August 2024

Volume 66, Issue 8

July 4th Pocket Parade

Photo Robert Hrabak

From The Editor

Mike Willis

editor@svr-pca.org

Thanks to our Advertisers for YOUR

continuing support in 2024

And along the same lines John Mueller has volunteered to be our Adverting Chair.

Note any SVR member can submit articles to the Drifter for consideration for the good of the region. (Submit-al should be word DOC with attached or inserted images. )

When sending me a video it needs to be on a webpage (link) or a file not to exceed 5MB. Also images have the same limit. (I am able to resize most of them).

Please note text that is blue is a link. Also in some cases links in beaded in an image do not work by clicking on the image will have to "hand enter" them.

Also some of the event ads are also linked

When we use MSR (Motorsport Registration) all of those events advertised are linked to the specific registration. If the ad is an image then the click on it for the link.

Our Drifter Staff

Rik Larson, Proof Reader/Tickler

Skip Quain, Contributor

John Mueller, Advertising Manager

SVR Members - Event Chairs Also Contributors

 Rik Larson, SVR President

PDK (Pretty Darn Kwik)

August 2024

president@svr-pca.org



Concours Lite Events Continue

·      The second event (Sunday, August 11^th ) will be held at the California Automobile Museum (also known as CAM) on Front Street in Sacramento. The third event will be held in September.

·      You can read about the first event in an article written (with photos) by Collin Fat elsewhere in this issue of the DRIFTER.

·      The series is designed for beginning and intermediate level competitors so that people can dip their toes in the real Concours pool. As such any car that has trophied in a Zone 7 Concours Series event will be asked to enter the Exhibit Only class and serve as an example of High Level Expert Preparation.

·      Judging will use the Zone 7 Concours classes for STREET class. It is intended for first time or novice Concours competitors. There will be no Full or Touring class entries judged.

·      Bob Peake asks that you register at   msreg.com/CleanCars-Coffee-2. He is asking spectators to also register so that he can properly plan for setting up the parking, the serving of coffee and doughnuts, cleanup, and judging.

·      COST: Judged Car is $20 (limit of 20 cars); Exhibit Car is $10 (limit of 10 cars); Spectators are welcome but there will be a $5 fee (also PLEASE register via MSREG). All registered entrants and registered spectators will receive coffee and doughnuts.

·      Questions: contact Bob Peake at 916.365.1819 OR  bbayou@jps.net

SVR Charity Auction Returns

·      Got some interesting automobile stuff that is just hanging around? Think about donating it for our auction on Sunday, September 29^th.

·      The organizers (Tambra Kroetz, Ruth Stark, and Kelley Murphy) are looking for nicer items, car related, home grown or hand made.

·      We will meet in Folsom at the VFW Post 6604 facility.

·      You will need to bring your lunch or snacks, a comfy chair. Inexpensive drinks will be available at the bar.

·      This is an old fashioned fun, friendly, and social charity auction. We will also have corn hole and of course, our world famous auctioneers and more!

·      Registration will open in a few days. Info will be in the next BLAST.

Next PCA Treffen at Sea -- 2025

·      Not to be confused with the Zone 7 and Zone 8 Princess Cruises event in November 2024 (departing from Los Angeles and visiting San Francisco and Mexico), the next PCA Treffen at Sea event will be held in 2025 (no dates yet) and will be departing from somewhere in the northeast US with travel to Canada. You heard it here first (unless you were on the Alaskan cruise that is just now finishing up this weekend).

Community Service Events

·      Dick’s next community service event is scheduled for Saturday, September 7th with a cleanup project at the Ride to Walk facility out in Penryn. See the flyer below.

Got an Event?

·      If you are thinking about chairing an event in 2025, then be sure and plan to attend the 2025 SVR Planning and Pizza event in November. Details coming.

2024 Formula E – coming down to the wire

·      Pascal Wehrlein of the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E team wins the 2024 Formula E season.

·      The final two races were held in London and Wehrlein won the first race and placed 2^nd in the second race. He won by 6 points over the Jaguar driver, Mitch Evans.

·      The TAG-Heuer Porsche team placed 2^nd in the team competition (a 16 race season).

·      Porsche also finished 2^nd in the manufactures’ race (the Andretti team uses the same powerplant as the TAG team). First place was Jaguar (by just 4 points).

Name Badge

·      Remember to wear your SVR name badge to events.

Greetings SVR!

As we endure the peak heat of summer, the club has ample opportunities to get out and enjoy your Porsche and the comradery of other members in a cool setting. Join us for one of our events! As a reminder, we have updated our registration pages on MSR with these links:

Autocross Events: https://svrax.motorsportreg.com/

All Other Club Events: https://svr.motorsportreg.com/

If you want to see what is going on, just check out the calendar below, or go to https://svr-pcaor.org/wp/calendar/

SVR relies on its members to make the club what you would like it to be. If you have an idea for an event, please consider hosting the event yourself. It is never too late to add an event to this year's calendar. Or, if you are thinking of next year, please join us in November for our annual event planning meeting. As an added bonus you will get all you can eat pizza for just $1.

As one of this year's objectives, the board is especially focused on identifying things we can be doing to better serve our members. If you have suggestions, feel free to send me an email in confidence to vicepresident@svr-pca.org. In the coming days, we will also be sending out a survey. We would very much appreciate your feedback, and I would like to thank you in advance for taking a few minutes to complete it.

Thanks!

Tired of triple digits temps?   Join us for the Beat-The-Heat tour from Lincoln to Emigrant Gap.  85- miles, spirited and non-spirited groups, fun mountain lodge/restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating. The average high temperature for August is 82 degrees.   See the Flyer elsewhere in the DRIFTER with details and link to MSR Registration site.  Capacity limited so enter early.

Member hosted Western BBQ and German Fest parties beginning with drive tours. Long time members Dick MacFarlane and Jim McMahen are hosting tour participants at their country residences for two upcoming tours.

·      MIDWEEK Wednesday September 11 – MacFarlane’s BBQ. The 82-mile Tour will depart Lincoln, head north past Camp Far West reservoir on lightly traveled roads, swing over to Penn Valley for a restroom break before passing north of Lake Wildwood and Rough And Ready, through Grass Valley and taking Rattlesnake Road down to the MacFarlane’s residence on Dark Horse Golf Course. Tired of putting up with weekend traffic?  This is the one for you! Dick and Pam MacFarlane will be providing BBQ with all the fix’ens, libations, and complete with 9/11 red-white-blue decorations to boot.    Come socialize and meet more of your fellow members, see old friends, and just have a relaxing time. Small fee to help support the cost of food and drink. Flyer with details and MSR registration info elsewhere in the DRIFTER.



·      October 5 – McMahen’s Octoberfest.  Jim and Linda McMahen are known for their annual party hosted at their country property in Newcastle. This year they will have an Octoberfest theme, complete with German faire brew.  We will offer an 85-mile tour from El Dorado Hills, up Salmon Creek Falls Rd, down Hwy 49 before climbing the hill towards Georgetown, passing through Garden Valley and Cool enroute to the American River confluence, then doubling back to cross the Auburn-Folsom Bridge enroute to their home. You can do the Tour only, Tour and Octoberfest, or just the Octoberfest.  See the flyer elsewhere in the DRIFTER for details and link to MSR registration site. 

First Timers Camp Far West Rally Take Away

By Rick Duste car #10

You know how you have a preconceived idea of what something is?  A Rally …. Hmmm.    Surely we’re not going to be flying over hill-and-dale power sliding around dirt corners? Or flying down country roads with all the locals an arms-length away lining the road?   I’ve seen those Rallies on ESPN and pictures in the magazines. I mean this is PCA governed right?  Math calculations and debating with the wife why we are lost.  I don’t think that PCA liability insurance covers divorce attorneys does it?

I gave in to pressure from my fellow Rally Chair and enlisted my 16-year old grandson to be my navigator.  I will admit, we both had a great time. It’s nothing at all what I had envisioned.  

We were given a set of written directions when we arrived to check-in for the drive. We had an hour to look over the directions and get familiar with them.  Each car departs the starting parking lot 1-minute apart. You have a running cumulative odometer reading in the first column followed by some kind of action at each point.  Example: “At START, set odometer to 0.0, R out of parking lot”. So right turn leaving parking lot. Next is “0.41, R at STOP”.  Easy enough, turn right at the stop sign. “0.81, R at SIGNAL (Harbor. Get in left through lane)”. OK, turn right at the traffic light, which is Harbor Blvd, get in the left lane. And so on.   

Later on its gets a little more tricky.  Example: “7.02, S at SIGNAL. Pause 30 seconds”.  Ok, here we so straight through the traffic signal located at 7.02 miles, then pull over and pause for 30 seconds, and then continue.   The next task we are trying to do is maintain an average speed between given points. If you haven’t been given an average speed to maintain, then you just try to “average” the posted speed limit.   If you get slowed up because of an arterial stop sign or something else, you will want to go a little faster for a while to make up for the time you were not traveling at the speed limit. Remember your trying to maintain an average speed. Further on in the route they started giving us average speeds. The would change at different points. Such as “9.46, R after “Levee Road Drive Carefully” (Vernon Rd). Record your mileage and turn. CAST 54”.  What this is telling you is at 9.46 miles, turn right after the “Levee Road Drive Carefully” sign (the quotes in the instruction indicate it is a sign and what the sign says). It also lets you know your turning onto Vernon Rd so that will allow you to double check you’re turning at the right place. It tells you to record your odometer reading and now maintain an average speed of 54 mph until told differently.  Because you slowed for the corner, you may have to travel a little faster than 54 for a while to make up for the time you were driving less than 54.  

At this point in our Rallying career, we just winged it on how long to drive a little faster and how much faster.  We actually found we got darn close to getting zero points a number of times with this method. Some instructions might be “20.26, L 1st OPP (Scheiber Rd)”.  So at 20.26 odometer reading you turn left at the first opportunity, which happens to be Scheiber Rd).   Another instruction might be “3.79 At “speed Limit 25” CAST 24” which means when you pass the 25 miles per hour speed limit sign at 3.79 miles on your odometer, now average 24 mph until further instruction to change. 

Along the Rally route there are check points. For this 90-mile route, there were 29 check points (approximately one every 3 miles). They are not evenly spaced so some are closer, some are further apart.    An APP (Richta) is loaded onto your phone.  It tracks your progress and records the actual time your car (really your phone) passes each check point. Then it pings and you can see on the phone how many seconds early or late you were.    At the end of the event, whoever has the lowest number of points wins.    If you goof up, don’t worry.   Each of the 29 segments scores separately. So, if you mess up one leg, you start from zero at the check point for the next leg.   The maximum number of points you can be hit with on any leg is 100. So if you really mess up badly, the worst case is you get 100 points for that leg and start fresh again on the next one.   

At four different points we are instructed to reset the odometer to zero. Called a Restart. This is helpful because if you do make a wrong turn (unplanned detour) and your cumulative miles gets all messed up, you have a couple points where you set it to zero again and get a fresh start (and don’t have to make mental adjustments anymore if your odometer and the instructions aren’t tracking). 

While there is a winner (low points) as well as a 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd finisher (and there are three groups – Novice, Senior, Expert), we found that we really were competing against ourselves. Each leg was a new challenge to see how close to “zero” we could get.   This was our first time. We got three zeros (we were jazzed), eleven legs that were less than 10 seconds over/under, and a total of 284 points for the drive. 3^rd place in Novice. Hey, not bad.   Yes, we had two wrong turns and a couple disasters. But winning wasn’t the point.  After a while we just wanted to see how close we could get to zero and then figure out why or why not, adjust for the next leg and see how it worked out.   Most of our best scores were in the last third of the route (as you might expect).  

At the end we ended up at a pizza parlor where we had lunch, shared stories with the others about common places we messed up, and found out how we did.

Hey, I’m the Tour guy. But yes, I will do another Rally. It’s different, but kinda fun. Especially when you see one of the other cars passing you going the other way and you’re thinking, hmmm, I think one of us screwed up.  The next SVR rally is September 14.  Watch for details from the Rally crew. 

2024 SVR TSD Rally Series (updated 7/10/24)

SVR’s Time-Speed-Distance (TSD) Rally Series for 2024 has 3 more rallies scheduled for the year. The rallies will typically be about 90 to 120 miles in length and up to 4 hours in duration. They will have reasonably easy to follow directions and make use of mostly scenic low volume paved roads. The rallies are designed 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 schedule for the rallies is as follows:

• Journey into Spring Rally (Rally 1) – March 23rd.

• Foothills Journey Rally (Rally 2) - April 27th

• Gold Country Rally (Rally 3) - June 8th

• Camp Far West Rally - July 20th

• Rally 5 - September 14th

• The Turkey Run Rally (Rally 6) - November 16th

The Camp Far West Rally will start in West Sacramento and finish in Auburn. Rally 5 is planned to start in Davis and finish in Dixon. Details as to the actual start location and time, and other information about the rallies will be posted on the SVR website as well as on MotorSportReg (www.motorsportreg.com).

Series awards will be made to top qualifying finishers in each class.

To qualify for an award, one must complete at least 3 of the rallies. Series scoring will be based on a participant’s performance on a maximum of 4 of the rallies

Join Us At The Ranch

September 7th

SVR Community Service Day

Ride to Walk Ranch

Please mark calendars to join in this SVR service project.  We will need 40 SVR members to complete this worth while service 

Mike Ritenour the owner of NorCal Tree Management has donated 

his crews time and equipment to do some tree maintenance for our project.

Other donations of time and materials are pending 

Please email me at rmacfarlane721@gmail.com if you are able

to join us on September 7th.

Thank you 

Dick MacFarland

916.715.5765

September Odyssey Rally

A TSD Road Rally Saturday, September 14, 2024

The rally starts IHOP Restaurant at 1745 Colwell Boulevard in Davis and finishes at Sudwerk Brewing Co. at 2001 2nd Street, also in Davis. For those that meet their driver/navigator at the start, there is a large park-n-ride lot nearby at the Mace Boulevard Interchange on Interstate 80.

The September Odyssey Rally is designed to be fun for all with simple instructions and a scenic route using well maintained paved public roads. The duration of the rally is approximately 4 hours including breaks. The Richta scoring and timing system will be used for the rally. Participants will need to download the FREE Richta Competitor app to their smart phone. Information about the Richta Competitor app is available at: richtarally.com. The General Instructions will be posted to MotorsportReg.

First Car out at 10:01 AM. A competitor’s meeting will be held starting at 9:15 AM. Awards will be given to first place in Novice, Senior, and Expert Classes. Awards beyond first place in class dependent upon number of entries. This event is open to the public, all types of cars, not just Porsches.

The September Odyssey Rally is the fifth of six TSD rallies to be presented by SVR in 2024. Awards will be presented to the highest finishers in each class who have completed at least three of the six rallies.

Registration and payment at http://msreg.com/SVRSeptOdysseyRally. The entry fee is $35 per car. Discounts will be available to PCA members and those that have participated in a SVR rally in 2023 or 2024. Advance Registration is Required. PCA Insurance requires 2 people per car (Signing of the required PCA waiver can be done at time of registration).

Questions: rally@svr-pca.org. The Rallymaster is Darrel Huckabay. (916) 201-4436

Gold Country Rally

By Darrel Huckabay, Rallymaster



On June 8^th, The Sacramento Valley Region (SVR) held the Gold Country Rally, the third of a six time-speed-distance rally series for 2024. The Rally started and finished at Brookfields Restaurant in Roseville. The weather, unlike the first two rallies in the series, was sunny and dry. Eight Novice Class teams, including a couple of first timers, started the rally and all finished. Competitors included SVR members, members of other PCA regions, and non-PCA members. 

The rally route used mostly scenic local roads easterly of Interstate 80 before traversing through the historic Newcastle and Ophir communities and thence northerly of Auburn to continue to a break in Colfax. Following the break the route traversed along the Bear River to cross the river using the Dog Bar Crossing Bridge. The route then skirted along the southernly edge of The Lake of the Pines community before going South on Hwy 49 for a short distance to connect with rural roads that ultimately took the competitors through historic Gold Hill. The rally then went westerly to Sierra College Boulevard to connect to English Colony Way and a series of lower volume roads to skirt Newcastle and then on Taylor Road to the finish at Brookfields.

The Richta electronic checkpoint scoring system was used to score the rally. The system uses an application on the competitor’s phones to track their progress on the course and it determines their time as compared to the “ideal” time calculated to the nearest second. The purpose of a time-speed-distance rally, an exercise in precise driving while following written instructions, but always within posted speed limits, is to arrive at checkpoints, the locations of which are unknown until encountered, at the calculated time.

Awards were presented to the Driver and Navigator of the three teams that finished with the lowest total for the 22 checkpoints that were scored. The 1st place team was Bill and Whitney Figen, competing in a 2013 Porsche Boxster, with a total score of 163. The 2^nd place team was John and Kimberly McCarthy, in a 2019 Mazda MX-5, with a total score of 270, and 3^rd place was taken by the father and son team of Matt and Isaac Deter, in 2015 Porsche Cayenne S, with a total score of 365. The team of Kent Langendorff and Steve Long had a mechanical problem with their 2001 Porsche Boxster which resulted in them getting a maximum score on a leg. Even with that maximum score they were able to finish the rally after addressing the problem only 6 seconds behind the 3^rd place team. Attached are tables showing the total score for each team and scores for checkpoints.

Based upon the results of the first three events, the series points leaders for Novice Class Driver are Bill Figen with 56 points in 1^st, John McCarthy with 42 points in 2^nd, and Kent Langendorff with 31 points. Series leaders for Novice Navigators are Steve Long in 1^st with 51 points, Kimberly McCarthy in 2^nd with 42 points, and Whitney Figen in 3^rd with 36 points. Series awards will be given to top finishers based upon their performance on 4 of the 6 rallies in the series. To be eligible for a series aware competitors must have participated in a minimum of 3 of the 6 rallies. Below is a listing of the series standings after first three events.

Clean Cars & Coffee Event #1

By Collin Fat

Photos by Collin Fat

 More than 15 members participated in SVR’s first Clean Cars & Coffee event on Sunday, July 21^st. The event was held in an expansive and tree shaded park adjacent to the Folsom Rodeo arena and provided welcome shade and green grass to display members cars. The weather was a huge reprieve from the 100 degrees plus temperatures we have been having in the Sacramento Valley and concours participants were welcomed with a nice breeze and quite mild temperatures. Most cars arrived around 8:30 am and with the judging, coffee and doughnuts, and awards ceremony we were done well before 12 noon.

All six judged cars received awards after being judged by head concours judge, Bob Cannon, and crew. Clean Cars & Coffee is the brainchild of SVR treasurer, Bob Peake, whose goal was to create a CONCOURS LITE type of event where the car preparation was significantly less of task and if you had entered a regular Zone 7 concours. Yes, the judges looked at every nook and cranny but because all cars were entered into street class, only the exterior and interiors of the cars were judged.

The next Clean Cars and Coffee is August 11^th at the California Automobile Museum. To register go to: http://msreg.com/Clean-Cars-Coffee-2 Although Zone 7 scoring was used to judge the cars, the judges were more forgiving of flaws or missed smudges or minor scratches or a loose piece on lint on the passenger side carpet.

A big thank you goes to mastermind Bob Peake for trying to bring concours back to club members who might not have otherwise considered concouring their cars and putting them under the microscope of judging.

Tom Tyer putting the finishing touches on his 1988 911 Turbo Look

Bill Sardella and Bob Peake

Weyland Fat and Bob Peake

Autocrossers Survive Heat Wave!

By Collin Fat

Photos by Collin Fat

Matt Deter in his 2010 GT3

The heat wave that gripped California for several weeks in July created record breaking temperatures for Northern California. Yet 27 drivers took on the challenge and were rewarded with mild temperatures in the mid 80 degrees in the morning where all the 6 runs were completed by 1:00 pm. With a mild breeze and a welcome cloud cover, morning temperatures were bearable. The Martin Messersmith course design challenged all drivers with not only high-speed sweepers and several all -out straights, but some challenges created by slow speed corners that tested drivers braking and corner exit skills.  Average course times were in the 80 second range, which by historical standards was a long course.

There were 4 novice drivers who attended who were provided with expert instruction and complimentary loaner helmets who learned a little about car control, and hopefully who have improved their street driving skills as well. I hope to see the following novice drivers at our next event in August: Nathaniel Martin, Nicholas Amoah, Ken Davis, and Alex Monez. Excellent job!

The 80 second course rewarded precision driving to navigate the tight high- speed sweepers and several very tight technical turns designed into the course. Top time of day went to Drew Powers, 78.566, followed by Brant Ballantyne, 80.0936, John Leet, 80.622, Grady Carter, 80.775, and RJ Harrison with a 80.934. The full results can be found on the SVR website at: https://svr-pcaor.org/wp/autocross-results/. Drew had no issues figuring out the course and where he could stretch the legs of his Cayman and recorded at first run time of 78.909. If he would have quit after his first run, he would have handily captured top time of day. However, being an extremely competitive driver, he continued to improve on his times and ended with a top time of 78.566 just a few tenths better than his first run.

Registration is now open for SVR’s August 17^th event at:

http://msreg.com/SVR2024AX6.

Beginners and novices are always welcome,

and instruction and loaner helmets are available.

4th of July Porsche Parade

Robert Hrabak

Hard to believe, but this year the heat was even more oppressive than last year. However, that did not sway many players. We had 16 cars participate this year. Many parade “veterans” returned, but it was great to see some new faces: Matthew Start, Roberta Madeira and Robert Eluke, who all brought at least one other family member with them. 

As the group was getting ready to roll, a parade official stopped us. Ms. Sacramento’s designated car, a 1960s convertible, broke down. How about a Porsche replacement? SURE!! Deeann Price’s 2000 911 had the pleasure to be the replacement vehicle.  After some time in Deeann’s car, Ms. Sacramento decided to walk between the two lead cars and then wondered off into the crowd at times.

The parade route was lined with more spectators than in years past, but this time strategically placed in the shade provided by all the trees that lined the parade route. The kids were very “thick” near the judges’ stand. It was a challenge to toss the candy out fast enough. All members were busy flinging candy to the kids and having a grand time. Thank you to all participants!! I hope to see all of you and other members at next year’s event. Below is a link to more photos from the event.

For all of the images please click below

https://photos.app.goo.gl/P4Yz369kGFmV2ttA9

Thank you Collin!

June 15^th Autocross Summary

By Collin Fat,

Photos By Collin Fat

The weather was perfect for the SVR autocross on June 15^th. With mild temperatures in the 90’s and a light breeze for most of the morning runs. Drivers got 10 chances to post their best times. The course design my Martin Messersmith averaged about 50 seconds to complete and provided a few difficult technical corners, but for the most part flowed very well if driven at pace. In attendance were 5 novice drivers, all of whom were provided with an experienced SVR instructor.

The SVR autocross program has scheduled a total of 8 events not including the annual autocross school hosted by Porsche Rocklin which was held in March. There are still 4 events on the calendar for July, August, September, and October.

The next event is scheduled for Saturday, July 13^th.

To register go to: http://msreg.com/SVR2024AX5

TTOD, top time of day, went to Jason Trantham driving his 2021 C8 Corvette. Jason is not a member of the Porsche Club but likes the fact that he got 10 runs in for the day versus only the 4 runs he gets competing in SCCA autocross. This is his second event this season with SVR, and I suppose he wants to get in some seat time for his upcoming Ultimate Street Challenge.

Following Jason with the Porsches was John Leet, 47.713, Greg Zajic, 49.202, Collin Fat, 49.602, Mark Hanson, 79.862, Ed Burghardt, 50.044, Lanny Bowden, 50.470, Steve Nieslony, and Todd Noble with a 50.547 rounding out the 10 ten finishers.

For a complete list of the times for all drivers go to:

https://svr-pcaor.org/wp/autocross-results/

With the 200-foot expansion of the skid pad at Thunderhill last year, the extra square footage has allowed our course designer to add a few features and extend some of the straights in our courses. As a result, our courses are longer, and the speeds obtained by most modern Porsches have increased proportionally.

Driver John Lambeth with instructor Matt Deter in the driver seat.

The weather was perfect for the SVR autocross on June 15^th. With mild temperatures in the 90’s and a light breeze for most of the morning runs. Drivers got 10 chances to post their best times. The course design my Martin Messersmith averaged about 50 seconds to complete and provided a few difficult technical corners, but for the most part flowed very well if driven at pace. In attendance were 5 novice drivers, all of whom were provided with an experienced SVR instructor.

The SVR autocross program has scheduled a total of 8 events not including the annual autocross school hosted by Porsche Rocklin which was held in March. There are still 4 events on the calendar for July, August, September, and October. The next event is scheduled for Saturday, July 13^th. To register go to: http://msreg.com/SVR2024AX5

TTOD, top time of day, went to Jason Trantham driving his 2021 C8 Corvette. Jason is not a member of the Porsche Club but likes the fact that he got 10 runs in for the day versus only the 4 runs he gets competing in SCCA autocross. This is his second event this season with SVR, and I suppose he wants to get in some seat time for his upcoming Ultimate Street Challenge.

Following Jason with the Porsches was John Leet, 47.713, Greg Zajic, 49.202, Collin Fat, 49.602, Mark Hanson, 79.862, Ed Burghardt, 50.044, Lanny Bowden, 50.470, Steve Nieslony, and Todd Noble with a 50.547 rounding out the 10 ten finishers. For a complete list of the times for all drivers go to: https://svr-pcaor.org/wp/autocross-results/

With the 200-foot expansion of the skid pad at Thunderhill last year, the extra square footage has allowed our course designer to add a few features and extend some of the straights in our courses. As a result, our courses are longer, and the speeds obtained by most modern Porsches have increased proportionally.

Bob Peake at the starting line in his 2018 GT3

Autocross is a timed and competitive event where drivers navigate a course on a large skid pad or parking lot defined by traffic cones. It is an ultimate test of the skills of the driver as well as evaluating the limits of your Porsche in terms of balance, acceleration, braking capability, and cornering. It is a wonderful way to experience the handling of your Porsche that can not always be available to owners on the street and a great introduction to learn car control.

Steve Sherman in his 2009 Porsche Carrera

L/R: SVR AX Tea Members Steve Nieslony, Bob Peake and John Leet

Conn Valley Wine Tour

By Collin Fat

Photos by Collin Fat

More than 60 members posing for a group photo.

The club’s July tour featured a wonderful trip to Anderson Conn Valley Winery. There were over 60 members and 32 cars on the tour. After organizing into 4 drive groups each lead by a group leader and sweep, the groups meandered along the Sacramento River north of our meeting location in West Sacramento through the farmlands of south of Woodland towards Winters. From Winters, we got onto the twisty roads of Hwy 128 to stretch the legs of our Porsches heading toward the Napa Valley. It was sad to see the scarred hillsides caused by the big fire in 2020, but a pleasant surprise to see the lake full! As we exited Lake Berryessa it was a welcome change of scenery to see lush forests and some greenery.

It takes hours of work running the route and planning the tour. A big thank you to all the leads and sweeps who assisted tour chair, Rick Duste in organizing yet another fantastic tour. Thank you to the following leads and sweeps: John Leet, Michael Born, Michael Simcock, Rick Duste, Rik Larson, Ernie Bulhoes, Collin Fat and Michael Kline. Also, a big thank you to everyone who brought a small side dish to share at our winery lunch.

Conn Valley winery is a medium sized family -owned winery which seems to specialize in high quality, small production wines. Our host and winery owner, Todd Anderson, was gracious enough to give us a little history of the winery and a personal tour of his wine cave which measured more than 10,000 square feet in size. The winery’s website provided a little history About the winery:

Since 1983 we have been family owned and operated by Anderson’s, and since our first release in 1987, Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards has been dedicated to producing world-class wines. Our 40-acre estate is located just south of Howell Mountain in Conn Valley. We are just 3 miles or 10 minutes east of downtown St. Helena, you will feel worlds away from the hustle and bustle of busy tasting rooms. When you visit, we provide a personal and highly educational experience. Come get a slice of how Napa used to be, meet the owners and wine team, and most importantly taste fantastic wine.

L/R; Todd Anderson, Karen, and John Leet

Following a leisurely lunch and some birthday cake to celebrate the birthdays of Ernie Bulhoes, Skip Quain and Stacey Comerchero, winery owner Todd Anderson escorted our group up the hill of his winery in his tractor for a private tour and some barrel tasting.

L/R: John and Kelley Murphy next to his 2002 Porsche Turbo

Inside Conn Valley Winery wine cave

To view all of the photos taken on the tour, click the following link:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/wGfum6y6uCqrdo2WA

Note the article pages below are images

and various links do not work.

In Praise of Lesser Porsches

By John Hunter (Scotland)

The quest to find the perfect lesser Porsche has taken this Scotsman all over the place, even to foreign lands, which is why I ended up in Knutsford.

My companion du jour announced she was going to get her nails done, and it would take an hour, although quite what takes an hour when I can file my nails in three minutes defeats me, but that’s girls for you. So, with an hour to kill, I gravitated towards the McLaren showroom. It was a Friday afternoon, there was one salesman on duty but tied up in conversation with customers, so I was welcomed, but left in peace, the perfect arrangement. There were three different MP4-12Cs in the room, plus an absolutely fascinating example stripped to its carbon tub and engine as an exhibit, which I prowled round, boggle eyed in admiration at the stunning detail and engineering excellence. Finally, I opened the door to one of the cars and climbed in. Wow!

It felt like Ron Dennis himself had come round my gaff and measured me up like a tailor, and then gone back to Woking and built the car to fit me personally. The dimensions and ergonomics were simply perfect; it fitted me like a Savile Row suit. The style, layout and choice of materials also reeked of sheer minimalist class, just as I like it. It could have been designed by Apple or Braun, a total contrast to the garish interior of modern Ferraris. It is no lie that I sat in that cockpit for fully 20 minutes, unhassled by salesmen, and just "absorbed"; it was close to motoring nirvana. A lifelong petrolhead, I started out with mopeds and old Minis, and have spent ever since working my way up the motoring tree. The given mantra has always been "MORE": more speed, more power, more looks, more kit. The McLaren perhaps represents the pinnacle of everything I have thought I have been looking for these last forty-odd years; the performance car honed to utter perfection.

I stepped back out into the busy Cheshire afternoon and thought of that old saying, "Be careful what you wish for; it might come true" and realised it had just happened to me. I had finally found the car of my dreams, and it was as pointless as a chocolate ashtray. Back here in the real world were seething traffic, 20mph limits, speed humps, and camera vans lurking on every decent bit of road. What on earth was the point of a perfect 200mph car? And as I trudged off through the chi-chi little town to find the nail bar, I noticed the streets were littered with parked Mercedes, BMWs, Ferraris, Porsches and all those ghastly blingy SUV things. The sad truth is we have achieved a sort of motoring perfection, and the best we can use it for is as a sort of outdoor, heavily depreciating, male jewelry. Knutsford High Street, or the road to Damascus? Either way, it was certainly an epiphany. To tell the truth, I have for some years now had the nagging feeling that the performance car market was getting totally out of kilter with what our society allows, or even tolerates, and my visit to McLaren was really the final straw.

Six years ago, I bought a Porsche Cayman, my fifth Porsche, but my first (and probably last) new one. It is Guards Red, and I ordered it with almost no options; only cruise control (to help keep my license) and heated seats (cos my wife likes them) and nothing else. I was repeatedly told I was mad to buy such a bare-spec car, as I would never be able to sell it again, but as I had every intention of keeping it forever, it mattered not a jot to me. It was (and still is) my pride and joy. I have done over 50,000 miles in it, as I bought it to drive, not to polish, but it still looks as good as the day it was delivered. It is the fastest and most powerful car I have ever owned, and the figures make telling reading; 245 bhp, 160 mph and 6 seconds to 60. Back in the 70’s when I first started driving, and through all those years of devouring CAR magazine, those figures would have qualified you for the supercar club. And in a way they still do, for me at least, as the roads are busier than ever, speed is looked upon as some sort of social menace, and I have to watch my right foot carefully to avoid familiarity with the local magistrates court.

And yet, my Cayman is now obliterated by muscular hot hatches and torque-laden turbo diesels and is very much the baby of the Porsche range. Far from being a supercar, it is firmly considered a lesser Porsche. People sneer at my pathetic 17" wheels and ask where the sat-nav, PASM and leather seats are, and when am I going to trade it up for something faster. But I know a secret. Less is sometimes more and that was never truer than it is today in the world of sports cars. A week or so ago the Cayman was in for a service and Porsche Centre Edinburgh kindly lent me a new 991 Carrera 4S for 48 hours. In full attack mode, it was truly awesome, as an afternoon of spirited solo driving  proved, but it was also temptation on a stick which would have lost me my license in hours. In waft mode it was delicious, but ruinously thirsty, and moreover it carried a six-figure price tag. I enjoyed the experience, but I felt unusually relieved to hand it back. My Cayman may not be so fast, but at least I can deploy a few seconds worth of throttle without achieving the sort of speeds that jet fighters use for take-off. In short, I can actually enjoy "driving" it, rather than forever backing off. Less is truly more!

The problem with being a dyed-in-the-wool petrolhead is that it comes with a permanent itch to forever keep buying, selling or swapping cars. Having decided that I am no longer going to climb the performance tree, where next then to satisfy the itch? I have become aware that a lot of my mates in the Porsche Club have been quietly buying up and salting away nice examples of earlier Porsches, so I decided I should have a flutter myself. Nice though an early model 911 might be, that boat sailed without me years ago, as they are all well out of the reach of my pensioner wallet. Looking back over all the Porsches I’ve driven (and luckily for me that is pretty much all of them) I have long had a soft spot for the 924, and it also seems to be the only remaining older Porsche which isn’t being eyed up by the speculators. I decided I’d look for a good one, before they too were all gone. This of course is why I was in Knutsford in the first place, on another abortive journey to Englandshire to look at yet another supposed paragon that turned out to be a disappointment. I’ve lost track of how many miles I’ve covered and how many cars I have looked at, but I do know I’ve been from Inverness (the green one) to Rochdale (the silver one), and to Derby (the white turbo), and come home empty-handed every time.

Indeed, I was almost at the point of giving up, but was idly flicking through the Pistonheads classifieds (yet again) when I spotted a car that had just been advertised. It looked promising; a 1981 2.0 N/A in Guards Red with an almost unbelievable 35,000 miles on it from new. What’s more it was only half an hour away from me and seemed curiously underpriced. Before I knew it, I was on the blower, and at the chap’s house the next morning. As soon as I saw it, I realised why the price seemed low, as it was languishing in the corner of a garage, faded and filthy and generally looking very sad and neglected, as it hadn’t turned a wheel in two years.

Rather dejected, I was about to turn and walk away, when almost out of politeness I ventured into the garage, opened the door of the car and looked inside. Through the grime I detected an almost unmarked interior in vintage brown and cream pasha, and as I closed the door, I realised that it shut with that deeply satisfying "thunk" that you only get on a car that has seen little use over the years. Hmm, not so fast cowboy! Although the vendor hadn’t even bothered to wash it, he had at least been out and bought a new battery. We fitted it, and sloshed a gallon of petrol into it, and good grief!...it started almost first kick…and after a bit of spluttering, settled down to a smooth idle. I started to feel my wallet twitching. The owner said the clutch was seized, but a spot of brute force and ignorance fixed it, so we maneuvered it out onto the driveway for the first time in years, and I’d swear I could see the car blinking in the sunlight. By now I was sunk; I did the deal and we shook hands. Within a few more days an MoT (Note: Ministry of Transportation) ownership document had been sorted out, money changed hands, and I drove it home. I now owned another lesser Porsche. Or maybe it now owned me.

Inevitably, as I inspected it and drove it tentatively over the next few days, I compiled a not-inconsiderable list of things that need to be fixed, replaced, repaired, cleaned and generally fettled. I shall keep the details of the car's progress for another chapter, but even in the six weeks I’ve now owned it, I have ticked off enough of the things on the list to realise I have bought a sound and solid little car. Flicking through the old MoTs, I got with the car tells me that over the last 15 years it has averaged less than 500 miles per year. I think it is suffering from lack of use as much as anything, and indeed it seems to get sweeter and faster with every mile that I put on it, as it slowly comes back to life. In fact, over the last three weeks I have put more miles on the clock than the previous owner did in his three-year tenure, including one particularly memorable run. 

 I had taken the 924 to a Porsche Club meeting in Dundee, where it was much admired, and I set off home early before it got too dark. From the Tay Bridge to my house is about 20 miles down the A914 though rural north Fife, a road I have been driving and enjoying, on two wheels or four, for as long as I have been driving. I know it like the back of my hand. It is one of those lovely flowing A roads, but which sadly now is all too often blighted by tractors, speed cameras and folk in Micras doing 46mph, but not that night ... I had it all to myself. Had I been in that borrowed Carrera 4S I could no doubt have monstered it, using the prodigious amount of power, grip and braking it has, but in truth it would have been the car doing the work not me. To drive a car like that at sensible road speeds you are so far within its performance envelope that it actually requires very little driving skill from the pilot. Worried about your braking points or turn-in? Don't fret, you can be as ham-fisted as you please and the car will absorb your mistakes and not even flinch. Modern cars flatter you into thinking that you are Lewis or Kimi (Note: race drivers), but you're not.

The 924 is very different, however, much more "old skool.” As it has only modest acceleration, the trick is to try to always maintain your velocity. Gentle braking into corners to transfer the weight onto the front wheels, turn in, and feed the power back in while feeling what the chassis is telling you. No ABS, no traction control, no stability management systems, just your fingertips and the seat of your pants. It brought back skills I almost thought I'd forgotten. Less is more! It was a very good 20 miles!

Clearly, I have a way to go yet to get the car back into top shape, but I’m looking forward to the journey. Watch this space.

Note: The foregoing story was written 12 years ago by a very old and good friend of mine in Scotland, one John Hunter by name, who was formerly a motoring journalist in the UK. John and I were first acquainted through an Italian car enthusiast group, many years ago (the 70s!) and we have remained in touch over the years, renewing our shared interests (including mid-engine designs) in sports machines from time to time. John has also owned a substantial number of Porsches of various ilks and although now retired, still owns a beautiful (early) red Cayman and the above-mentioned red 924. His appreciation of exotic road machines is matched by his experience behind the wheel and it gives me great pleasure to present some of John’s motoring enthusiast writing here for your pleasure! I should add that John is a man of excellent taste and discernment; when he retired, he took a position managing operations at a well-known Scots Single Malt Whisky establishment…just for fun!

Although I shall never be flush enough to own a lovely Cayman, John and I agree that the Cayman design is one of Porsche’s most serenely beautiful, modern designs. I envy him his!