PP: Earliest Porsche memory? GM: I can vaguely recall sitting in the back of my dad’s car as a kid and being impressed as a 996 Turbo blasted by. My first vivid memory is of being at school and seeing a local Guards Red 944 S2 driving around at lunchtime. I used to wonder if I’d ever have something as nice!
Q A George Mayson joined the PCGB at the age of 20. He talks to PP about a parking faux pas, and how Club members have kept him on the road
PP: What excites you about PCGB? GM: The variety of events PCGB organises, both at regional and national level, is wonderful. I’m really looking forward to going to Silverstone and Le Mans with the Club when I’m no longer a skint student and can afford the fuel bill. PP: What’s the best part of being a Club member? GM: The best thing, without a doubt, is meeting the variety of wonderful members who have so much knowledge and experience, and who are so willing to offer their help. I’ve gained a lot from the Club, from learning technical things such as jumping a defective fuel pump relay to getting advice for life after university. Our local ARO is an estate agent who can even help me with property advice! I don’t know how I would have managed owning my 944 without constantly turning to other members for advice. PP: Porsche owner’s advice? GM: Don’t wait 30-odd years to buy a Porsche. I managed to buy and run a 944 at 20 years old for significantly less than the cost of a brand new Corsa or Fiat 500. I can’t help but laugh when I see school friends posting about picking up their new hatchback!
PP: When did you join PCGB? GM: I contacted my local Region, R2, in May last year for advice. I was only 20 and wanted to ask members about what it was like to own a classic Porsche. I made my membership official two months later and haven’t looked back! PP: How did your Porsche roots start? GM: Last year I started a summer job at my local garage – Pitairlie – and on my first day I worked on a 944 Turbo. It was when I got to drive it the next day that I was hooked. I took it out to test its brakes and within 200 yards I knew I wanted one. It felt like a tailor had measured me up and built the car to suit me. It was the driving position that got me, with perhaps a little help from turbocharged lunacy! PP: What was your first Porsche and why did you want that particular model? GM: After driving the 944 Turbo at Pitairlie, I somehow convinced my parents that investing some money I’d inherited on a 924 wasn’t a bad idea. I looked at a few cars, which I decided didn’t suit me. Then when I attended my first Club meeting, one member said that for what I wanted to spend I could have a 944 instead. My dad even agreed and within weeks I’d bought a lovely 1983 944 in Guards Red with only one owner from new. 138 porscheclubgb.com
ON PORSCHE BUILT TO LAST “I’m studying Mechanical Engineering at the University of Dundee, so I can really appreciate the clever design and incredible quality of a Porsche – whether it’s a 356 or a 991.2 Turbo S. No other 33-year-old car feels as solid as my 944.” FAVOURITE PORSCHE MEMORY “There are many – from sunset drives in the Cairngorms to trying out the PCGB Scotland Concours. The funniest has to be turning up at my summer engineering placement for my first day in the 944 and accidentally parking in the Financial Director’s space. On the whole I managed to pull off the super-confident 1980s yuppie thing quite well!” YOUR NEXT PORSCHE “I plan to keep my 944 for a while. I’m going to sort out any last niggles such as the rear electric screen demister and power aerial. I’d also like to acquire a newer Porsche, perhaps a 986 or 996, for commuting after I graduate.” DREAM PORSCHE “Something flat-6 with a howling exhaust, or from the 1980s and turbocharged. The dream pair would be a 930 and a 991 GT3. Having said that I do covet my friend Alan’s 991 Turbo S, as well as our ARO’s Cayman R, which is sublime.”