0604 - April, May & June 2006 Combined Edition

Drifting at Thunderhill SVR driver in DI joy, by Julia Lynn Story on Page 22

www.derporsche.net Click here for Porsche, by John Murphy Story on Page 12 The Drifter

Sacramento Valley Region • PCA • www.derporsche.net

Get Clicked for Pennies The Sacramento Valley Region, Porsche club of America now offers generous advertising space on its very active website. At $100 per ad, this is a one-time paid placement through the end of 2006.

Contact Advertising Manager Dick MacFarlane at dickm@hpsionline.com or call 916.482.0652. Direct technical questions to webmaster John Murphy at webmaster@svr. pca.org, or call 916.362.8276.

1206 C St., Sacramento, Ca 95814 916.453.1465 Sacramento Valley Region • PCA • www.derporsche.net

The Drifter

Table of Contents

Vo l u m e 4 4 • N o. 4 • A p r i l , M ay & J u n e , 2 0 0 6 Cover Photograph by David Wong

The Gee! Factor

Jeff Kinder brings the latest study from a German university...........................................Page 2

Manny liked the CRAB

And the lipstick, but doubts Left-Coasters know how to eat the stuff.......................Page 3 Only at CRAB, really.

Page 14

Speaking of Membership

Tom Sisson congratulates a 45-year membership................................................................Page 5

The Mother Lode Spring Tour

Across the river, into the woods.................................................................................................Page 6

The Social Scene

Page 1

Julia Lynn offers wonderful diversions.......................................................................................Page 7

Why is this man smiling?

Page 3

derporsche.net

Our portal to all things Porsche, and…to all things?.........................................................Page 12

CRAB 32

The Premier Porsche Weekender.............................................................................................Page 14

Finding our way among the sheep, Page 6

Cover Story

Julia’s track day at Thunderhill.....................................................................................................Page 22

Hey, let’s paint a Museum!

It’s an auto showcase place that needs some detail work..............................................Page 27

The Goodie Store

Porsche Portal, Page 12

& Tom Sisson’s ode to the Liberal Arts..................................................................................Page 27

Detail work needed, Page 27

The Fine Print:

The Drifter is published by The PCA-Sacramento Valley Region, and is intended to inform our members of activities and other matters of interest. Electronic files are preferred, but typed contributions and photographs are welcome and appreciated, and should be sent to the Editor. The deadline for submission is the first of the month prior to the month of publication. Address changes and questions regarding membership need to be submitted to the Membership Director. The views and opinions expressed in the newsletter are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of The Sacramento Valley Region, its Board of Directors, or PCA, Inc.

The Drifter

Sacramento Valley Region • PCA • www.derporsche.net

Page 1

2006 Board of Directors President Jeff Kinder.......................................................................916.765.2801 4320 Freemont’s Loop, Rescue, California 95672 President@svr.pca.org

Vice President Andy Leight..................................................................916.984.9624 106 Atfield Way, Folsom, California 95630 VicePresident@svr.pca.org

Secretary Kevin Dougherty......................................................916.983.7774 P.O. Box 6006, Folsom, California 95630 Secretary@svr.pca.org

Treasurer Betty Silva......................................................................707.864.0491 12 Oak Lane, Suisun Valley, California 94534 Treasurer@svr.pca.org

Social Director Julia Lynn........................................................................916.402.0443 2443 Fair Oaks Blvd #71, Sacramento, California 95825 Social@svr.pca.org

Membership Director Tom Sisson....................................................................209.296.5352 14537 Surrey Junction Lane, Sutter Creek, California 95685 Membership@svr.pca.org

Competition & Safety Director Matt Deter...................................................................916.630.8924 5645 Harvest Road, Rocklin, California 95765 porsche@deter.com

T

by Jeff Kinder, President, SVR

he preliminary findings of a little-read study at the University of Farfenlookin Germany has shown the Gee Factor to influence the driving characteristics of your favorite car – Porsche of course.

To understand the Gee factor we must first look at the complex relationship between the passenger and the Porsche.

In its mildest form, during a particularly well executed series of curves, the passenger is heard to say “Gee!” sometimes followed by “wow!” or “Can we do that again?” It is little understood how sensitive a Porsche is to the excitement level of the passenger.

Comments such as these help to develop a bond between your passenger and your car.

The well-attuned Porsche will sense the excitement level in the passenger and begin to handle better, stop better, and accelerate quicker in an attempt to elicit additional comments of pleasure. If said sufficiently strong enough, the sensitive Porsche will drive at it’s best for an entire afternoon. Porsches live for days of pleasant driving and well earned complements.

One study group of five test subjects withheld comments until after the drive. Before climbing out, the passengers exclaimed “I’ve just gotta get one of these” or “I never knew these cars drove so well.”

They found afterwards that with the same driver, the Porsche would drive perfectly for up to a week. This appeared to demonstrate that some connection may exist between the driver and the car, but that was not the focus of the study. You can be proud that your tax dollars have made possible a study such as this. If you don’t believe it or think this is a PIDOOMA, check it out.

Day tours

Webmasters John & Tina Murphy..................................................916.362.8276 3300 Cahill Ct., Sacramento, California 95827 Webmaster@svr.pca.org

Past President Kim Nelson...................................................................916.933.4282 305 Glen Ridge Way, El Dorado Hills, California 95762 PastPresident@svr.pca.org

Editor Terry Grillo...................................................................209.296.4888 16234 Plug St, Volcano, California 95689 NewsletterEditor@svr.pca.org/tgrillo@volcano.net

Zone 7 Representative Larry Sharp - Golden Gate Region................925.371.2258 1119 Megan Road, Livermore, California 94550 larrysharp@comcast.net

Page 2

The Gee! factor

There is still more room in the schedule for more single day tours.

If you know of a fun place to go that you would like to share with your friends in SVR, please contact Julia and Andy to find a place for your “Day Tour” on the schedule. Your Board members can also assist with some guidance or help find a mentor to help with the organizing.

New Drifter Editor Terry Grillo has volunteered to be SVRs new Drifter Editor.

Terry brings a wealth of experience which should give an exciting facelift to The Drifter. This is Terry’s inaugural issue. Please take a good look and let Terry know what you think.

The National Look PCA Web Site A major upgrade to pca.org came on Saturday February 18, 2006.

The upgraded site enables you to view and change your PCA

Sacramento Valley Region • PCA • www.derporsche.net

concludes on facing page

The Drifter

membership record online, and provides a dynamic front page with the latest Tech Q&A answers, news, and calendar.

The Porsche 911 Club Coupe Sweepstakes Grand Prize Winner

C

lif Rosenberry is the guy you want to hate. You know he won the car you were supposed to win.

A Porsche Club of America (PCA) member from White Plains, N.Y., and winner of the Porsche 911 Club Coupe Sweepstakes grand prize, took delivery of his new 911 Carrera on February 13. “I hope the weather is warm enough tonight,” his wife remarked. “I know he is going to wind up sleeping out in the garage with it tonight!”

I know of a couple of SVR members who have done the same thing.

PCA Photos of the Month: PCA has a web page called “Photos of the Month” there are some very interesting pictures, including some SVR Members.

Pictures from the Shriners Concours 2003: http://www.pca.org/news/potmjun03.html,

Tom Sisson’s Garage: http://www.pca.org/news/potmjul02.html, and if you just can not get enough of Kim Nelson’s green 911 (the ex-Phil car), you can now download a wallpaper for your computer: http://www.pca.org/news/potm.html.

There are more pictures of SVR members and their cars, but I will let you search for them.

SVR WEB Don’t forget to check in on SVR’s web site. Enhancements and changes happen frequently. Check back often if you don’t want to miss something.

Drive safe and have fun!

Manny liked CRAB, but he prefers his crustacean East Coast-style

by Manny Alban National Secretary, Porsche Club of America Editor’s note: This is Mr. Alban’s report to the National Board following his experiences at CRAB 32.

Hi gang, returned home last night from spending a great weekend of CRAB. Other national officers in attendance were Larry Sharp, Tim Fleming and Tom Provasi (all three very much loved in this zone).

CRAB, as it turns out, stands for Concours, Rally, Autocross and the B is the German word for gathering. This was the 32nd running of this event. Last year, CRAB wasn’t held because they couldn’t find anyone to chair it. This year Kim Nelson and Kim Kinder stepped up to the plate.

The event was held in Sacramento. The headquarters was the TOWE museum, which is sort of like the AACA museum in Hershey, but probably with a lot more quirky automotive stuff-which made it really cool in my opinion.

You gotta love a museum that has a AMC Pacer as well as a 1973 911RS! They also had Malcolm Forbes’ green Lambo Countach.

They had their welcome party there on Friday evening along with a Gymkhana outside and a walking tour rally inside of the museum. Fortunately, the Gymkhana was held underneath a massive interstate overpass, which gave us shelter from the rain.

Since I was rental car Manny, I intended to just watch.

Wrong. I quickly had many members offering up their ride.

I YOU HAVE A CHOICE! So why not make the right one, when you need auto body and paint work.

Fabrication Specialties • Celebrating our 30th year in business • State-of-the-art Body and Paint Technology • Certified Glasurit Paint (factory original for Porsche, Mercedes, BMW) • Car-O-Liner Unibody Repair Equipment • Enclosed Climate-Controlled Spray Booth • Industry-Certified Technicians

DON JOE 3532 La Grande Blvd.

Sacramento, CA 95823

916.391.4159

The Drifter

Sacramento Valley Region • PCA • www.derporsche.net

continues, Page 10

Page 3

Drifter Calendars

SVR and selected regional events

June Sun

Mon

Tues

Wed

Thu

Fri

Sat Dinner Meeting Cathy Keegan 916.415.1539 Cindy Brandon 916.633.1702

Dinner Meeting Cabos - Auburn Folsom Road

Mammoth Porsche Happening Shriner’s Concours

Mammoth Porsche Happening Bill & Cathy Keegan 916.415.1539 Zone 7 Rallye #1 SVR Summer Solstice Helen Ashuckian 916.481.2759

Mammoth Porsche Happening

SVR Board Meeting, 6:15 p.m. RPM, Bradshaw/ Hwy 50

Zone 7 Concours #3 Niello Porsche in Rocklin

SVR Drivers’ ED #5 at Thunderhill

Zone 7 Rallye #1 SVR Summer Solstice

Weidman’s Wheels Tour Buzz & Julia Lynn 916.402.0443

Weidman’s Wheels Tour

July Sun

Mon

Tues

Wed

Thu

Fri

Sat Karen’s Bakery Breakfast

Big Trees Tour

Concours #4 MBR Carmel Valley Village Pak

Concours #5 GGR Carlsen Redwood City

G-24 Breakfast Ettores, Fairoaks Blvd.

Dinner Meeting Italian dinner & German cars SVR Board Meeting, 6:15 p.m. RPM, Bradshaw/ Hwy 50

SVR Drivers’ ED #6 and X-cross at Infi neon

Zone 7 Autocross School GGR Candlestick

Zone 7 Autocross School GGR Candlestick

Garage Tour

Pre-Parade rally

Reminder: The RSVP deadline for dinner meetings is also the last day to cancel your dinner

Karen’s Bakery Breakfast 7:30 - 9:30 340 The Lakes, Folsom, Adjacent to Old Folsom Calaveras Big Trees Tour Carl Brakensiek 916.612.3274 Doug Klein 916.780.7989 Dinner Meeting Italian dinner & German cars Cannon’s backyard, 2931 Lacy Lane, Sac. Elaine Cannon 916.481.9528 G-24 Breakfast Ettores, Fair Oaks Blvd.

Buzz & Julia Lynn 916.408.0443 Garage Tour Bob Peake 916.353.1369

reservation without paying. Per SVR policy, late cancellations and no-shows will be charged.

Page 4

Sacramento Valley Region • PCA • www.derporsche.net

The Drifter

Speaking of Membership…

By Tom Sisson Membership Director

Welcome New Members!

New Member Tour. If you were not able to make the New Member Tour on May 20, another one will be coming — the tentative date is September 30, 2006.

There is no such SVR has thing as a free lunch (except on 625 Regular new Member Tours).

If you are a recent member (last two Members years or so) and have never attended this and 16 Dual tour, plan on doing so in September — you will enjoy the outing Members. and you even get a free picnic box lunch Thanks to all new members that attended CRAB for the first time. I hope you enjoyed it and will return in future years. For those that couldn’t make it, plan to attend next year.

A special welcome back to Richard Burke, a former long time SVR member who had to transfer away due to work require Congratulations to Larry and Pat Wilson for 45 years of membership! Wow! Forty-four members may have to be lapsed for non-payment of dues but are not yet deleted.

Twenty-two members have been deleted.

New Members Duane De Jong Elk Grove, California dman8@frontiernet.net 916/216-8808 83 911

David Ruddy Auburn, California 530/888-7874 02 911 Bob Schoenherr Clearlake, California b_schoenherr@yahoo.com 707/295-8353 76 912

Andy & Debbie Simpkinson Vacaville, California simpkinsona@yahoo.com 707/449-8874 72 911 RS William & Minnet Stobbe Folsom, California mstobbe@comcast.net 916/505-3800 97 Boxster

Larry Worman Sloughhouse, California

Thomas & Susan Willoughby swillo@sbcglobal.net 06 997 Larry & Pat Wilson Fair Oaks, California 356, 86 944, 05 Cayenne Dale & Lorna Collette Citrus Heights, California dalecollette@mac.com 916/965-7350 00 911 Frank & Kim Fontaine Roseville, California dx_frank@yahoo.com 916/832-7730 06 997S

Matt King El Dorado Hills, California matt.king@intel.com 916/296-0316 85 911

The Drifter

Michael Robinson Sacramento, California micha.robinson@gmail.com 415/244-9155 95 911

Bryan & Joanna Johnson Elk Grove, California brynjohn@frontier.net 916/205-3661 00 911

Sacramento Valley Region • PCA • www.derporsche.net

David & Kaye Mitchell Antelope, California hogman7@comcast.net 916/721-3650 02 BOXSTER

Mike Morris & Janie Kryski Sacramento, California janiekryski@aol.com 916/424-4969 00 911 Ron Reagan Folsom, California reagan1950@comcast.net 916/989-9448 02 Boxster Bob & Lisa Richardson Roseville, California rob11755@hotmail.com 916/826-5218 84 911

Joe & Debby Sanchez Rocklin, California joesanchez75@hotmail.com 916/788-0297 01 Boxster S Cynthia & Paul Scott Nevada City, California logheaven@hotmail.com 530/478-0137 04 911 Alan & Chris Telford Roseville, California a.telford@fehrandpeers 916/791-4519 0-5 911

Frank Velasquez & Ken Short Grass Valley, California frankv59@msn.com 925/330-1984 83 911 Tom & Marilyn Yu Elk Grove, California tpwyu@yahoo.com 916/454-5319 96 911

continues, Page 21

Page 5

Daffodil Hill to Murphys back roads Spring Tour “

…others thinly

disguised under a shallow, patched and potholed layer of asphalt.”

A

by Doug Klein lice and I arrived at Starbucks in Town Center Mall (El Dorado Hills) at 7:50 March 19th to be greeted by the warming sun, cloudless sky and not a wiffle of a breeze — harbingers of a fine day.

We planned to relax with coffee and snacks for a few minutes, well before tour departure at 9 a.m. But the beautiful weather following weeks of rain, brought other Porscheophiles out early also, some arriving before 8 a.m. More than half the group arrived before 8:30, eager after a long, wet winter. With Carl Brakensiek’s help, we registered 60 people and left nearly on time.

Thirty six Porsches, (including a brand new 997 C4S cabriolet, a Cayman and a GT3) plus an Audi and a Volvo presented a beautiful sight, winding along Latrobe Road, flanked by overflowing streams and green woodlands. After we passed through Sutter Creek onto Gopher Flat Road, Early arrivals the fun began. Gopher Flat Road quickly changes into Shake Ridge Road, two-lane, smooth, and a continuous series of banked turns and surprisingly abrupt hairpins---a joy in a Porsche. This fine road continued to Daffodil Hill, straightening slightly and becoming snow lined as the elevation approached 2,500 feet. Daffodil Hill, our first planned stop, was closed due to snow, so we turned south onto Rams Horn Grade dropping into Volcano, one of several historically prosperous gold mining towns.

Terry Grillo, our new Drifter editor, and his family have lived in and near Volcano for six generations. Standing in the warm sun on the porch of the Union Hotel (circa 1860), he gave a brief and entertaining history of his home town, colorfully narrating a Civil War nearskirmish, explaining Spanish dance establishments and describing gold

Page 6

mining’s impact upon the area. Jon Kramer, a PCA member, followed Terry, and generously invited everyone to his Sutter Creek home for a posttour spaghetti feed.

For the next Union Hotel, Volcano two hours, straight stretches of road were as rare as nuggets, as we followed gold rush era wagon trails, some widened and smoothly paved, others thinly disguised under a shallow, patched and potholed layer of asphalt. We dropped into and hair pinned up out of the North, South and Middle forks of the Moke-

www. fdrmotorsports.com Offering PCA Club Member Pricing on Performance and Appearance Products.

Now Offering

Performance Friction Brake Products Frozen Rotors Micro Fiber Detailing Towels Brey-Krause CarGraphic USA Crow Enterprises Harnesses Sparco, Helmets, Seats, Suits and more…

Call or visit our website Phone: 916.989.0580 www.fdrmotorsports.com email: fdr@fdrmotorsports.com

Sacramento Valley Region • PCA • www.derporsche.net

The Drifter

The Social Scene Editor’s note: Due to an unfortunate delay, the April and May Social columns by Ms. Lynn are condensed. The June column is included in it‘s entirety.

by Julia Lynn, SVR Social Director lumne River, the Calaveras River and many cascading seasonal creeks. The old towns of West Point, Independence, Wilseyville and Railroad Flat added local color. Railroad Flat’s population consists of the occupants of two tiny houses and a large herd of buffalo, which were grazing contentedly a few hundred feet from the road.

A loop through Sheep Ranch took us by the Sheep Ranch Mine (formerly part of the Hearst fortune), an old, brick bank vault, a vintage glass-topped pump advertising gas at 18 cents/gallon and the handsome, but dormant, Pioneer Hotel. And lots of sheep.

Stevenot Winery welcomed us with picnic tables and chairs, freshly scrubbed of their winter debris and arranged under a grape arbor next to the tasting room.

Upon arrival, our group split about evenly, half unpacking picnic lunches and others bee-lining to the tasting room. While we munched, sipped wine, enjoyed South of the Mokelumne River good company and watched Stevenot cats slip into and out of bushes under a deliciously warm sun, it was difficult to realize that just a week earlier, snow and ice storms were blanketing the area. We wrapped up lunch with a raffle of wine, foil cutters, cork screws and chocolates fi lled with Tempranillo wine (delicious).

The last leg of the trip was a quick three miles to Murphys, where we split up and explored shops, museums, galleries and tasting rooms before heading back north, some directly home and others to Sutter Creek to enjoy Jon Kramer’s spaghetti feed.

Several people added to the enjoyment of this trip: Terry Grillo with his fine Volcano history. Kathy Herman and Monique Vongher of Stevenot Winery with their graciousness and hospitality. Jon Kramer and his wife who provided a delicious spaghetti feed.

Trail’s End at Stevenot

I ’m not sure if some of you remember my articles way back when Buzz and I (ok, mostly me) were restoring my 1970 911T “Nemo”. I had written a few articles about our restoration process as we were going along. The fateful day came when we were removing the trim and the rocker panels fell off the car from being completely rusted underneath!

That was enough for us, we decided to end our pain and sell Mr. Nemo on E-Bay! A gentleman from Germany purchased him and had him shipped back to the Fatherland and he proceeded to do the body and paint work (he owns a body shop in Germany).

As you can see from the pictures, Nemo has risen again in beautiful Signal Orange!

I am completely consumed with feelings of remorse and want my Nemo back!

Shh, don’t tell Skippy that I am yearning after another P-car, but Nemo was my fi rst love…

May… If you need to improve your driving skills another DE is scheduled for June 23rd.

And if you just want to drive, Buzz and I are hosting a tour to Weidman’s Wheels on June 25th. We will have a tour of the facilities there and see how those Fuchs are refinished to perfection!

Whatever types of event you enjoy going to, think of hosting one yourself or

Photographs by David & Mary Borden, John Murphy

The Drifter

Sacramento Valley Region • PCA • www.derporsche.net

continues, Page 9

Page 7

Driving Tour:

Calaveras Big Trees State Park A private SVR-only guided visit to the North Grove

J

oin us Saturday, July 8 for a leisurely tour down Highway 49 through the Sierra Foothills to Calaveras Big Trees State Park, home to some of the largest and oldest redwood trees. This state park is the longest continuously-operated tourist facility in California.

We have reserved an exclusive picnic area at the park, so be sure to bring your own picnic lunch. Around noon, we’ll split into two or three groups and park docents will take us on a private one-hour guided walking tour of the wonders of the North Grove. Wear comfortable shoes and bring your camera.

Although the official tour ends after the North Grove walking tour, some will enjoy a post-tour drive to Kautz Ironstone Vineyards in Murphys for wine tasting. Ironstone’s Heritage Museum features the largest crystalline gold leaf specimen in the world, weighing in at 44 pounds.

As a bonus, we have also arranged for a private SVR tour of the Mercer Caverns near Murphys for the first 20 individuals expressing an interest. The discounted cavern admission is $10 per person. You descend the equivalent of about a 16-story building by way of stairs and walkways and you ascend the same as you leave the caverns.

Meet at the Town Center Mall in El Dorado Hills We’ll meet at the Starbucks in the Town Center Mall at the southeast corner of Highway 50 and Latrobe Road in El Dorado Hills beginning at 8:15 a.m. Drivers’ meeting at 8:45 a.m. and departure at 9 a.m. sharp. Tour fee is $16 per car, which includes park admission. (Exact change or check appreciated.) Don’t forget your picnic lunch.

Contact Carl Brakensiek at carlb@advocal.com or (916) 612-3274 or Doug Klein at dougk@surewest.net or (916) 780-7989 to reserve your place for the Calaveras Big Trees and Mercer Caverns tours.

Page 8

Sacramento Valley Region • PCA • www.derporsche.net

The Drifter

Caravan!

S

Portland Parade 2006

acramento Valley Region invites Zone 7 members driving to the 2006 Porsche Parade to join us in a caravan to Parade 2006 Headquarters in Portland, Oregon on Saturday, August 5.

The caravan will depart promptly at 7:30 a.m. from the Dunnigan rest area on Interstate 5, approximately 40 miles north of downtown Sacramento. The estimated total driving distance from Dunnigan to the Parade headquarters at the Red Lion Hotel in Portland is 545 miles; the estimated total driving time (excluding rest and lunch breaks) is 9 hours, 5 minutes. The estimated arrival time at the Red Lion Hotel in Portland is 5:45 p.m..

Other details include the following: • Arrive at the Dunnigan rest area no later than 7:15 A.M. with a full tank of gasoline. (Available just before the rest area.)

• Bring your own lunch and refreshments; there will be no stops at restaurants.

• Bring a FRS or GMRS (two way) radio, tuned to 911.

The deadline for joining the caravan is July 29. To join, contact Mike Willis at (916) 363-8313, e-mail mikew@cwo.com or Bud Behrens at (209) 477-6496, e-mail budnmaryann@cs.com. A tentative itinerary is available from Bud.

Concours No. 3

T

SVR Zone 7

he site of this year’s Sacramento Valley Region, Zone 7 Concours is Niello Porsche’s new dealership at 4525 Granite Dr, in Rocklin, Sunday, June 18.

Gate opens at 8 a.m. Judging starts at 10 a.m. Entry fee is $25.00 and lunch available on-site for $7.

If you haven’t seen this state-of-the-art facility, it is worth the drive just for that. Niello Porsche will have a special sale of Porsche boutique/clothing/jewelry/specialty merchandise that will be offered at significant discounts only to concours attendees.

There will be a special display of classic 356 Porsche models in the new showroom. Trophies have been custom-designed and fabricated

by Reflections in Glass (owned by a SVR member) and promise to be unique and desirable.

Directions: From Sacramento & Bay Area, take I-80 East, exit at Rocklin Road, turn left on Rocklin Road, then right onto Granite Drive.

Niello Porsche will be on your right. From Reno/Tahoe Area, take I-80 West, exit at Rocklin Road, turn right onto Rocklin Road, then right onto Granite Drive. Niello Porsche will be on your right.

The Social Scene From Page 7 volunteering to help out. It’s a great way to get to know your fellow club members and be involved with our great club, Sacramento Valley Region of PCA! June…

Finally Porsche season is here. The weather is good and we have lots of fun activities planned both in our own club and in the Zone as well. Be sure to not just look at what’s happening within SVR, but also other clubs in the region. There is a lot to do and many people to meet.

One event I got involved with in 2005 was the Zone 7 Concours series.

The first one I attended was our own at Mather Field that was co-sponsored with the Shriners. Buzz and I had attended a Concours Judging School just like the one we just had at Niello Porsche. We learned all about how to prep a car for Concours and how to properly judge one.

With each Concours event I went to, I became more friendly and familiar with all the others who were repeating their attendance.

After a few, it seemed like one big happy concours family! I still enjoy running (figuratively) into the same people time and again. This year I hope to get involved with some autocross. My point here is to try to get out there with other enthusiasts and enjoy not only your own club, but the fellowship of others!

June is ripe for another Mexican fiesta buffet for the dinner meeting! This time Cathy Keegan and Cindy Brandon are hosting out at Cobos Restaurant in Granite Bay on June 8th. Be sure to RSVP

by June 4th as there is limited seating. concludes, Page 11

The Drifter

Sacramento Valley Region • PCA • www.derporsche.net

Page 9

Manny Alban, from Page 3 Rachel Johnson, Kim Nelson’s lovely and energetic girlfriend, offered me her 1985 911 Carrera Targa. The Gymkhana was like an autocross, but with a twist.

If you didn’t have a short wheelbase 911 or a 914, you had to use reverse. Oh, and as for the twist, well, you had to apply lipstick on the last part. They took a digital picture of you with your lipstick hastily applied while wearing a hat that had a giant velour crab on it. At that point, I realized why Tom sent me to CRAB. This picture will surely come back to haunt me.

Saturday morning, I took my nifty rental south to Stockton where the autocross was held at the fairgrounds. Great lot with minimal lightpoles and flat.

This time, Susan Fleming let me use her 1998 993 C2S to autocross. I would end up sharing the ride with both Susan and Tim. The autocross was very organized and from my perspective, safe. I’m always impressed when the printed schedule and the actual timing of the autocross agree.

I made sure not to beat Tim’s time so I could still be in good graces to drive the C2S again. Larry Sharp was a wizard in his mid 70’s 911. He was running street tires, I think they were mud and snows, and managed to run some impressive times (left me in the dust). To make it even more special, he had a nail in the sidewall of the rear tire.

I told him that in the southeast, that’s just a redneck wheel weight. Tom Provasi didn’t get the FTD, but it was close.

32

Next time he will bring 25 pounds of old bay seasoning— and rock salt

T

he awards banquet was held back at the Towe. Great turnout.

The room was packed and there wasn’t any empty seat in the house. My only complaint is that they really have no clue how to prepare crabs. I’m going to have to do a goodwill mission next time and bring out 25 pounds of old bay seasoning and rock salt. They actually dip their crab in butter. You would be hanged if you did that in Maryland :) I managed to win a trophy in the autocross. Can’t remember if it was third in class or just first in the “out of town fat guy driving someone else’s car” class.

What I found really interesting was that they introduced the CRAB chairs for 2007 and 2008. Talk about planning ahead! I joked that my region usually waits for the holiday party where alcohol is the best persuader.

Darlene Byerley and Manny Alban smile over his…condition. driver never showed up, so I used the extra two hours to go pack and check out. When I returned, people were arriving for the concours. Since they knew I was a premier national parade concours judge, I was asked to help with the Fun Concours. This was VERY cool. Not like a wash and shine, but rather a competition where you really have to do zero prep on your car. They had 15 or so categories for both interior and exterior, but at the last minute, they only select six of each.

I can honestly say this is one of the friendliest regions I have every visited. They went above and beyond to make me feel welcome. I spoke with so many people, both new and veteran members. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves at the event. I’m convinced that if we had more of these type events, our membership would increase. This is a great event for new members and it reinvigorates the veterans.

I had the opportunity to personally thank both Kims, on behalf of the Executive Council, for their chairmanship of the event.

Thanks again for the opportunity to attend.

Hope I get the chance to do it again.

The following morning The following morning, I was back at the Towe to meet my driver for the rally. I was to be navigator. Fortunately, or unfortunately, the

Page 10

Sacramento Valley Region • PCA • www.derporsche.net

ly, Fond Manny “I know how to apply lipstick while driving and you don’t” Alban

The Drifter

The Social Scene

Tour: Weidman’s Wheels Can this Fuchs cap be saved? Weidmans will know.

F

uchs look faded? Cups look crummy? Just want to see how an internationally know specialty Porsche wheel shop repairs and converts them back to showroom condition?

Join us as we wind our way north through the Sierra Foothills for the Weidman’s Wheels factory tour and picnic! It’s a great way to spend the day driving with friends and learning everything you ever wanted to know about the wheel refinishing process.

When: Sunday, June 25, 2006. Meet at 8:30 a.m. for registration. Depart at 9 a.m.

What: Drive through the Northern Sierra Foothills to Weidman’s Wheel refinishing facility in Oroville for a facility tour by Harvey Weidman followed by a picnic lunch.

Where: Raley’s parking lot, 6119 Horseshoe Bar Road at Highway 80, Loomis, California Harvey Weidman, himself, with over 30 years hands-on experience rich in Porsche history will give us a detailed tour of his facility. If you like concours-correct wheels, like to drive your Porsche, like to eat, like to talk with old friends and make new ones, this tour is for you!

Bring your walkie-talkies!

RSVP to Buzz and Julia Lynn at 916-402-0443 by June 19th.

The Drifter

From Page 9 Contact information is on the web site.

Just click the Dinner Meetings menu button!

Mammoth Porsche Happening will be underway on June 9th. I want to make this event next year, but this year, Buzz and I are going to see Andrea Bocelli! It was a tough call.

Now here’s your chance to try out a Concours event. Right here in our own backyard at Niello Porsche on June 18 th is the Zone 7 Concours No. 3. There are a total of nine this year. The Sierra Nevada Region is hosting their fi rst in September. It promises to be a great event and Buzz and I are heading over the mountain to go.

Also this month is another Driver’s Education event at Thunderhill.

Frederick Rauch puts on a great DE, so if you haven’t tried it yet, sign up and go! I had a blast in March when I attended and I have the 11 x 14 photo nicely framed to prove it!

Last but not least on Sunday June 25th Buzz and I will be hosting a tour to Weidman’s Wheels in Oroville. Harvey Weidman will be giving a tour of his facility and tell us how it’s done. Buzz and I took a sneak peek last month and what an incredible long time Porsche history Mr. Weidman has. About 30 years of it.

Give us a call if you want to go! See the web site for details!

And for the fi rst part of July there is breakfast at Karen’s Bakery on Saturday the 1st . Please enjoy another wonderful tour hosted by Carl and Doug headed off to Calaveras Big Trees state park on July 8 th .

Sacramento Valley Region • PCA • www.derporsche.net

Page 11

SVR’s portal to the world of Porsches…and to the world

by John Murphy SVR Webmaster ike much of cyberspace, your website, www.derporsche.net, can be a mysterious place. Since taking on webmaster duties, I have been curious about how – and how much – the website is being used.

To get greater insight into these unknowns, I enlisted the help of some even more mysterious software to analyze website activity logs generated by the Coastal Web Online (CWO) Server, our host.

The logs contain all manner of detail about the number of visitors; what pages and fi les they look at; how long they stay on each; the daily, weekly, and monthly volumes; where they are located (by country); etc. I was pleasantly surprised with what I found – shocked in one case – and felt y’all might like a peek behind the curtain.

Understanding the “glazed eyes syndrome” that can accompany any discussion about numbers and/or website mechanics, I will attempt to stick to some basics. (Warning: Numbers subject to rounding error and the fact that, “Web log analyzers use fuzzy math.”)

How many visit? Thanks to your inquiring minds, the number of visitors to the website is growing steadily.

In January, there were about 3,700

L

Visitors to derporsche. net came from 76 countries.

Page 12

visitors; in February, around 4,200 and in the fi rst two weeks of March, just over 2,500 putting the site on-track for another increase.

Th is represents a total of about 10,400 visitors or an average of 135 visitors per day for the fi rst two and-a-half months of this year.

What do they do? Since most of us access – or “hit” – more than one page when visiting a website, the number of hits is always more than the number of visitors. In this case, there were

more than 331,000 hits to derporsche.net since January 1, or about 500 each day. In addition to raw numbers, the analyzer reports hits by day of the week. For derporsche.net, the week lines up (most to least) as: Sunday, Friday, Monday, Thursday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday. I guess we have better things to do – like attend SVR events – on Saturdays.

Sacramento Valley Region • PCA • www.derporsche.net

The Drifter

W

here do they go? A review of the major pages on the website (buttons on the left on the homepage), it is clear SVR likes to buy and sell things because the Classifieds Page is very popular ranking just behind the Homepage (no surprise since it’s the gateway) and Links Page. The large number of hits on the Links Page suggests our Members’ lust for knowledge and suggests I get to work on updating it.

All the other major pages are also being visited regularly, so I know it is important to keep them current. I’ll do my best.

Where do the visitors come from? Visitors to derporsche.net came from 76 (yes, 76) coun-

The Drifter

tries. While the United States is home to the vast majority (87 percent) of the activity, 30 countries generated sufficient activity to be considered “significant enough to report by name.”

These included countries from five of the seven continents, Africa and Antarctica excepted.

At the top, I made reference to being “shocked,” well, this was it.

When Tom Sisson found this out, he said, “Now I understand why I get orders for Goodie Store stuff from around the world.”

What’s this all mean? To me, it means 1) the members rely on www.derporsche.net for information considered important to their PCA-SVR lives, 2) I have a lot of folks looking over my shoulder to help make sure things are right and 3) there is a large group of people who can offer suggestions on how to make the website better and more valuable.

So, if you suffer from a broken link or invalid page message, please let me know so I can fi x it. And, if you have a suggestion for something to improve the website, please visit the “Ideas Page” and tell me know about it. I’m new at this website “thang,” but promise to carefully consider and try to incorporate any ideas y’all (that’s: all y’all - ed.) have – translating derporsche.net into other languages is one exception.

Please see an associated story on Page 20 - Ed.

Sacramento Valley Region • PCA • www.derporsche.net

Page 13

The Porsche gods were smiling on

CRAB 32

by Kim Nelson Co-Chair for CRAB 32, SVR PastPresident

T

his is the second event in the past year

32

I’ve helped coordinate where it rained for days before the event and for days after the event, but not during the

event! CRAB 32 was a huge success with 91 cars event! registering and almost 200 people coming out for the three days of activities.

Kim Kinder and I would like to thank all of the CRAB 32 team (and there were many) who helped make sure this event was a success.

And yes, CRAB 33 is already scheduled for April of 2007 with Julia and Buzz Lynn being your Chairs. Waiting in the wings is Mark Judish,

who is the Chair for CRAB 34 in 2008.

We were very fortunate to have Tom Provasi and Manny Alban of our National PCA Board attend this year’s CRAB. Manny’s trip report to the National Board from a “rookie’s” standpoint begins on Page 3; I think he sums up the event very well.

If you didn’t make CRAB this year, we hope that you will get it on your schedule for 2007 because CRAB 33 is sure to be another great SVR event.

Page 14

Sacramento Valley Region • PCA • www.derporsche.net

The Drifter

The Sacramento Valley Steamer left the Railroad Museum and rattled and whistled past the Towe Auto Museum regularly.

That’s the Goodie Tent on the right.

Photographs by Doug Klein

CRAB 32

The Premier Porsche Weekender Towe Auto Museum, Sacramento April 7-9, 2006

Dennis Stettner was taken aback, as was most everyone, by Mike Ambrozewicz’s Carrera GT. Wow.

Concours judging, Race Division.

The Drifter

The Beeer ‘N Brat provided, as usual, very good eats.

Huh? Andy Leight’s 928 was judged Crabbiest.

Sacramento Valley Region • PCA • www.derporsche.net

Page 15

CRAB 32 Concours Winners: Wash and Shine Group 1: 356

Points

Porsche

1st 2nd 3rd 3rd

198.75 198.50 198.25 198.50

1962 356 1955 Speedster 1965 356 Cab 1963 356

198.50 198.25 198.00

1980 911 SC 1984 911 Cab 1985 911Cab

199.50 198.50

2002 996 Targa 1996 993 Cab 2001 996 Coup

199.50 198.25 197.75 197.75

1994 968 Coupe 2001 Boxster 1987 944 Coupe 2006 Cayman

198.50

1973 914-6

196.00 195.50

1970 914-6 1991 964

Jim McMahon Larry Wilson Tom Sansone Bill Hambrick

Group 2: 911 1st 2nd 3rd

Kim Nelson Ira & Carol McKee Richard Wyett

Group 3: 996-993 1st 2nd 3rd

Tom Sisson Jeff & Kim Kinder 199.25 Michael Yee

Group 4: Water Pumpers 1st 2nd 3rd 3rd

Judy Stettner Elaine Cannon Kris Barkley Lance Gharat

Group 5: Race 1st 2nd 3rd

Paul Seidel-Smith, Nanci Bishop Larry Moeller, Marji Ricci David Bunch

CRAB 32 Concours Winners: Fun Class Arbitrary Group 1: Boxster Points

Porsche

1st

Larry and Linda Smith

2000 Boxster

3rd

Peter and Lindsley Cross

2nd

Paul and Terry Gregory

208.00

203.00

2000 Boxster

198.00

1999 Boxster

Arbitrary Group 2: 911 and others 1st 2nd 3rd

Jay and Eli Tony Eugenie Thomas Andy Mayhew and Jessica Tony

212.00 205.00

1985 944 1969 911

204.00

1979 911 Targa

Arbitrary Group 3: Cayenne and others 1st

Stephen and Vicki Childs

216.00

2004 Cayenne

3rd

Martin Baker

205.00

1974 914

2nd

Andy and Diana Leight

207.00

1986 928

Arbitrary Group 4: 996 and others 1st

Carl and Susie Brakensiek

3rd

Bud & Mary Ann Behrens 203.00

2nd

Page 16

Mark and Mary Vreeland

Sacramento Valley Region • PCA • www.derporsche.net

213.00

204.00

1996 996

2001 996

2002 996

The Drifter

32

The CRAB 32 FunKhana

It should have been run with Chris Crafts rather than with Porsches

by Tom Sisson SVR Membership Director on Kramer — with help from Steve Gonzales and myself — laid out a course that was both tight and challenging. It was based on some machinery driving tests that Jon had experienced in the Air Force! The event was to be run at night in the parking lot back of the Towe Museum, under the parking lot lights. The event had a LeMans start and ending, with contestants responsible for starting and stopping the timing watch. Oh, contestants also were to put on lipstick during the driving (yes, ALL contestants) and unfold and fold a map.

In addition to the people above, Jon had also obtained the assistance of his wife Janet, and Darlene Byerley.

So, what went wrong? Well, it rained and if it hadn’t been for the freeway canopy overhead it probably wouldn’t have been a FUNKhana at all. The course had to be moved from its original site, modified several times (making Jon’s well drafted course direction sheets unsuitable), and the map was too soggy to be han-

J

dled. Fortunately Jon had brought his camper to help keep the workers dry. Jon and Steve, however, got very wet!

In spite of all this, 21 intrepid drivers came out to brave the elements and the event turned out to be a ball. Pictures were taken of the “lipstick” results and shown at the Saturday night awards. I think some of these guys must have worn lipstick before—they did such a good job!

National Secretary Manny Alban—a very good sport—looked great and the picture of him is already circulating around the National offices.

Zone 7 rep Larry Sharp did a fantastic job of driving with his early 911, turning the top time of the day (evening?) at 116.1. It’s too bad we didn’t give a TTOE trophy!

Rumor has it that he was doing hand break turns and that, combined with the short wheelbase, meant he didn’t back up once. I think every other contestant had to back up at least once. He also looks good in lipstick!

The trophy winners are: Class C (356, 912, 912E) 1. Ted French

244.4

’67 912

Class H (1965 – 1983 911) 1. Larry Sharp 2. Sally Boeck

Class P (914’s, Boxster, Cayman) 1. Martin Baker 132.7 2. Keith McMahen 156.3

116.1 148.8

’74 911 ’80 911

Class S (924, 928, 944, 968, Cayenne) 1. Patrick Contreras 204.7

’74 914 ’01 Boxster ’84 944

Class I (1984 – 2006 911’s, 930’s, 911 Turbo) 1. Kim Nelson 2. Andy Mayhew

The Drifter

150.7 158.1

’85 911 ’84 911

3. Rachel Johnson 4. Mark Judish

Sacramento Valley Region • PCA • www.derporsche.net

204.8 208.1

’85 911 ’84 911

Page 17

DriftingBack Back Drifting 30 Years Ago (April 1976)

I

n his Drifter article, President Dave Neukom thanked Barbara Boone for getting the club’s roster typed and printed.

During the April 2 dinner meeting at the Prime Rib Inn, Dave toasted State

by Larry Wilson Assemblyman Alfred Almquist who said during recent budget hearings, “CHP radar will be deleted.” Also at the meeting, Dave welcomed back SVR-members Jerry and Michael Mary Jurach, Ken and Betty Fielding, and Gene and Connie Speicher.

Connie Farlinger won the Dumbkopf Award for not being home when the board arrived for their March meeting that she agreed to host.

SVR member Wyn Robertson hosted the April 10 tech session on burglar alarms at his Continental Auto Service in North Sacra-

Page 18

CRAB V, April 2426, chaired by Dave Neukom, was a smashing success, aided in no small way

by SUNSHINE, for the first time in years.

mento. In the April Drifter, Tech chairman Mike Willis reminded all that SVR’s technical library included a complete set of Porsche factory service manuals for all models and were available for loan to members.

CRAB V, April 24-26, chaired by Dave Neukom, was a smashing success, aided in no small way by SUNSHINE, for the first time in years. Paul Bates did the gymkhana, Dan Boone and Ted Colbert co-chaired the autocross, the rally was done by Rik Larson, Peter Bogy handled the beer and brat, Trish O’Shields took care of the welcome party, and Bob Schleh was the Voice of CRAB. Racedriver Walt Maas, who just won back-to-back IMSA races at Laguna and Ontario with his GTU 914-6, was the guest speaker. BigShot CRAB entrants included PCA National Treasurer Hank Malter, Zone 7 Rep Dwight Mitchell, and regional presidents Ray Blow, Stu Betts, Jim Van Dam, Ellis Blevins, and Tony Maslowski.

Sacramento Valley Region • PCA • www.derporsche.net

The Drifter

20 Years Ago (April 1986)

I

n the April Drifter, VP Jim McDade contritely explained how he won the Dumbkopf Award for the SIXTH TIME. His wife, Sheila, was to chair a wine tasting event at David Berkeley, February 22, and a few days BEFORE the event, the ol’ Buckaroo mailed to editor Dale Newhouse his regular Drifter column for the March issue which included a flowery description of how 30 participants enjoyed the delicious David Berkeley food and wine.

Jim even said a return was planned later in the year. Ah, the last minute problem -- Jim and Sheila had to cancel the event. And yes, you guessed it - Jim forgot to tell Newhouse to delete that part of his article, proving that you can’t believe everything you read in TheDrifter.

The weather necessitated an indoor brunch during the April 6th Third Annual Grand Island Tour by Allen Weddle, but did not lessen enjoyment of the event which included the renowned “mirror tour” down the Sacramento River to the Grand Island Mansion (formerly the Lido Club, and a bordello before that). Brunch entrees ranged from Italian Toast to Scampi Martinique, all with champagne. On April 19, proving that no reason for a party is too trivial, Wayne and Louise Sauseda hosted a training session for tour-leaders.

The Drifter

April 25-27 CRAB 15, headquartered at the Red Lion Inn, was chaired by Dwight and Linda Mitchell with the welcome party by Mary and Bob Siles, autocross by Bob Peake, rally by Rik Larson, and beer ‘n’ brat picnic by C.C. Craig and Karin Mangin. Although a limit of 150 cars was announced early in the registration process, the CRAB folks were overwhelmed with requests to enter and the event was opened to a record-breaking field of 172 cars.

10 Years Ago (April 1996)

C

RAB 24, April 12-14, was chaired

by Tim and Susan Fleming, and they were ably assisted by Mike and Vicki Willis (registration party), Pat and Larry Wilson (registration, program and scorecard preparation), Masuo Robinson (autocross), Bill Keegan (door prizes), Shelagh Matthews (hotel liaison), Tam-

Sacramento Valley Region • PCA • www.derporsche.net

continues, Page 24

Page 19

Want more exposure to SVR?

Click on this!

W

hile additional ad space is not currently available in The Drifter, there is in cyberspace. The club is conducting a test of interest in advertising on its website, www.derporsche.net.

So far in 2006, there have been an average of 135 visitors and 500 hits per day with the numbers increasing every week.

The initial test offer is for a space approximately .75” by 5” with your business’ name, phone/fax number(s) and hyperlink, if desired.

The final size, look and feel have yet to be determined, but examples can be viewed at the website. Ads can be purchased for the remainder of the year at a flat rate of $100. The club will determine success of the test in the Fall and, if a program is implemented, determine rates and other details for 2007.

If interested, please contact SVR’s Advertising Manager, Dick MacFarlane at dickm@hpsionline.com with copy to webmaster@svr. pca.org or call 916.482.0652. Technical questions should be directed to John Murphy using the webmaster’s address above or by calling 916.362.8276.

Please see associated story, Page 12 - Ed.

Page 20

Sacramento Valley Region • PCA • www.derporsche.net

The Drifter

Speaking of Membership… from Page 5

Transfers Richard Burke Folsom, California rbporsche914@sbcglobal.net 916/984-6511 74 914 (from RMT)

Ray & Betty Silva 02 Boxster Donald & Dianne Terry dianecterry@sbcglobal.net Don & Cathy Tollefson Roseville, CA 95661

Changes

Tu Trieu 916/296-9039

Patrick Contreras earthtopatrick@msn.com

Randy & Maureen Vidmar oldbarebone@sbcglobal.net

Rachel Johnson 85 911

William Williams & Liliyas Sahba Gold River, CA 95670 John Bacigalupi Sacramento, CA 95819-1940

Bryan & Maralee MacDonald Folsom, CA 95630 Volodymyr Osadchuk Sacramento, CA 95835 Gregory & Ann Pasiuk bast34@earthlink.net Elizabeth & Russell Pauley Tracy, CA 95376 Dean & Sherida Schouweiler deans@ surewest.net

Robert & Elaine Cannon a65cab@surewest.net Kelly & Cindy Cogbill Woodland, CA 95695 Patrick Contreras earthtopatrick@msn.com John & Nadine Domagala 916/724-0959

Ken & Elizabeth Fielding kfiel@pacbell.net 530/662-3474 Helmut & Gretel Heinrichs 916/663-1268 David & Mary Ann Kalbach 02 Boxster S Doug Klein & Alice Schilla 07 997S Keith McMahan & Mary Dachauer 01 Boxster S Peter Neukirchner neukpnbg@sbcglobal.net Elizabeth & Russell Pauley carreragal209@sbcglobal.net Kenneth Smith & Carol Chesbrough ksmith9146@sbcglobal.net 916/201-6965 John Warren & Jan Birdsall jengineer1948@sbcglobal.net

Transfers OUT William A. Willis Bakersfield, CA 93312 Golden Empire Region

Aniversaries Jack & Sara Baughman [5] Terry & Marianne Grillo [5] Philip & Susan Spielman [5] Terry & Judith Dickman [10] Richard & Ann Sanders [10] Paul & Alice Wallace [15] Klaus & Marsha Ludwig [20] Bill & LaVonne Van Gundy [20] 1995 South McDowell Blvd.

Petaluma, CA 94954 ph. 707-935-3999 fax. 707-935-5889 www.theracersgroup.com

The Drifter

Sacramento Valley Region • PCA • www.derporsche.net

Larry & Pat Wilson [45]

Page 21

My track day at Thunderhill

by Julia Lynn SVR Social Director ’ll start off by telling you I am “not so adventurous” when it comes to driving my P-car Skippy. Skippy has been a “garage king” since we have owned him doing nothing but concours. That is why I thought it was a good idea to take one of our club’s Driver’s Education track days that Frederick Rauch runs for SVR. As you can see from the pictures, I had quite a time!

The day started bright and early, rising at 5a.m. to get to the track for registration. Typically I don’t rise until the sun does (sometimes several hours after the sun does), but when there’s and adventure to be had in Skippy, I’m...somewhat eager to get up early.

When we arrived at Thunderhill it was so exciting to see all the cars.

After registering and getting my very tight fitting helmet that made my face look like a blow fish, we had our driver’s meeting, and then we were ready for the warm-up lap.

I was a little nervous thinking about actually getting on the track, I could have waited, but nooooo, I had to go. Once behind the wheel with my instructor at my side, we were let on the track. Wow, it was very exhilarating feeling like a real

I Photographs by David Wong

…it was a great learning experience to see and feel how these Porsches can stick to the road…

Page 22

driver and I’m sure Skippy finally felt like a real Porsche should! I’m not sure if I was the only first timer out there, but my pedal pressure indicated that I was! Back to the classroom for all the novice drivers and out went the “B” and “A” classes. Boy can those guys (and gals) drive!

The instruction I received was invaluable

T

he instruction I received was invaluable. Bonni Weatherwax was my instructor and she was great at telling me when to gas it, let up, brake, don’t brake (that one came with a slight slap on my leg), when and where to hit the apex and the berms, and where the “line” was. My head was spinning trying to digest all the information and make sure I wasn’t holding faster people (which were everyone) up!

I did get to take one “ride-a-long” with Bob Peake. Let’s just say the squeals heard were not coming from the tires on his 993! Man, the guy can drive!

Okay, it was a little much for me, but it was a great learning experience to see and feel how these Porsches can stick to the road and go around turns and how being a good driver can change your experience in these cars. Buzz also got to do a ride-a-long with Bob (during the one hail storm of the day) and he, of course, loved the high speed drive, missing only bugs in his teeth!

Some of the best parts of the day were the camaraderie of all the participants, meeting some new car enthusiasts and seeing about 45 camera shots of Skippy on the track!

Now, I’m thinking Autocross!

Sacramento Valley Region • PCA • www.derporsche.net

The Drifter

High speed track and autocross resources for the beginning driver

Y

by Doug Klein ou’re interested in high speed track (i.e. driver’s education) and autocross, and would like to learn more before taking the plunge, or maybe you’ve driven a few times and wish to improve. Where should you go for more info?

Find Information

The best and easiest source is the Web, of course. But www.derporsche.net, web site of the Sacramento Valley if you’re just getting started, sorting through 200-plus Region of PCA. Click on Driver’s Education or Autocross Google hits can be daunting. Listed below are several for a calendar of events. Click on Calendars, then on the particularly helpful web sites.

Zone 7 Calendar for all driver’s education and autocross www.pca-ggr.org, web site of the Golden Gate Region events in Zone 7 (northern California of PCA. Click on Track Venues for track and northern Nevada). …learning a new maps, turn-by-turn track descriptions www.coastaldriving.org, web site of (including photos), videos taken through technique that the Coastal Driving School. The web the windshield of cars at speed and even site contains a very good introducdirections to the track. allows you to cut tion to driver’s education, The DrivThunderhill, Buttonwillow, Laguna Seca your run time by a er’s Education Handbook. Click on and Infineon/Sears Point are all covWhat is Driver’s Education?, then ered. Watching the videos and reading second or two is click on Download Driver’s Educathe turn-by-turn descriptions are the best tion Handbook. exhilarating. preparation possible for your first day at www.wurthmotorsports.com cona track. You’ll be a safer driver and save tains videos on the four previously mentioned tracks, much of the time others spend becoming familiar with plus videos shot at California Speedway, Spring Mounthe track. All of the above is free, gifts from experienced tain and Streets of Willow Springs. Videos categorized driving enthusiasts. under When Good Laps Go Bad are both entertaining and educational. The SV Forums section is worth checking out.

Take Action

Autocross events are hosted locally by most PCA regions--check their web sites.

TrackMasters Racing (www.trackmasters-racing.com) and Hooked on Driving (www.hookedondriving.com) specialize in organizing non-racing, high speed driver’s education events, continues on Page 26

The Drifter

Sacramento Valley Region • PCA • www.derporsche.net

Page 23

Drifting Back

from Page 18

bra Kroetz (walking tour), Rik Larson (rally), Kent Brandon (concours), Bob Peake and Donna Falk (driving tour), Jim McDade and John Pluth (funkhana), Steve and Diane Harris (T-shirts), and Cynby Larry Wilson dee Peart (sponsorships). Distinguished guests included Ed Stimmel, Porsche Cars North America. 78 cars were registered including 38 cars from SVR. Larry Grove (Redwood Region) in his 1974 911RSR had TTOD in the autocross, and Bob and Marilyn Van Heuit (Yosemite Region) had the best score in the rally.

Sixteen SVR members attended the April 20 SVR Tech Session at Autosport Technology to hear Ray Knight talk about 914, 928, and 944 Porsches while Dwight Mitchell covered issues concerning 911 models.

Attending were Andy Lundback, Marsha and Steve Bayne, Ronald Feinstein, Bruce Garrett,

Page 24

It was revealed that Harvey Cain’s CB handle was “Silver Prune”

Rik Larson, Phil Lawrence, John Lee, Jim McMahen, Wally Minders, Susan Sauvedu, Jose Uranga, Allen Weddle, Mike Willis, Bill Winkler, and Jeff Kinder.

Tambra Kroetz chaired the April 21 “The Village Stroll,” and promised an afternoon of car viewing and wine tasting in Folsom.

MAY 30 Years Ago (1976)

T

he May 7th dinner meeting at Joe and Dodie’s Restaurant in Folsom was well attended. President Dave Neukom announced that it was Jim and Shelia McDade’s first wedding anniversary which, Dave also said (just like Howard Cosell would say it), “and they said it couldn’t be done!” The Dumbkopf Award went to Peter Bogy who loaded and locked his van with beer and bratwurst for CRAB V, and then couldn’t find the keys. It was revealed that Harvey Cain’s CB handle was, “Silver Prune.”

The Gourmet Tour on Sunday, May 23rd was every bit as much fun as expected by the occupants of the thirty-odd participating cars. Co-

Sacramento Valley Region • PCA • www.derporsche.net

The Drifter

Wilson settles in for another Speedster-side, Drifting-back chat. the north shore of the Carquinez Straits, for brunch at the quaint Union Hotel which was established in 1882, and then for a stroll through over 20 antique shops located in turnof-the-century store fronts along Benicia’s historic First Street.

10 Years Ago (May 1996)

chairs Phillip Marks and Jim Andres chose some of the most devious roads to the Monte Verdi Inn and “The Hunt Breakfast,” a yummy lunch. Jim said the fizzes flowed at the Monte Verdi, and then lunch, and then awards or ridicule, depending on how close your mileage was to the correct distance.

Newsletter editor Mary Peters needed extra help in May because she and Michael were packing to move from Citrus Heights to Carmichael...and help she got at the DRIFTER assembly and labeling table.

20 Years Ago (May 1986)

A

t the May 1st Board meeting, President Kirk Bradford announced the German-American Chamber of Commerce would sponsor a June 18 luncheon at the Hyatt Regency in San Francisco with Peter Schutz, Porsche AG CEO, as the featured speaker with the topic, “People - the Key to Quality.”

All PCA members were invited.

The May 10 Tech Session at Walt Stickel body and paint shop covered major and minor reconstructive surgery, according to event chair Bob Jacobson. Walt kept the group mesmerized through all of the intricacies of unibody repair, frame alignment, how to remedy small paint chips and scratches, and what is involved in custom body work (such as installing fender flares).

And, during the “second feature” of this Saturday matinee, Walt’s wife served munchies to the crowd while they watched a slide show on the Porsche factory.

The May 11 Mother’s Day Tour by Bob Schisler and Brooke Terpening took entrants to Benicia, nestled in the golden hills on

The Drifter

The May 19 Champagne Brunch Tour… featured the Mirror Tour along the Sacramento River in route to the palace of illicit pleasures during the years of prohibition.

R

ik Larson and Mike Willis attended the May 18 Zone 7 concours seminar at Carlsen Porsche in Palo Alto which was intended to acquaint judges and potential judges with recent changes to rules and classes for annual PCA Porsche Parade concours events.

SVR members Jerry Killiany and Ray Johansen, both experienced 356 concours entrants, were on hand to greet them when they arrived at Carlsen’s.

Of course, the May 19 Champagne Brunch Tour visited the Grand Island Mansion once again under the experienced tutelage of Allen and Dolores Weddle and featured the Mirror Tour along the Sacramento River in route to the palace of illicit pleasures during the years of prohibition.

Allen thought this was the best of all Champagne Brunch Tours, partly because the weather overnight went from cold and blustery with a threat of continued rain to clear blue skies in the mid-seventies with a soft, springtime delta breeze. Thirty-three cars cruised along the levee roads. Twelve bottles of fine wine went to lucky door prize winners, but Fred Siegner made off with the best prize, a gift certificate for two champagne brunches donated by the Mansion management.

In her capacity as Membership Director, Helen Ashuckian’s May Drifter column included the ol’ folks listing (Anniversaries): Larry & Pat Wilson (35 years), Fred & Nancy Myeron (30 years), Gerald & Madelaine Kiliany (30 years), Ray & Mary Jane Johansen (30 years), Hugh Young (25 years), Al & Kathy King (20 years), Jarol & Toni Moore (20 years), and Ron & Ginny Cavallo (20 years).

Sacramento Valley Region • PCA • www.derporsche.net

Page 25

High speed track and autocross resources continued from Page 23 emphasizing safety, improving driving skills and just having fun.

The following is taken from the TrackMasters Racing web site: “We’re a group of over 1900 members with a dedicated staff to ensure that you and your car have the best possible experience at the track. After all, isn’t it all about having a good time while improving your driving skills? We also provide you the highest quality experience for your track buck! No member fees, the lowest overall event prices, the best selection of tracks, and by far the most organized and most safe events you’ll find in the region!”

Hooked on Driving

David Ray, president of Hooked on Driving, describes his club as follows: “Hooked On Driving is a community of driving enthusiasts who are seeking an environment that will allow them to improve their driving skills while exercising their sporty car at a higher level than is appropriate on public highways. Begun in 2000, we now have over 800 drivers participating.

“While providing beginner, intermediate and advanced on-track and classroom coaching, HOD’s goal has been to: 1) Operate at the highest safety standards possible 2) Assure that every driver, regardless of experience, skill or vehicle has a great time, and 3) Provide top quality coaching to those who wish to improve their driving skills.

“We especially encourage first timers to try Hooked On Driving – we operate a very beginner-friendly program, taking the time to explain terms used, describe driving techniques and answer your individual questions. Our trained and certified coaches will have you comfortable and confident in no time.”

tive racers. Bentley divides the book into four parts: the car, the track, the driver and the finish line. Numerous clear diagrams help get his points across. It’s a fun, easy read.

Secrets of Solo Racing by Hank Watts. Mr. Watts orients his book toward autocross and time trials. He covers the friction circle, weight distribution, suspension compression in turns, optimizing the slip angle, left foot braking, trail braking, heel-and-toe, car preparation, and more. The chapter on what to expect on your first day of autocross is particularly useful.

A few words of advice to fledgling drivers: Be curious. Watch the videos. Study the track write ups. Drive with different groups.

Try different tracks. Read a few driving books. Driving a course at a fast clip, whether autocross or a high speed track, is satisfying, but learning a new technique that allows you to cut your run time by a second or two is exhilarating.

I

Get Serious

f you’d like to read about high speed track and autocross, three very good publications are available on Amazon.com: Speed Secrets, Going Faster and Secrets of Solo Racing.

Going Faster by Carl Lopez presents race driving theory and techniques as taught in Skip Barber’s three-day professional driving school.

It covers aspects of racing such as the racing line, corner entry and exit, apexes, chassis setup, limiting damage in case of accidents or spins, racing in the rain, etc. It is technically oriented, contains many illustrations and is one of the most complete books on high speed driving available.

Speed Secrets by Ross Bentley. An excellent introduction to the skills necessary for high speed track, whether for driver’s ed or for competi-

Page 26

Sacramento Valley Region • PCA • www.derporsche.net

Need Used Parts?

PORSCHE Mercedes Benz

916-631-7300 800-783-4911 All Parts Guaranteed Worldwide Shipping

Silver Star Recycling 11315 Dismantle Court Rancho Cordova, CA 95742 8-5 Mon. - Fri. 9-3 Saturday www.silverstarrecycling.com

The Drifter

The Goodie Store HEY, HEY, HEY IT’S MAY...

G

et the hottest new item—a Porsche Crest key fob. Yeah, I know you have Porsche key fobs— well, I will bet you don’t have one like these.

They are a heavy chrome plated 1.5 inch fob with the crest on brushed metal, with a large ring for keys (overall length is 3.25 inches.) They would make a great gift— ONLY $10. They are very limited so don’t miss out.

Let’s paint it!

Oh no, not the GT; pry your eyes away… …and consider the wall behind. The Towe needs painting. The Sacramento Valley Porsche Club is organizing a service project to paint the outside of the Towe Auto Museum.

The building is home to many of the Sacramento area car club activities and we would like to do something for the museum.

We seek car clubs that will join this worthy service project. Please contact Dick MacFarlane at 916.725.5765 or dickm@hpsionline.com for more details.

We are also looking for a commercial painting contractor to give professional advice on the project. We have the paint, and now we need some more car club members to help, a painting contractor and some sunny days to complete this service project.

2006 Zone 7 Rally Schedule

by Helen Ashuckian Date

Event

Host Contact

June 24

Summer Solstice

SVR

July 30

Pre-Parade Gimmick Rally, SVR Rally School & TSD Rally

J Toney

Sept. 23/24

Carrera de Sierra

SVR

Richard Wetzel

Oct. 7

Coyote Run V

GGR

Larry Adams

Oct. 21

Kid’s Rally*

SVR

Helen Ashuckian

Nov. 4

Moonlight Madness

GGR

Hubert Lee

*Not part of the Zone 7 series Questions? Contact Helen Ashuckian at 916.481.2759 or e-mail <Helena@lanset.com>

The Drifter

Helen Ashuckian

As usual, we stock PCA and SVR car badges ($18 and $15), SVR Logo shirts (just $30), denim shirts with logo ($35), and your “PORSCHE” script T-Shirts (just $18) and baseball shirts ($20). Again, various logos are available on all items. See the Goodie Store catalog at http://www.derporsche.net/ Our items are so inexpensive they should be considered another division of the liberal arts. No, this is not a political statement! “Liberal,” in this context, means free as opposed to the servile or practical arts.

The latter are “servile” because they deal with necessity, work and the everyday, rather than the fi ner things.

The concept of the seven liberal arts (maybe they rolled the dice to see how many there would be) goes back to ancient times. By the Middle Ages, they had become codifi ed: arithmetic, astronomy, geometry, grammar, logic, music and rhetoric. (Who said “Driver’s Ed.?”) Although the early Church Fathers held them suspect because they could lead people to secular pursuits, they eventually became part of the curriculum in church schools. Their function was to develop a whole person, more “human” than just someone who works like a beast of burden.

Where else do you get ads that are both informative and educational? Patronize your Goodie Store! See Tom Sisson at meetings and events, or contact him at 14537 Surrey Junction Lane, Sutter Creek, CA 95685, 209-296-5352 or E-mail targatom@volcano.net. Shipping can be arranged for the usual postal fees.

Sacramento Valley Region • PCA • www.derporsche.net

Page 27

Classifieds thing functions as new. $29,500. Stuart Honse, PO Box 8320, Tahoe City, CA 96145 530/581-4393 stuarthonse@aol.com (12)

Porsches 1972 914-6 Recent restoration/conversion by Motor Meister (2/06). 2.4 L six and 915 trans (total re-builds), dual carbs, new brakes, suspension, wiring, interior (black), gauges, paint (millennium yellow), tires, ect.; 2.0 wheels, fogs, CD, & luggage rack; 175+ HP, 36K miles, warranty; ready to go: $25,000.

Glenn Thiel, (530) 477-7251, glennthiel@ sbcglobal.net, CA 1986 911 Carrera Sunroof Whaletail Coupe.

Guards Red w tan leather interior. 85,466 original miles. 3.2 liter 5 sp w factory colormatched 16” fuchs alloy wheels.All original Calif car except viper alarm was added.

Has original Blaupunkt N. Y. sqr-05 am/fm casette, spare,tool kit, jack. Exceptional condition, with service records, garaged, PCA owned, cold a/c, no oil leaks, new clutch. Includes car cover fi tted for whaletail, blk colgan bra, all manuals plus Bentley 911 Carrera Service manual. Concours quality car. $ 24,995 916-771-4476

1984 Porsche Carerra Cabriolet 104,000 Original Miles. Always garaged. Pristine! Red with black leather interior and black top. CD Player, Power Windows, Cruise Control, A/C Newer tires and Battery $19,250 (916) 715-2124

1980 911 SC Targa; 74,000 original miles; 2nd Owner; Bra and Cover Garage Kept $11,500.00 obo Contact TC Arbuckle cell 916-919-1729; home 916-421-6819. or hbporter@comcast. net for photos. (3) 1988 911 Carrera Cabriolet. Dark blue with grey upholstery. Just turned 65K miles. Loaded.

Excellent Condition. A beauty. $25,500. Paul Dobreff 916-984-3047. (3) 1988 911 Carrera coupe, Diamond Blue Metallic, Marine Blue interior, Northern

California car, 76,000 miles, Sticker, Purchase Order, manuals, tools, pump, no rain/snow, no smokers, no competition, no modifications, damage, body repairs or paint, engine/transmission never opened, every-

911 Race Car GT2R, 1972 993 widebody w/ wing, 3.8L, 380 Hp, less than 5 hr, 915 trans w/ robotek, 1950 lbs, by Matt L., sub 1:55 at T-Hill, $48K. 20 ft TPD trailer $8K. Contact Glen Brooksby at brooksby@winfirst.com or 916-974-7006. (2) Beautiful 1997 Porsche Boxster. Has warranty. Lapis Blue with black convertible top, black leather interior.

Excellent condition inside, outside and mechanically.

Just had it serviced at Niello. Garaged, 5 speed, new tires, CD…. etc. Has 57K mi. Price of $18,750. Bob at 6577097, 663-1532 or 9951096. Can send photos

Wanted

Free to a good home Two slightly used 996 car covers. I have two 996 car covers that I’d like to give to any club member who would like a free car cover. Please call John Myers at 916-342-2141.

Parts/Acc Tires & wheels (2) 16 x 7 and (2) 16 x 9 Boxster rims with painted crest, mounted with Bridgestone S02 tires; (2) 205/55 and (2) 225/50 all with 5-6/32 tread depth - $800 or best offer. Rich McGlumphy (916) 7259828 muppet@jps.net OZ Racing Wheels off a 1993 Porsche 911.

Fronts: 18 x 8.5, rears: 18 x 10. Good condition, but some curb rash.

Additional pictures and information available upon request: M5Stan@gmail. com Asking $500 obo (2)

WANTED: 1995 993 stock exhaust manifold with heat exchangers.

Please e-mail: Stan at M5Stan@Gmail.com Thanks - Stanton Lee

Drifter Classifieds for Porsches and/or Porsche-related parts or accessories are available at no charge to PCA members (pictures with text are $15 each); nonmembers may submit ads, $20 each; pictures with text add $15 each (member & non-member). Make check payable to PCA-SVR and send with ad to PCA-SVR, P.O. Box 254651, Sacramento, CA 95865-4651. Commercial ads are not accepted. Please contact our Advertising Manager for commercial advertising information and rates. All ads must be submitted by email to NewsletterEditor@svr.pca.org and received by the editor by the 1st of the month prior to publication. Ads may be shortened to fi t available space. Editor is not responsible for content and reserves the right to reject any ads submitted. Not responsible for any errors or omissions. As an additional benefi t to our members, all ads are included in the classified section of our web page. Ads are not verified for content. It is the buyer’s responsibility to verify the information in the ads. Ads run for two months unless cancelled.

Page 28

Sacramento Valley Region • PCA • www.derporsche.net

The Drifter

Frank’s

AUTOMOTIVE Since 1969

Independent Service and Repair Porsche | BMW | Audi | Mercedes | VW | Volvo

Frank Lettini Nick Lettini 5220 Folsom Boulevard Sacramento, CA 95819 Lic # 010502

916-452-0917

Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover Cards

Our motto: “If you like our work,tell others.

If not, tell us.”

Pre sor t

ndard • U.S Sta .

e stag Po

PAI D it N

to,

C a.

Per m

o.

28

en

Porsche Club of America Sacramentio Valley Region P.O. Box 254651 Sacramento, California 95865-4651

4 0 • S a cr a

m