A personal reflection...

Article by: Doug McPherson

I was a volunteer, helping with the form-up grid, along with Joshua Herreen & Lorraine Coupe, for the showcase Porsche Easter Nationals, hosted by the Porsche Club of SA and with attendees from Queensland, NSW and VIC, along with the SA entrants. The Bend circuit at Tailem Bend was the venue chosen for this important meet.

Initially sorting out competitor lap times was based on the car’s performance, but as each session was run, there was a continual change of order based on each competitors times from the previous session. Obviously, our interstate guests recorded the greatest improvements in their lap times during the first morning session, as they came to grips with a new track.

After the first day’s competition, most competitors and their ‘support crew’ ie family, attended a dinner at The Bend function room. It was an opportunity to meet other Porsche club members from interstate. In my case I was on a table with fellow Porsche enthusiasts from Brisbane.

The Bolwell Car Club were holding their National Rally based at The Bend over the same week-end. I was very fortunate to sit down at breakfast the next morning with a couple of the founding members of the Bolwell Car Company, which in its day was a leading Australian ‘kit car’ manufacturer. Interestingly the company is still involved with composite manufacturing today.

Always at these motorsport events there is an opportunity to re-connect with friends. John Marosszesky and I first met as trainee technicians at OTC in the 70s in Sydney. We were both into our cars as 20 year olds. We re-connected many years later at the Porsche Clubs event at Bathurst in Easter 2010. John was in his 968 and I was in my 964. As the cars had very similar performance we had nominated similar times under the regularity rules. This year John was attending in his bright blue (Miami Blue) 987.2 Cayman S, enjoying all that The Bend had to offer.