July 7 - Solomons Island Run, Arundel and 3 other counties, guest tour master Steve Wood 7 Terrell Williams, 83 people, 49 cars
(9) - July 20 - Ice Cream Tour, guest tour master Mark Miller, 59 people, 31 cars
(10) - Aug 3 - Potomac-CHS Speed-Limit-Sign Rally, rally master Rich Ehrlich, 28 people, 14 cars (11) - Aug 17-18- West Virginia Bluegrass Tour, tour master Aniano Arao, 34 people, 19 cars (12) - Aug 25 - Chesapeake-Potomac Off-Road Tour, guest tour master Jim Hemig, 43 people, 21 cars (13) - Sep 15 - Chesapeake Challenge 55 Gimmick Rally, rally master Rich Ehrlich (14) - Sep 22 - Baltimore County Horse Country Tour, tour master Aniano Arao. CANCELLED (15) - Oct 13 - Passage to Bonkey’s Ice Cream Tour, by guest tour master Mark Miller (16) - Oct 27 - West Virginia Fall Colors Tour, tour master Aniano Arao (17) - Nov 3 - Barns & Bridges Gimmick Rally, guest rally masters Craig & Linda Davidson (18) - Dec 7 - Kindertime & Linda’s Legacy Tour, tour master Rich Ehrlich
Check www.pcachs.org, Porsche Patter, www.motorsportreg.com and the events’ e-Blasts for details and updates. Send questions to tour@pcachs.org. – Aniano Arao & Rich Ehrlich, Co-Chairs, Tour & Rally Committee
words & photos by Pedro Bonilla
It happens. Here is the why.
Electronic Stability Control is known by many acronyms and names, such as: AdvanceTrac, Dynamic Stability Control (DSC), Dynamic Stability and Traction Control (DSTC), Electronic Stability Program (ESP), Vehicle Dynamic Control (VDC), Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA), Vehicle Stability Control (VSC), Vehicle Skid Control (VSC), Vehicle Stability Enhancement (VSE), StabiliTrac and last but not least, Porsche Stability Management (PSM).
But what is it?
A vehicle’s Electronic Stability System uses on board computers to control each individual wheel’s brakes and assists the driver in maintaining control of the vehicle by keeping the vehicle headed in the direction the driver is steering, even when the vehicle nears or reaches the limits of road traction.
When a driver attempts a sudden corrective maneuver, for instance to avoid a crash or because (s)he misjudged the severity of a curve, (s)he may lose
control if the vehicle responds differently than expected as it reaches the limits of road traction than it does in ordinary driving.
This loss of control can result in either the tail of the vehicle spinning out, or the front of the vehicle plowing out.
As long as there is sufficient traction, an experienced track driver could maintain control in many of these conditions by using countersteering (momentarily turning away from the intended direction of the car) or
... as Doc Hudson Hornet (Paul Newman) expertly explained to Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson):
“turn right to go left”
in the animated movie Cars.
Image courtesy of Pixar Animation Studios Generally, in panic situations with the vehicle beginning to spin out of control, average drivers would be unlikely to countersteer like a race driver, to regain control.
To help the driver in such a predicament, Porsche Stability Management (PSM) or any other form of ESC uses automatic braking of the individual wheels to adjust the vehicle’s heading if it departs from the direction the driver is steering. Therefore it prevents the heading from changing too quickly (spinning out) or not quickly enough (plowing out). ESC cannot increase the available traction. It only affords the driver the maximum possibility of keeping the vehicle under control and on the road in an emergency maneuver using just the natural reaction of steering in the intended direction.
But Porsche has gone way beyond the requirements for ESC by the introduction of PTV (Porsche Torque Vectoring) for manual transmissions and PTV Plus for cars equipped with Porsche Doppelkupplung (PDK).
PTV and PTV Plus are optional systems which increase the dynamic performance and stability of the car by varying the distribution of torque to the rear wheels. These systems include a mechanically locking rear differential.
Images courtesy of Dr. Ing. h.c.F Porsche AG When the car is driven aggressively into a corner, some brake pressure is applied to the inside rear wheel. Thus, a greater amount of drive force is distributed to the outside rear wheel, inducing an additional rotational pulse (yaw movement) around the vehicle’s vertical axis.
Some people complain that all of these “nanny” controls are taking away the fun of driving but at least in Porsche’s case, you can switch off the function (PSM). Well, almost. Porsche’s PSM remains set to intervene if the vehicle is braked and ABS assistance is required.
One great feature of PSM is brake precharging. If you suddenly release the accelerator pedal, PSM automatically prepares for your next action: the braking system is precharged so that the brake pads are already in light contact with the rotors and maximum braking power is achieved much sooner. When brake assist detects a panic braking situation it generates the optimal braking pressure required for maximum deceleration. Neat stuff!
As part of a comprehensive plan to reduce the serious risk of rollover crashes and the risk of death and serious injury in those crashes, The Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards Rule No. 126 requires ESC systems on all passenger cars, multipurpose passenger vehicles, trucks and busses sold in the US with a gross vehicle weight rating of 10,000 lbs or less as of model year 2012.
The National Highway Transportation Administration (NHTSA) estimates that ESC technology will reduce single-vehicle crashes of passenger cars by 34% and single vehicle crashes of SUVs by 59%.
To learn more about Porsche Stability Management and more, please visit my website at: www.PedrosGarage.com
Happy Porscheing,
Ninety Million Dollars. $90m. $90,000,000. I’m still context, over the last two years of tracking the market, the highest total dollar volume of Porsches sold in a single month was $59.9m in December of last year. And the market just trounced that by $30m.
Now, you might be saying, “of course it was a good month, we had Monterey!” Well, August of 2023 produced just $58m from 680 cars on offer selling at a 66% sell-through rate (STR). Monterey alone this year almost reached that number, with $54.5m in sales from 141 Porsches on offer selling at a 68% STR. So how did it break down, and where was the uptick in what many people have been calling a “correcting market?”
As you probably assumed, that uptick came at the very top of the market thanks to sixteen million-dollarplus sales compared to just seven last year. And of those sixteen, six hammered at a higher price than our $1.9 top sale of Monterey 2023. Leading the pack was an uber-rare 1997 911 GT1 Rennversion that hammered at $6.4m followed by a 1976 935 at $3.9m. Both are rare cars and deserving of their high bids, but for me, I was very excited to see the first Singer DLS and a RUF CTR 2.
The Dynamics & Lightweight Study (DLS) from Singer hammered at $2.8m, about on par with asking prices online when you add in the buyer’s fee. The RUF CTR 2 set a new record for ANY RUF sold at auction at a final bid of $1.9m. With the previous RUF high of $1.8m for a 25th Anniversary CTR, it makes you wonder what a
truly rare-as-hen’s-teeth original CTR would sell for these days. $4-5m? Let’s hope we get a chance to find out soon.
It wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows at the top of the market, though. Early Porsche race cars and prototypes continued to struggle at auction with neither of the 550 Spyders selling along with a 718 RSK, 904 GTS, and 906 Carrera 6. But the biggest surprise was how sluggish bids were on Carrera 2.7 RS’. The last two 2.7 RS Lightweights we saw at auction achieved just below $2m. All three 2.7 RS Lightweights failed to sell at Monterey with the highest bid being just $1.2m.
So Monterey was stellar, but what about the rest of the market? August 2024 brought in $34.7m from a huge 701 units with a STR of 66% compared to $31.9m from 560 units and a 68% STR last year and $30.5m from 616 units and a STR of 66% last month.
We saw a number of firsts this month with the first 2024 911 S/T to hit the auction block selling at a final bid of $602,500. We also saw the first 2023 911 GT3 RS with the Tribute to Carrera RS sell for $487,500 followed by a second example selling for $460,000.
Overall, the market continues to chug along with most models selling at or around average prices plus or minus a few thousand dollars. The best of the bunch continue to bring the money, as they should, and the rest seem to be a harder sell as it appears the market is becoming a bit more patient with their money.
Next month brings us sales with Mecum in Dallas and the annual Saratoga Motorcar Auction in New York. I expect things to stay pretty steady, but my expectations have been trounced before!
David K. Whitlock is a writer for The Stuttgart Market Letter, a daily market update for Porschephiles, by Porschephiles, delivered free to your inbox. To sign up, go to: www.stuttgartmarketletter.com
In contrast to Autocross #3 in early July, Autocross #4 on Sunday July 28th was warm (high around 90 F), but actually fairly low humidity. I would actually say those were excellent conditions because some warmth to the track gives you good grip and the lowish humidity (dew point around 59 F) means it wasn’t particularly uncomfortable. Lucky!
As usual, the gang all arrived before 5:00 AM to get the event set up. Co-chair Mark Hubley pulled the equipment trailer around the lot with his truck to drop the cones as needed, then headed home to swap his truck for his car. Pinto Soin and I took care of setting up the equipment at the trailer while the rest of the AX Team (Phong Nguyen, John Cho, and Doug Slocum) built the course. Once the equipment was mostly set up, Pinto went out to help finish building the course while I finished the setup and got the computers up and running. When Mark returned with his car, he went out to finalize the course build while I finished the job of getting everything ready at the trailer. Just about the time I was done, he finished with the course and he and I were off to do the safety checks on the course in my car, evaluating the course for fun, flow, and safety.
The course was pretty straightforward and Mark and I didn’t have to spend too much time tweaking it into shape. Mostly we relieved some sections that were a bit too severe so that they flowed better and added some navigational aids in one or two places. Interestingly, based on the course map, I expected this to be a really fast course. In reality, it
words by Greg Hartke photos by Ryan Boxler & Ken Wilmers
had a couple of really fast sections, but wasn’t as fast as I expected in total. That said, the course design was such that we could get a second car out on the course very quickly and for that reason, we were actually able to do 8 runs. AXers love it when they can do a lot of runs in a short time, so that was a big plus.
Registration was capped at 75 and with a couple of no-shows and last-minute cancellations, we wound up with 72 drivers. A good showing!
Very early on, I heard the announcer (the inimitable Danny Kao) mention that he could tell that Dean Moheet was running in first gear all the way through that sharp corner above worker station 2, so I did the same. Dean is blazingly fast and also drives a Model 981 Cayman S (it’s even Racing Yellow like mine is!) and far be it from me to not take advantage of this good strategic hint from such a great driver.
I’ve been driving pretty well this year, but I wasn’t at my best for this race for some reason. Curiously, I’m not sure I ever did that lower right section as well as I should. I think I could have driven it with more speed and stayed tighter than I did. I was always concerned with the turn back up towards the start box and inexplicably rounded out that loop too much instead of driving it tight and using the throttle to help rotate the car to go back up towards the start. Still shaking my head over that mistake because you’d think that with 8 runs I would eventually get it right. ;) One thing I did get right was the section back up past the start box leading into and through that sharp corner to turn
down towards the channels. The key was getting the entry line and speed right to backside the second cone with no understeer and not running wide. I did that perfectly on my last run, fast and tight with no wasted time. I should mention that I really think Mark and I left that section too severe. It just didn’t flow well and should have been relieved a bit. We talked about it when we did the test runs, but in the end, pretty much left it alone. It was certainly a challenge to drive it right, but it didn’t really fit the flow of the course.
After getting through that tight section above station 2, it’s full throttle (shifting to second) to head down through the channel. I stayed to the right aiming down to the channel, then pointed the car slightly to the left to backside the entry cone to the left hander beyond the channel. I did this properly, slithering through very nicely, but I was never satisfied with how I drove the section beyond that up to the sharp right hander in the upper left portion of the course. I felt as if I never took a particularly economical line, nor am I sure I was as fast as I should have been. (IIRC, I pulsed the throttle once instead of staying wide open and that was just dumb.) There was also the interesting question of whether to stay tight for that hard right hander at the top left of the course, or backside the apex cone to facilitate entry to the line back up through the channel. I chose to be slightly wide at the penultimate cone and backside the apex, but I’m not completely convinced that was the optimal approach. Then again, the answer may be cardependent. Those with four-wheel steering or torque vector steering (I have neither) probably benefit from staying tight whereas my car may do better as I drove it on that sharp corner.
On exit, I rolled in full throttle as quickly as I could
On exit, I rolled in full throttle as quickly as I could for the very fast run back up through the channel, braking hard at the end for the decreasing-spacing slalom that precedes the entry to the stop box. That section was more a chicane than a slalom and was a fairly diabolical (and good!) design element that Mark put in to slow cars to the proper speed for the stop box. I didn’t have too much trouble with it because I recognized that the spacing was indeed decreasing, but drivers were messing that up all day and hitting cones, which I found pretty entertaining. ;) First car off was at 9:2 AM (scheduled 9: 0, so we were running a little early) and we finished at : PM with everyone getting runs. AX Team Member Phong Nguyen quickly assembled the results after the event and the top 0 placing Porsches for AX# were st overall, st in Class , . sec: David Critcher, 20 GT
2nd overall, st in Class I, . 0 sec: Michael Tavenner, 20 Cayman
rd overall, st in Class , . 2 sec: Dean Moheet, 20 Cayman
th overall, st in Class M, .20 sec: Danny Kao, 20 9 9 GT
th overall, 2nd in Class , . 0 sec: Howard Leikin, 202 oxster GT
0th overall, 2nd in Class , . sec: Dan Ruddick, 20 Cayman GT
2th overall, rd in Class , .9 2 sec: Joel Vengrin, 202 Cayman GT
th overall, st in Class , .0 sec: cott orden, 20 GT Tourin
th overall, rd in Class , .0 0 sec: Greg Hartke, 20 Cayman
9th overall, st in Class , .2 2 sec: Michael Press, 20 oxster
In addition, Darrell Pope was 1st in Class P1, Phong Nguyen was 1st in Class P3, Greg Whitehead was 1st in Class P4, Tom Divilio was 1st in Class P5, John Richter was 1st in Class S1, and Dan Mattes was 1st in Class S2.
Hard to believe that we’re more than halfway through the racing season already, but that’s where we are with AX#4 in the books. We continue to have great support at our races with the registration filling up for every event this season and we certainly appreciate that. We had a bit of a breather before AX#5, which was held on Saturday August 31st. Again, we had a full field and, in fact, more than a full field. Why? Well, I’ve been routinely accepting more than the registration cap and relying on last-minute cancellations and no-shows to keep the numbers down. It didn’t quite work that way with this one, though. In fact, I’m not sure I’ve ever had so few last-minute cancellations. I had 97 registered originally, but cancellations rolled in early (as usual) such that I wound up taking 78 (the cap is 75) and was left with only 3 on the waitlist. I only had 1 no-show Saturday (that’s the fewest no- shows I’ve ever seen), so we had 77 drivers for the day, which worked out excellently.
It was a warm, cloudy day but the clouds were welcome because they kept it from getting too hot. Again, the warmth was actually good because it meant we had excellent grip. It was unexpectedly wet at home in Sykesville when I left for PGS at 3:40 AM, but it was dry in Bowie at Prince George’s Stadium and remained that way all day with rain only showing up about 7:30 PM during the last few miles of my drive home.
The drivers loved the course, which was a repeat of the one we used for AX#7 last year. We’ve never repeated a course, but it rained for AX#7 last year and at the time, Mark and I decided we would bring that course back because we wanted it used in dry weather. This was the day and the reaction from the drivers was everything we had hoped it would be. A few astute drivers even recognized it from last year. Not sure I would have remembered it, but then again, I’m old. ;)
After the course was built, Mark and I didn’t do a lot when we went out for the test runs in my car. We made one change for safety, added some navigation aids, and widened some gates from the original build, but that was just about it. We then opened up the course for walking and one driver suggested adding some pointer cones for safety at one point, which we did immediately. In addition, CHS PCA VP Mark Miller (who was out there in his gorgeous Shark Blue Spyder) asked if we would clean up one section (a sweeper) that had some pebbly material on it, so I took care of that little item with our backpack blower. We always appreciate it when drivers make suggestions to things we can do to the course to make it better and safer!
In contrast to AX#4, I was driving pretty well at AX#5. Nice to get back on track. This course was fast, but had some interesting subtleties to which you really had to pay attention if you wanted to be fast.
The start was slightly downhill and while some drivers short-shifted to second before that first sharp corner, I aimed wide left to backside the cone (to keep the speed up) and stayed in 1st, only shifting to second after running the revs way up as I went roaring down the hill towards the channel. That section was very fast and the trick was to drift to the right after the sharp start corner, then start to bring it back to the right to enter the little chicane past the channel. That section looks very easy on the map, but the reality was somewhat different.
The entire flow down the far-left side of the course to the hard left at the bottom left corner could only be properly set up by looking far, far ahead. What made this so difficult is that you needed to be looking past Worker Station 5 as you approached the channel, but you still had to navigate the chicane and as you came down thru the channel, you were faced with a myriad of cones ahead of you that made it hard to pick up the course so far ahead while still having to correctly and safely drive a fast line thru the chicane. In addition, I actually found my A pillar to be in just the wrong position to allow me to easily see part of where I needed to see. Even more to the point, the beginning of the sweeper past the channel was off-camber, so you had to be mindful of that, too. Tricky, tricky! If you did this correctly, the section down the left side of the course could be taken much faster than if you didn’t look far ahead. It was only in my last couple of runs that I got this close to right and I could have done it still faster if I had one more run. Oh, well. ;)
I was full throttle down the left edge of the course, then braking for all I was worth to throw the car thru that hard left towards the channel. It was very easy to overcook it there, understeer, and push wide. Once I got the braking point right, I found I could get the hole car to slide a bit on that corner as I rotated it, which really helped me to keep the speed up and not bog down, important because I don’t have a PDK in my car to make it worthwhile to downshift there.
The hard left to loop back before getting to the channel was also tricky. The only way to drive this sequence properly was to again look far ahead, which in this case meant that as I approached Worker Station 4, I was literally looking 90 degrees to my left at the exit cone. By doing that, I could take a fast, tight line through that corner (do not overcook it, understeer, and push wide!) and hit the proper exit line. That whole section flowed such that you would lose significant time if you made even the tiniest mistake in that corner. On exit, I rolled on full throttle ASAP and (very importantly) drifted to the right to set up the next left to re-enter the bottom left of the course. I even clipped that cone above Station 5 on one of my runs in my effort to set up the next left, as did Dave Critcher (which made me feel better ;) ).
Approaching that left, I braked hard, trailed in, let the car go wide to set up the sharp left at the bottom left of the course, then threw it around the corner, sliding the car as before. On exit, it was roll on full throttle and go roaring up through the channel to the slalom. Dave told me his instrumentation said he topped out at 70+ mph there in his GT3.
The slalom past the channel was another focus of attention for the drivers that day. The start direction (left or right) was optional, but which was better? I originally thought right because the exit then allowed you to flow very naturally to the right into the final elements in the lower right of the map, but in the end, I totally changed my tune. I chose the left entry (as did the majority of the fast and experienced drivers), angling through the channel and exiting as far left as possible, backsided the first cone, and only had to brake hard and trail for the second to help rotate the car, then back on the throttle really hard at the third cone, edging left as I passed the 4th, then back to the right and a surprisingly quick (but hard) jab of the brakes before trailing into the right hander to enter the finish sequence.
Past the slalom, I again rolled on the throttle and slithered through the gates with surprising speed, then trailed hard into the sharp left to enter the sweeper taking me up to the finish. This was another case where I needed to be looking far ahead early at the exit gate above Station 1 in order to drive the proper line as fast as possible. With the rear of the car just on the edge of oversteering, I finished the sweeper and flew into the Stop box. Phew! This course was fast but required a lot of concentration to obtain really good times. What a treat!
We had one minor snafu when a car at the end of heat 2 left a trail of oil at places on the course, so we had to delay the start of heat 3 while we cleaned that up. We keep kitty litter for that purpose, which was spread and swept in on the visible traces, then Mark and I spent 10 minutes or so driving our cars at about 70% over it to work it in. After that, we used the backpack blower (with Mark Miller doing the work) to blow the kitty litter off the track and when completed, we were good to go for heat 3. Fortunately, no problems were encountered in the 3rd heat due to the oil on the course. First car off was at 9:35 AM and heat 3 completed at 3:50 PM, a bit later than usual due to the oil cleanup. It was also a bit late because I opted to do 7 runs. The first heat went very smoothly and took 1:35, so if we had kept to the schedule projected from that heat, we would have been done between 2:30 and 3:00, which is what I really wanted. The drivers were enthusiastic about having 7 runs anyway. ;)
As always, Phong quickly assembled the results after the event and the top 10 placing Porsches for
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Chesapeake Region PCA coordinates the purchase of PCA Organizational License Plates issued through the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA). The PCA License Plate Program promotes the visibility and camaraderie of PCA. PCA Maryland License Plates are prenumbered Organizational Plates, not vanity plates. PCA License Plates are available for all cars, trucks and minivans, but not for motorcycles or trailers.
Cost: The one-time cost for the PCA License Plates is $40.00, which includes the $25.00 MVA fee and a $15 Chesapeake PCA fundraising fee to support the PCA License Plate Program and Chesapeake Region events.
If you have any questions regarding the purchase of PCA Maryland Organizational License Plates, please contact us at: pcaLicensePlates@pcachs.org. Safe and Happy Motoring.
Chesapeake Region Grill Badge
Get a heavy “gold- plated” Chesapeake Region metal car badge. Each metal car badge comes complete with stainless steel slotted retaining plate, screws, washers and nuts to mount it through your car grille or separate mounting plate.
The cost per metal car badge is $30 or two for $50, inclusive of shipping and handling. To order: Go to www.pcachs.org and use the “STORE” menu from the main page. Click the button and complete the order form page and make your payment.
How To Apply: The only way to apply for PCA Organizational License Plates is to complete the online PCA Maryland License Web Form at https:// pcachs.org/pca-maryland-license-plate/ and submit it electronically. Please click on the above link to learn the details and requirements to apply for PCA License Plates.
Requirements: You must be a PCA Member and the car must be registered in Maryland. The PCA Plates are not limited to Porsches. You can apply for PCA plates for all your cars registered in Maryland!
Get your Chesapeake Region Name Badge!
Go to www.pcachs.org and use the “STORE” menu from the main page. Click the button and complete the order form page. The Name Badge cost is $25, inclusive of shipping and handling.
A celebration of Porsche in Diecast form. Spanning many years and models, the Zuffenhausen museum was celebrating all forms of collecting.
Photo taken in October, 2023