Rik Larson, SVR President

·      We finish up 2023 with a great turnout at the Planning and Pizza event. This was the largest turnout for our event planning that I recall. Thanks to John Leet and Mardi Quain for getting this event on rather short notice. It was Mardi who suggested that we move the event from our traditional January gathering to the month of November to get a jump start on the planning for 2024 events. And it worked!

·      We enjoyed the celebration of the 75^th anniversary of Porsche with many events ---- including the June event at Porsche Rocklin, and then the real big event at Rennsport Reunion 7 in Monterey in September.

·      We see that the Zone 7 Autocross Rules Committee has been busy with reviewing the 2023 rules and discussing changes for the 2024 Zone AX Series season. The proposed changes and rules are available to examine (and download) at the Zone 7 website at zone7.pca.org

·      And of course, a HAPPY HOLIDAYS to everyone.

·      The 2024 SVR calendar is very full with 8 tours planned, an AX series, a TSD Rally series, and a couple of wine tours. There is also the traditional AX School that will have company again this year with a TSD Rally School. And we have two dinners planned in the first two months of the calendar year. There is always room for more.

·      The 2024 Zone 7 AX series dates and Zone 7 Concours dates are not yet finalized. We expect to see those 2024 dates sometime in January.

·      The PCA Treffin Wine Country event will be held this coming April at the Fremont Sonoma Mission Inn. Registration opens on January 10, 2024 at 12 noon our time. All the details are at treffen.pca.org.  Participants will be required to stay at the hotel (special rates at this luxurious hotel will run from $339 to $389 per night ---- plus the normal taxes and resort fees). I think there is a pool already underway to see how fast this event will sell out. I am thinking that it will be sold out by the time that the clock strikes 12:06:17 (Pacific Time).

·      Porsche Sacramento --- well that is my guess for the name of the new Porsche Center that is finishing up construction at Howe and Auburn Blvd (nice tricky exit off Business 80). Remember they are not called dealerships anymore; they are now called “Centers.”

·      It starts up again in January with the first race being held in Mexico City on January 13^th.

·      There are two races in the United States in 2024……….both in Portland, Oregon at the Portland International Raceway --- one of the few permanent tracks that are used for the series.

·      Remember that the U.S. based Andretti team is in the competition again this year with a Porsche powertrain.

·      Remember to wear your SVR name badge to events.

·      This is a term that we have started using in the past 12-18 months that describes an event that we (the board of directors) think is of interest to our members.

·      The event is organized and administered by another organization and our members attend at their discretion.

·      The event may have its own insurance requirements, fee structure, etc.

·      Events that we have designated as an “Event of Interest in the past include:

o  Christmas Tree Decorating and Potluck (held at CAM)

o  Sacramento Auto Show (held at Cal Expo)

o  Caffeine and Cars (held at Porsche Rocklin)

o  Rally 4 Kids (conducted by the EuroSunday group with a holiday gift for the kids at the Shriners Children’s Hospital with a drive thru from the many car clubs in the Sacramento area).

·      I received a request from a SVR member who wanted to possibly start a column in the DRIFTER that provides for some general gossip (Porsche or otherwise). Exaggerations and half-truths accepted. Snitching on your fellow member is fair game.

·      The member wants to remain anonymous so gossip would only be accepted via email.

·      Drop a note to      911SallySpecial.Porsche@gmail.com

A huge thanks to everyone who attended our annual planning meeting! There are tons of great ideas, and we have a busy calendar developing for 2024, which you can see below. Although, I realize it might be a bit difficult to read due to the many events we have planned! We will get this information put on the SVR website shortly.

Do you have an idea for an event that you would like to host? Please reach out to Mardi Quain, or any of the SVR board members and we can help you get it planned and added to the calendar.

The holiday season is upon us. I hope to see you at the Christmas Party we have planned for December 23rd. Sign up here, and make sure to wear an ugly sweater! http://msreg.com/SVRChristmasParty2023

-John

and more can be seen with this link

The Rally School is planned for February 24^th. 

·        Rally 1 – March 23^rd.

·        Rally 3 - June 8^th

·        Rally 4 - July 20^th

·        Rally 5 - September 14^th 

·        The Turkey Run Rally (Rally 6) - November 16^th

2023 was a year of restarting driving tours after the multi-year hiatus caused during COVID.   The historical CRAB event began the year followed by two new member tours, Mike Willis’ Hearst Castle weekend, Rik Larson’s Mendocino weekend, two midweek day tours and four Saturday tours.

We came out of our 2024 club planning meeting with twelve tours on the calendar for ’24. In addition to the Spring and Fall New Members Tours, we have a multi-day tour to Pacific Grove in June, the multi-day tour to Mendocino in November, the New Years Day Polar Bear Tour, and then monthly day tours beginning in April.

Watch for details in the January drifter about our April 7^th Poker Run Tour, May 18^th Historic Route 40 Tour from Roseville to Donner Summit, and the June 22nd tour from Davis to the Bally Keal Estate Winery north of Fairfield.  And details on Jim and Linda McMahen’s weekend tour to Pacific Grove May 3-5.

REGISTRATION REQUIRED MOTORSPORTREG.COM 

If you have not attended one of the club’s longest running annual tours, you will now get to read about what you missed. Tour chair and club president, Rik Larson, has organized the club’s annual tour to Mendocino for somewhere between 20 and 30 years running. Except for a cancellation during Covid, I think this is the club’s longest running annual tour and is one of the premiere multi-day tour events the club organizes. Many thanks to Rik Larson for all the work be put into organizing the tour route, arranging the hotels, meals and other activities which make this such a fun and engaging event.

There was a total of approximately 45 cars registered and some 60 members participating. It is one of the most well attended tours that the club hosts. The beautiful fall weather on Friday greeted tour goers with sunny skies and brisk morning temperatures. Following a mandatory driver’s meeting, some 22 members started the tour at Porsche Rocklin and met another 30 or so members in Dixon at the Pedrick Produce Market just off I-80. There was a lot of socializing going on at each starting point as members greeted each other with warm hugs and hellos!

The road from Dixon out on Highway 128 was wonderful. With many areas of the highway recently repaved there weren’t many complaints from drivers about how fun the initial tour route was to drive with plenty of curves and twisty roads. The two groups were sent out with a 15-minute gap so that we would not all bunch up as a huge group and cause a minor traffic jam that could have been several miles in length. This is general practice with organizing a tour and limiting the number of cars in a group to no more than 20. Easier for the lead and sweep to keep their eyes on all the cars and the group together.

Rick planned a lunch break at Lake Sonoma picnic area just below the Lake Sonoma Dam where members enjoyed more camaraderie and lunch. The tour officially ended after lunch and allowed members to join with a few fellow members for the drive to the Little River Inn or to stop and enjoy some of the 30 or so wineries along Highway 128 heading West. Some of the more notable winery stops on the way to Mendocino included Husch, Roederer Estate and Handley Cellars winery that were just a short drive away from Lake Mendocino. The drive from our lunch spot in Lake Sonoma to Mendocino took about 2 hours and covered some 80 miles of beautiful scenery and twisty roads.

The weather forecast for the weekend was ominous with rain forecast for much of both Saturday and Sunday. However, weather forecasts are just predictions and some of them came true.

The miniature golf and kite flying on Saturday greeted members with chilly morning temperatures but not rain. The kite flying, which was held on the Mendocino Headlands, just on the edge of the town of Mendocino was under mostly cloudy skies and was somewhat misty but with no heavy rainfall and plenty of wind to get the kites up in the sky.

The rain, as predicted, finally came in late afternoon but did not affect our group dinner on Saturday night at The Wharf in Fort Bragg where some 40 or so members enjoyed feasting on some of the best prepared seafood on the Mendocino coast.

For those that are golfers, my wife and I enjoyed a round of golf at the Little River Inn and met up with members later for some photo opportunities during the kite flying. There was an awards ceremony held at the miniature golf facility where Rik Larson presented awards for miniature golf. Rik also raffled off the wonderful gifts donated by Porsche Rocklin at the dinner on Saturday evening.

On Sunday, tour goers were on their own heading back home with several cars staying another night.

All in all, I think everyone had a great time and many will likely register again next November for this wonderful event.

The 2024 Mendocino Tour is already scheduled………..save the dates of November 1-3, 2024.

And since many folks like to make it a 3-night stay, don’t forget to book Sunday night as well.

And a BIG THANKS to our tour group guides: Jim and Linda McMahen, Mike and Emily Willis, Collin and Elaine Fat. Also a BIG THANKS to Mike Willis for setting up the miniature golf event on Saturday morning

Darrel Huckabay

The Turkey Run Rally, held on Saturday, November 18^th, was traditional a Time-Speed-Distance (TSD) rally approximately 4 hours in duration and 120 miles in length. The Rally started and finished in the parking lot at Brookfields Restaurant in Rancho Cordova. The Rally had 19 driver and navigator teams entered of which 16 started. Due to predicted heavy rain, which fortunately was relatively mild, a couple of the entrants did not start the Rally.

The Rally, which utilized the Richta timing system, traversed the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in the vicinity of Sutter Creek, Ione, Lake Camanche, and Rancho Murietta. Overall the Rally was well received by the entrants though several recommended that in the future badly deteriorated roads not be utilized.

Of the 19 entrants the majority were novices with only 2 entrants each in the Senior and Expert classes. The Rally featured 23 timing controls or checkpoints of which one was dropped due to an error in the instructions.

The overall winning team, with a total error of 109 for the Rally, which was timed to the nearest second, was Craig Marshall and Tom Panacci competing in Senior Class in a BMW. Second overall, also in Senior Class, was Gennet Paauwe and Robert Paauwe with a total score of 122. Third overall and 1^st in Novice Class was John McCarthy and Kimberly McCarthy, in a Mazda, with a total score of 194. Second in Novice Class and 4^th overall, competing in a Porsche, was Jason Silva and Madison Silva with a total score of 235. Third in Novice Class was Marcelo Masur and Sherye Masur with a total score of 299. The Expert Class winning team was James Tong and Kent Laugendorff competing in a Porsche. A trophy was awarded to 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd in Novice Class, and to 1^st place in Senior Class and Expert Class.

The events will typically be about 120 miles in length and 4 hours in duration. The rallies will have reasonably easy to follow directions on mostly scenic low volume paved roads. Route instructions will be designed to be easy to follow for the beginning rallyist while at the same time proving some challenges or learning experiences for all participants. Scoring will utilize the Richta timing system. The Rally School is planned for February 24^th. The schedule for the rallies is as follows:

·        Rally 1 – March 23^rd.

·        Rally 3 - June 8^th

·        Rally 4 - July 20^th

·        Rally 5 - September 14^th 

·        The Turkey Run Rally (Rally 6) - November 16^th

Details as to time and location for the Rally School along start location and time, and other information for the rallies will be posted to the SVR website. Registration for The Rally School and rallies will be done using MotorsportReg.

43 drivers competed in SVR’s final autocross of the season at Thunderhill Raceway Park in Willows, Ca. Willows is located about 60 miles north of Sacramento just off of Interstate 5. This was the tenth and final event of the 2023 season. With the season including the club’s annual Porsche Rocklin 2 day autocross school as well as the CRAB 38 autocross, it was a very busy season and provided many opportunities for members to participate and to try their first event.

Top time of day, TTOD went to John Leet with a blazing time of 40.577 seconds followed closely by Susan Fontaine with a time of 40.879 seconds. Susan also took TTOD honors for the ladies.

The 43 drivers participating also included 7 novices who were provided in car instruction. Having so many novices signup is a good sign of the health of the club’s program as its growth and survival depend on attracting new drivers to each event.

The new calendar for the 2024 season looks like it will include 8 competitive events in addition to the annual Porsche Rocklin 2 -day Autocross School to be held in March. The school sells out to its capacity of 30 students each year. Watch for the flier in the January Drifter for the Autocross School flier and registration link. All of the program’s events are held at Thunderhill Raceway Park in Willows, California, about 60 miles north of Sacramento just off of Interstate 5.

A big shout out to all my team members who helped make this season a success. Without all the work they do behind the scenes and before each event the program could not happen. Tasks such as course design and setup, tech inspection, timing and scoring, registration, instruction, and breaking down the course after each event takes place is not always appreciated by the average participant.

My buddy and I, along with our wives, were stuck on a German backroad on a freezing night. We were in his Mercedes Benz, which kept running out of fuel. But when we stuck a twig in the tank, we found lots of fuel. The car would run a short distance, and then stop again. Had the twig done anything? That didn’t seem likely. What else had we put in the tank? The answer was obvious, even though we couldn’t see it, we had let air into the tank! The gas cap had a small vent to allow air in to replace the fuel that was pumped out.  Upon inspection, we found the vent hole was frozen solid. The engine would run without the cap, so we used the cars’ heater to melt the ice in the vent. We then replaced the cap and drove to the restaurant, where we brought the cap in with us to keep it warm for the trip home. My wife hid it in her purse as we didn’t know if the restaurant staff would approve. Maybe it was against the law, who knows?

We didn’t take the autobahn because the backroad was a more direct route for us, but Ike admired the autobahns. During World War II, General Dwight Eisenhower was impressed by how the Germans used the Bundesautobahn to quickly move troops from one area to another. Later, when Ike became our 34^th President, he developed our Interstate highway system to, among other things, help us quickly reposition troops if we were ever invaded.

One weekend we went to see the races at Nürburgring. We were returning to our BMW when we were told that it was blocking another car that had to leave with a medical emergency. That was a close call as they were just about to break our window and push our car out of the way. We eventually did lose a window in an attempted theft in Paris, but that was the only mishap the BMW suffered in two years.

We had planned to see the races at Hockenheim but didn’t for some reason or other. It’s just as well, as that year the 1963 and 65 Formula One World Champion and Indianapolis 500 winner, Jim Clark, with 25 Grand Prix victories (more than anyone else at that time) crashed and died. We read about it in the Army Times the next day.

My wife’s sister and another girl planned to visit for the summer. The three girls would then use the BMW to visit various sites around Europe and I would need transportation. The solution was to buy a cheap used car that I could drive for a couple months, and then sell before we returned to the United States.

Sadly, we would also have to sell the 1600ti as it didn’t meet U.S. smog regulations. BMW solved that problem by installing a bigger engine, but with less power due to all the smog stuff and called it the 2002. That was the car that introduced America to BMW. It was so successful that BMW bought the Glas factory (story #2) and converted it into a 2002 plant, a process known as creative destruction. Eventually, over 800,000 BMW 1600s and 2002s would be produced, including 8670 of the BMW 1600 ti, one of which gave us a lot of pleasure in Germany for two years. I hope it’s still running.

We didn’t own a television because all the TV programs were in German. One morning the four of us got up very early and drove the BMW to the officers’ club. The staff told us we were too early for breakfast, but we said that was fine, we just wanted to watch the television. The announcers were speaking in German about the black and white image on a screen behind them. From that audio/video feed at 4:56 AM, we could clearly hear, in English, Neil Armstrong say, “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.”

The Army ran an elementary school for military children and there was always a turnover of teachers during the summer months. My wife found a teacher returning to the States who had a 1958 Volkswagen Beetle to sell. We paid $50 for it, and it was worth every penny! (We sold it to another teacher for $50 when we were done with it, and ready to return home ourselves.)

There might have been a couple dents in the bug, but it was drivable, and it had passed the required USAEUR (US Army Europe) safety inspection, which was always a big deal. It had the standard air-cooled flat four designed by Ferdinand Porsche for Adolf Hitler in the 1930s, but with 1192 cc and 36 HP. My wife picked it up and left it for me in the main parking lot as I was working the late shift and the girls were on their way to Paris in the BMW.

It was midnight when I got off duty and walked out to the mostly deserted parking lot looking for the car. I found it parked on a slope, nose first. I tried the key, the door opened, and the engine started! I shifted into reverse and eased out the clutch. The car went forward down the slope. Silly me, I was in the wrong gear! I tried again, and again I went forward. I tried all the gears I could find, and I kept going down the slope. Did we buy a less-than-perfect $50 car? Did Ferinand forget to include a reverse gear? How would I get home; how would I get to work the next morning, or for the next two months? And why does this always happen at night?

To be continued…

SVR Membership Report

Zone 7 Representative

Diablo Region

510.695.5030

Hello Zone 7

December brings Holiday greetings from me to ALL.

What a year! I wanted to take this opportunity to also say THANK YOU. I am so honored and thrilled to be your Zone 7 Rep. Thank you to the national staff I have worked with including all 13 other Zone Reps for encouragement, insight, guidance, and support. What a fun group. To the Region Presidents and their welcoming support, I really enjoy being part of all your “Region families”. Must say thank you to the Zone 7 Autocross and Concours Chairs and support teams for continuing such a wonderful series that are unique to Zone 7 only. And to ALL of you members, for being part of my PCA community, I hope your 2024 is full of great events and friendships.

Simone Kopitzki and Roy Schauben are excited to continue to be Zone 7 Concours Co-Chairs for 2024. Thanks to Simone and Roy for all you do and

for being the very effective pair you are. They work with the Concours chairs from the Regions to put on a great Zone series.

Brant Balentine will continue in 2024 as the Zone 7 Autocross chair. The AX team of Region Chairs have brought fantastic Zone competition to members.

Look for some fantastic events in Zone 7 for 2024. Of course, all that your local region does. The available Zone events that include the Autocross and Concours series.

The Spring Treffen held in Sonoma hosted by the Redwood Region. Look for updates on Zone series calendars. AND the Zone 7 Autocross series / Concours series & Zone awards dinner to be held Saturday March 2nd. Diablo Hills Golf Course, Walnut Creek (more info on that & registration info soon as well)

I do hope to see you at an event SOON.

Brian

Zone 7 website zone7.pca.org

Zone 7 Facebook ---main page

Zone 7 Facebook – AX page

Zone 7 Facebook – Concours page

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100022948849345

2024 Zone 7 Annual Awards – Save the Date! Saturday March 2^nd, 5pm to 8PM, held at Diablo Hills Golf Course. Walnut Creek, MORE INFO TO COME…

2024 Zone 7 Autocross - Click here for information on the Zone 7 Autocross schedule.

2024 Zone 7 Concours - Click here for information on the Zone 7 Concours series.

2024 Shasta Region Zone 7 Tour (its 8^th year)

·        June 21-24

·        Registration will open on MotorsportReg on February 1, 2024 at 7 am

Event registration links at  zone7.pca.org

2023 Zone 7 Autocross Series Schedule

Results are posted at  zone7.pca.org

2023 Zone 7 Concours Series Schedule

Results are posted at  zone7.pca.org

weathertechraceway.com

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request form (link)

Membership Director, at:

membership@svr-pca.org

Since we use e-mail for most of our communications, it is necessary to keep our e-mail address current with SVR and PCA. To update your information, go to www.pca.org and login. You can then make any updates (address, car, e-mail etc.).

Also, even though we receive the information from PCA monthly, you can send the same updates to: membership@svr-pca.org. New Member badges will now come with a removable colored sticker to encourage introductions at club events. They can be removed at any time. Welcome to the Sacramento Valley Region of the Porsche Club of America.

How do you join the Porsche Club? Go to: https://www.pca.org/user/join/membership -This is an online system that will request a credit card for payment. If you would rather fill out a paper form, contact 2023 SVR Membership Director, at membership@svr-pca.org

Not a Porsche owner but interested in the PCA? Try the PCA Test Drive program. For information, go to: www.pca.org/pca-test-drive Need to update your PCA information? Update your PCA record at www.pca.org

Do you have 2 e-mail addresses? Want Club info sent to a second email, work, home, spouse, friend...? It’s as easy as e-mailing your second e-mail address to the Membership Director, membership@svr-pca.org

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