Porscherama - 2019 Winter by Porsche Club of America, Los Angeles Region

WINTER 2019

TABLE OF CONTENTS

WINTER 2019 COVER

BACK COVER

DESIGN

PRINTING

Photography by Harry Kraushaar

Photography by Mo Satarzadeh

Z&R Design www.znrdesign.com Zlata Nikonovskaya

Marketlink XL Signal Hill CA www.marketinkgroup.com

PCA-LA LEADERSHIP

SOCIAL MEDIA & CREDITS

MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

MESSAGE FROM THE EDITOR

UPCOMING DRIVING TOURS AND EVENTS

TREFFEN BANFF

INTERVIEW WITH CHRISTINA NIELSEN

ANALOG PORSCHE PHOTOGRAPHY

SINGER DREAMS

HOLIDAY PARTY

TO MONTEREY AND BACK

THE PORSCHE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT

NEW MEMBERS

ANNIVERSARIES

PCA-LA LEADERSHIP TEAM

BOARD PRESIDENT VICE PRESIDENT TREASURER SECRETARY

MARIANA SMALL president@la.pca.org DAVID HEENAN vicepresident@la.pca.org LAURA HOUSTON treasurer@la.pca.org DIMITRI DE SILVA secretary@la.pca.org

TECHNICAL DIRECTOR

TONY CALLAS tech@la.pca.org

ACTIVITIES DIRECTOR

RAJ NALLAPOTHOLA activities@la.pca.org

MEMBERSHIP DIRECTOR & SOCIAL CHAIR

W W W. FAC E B O O K . C O M / P O R S C H EC LU B LA

DONNA J. SLATTON membership@la.pca.org

W W W. I NSTAGRAM . C O M / P O R S C H EC LU B LA

APPOINTMENTS SPONSOR CHAIR & MEMBER-AT-LARGE

MARK BILFIELD sponsors@la.pca.org

PORSCHERAMA EDITOR

HARRY KRAUSHAAR editor@la.pca.org

REGISTRAR

ANGELIQUE CHACON advertising@la.pca.org

CREATIVE DIRECTOR

ZLATA NIKONOVSKAYA creative@la.pca.org

NOMINATIONS COMMITTEE CHAIR

W W W.YO U T U B E . C O M / P O R S C H EC LU B LA

KEVIN RICE registrar@la.pca.org

ADVERTISING MANAGER

INSURANCE CHAIR

T WI T TER . C O M / P O R S C H EC LU B LA

P O R S C H EC LU B LA. M OTO R S P O R T R EG. C O M

SINA SAEDI InsuranceChair@la.pca.org

H E LLO @ LA. P CA. O R G P CALO SANGE LES . O R G

MARC PARÉ Nominations@la.pca.org HARRY KRAUSHAAR

PORSCHERAMA /WINTER ‘19

Letter from the President

Letter from the Editor

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

PICTURES GALORE

2018 came and went faster than anyone expected. Possibly even faster than a GT2RS. And what an extra special year it was: Rennsport Reunion VI was bigger and better than ever; Porsche celebrated its 70th anniversary; the Petersen Automotive Museum hosted the Porsche Effect exhibit, giving us

all wonderful insight into the evolution of the marque; and, the 57th PCA-LA annual Concours d’Elegance was received with tremendous excitement. We are tremendously thankful that our membership base and member engagement continue to grow. Your attendance at our events, your positivity and the smiles on your faces, are what make being part of this Club worthwhile. Last month we held elections for

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the 2019/2020 Vice President, Treasurer and Technical Board of Director positions.

work and commitment and the Club would not be the same without their leadership.

It is with heavy hearts that we see David Heenan complete his second term as Vice President. We are tremendously thankful for the commitment, enthusiasm, diligence and guidance he exhibited during these two terms. His drives were some of the most popular the Club has ever hosted, frequently selling out and always enjoyable. David will continue to be an integral part of the Club, and we look forward to his support, albeit in a member-volunteer capacity. David, you are a true gem, and I thank you for all you have done.

2019 will bring plenty of new activities and surprises. In early February the Board of Directors and Appointments will get together for our annual Board Summit in which we plan for the rest of the year and beyond. Shortly, we will also be reaching out to you, our members, for support with projects to improve the Club and member experiences. Stay tuned for an incredible year ahead!

We are thrilled to welcome Kevin Rice as our incoming Vice President. As Registrar, Kevin has been instrumental in managing MotorsportReg. com as well as the website and email platforms. As Vice President he will be taking the lead in updating our technology platforms and ensuring the optimum member online experience. We congratulate and thank Laura Houston, Treasurer and Tony Callas, Technical Director for serving a second term. Club administration takes a tremendous amount of time,

THIS ISSUE OF PORSCHERAMA is somewhat eclectic, and that makes me smile. Our content covers a wide range of topics, from parties to racing, with a winter wonderland in between. We continue to attract new PCALA contributors, and I thank each of them. Paulina Michaels, of Fast Girls Network fame and arguably our first celebrity contributor, interviewed Porsche racer Christina Nielsen, a major celebrity in her own right, for Porscherama. I love the piece as it is real, raw and frank. Robert Bauer wrote a piece about driving the backroads between LA and Monterey, something all of us will need to know at some point. Jack Gennuso wrote a thought-provoking, and possibly controversial, piece about analog Porsches and analog photography.

Happy New Year, safe travels and here’s to a great 2019!

MARIANA SMALL PRESIDENT, PCA LA

and Rod, Mark and Matt Bilfield, and Raj Nallapothola, to name a few. I also had the chance to hang out with several international PCA members, many of whom were there because they had customized 993 Speedsters. We all had a great time, and it afforded me lots of picture taking opportunities. Several of my shots are in this issue.

HARRY KRAUSHAAR

I thank our recurring contributors for their contributions to this issue. Our erstwhile and outgoing Vice President, David Heenan, wrote a fun, and somewhat scary, piece about this fall’s PCA Treffen Banff. Tony Callas, our Technical Director, along with Tom Prine, wrote another great technical article, an illuminating piece really, about the (in)famous check engine light. PCA-LA held its annual holiday party in December. It was a major success, and we are fortunate that Mo Satarzadeh was there to

document it. Mo’s pictures are featured in the Holiday Party article and the back cover. Speaking of parties, I had the good fortune to attend Rennsport this year, driving my 89 Carrera over 800 miles there and back. The car performed flawlessly, and I had a blast. I hung out with many of our PCA -LA cronies, including Mariana

As usual, I thank Zlata Nikonovskaya, PCA-LA Creative Director and partner in Z&R Design, for continuing to do such a tremendous job making all the elements of Porscherama look so good each issue. If you have any thoughts, comments, or, most importantly, content, drop me a note at editor@la.pca.org. I look forward to hearing from you.

HARRY KRAUSHAAR EDITOR, PCA LA

Where your ideas take flight.

An award-winning creative company. www.znrdesign.com | info@znrdesign.com

Z&R DESIGN

PORSCHERAMA /WINTER ‘19

with a forecast of snow. We drove up to the Fairmont Banff Springs and were greeted warmly. A horde of attendants descended and made our luggage disappear to our room, and we were guided to registration. In an adjoining parking structure several large areas were reserved for Porsches, and, thankfully, there was a spot to wash our cars, which I relished. Afterwards I parked my Boxster up on the roof with other early arrivals. A big mistake!

THE SNOW TREFFEN Story and Pictures by David Heenan

BETTY AND I thought we were prepared for Treffen Banff. Betty grew up in Canada, and we have returned often, at different times of the year and to different provinces. Our little Boxster can hold a surprising amount of gear, and we filled it up as we planned for most eventualities and packed for our 10-day journey. We thought we knew what we were in for, but, of course, we were wrong.

interstates beginning in Nevada and travelled north along familiar highways, although this was the first time in the Boxster, making it a totally new experience for us. However, as we neared the Nevada/Idaho border, the active forest fires began to heavily pollute the air. We had no choice but to put the top up as we continued to drive north. We endured the smoke and the top as we made our way through Montana. We were very disappointed when we had to change our planned route as we continued, as the Road to the Sun in Glacier National Park was closed due to a very nasty fire in the park.

We opted to take a slow fourday excursion to reach Banff. The drive started out beautifully, sunny and warm, definitely topdown weather. We avoided the

We arrived in Banff early on Wednesday afternoon. The smoke had disappeared, only to be replaced by cold temperatures and a fine rain

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After settling into our room, we checked in for Treffen Banff in the Mt. Steven Hall where we received our badges, vests, goodie bags, and agenda. This flowed into an evening reception with drinks and hors d’oeuvres. Jill and Steve Petty were the only other LA region members in attendance, but we also spoke with friends from most of the other California regions, notably GPX and OCR. Once again we were reminded that Treffens are popular events with a fervent following, as we saw many familiar faces. There

are several members who have attended all five. I was proud that this was my third Treffen. One thing for certain at a Treffen is that you will not starve. The breakfasts in the Vermillion Room each morning were included in the cost and were simply exquisite. The buffet style menu featured so many choices that it was a real challenge not to overeat. For Thursday’s major event we chose the Yoho Loop Tour, a 150 mile run through the Canadian Rockies with several scenic stops along the way. We faced our first challenge before even reaching the road. That promise of snow had turned into reality overnight. There was a couple inches of snow to clean off our Boxster; even worse it was still snowing. But after topping off at the local petrol station, we met up with the rest of our group in the Norquay parking lot and off we went. The locals told us that only a week or so before the temperatures were in the 80’s. With the ground still warm, the roadways were mostly free from

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was “Taste of Canada” in the Cascade Ballroom. Need I say that the food was delicious? We sampled a little bit of everything. But the highlight of the evening was a talk by a real Canadian Mountie, albeit retired, dressed in his finest red uniform. Many photos were taken of members with him, some quite humorous, and after dinner it got even funnier, as he gave a long talk about the Mounties and his career. He had the whole audience in stitches. He definitely has a second career as a stand-up comedian. Saturday was an official NDO (Navigators Day Off), and we elected to tour the greater Banff area with the Discover Banff Tours. For the last time we enjoyed breakfast in the any accumulation of snow or ice in the lower altitudes. The Yoho Loop Tour was quite different from what we expected. Due to the storm, visibility was very poor. There were no majestic peaks to be awed by. One of our stops was the Takakkaw Falls, which I’m sure is quite beautiful. Sadly, we could not see the upper portion. But the drive was still a lot of fun. There was some slush on the roads at the upper elevations. Otherwise, the roads were wet, but not particularly slick. Huge snowflakes floated through the air as we drove along snow covered forests. It was a winter wonderland. We enjoyed a delicious catered lunch in the Emerald Lake Lodge, and on our return to the Fairmont we also stopped to see Lake Louise. It was a fun run. That evening was the Hoedown

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Dinner in the Alhambra Ballroom. Once again the food was delicious, and we were treated to some rousing entertainment by the Calgary Fiddlers, a female teenage ensemble. Their music was energetic to say the least, and was greatly appreciated by all, especially me after a long day on the road. Now I’m almost ready for the Stampede.

for the ice fields. It was a long ride but a nice one. There were patches of blue sky at the higher elevations, and we actually got to see several peaks. Since we were on the bus we did not stop at several scenic spots and therefore arrived early at the Visitor Center which caused us to wait for our allotted time in the cafeteria for lunch. It was worth the wait.

When Friday dawned, the nasty weather was still with us, causing the the organizers to change the Friday plan. Originally, we were to drive to the Columbia Ice Fields, but it was decided to bus us instead to avoid the road conditions that were encountered on the Thursday morning tour. After another filling breakfast in the Vermillion Room, we lined up, much too early considering the time zone change, with the group and boarded a bus

The Ice Fields were a bit disappointing, however. Massive Ice Explorers drove us to the edge of the glacier for a 15 minute walk and then back to the Visitor Center. If I had brought my crampons and ice axe, I might have felt more comfortable on the ice. At least we were able to relax on the return drive as we arrived back at the Fairmont just in time for dinner.

Vermillion Room and afterwards joined other members on a minibus for the tour. Although there was no precipitation, the temperature was still cold and the sky heavily overcast. This did hinder some of the sight-seeing at the various stops. Banff is situated in a most beautiful area with abundant wildlife that clouds could not hide. Actually the dreary sky set up the highlight of the weekend for me. Our lunch was at the Sky Bistro, which sits atop Sulfur Mountain at an elevation of about 7,500 feet. One reaches it via gondola, and when we broke through the cloud cover, the view was amazing. We were above a thick puffy cloud layer with snowy peaks poking through all around. The view was almost distracting as we

ate another delicious lunch. Fluffy clouds would blow by, enveloping the restaurant and creating a magical atmosphere. Saturday night was the finale: Back to the Alhambra Ballroom for a Night at the Castle Dinner. I probably don’t need to say it, but the food exquisite once again. After the dinner came the much anticipated raffle with many fine prizes. The best one was a European driving tour, supplied with a Porsche of course, worth several thousand dollars. Neither Betty nor I won anything at this Treffen; we’ll have to try again next year. The drive home was an uneventful drive straight down I-15. It was so good to get back to warmth and sunshine after five days in the cold and snow.

Friday evening’s dinner theme PORSCHERAMA /WINTER ‘19

UPCOMING EVENTS & DRIVING TOURS OCTOBER

OCTOBER

DRIVE TO WRIGHTWOOD

MEMBER’S MONTHLY BREAKFAST LOCATION TBD.

INTERVIEW WITH

PORSCHE RACER CHRISTINA NIELSEN Conducted by Paulina Michaels

NEED calendar 24 text for this item NOVEMBER

MEMBER’S MONTHLY BREAKFAST LOCATION TBD.

DECEMBER

SEPTEMBER

HOLIDAY PARTY

MEMBER’S MONTHLY BREAKFAST LOCATION TBD.

FOR THE MOST UP-TO-DATE INFORMATION ON EVENTS, PLEASE VISIT PCALOSANGELES.COM/SCHEDULE-EVENTS

PORSCHERAMA /WINTER ‘19

WHO/WHAT INSPIRED YOUR INTEREST, AND MOTIVATED YOU TO FORGE AN AUTOMOTIVE CAREER?

WHAT CHALLENGES DID YOU ENCOUNTER IN PURSUING YOUR DREAM?

I started with the go-karts. When I was 13, I got invited to the go-kart event and I fell in love with the feeling of driving, the adrenaline kick. My father is very passionate about racing as well and when he saw my interest in it, he introduced me to the world of racing.

As I see it - women start at the level “minus one”, all the guys start at the level “zero”. It’s a neutral opinion on their racing skills, when they first start out. When it comes to women, the first reaction is - “mmm… we’re not sure how this one will go, at all”. It takes a longer time to gain the respect and you probably won’t hear from a lot of people, especially the

competitors, that you did a good job. They take pride in beating you specifically. So when you do hear it, when somebody does say “you drove very well”, you know that they really mean it. That’s not an easy thing for most of them to say.

WHAT ARE SOME COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS YOU HAVE RUN ACROSS AS A WOMAN INVOLVED WITH CARS?

I think the first one is being asked: “Are you a driver?”I’m all suited up, sitting at the autograph table next to my codriver, who’s exactly the same, but they will never ask him if he’s a driver. So there’s still this misconception of whether women can really race. And that’s what I’d like to change. It’s also that perception that it’s OK for the men to speak up, which is perceived as determination and a great business quality to have. When

a woman does the same, she’s all of a sudden “difficult to work with” (if we put it in a very polite way). Many times you have to really change your approach to voicing your concerns, in order to be heard.

WHAT DO YOU CREDIT WITH HELPING YOU SUCCESSFULLY BUILD A CAREER AROUND CAR CULTURE? I think - working with the right people, it does make a PORSCHERAMA /WINTER ‘19

difference and I’ve been very fortunate in that regard. I was lucky to meet people who supported me. No matter if you’re man or a woman, racing is a very tough industry to achieve success in, very few do. And there are lots of people, who want to bring you down. The better you do, the higher up you are - the colder it is. Luckily, those people don’t have any influence on your results, on your race. But your team does. And those are the people I rely on.

very noticeable. I believe that it starts with parents. They are the key factor in kids life when they are growing up, they choose what their kids will be introduced to or not. It’s great to see parents who do bring their kids to the track. The best thing about it is that I am there, so they can immediately have an awareness that women do belong in motorsport and hopefully that is something they will remember later on.

a lot of in racing. Besides that, athletes have a shorter career lifetime, so I’m hoping to be making a difference outside of racing as well. My goal is to make sure that my presence, whether it is a social media one, or in person - creates the most positive impact on other people’s lives. I’m passionate about the Stan program, creating new paths and breaking down barriers for girls, so that they can do whatever they want, when they grow up.

WHAT IS YOUR GOAL IN THE AUTOMOTIVE WORLD? WHAT DO YOU THINK STILL IS YOUR BIGGEST CHALLENGE? I think my challenge is the same as everyone else’s. Racing sponsorships. That one is a really tough one. It is hard for people outside of the racing world to understand the budgets we have to work with. “Race cars don’t run on fuel, they run on money”. It’s a common expression in our world. At the same time, you would think, that, as a woman in the motorsport you could get a sponsorship easier, since it’s still “news worthy” when a girl beats all the guys, it creates more publicity and is more memorable. But in reality, it rarely does help.

WHY PORSCHE ? WHAT DO YOU LIKE ABOUT RACING THEM? I really like people that I work with. Because people make a difference. I’m fortunate

I’ll be selfish at first and say that the first one is to be a professional, full time race car driver, a “factory” driver. It’s my ultimate goal. It’ll bring more stability, which you don’t have

to be working with Patrick Long, who a lot of racers look up to. You can’t say Porsche America without mentioning Patrick Long, which is a great accomplishment both on Patrick’s and Porsche’s side. John Wright, who’s the team owner, is absolutely amazing.

can race anything. I’d say this year was definitely a challenge, but it’s a challenge that’d only made me stronger and better.

WHAT CHANGES IN THE FIELD WOULD YOU SUGGEST TO IMPROVE ACCESS FOR MORE WOMEN?

Although Porsches are not an easy beast to tame, they are probably some of the most difficult cars to set up and to drive, you also know that if you can race a Porsche, you

First of all, we all have to all understand that’s hard to make changes over night. It can’t happen in a year or two. It’ll at least take a decade or two decades for changes to be PORSCHERAMA /WINTER ‘19

ANALOG PORSCHE PHOTOGRAPHY AT THE PEC LOOKING AT PORSCHES THROUGH AN ANALOG LENS Story and Pictures by David Heenan

PORSCHES ARE LEGENDARY cars. Everything about them is captivating. Their awe-inspiring performance, gracious design and attention to detail are what make the brand a benchmark by which other consumer cars are measured. A Porsche is the very definition of a sports car. From a performance perspective, modern Porsches equipped with PDKs are in a league of their own, but they lack the direct connection you feel when shifting through the gears. A feeling that is unmatched by the slight performance gains of the PDK. Driving older, more analog Porsches that lack driver aids like ABS, TCS, and even air conditioning transport you back to a time when the visceral thrill of driving was welcomed and expected. You are the captain when driving such cars. For me that’s what a sports car is about. Sure, analog Porsches cannot match the 0-60 time of a modern Porsche. Heck, they would be left in the dust by most, if not all, of the slowest modern cars from any manufacturer. But like a good friend told me, “It’s more fun to drive a slow car fast than a fast car fast.” As

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the level of driver involvement (and unfortunately danger) increases so does the fun. Admittedly less dangerous than driving vintage cars is shooting with vintage cameras. Every car show I go to I see people taking out their cell phones and 'graming away. It's no surprise, either. These camera phones are simply unbelievable in terms of photographic quality. Bright light? Super! Low light? No problem! Unbelievably, these new dual lens camera phones come with features that allow you to retroactively adjust the focal depth of an image (foreground/background fuzziness). My Nikon F3 comes with no such features. In fact, it requires an add on motordrive adapter just to provide me with a luxury like autoadvance.

I've always thought there's something sterile and bloodless about the relative ease of access to snapshots like these. You can take a quick snap of something well composed and exposed. In no time you have an instant, perfect image. This lends to a kind of disposability of the picture itself. Sure, it's great, but there isn't the same kind of feeling or involvement. In wine tasting some say this x-factor is terroir, a term easily defined as terrain, but means much more than that. It's the aspects soil imparts on the grapes. It's a key to understanding why certain varietals are better than others. There's the same kind of cross over for me between digital and analog photography. I went to the Porsche Experience Center to celebrate

its two-year anniversary. There were several rare and classic cars on display while at the event ꟷthe sort that are easily wrapped around trees if you're not responsible. The 919 Porsche P1 car from the 2018 WEC series was proudly parked right in front and drew a good amount of attention. Although it was rather difficult to get a shot without people in the background or foreground it was a shot to be had. The real tip is to arrive early or stay late and beat the crowds. Of course, if you're lucky or know someone, you might get exclusive access. For most of Porsche’s 70-year history of making cars they were known for cars with circular headlamps. The headlamps are the quintessential thing about the design language of the company. When I shoot

Porsches, it's all about making the headlight pop and show off that classic body trailing behind. They are in some ways the eyes of the car and a window into its soul.

Experience Center was one that I am excited to take again, especially with my analog camera in tow.

The other real exciting thing to shoot at the PEC was the shop. PEC offered tours at the event. Everyone who signed up was able to see and learn about the space. I was stunned at how clean the shop was. I talked to a mechanic there about it, and he told me that a fair amount of his time is spent cleaning up the mess working on a car inevitably creates. Additionally, I was told the center is the only place other than Stuttgart that can fully refurbish any engine and bring it back to straight-from-thefactory concours condition, certified by the manufacturer. Overall the trip to the Porsche PORSCHERAMA /WINTER ‘19