Archive for year: 2021
As many of you know, we lost NER legend Steve Ross back in March. He was a friend, a mentor, and a leader whose impact was unmatched.
Paying it Forward is a term that most of us have heard and probably used. In fact, it has been around forever. It has been the subject of books, movies, YouTube videos, websites, and foundations. There’s even a Pay it Forward Day. An Australian started Pay it Forward Day, which is now celebrated on April 28th by eighty countries. Defining it simply as “an expression for describing the beneficiary of a good deed repaying the kindness to others instead of to the original benefactor”. Steve practiced Paying it Forward naturally.
If you are new to NER, Welcome! If you are one of our more tenured members, try remembering your first day or NER experience. What was your onboarding experience like? This was mine:
When Betty and I joined NER we knew no one. And I mean no one. Soon after, we met Steve during lunch on a Fall Tour. We quickly became friends and Steve launched into all things NER. He summarized each event or program with his big smile and excitement. And it was genuine. Steve had the natural ability to “sell” without selling. For some, it can be learned. For others, it comes naturally.
Over the years, Steve was my “go-to” guy when I had any questions regarding the car, NER, Porsche, recommendations for events, introductions to fellow NER members and service providers. Sometimes it was those classic conversations like storing the car or not. One time, I talked to him about a rare 50-degree January day with no snow or salt on the road and my regret for storing it. He looked me straight in the eye and said – “you bought the car to drive, drive it!” I felt like I got hit over the head with a 2X4.
At the end of each autocross, Steve would announce the upcoming NER events. Each of them with his Steve Ross smile. At one AX (Autocross), Steve talked about a July DE (Driver’s Ed) event in Mont Tremblant Quebec. Having skied there, I knew Mont Tremblant as a ski resort but did not know about a track. Coincidently, the village of Mont Tremblant hosted the annual Canadian Blues Festival. Steve’s pitch was, “If you are going to do one DE event, THIS IS the event that you need to do!” Betty and I registered that day.
Steve told me about this event called “The Ramble”. Maybe you are one of the 400 people who attend the annual event? If you do not, you need to. Again, we registered late and got the absolute last two tickets. And once again we were hooked. Steve was spot on. The Ramble remains my favorite NER event.
With me, and many others, Steve had the ability to look you directly in the eye and make you feel like you are the only person in the world, and what you were saying was more important than anything else. This is a gift. His enthusiasm was genuine. He was unpretentious, never arrogant, and never demanded something in return. His passion for all things Porsche could be infectious. NER was more than a club to Steve, it was family.
Over the last few years, many of us watched Steve become more and more confused and forgetful. Those of us with family members or friends with Alzheimer’s know these symptoms all too well. When fellow NER member Alicia Kullas came to me in 2018 with Steve’s diagnosis, she suggested that we recognize his club contributions now, before it was too late. I could not have agreed more. I presented it to the board in June of 2018, and we unanimously agreed to move forward with it.
Why did I entitle this article Paying it Forward? Because it was what Steve did. He encouraged and paved the way for many of us. He reached out to many new members welcoming and encouraging them to get involved. Whether you are new to NER or a tenured member, think about your first experience with the club. What was it like? What was your first impression? Did you feel welcome?
Whether you have been with the club for a short period of time or many years, reach out to new(er) members, give them a “hand up”. Be a friend. Be a mentor. Share your great club experiences. Share your connections. Participate in one more event. Help produce a new or established event. Encourage new ideas. Pay it Forward.
-Glenn Champagne
A Drive Down Memory Lane
I’m back from the Watkins Glen DE, and it’s column time. After a very wet driving season (no, I don’t have rain tires because I have no interest in getting soaked and scaring myself), it was great to have decent weather. Despite some clouds, I got in all 4 of my runs on Friday and Saturday, and Sunday saw perfect weather and five sessions as Adam combined the final Red, Black, and White run groups. Plus, I drove a couple of student cars and had a session in Bob/Marcia Binder’s 2010 Cayman (almost identical to mine – the blip-shift is a great addition! – thanks!). Congratulations to the NER DE team for a great event.
I love Watkins Glen – both the track and the area. I have very fond memories of my times there and probably have written about them in some previous column – if you can find it, you should read that one which is probably better than this will be. But with talk of Porsche returning to F1, let’s have a little history lesson – some personal, some Porsche.
While early 356’s were successful in racing, the first pure Porsche racecar was the Typ 550 (well known as the James Dean car), which first appeared in 1953. Like the 356, this had a flat-four air-cooled engine, but, unlike the 356, this had the 4-cam Fuhrmann engine (code 547) in a mid-engine location. It competed successfully in sports car racing, and an updated model raced in F2 races (initially as a two-seater, then as a single-seater). When F1 changed to a 1.5-liter formula in 1961, the former F2 cars were now eligible. Labeled Typ 718/2, these cars made 186hp @ 8,000 RPM and, weighing under 1,000 lbs, were capable of 150+ MPH (with drum brakes!). For the 1961 season, “Porsche System Engineering” campaigned two cars in all 8 Grand Prix for Dan Gurney and Jo Bonnier. Gurney (Car and Driver Magazine ran a campaign for him to be elected President in 1964) placed second in three races (including Watkins Glen) and finished the season fourth in the Driver Championship while Porsche was third in the Constructors Championship. Ferraris were dominant, winning the Constructor Championship and Phil Hill winning the Driver Championship (after his teammate Wolfgang von Trips was killed in the next to last race).
For the 1962 season, Porsche introduced a new model, the Typ 804, which was similar in appearance to the Typ 718 but built to accommodate a flat-eight air-cooled engine (code 753). Although slightly heavier and with no more power it was narrower, lower and smoother, which contributed to a higher top speed (167 MPH). It was the first Porsche to use disc brakes and rack and pinion steering.
The 1962 F1 season saw a complete reversal from 1961: the British constructors were ascendant with new V-8 engines, and Ferrari struggled with labor woes. BRM won four races (Graham Hill), Lotus three (Jim Clark), and Cooper one (Bruce McLaren). Porsche again campaigned two cars for Gurney and Bonnier, and Dan won the French Grand Prix – Porsche’s only F1 win (until 2025?).
1962 was the fourth year that the U.S. hosted an F1 race: Sebring in 1959 and Riverside CA in 1960. But those events were unprofitable, and Watkins Glen got the race for 1961. (Attendance was 60,000, and the race continued to be at Watkins Glen until 1980.) The course was very different from what we drive. While somewhat similar to the current NASCAR layout (which omits “the boot”), there was no front straight as we now know it. It was 2.35 miles long.
Since Ferrari was totally out of contention, they didn’t bother to come to the Glen in 1962 (they also skipped 1961 because they had already won the Championship). With one race left after Watkins Glen (the South African Grand Prix), Hill could win the Championship if he finished ahead of rivals Clark and McLaren.
The race weather was dry but overcast. Ask me how I know. My Dad and I had packed beer, a cookstove, and sleeping bags (no tent or anything useful like that – we were not a camping family) and headed to the race. On the way out, I drove the 356 for the first time (underage, of course). My Dad pulled over on the N.Y. Thruway and turned it over to me. As I carefully matched the speed limit, he prodded, “if you are going to drive, then drive it,” and I was probably around 80 as we passed a State Cop in the median. I saw my life flash before my eyes. But he stayed put, and I pulled over as soon as we were out of sight.
We arrived the day before the race, parked in the infield, and set about cooking a steak. After dinner, we wandered around and then attempted to sleep despite some fairly rowdy and drunken neighbors. Although not cold by October Watkins Glen standards, it was pretty chilly on the ground in a crappy sleeping bag, so we retreated to the 356, reclined the seats, and spent an uncomfortable night.
Qualifying was different in 1962 than it is now: practice and qualifying were combined, and there were sessions on Friday and Saturday afternoons. Clark, in his Lotus-Climax, set a new course record of 1:15.8 (averaging 111 MPH with ~185 HP on skinny tires!) on Friday, and this held up due to rain on Saturday. He started on the pole among a total of 18 cars. Gurney qualified fourth.
Without a cell phone and Race Hero or big scoreboards, it was pretty difficult to follow the race. The report which follows is based on web research, not my teenage memory. (And actually, I had always thought I went to the 1961 race. It was only in researching for this column that I noticed the number on Gurney’s car, which meant it was 1962.) Clark and Graham Hill ran away with the race, swapping the lead a couple of times, but Clark winning by 9 seconds. No other cars were on the same lap, and only 13 cars were running at the end. Gurney ran as high as third, but his car fell off at the end, and he finished fifth.
In the final race of the 1962 season, two months later, Clark was leading easily before an oil leak ended his day. Graham Hill won the race and the Championship.
Back to the Glen story, my Dad and I packed up and headed home. He drove the whole way. I later went to one other WGI F1 race with my Dad when I was in college. That was the first time I ever had a beer in the morning to combat a hangover.
Everyone needs to go to the Glen! And make sure you drive the old original road course. Here is a nice article about the history of the courses used.
Interesting note: the really crappy pictures that I took were done with the camera that is shown in one of the pictures, which was a pretty weird little camera – not a common one. It was a half-frame 16mm thing, and the pictures always sucked. I don’t know why my father used it.
– Bill Seymour
The NER 2021 Concours occurs in less than one month at The Elms, Newport, on Saturday, October 2, during the Audrain Newport Concours and Motor Week.
Join us as an entrant, spectator, or volunteer as we highlight fabulous Porsches competing in Werks or Full Concours categories. You can find full information can be found at porschenet.com.
Event sponsors will present special awards, Porsche Warwick, South Shore Autoworks, Quonset MotorSport, Grenon’s of Newport-Fine Watches and jewelry, and Brewed Awakenings. A Concours clinic for entrants and judges will be held on September 19 at SoBo Cars & Coffee!
Hope to see you there!
David Melchar
Lawrence, MA – Kachel Motor Company announces a 4-car line up in International GT (IGT) at Watkins Glen September 9-12 marking the team’s debut. This event will be run with Trans AM and live streamed on the SVRA app. ”I am pleased to be part of such a wonderful event, International GT is a great series to showcase the KMC cars and drivers,” said Tim Kachel, owner of KMC. “This is our first event with IGT, and we are looking to make an impact in each of the classes we have entered. The drivers are excited to compete in this professional series with their KMC-prepped cars at one of the premier racetracks in the USA.”
Driver Lineup and Class:
- Aubrey Bout, Class GT4.0, Car #027, 2019 991.2 GT3 Cup
- Doug Oh, Class GT3.4 Car # 080, 2014 Cayman S
- Michael Saia, Class GT3.6, Car #13, 2009 997.1 GT3 Cup
- Darius Trinka, Class GT3.6, Car #15, 2007 997.1 GT3 Cup
Michael Saia, KMC Team Drivers Captain – “We are looking forward to competing at Watkins Glen with International GT in September. IGT has great cars and competitors and we are looking to podium (WIN!) in our respective classes.”
Julie Bentley, Director of Registration for International GT – ”With a field of 30 cars and growing, I welcome the KMC team and look forward to having them run with us at the Glen and at future events.”
About Kachel Motor Company
The first Kachel Motor Company began in 1952 as a Studebaker Dealership, founded by William Harrison Kachel Jr. who had a strong love for automobiles. The love of automobiles has been carried through the generations to the present manager, Timothy J. Kachel, of Kachel Motor Company who is the Great Grandson of William Jr.
The passion is now German and Italian High Performance automobiles – selling, maintaining and custom fabricating to satisfy the needs for the “Love of Your Automobile”.
About International GT
International GT is a North American racing series that includes three different championships for late model Porsche and Ferrari competitors. Home primarily to sportsman drivers, with the occasional professional driver/coach joining the action in endurance races, International GT annually presents The Stuttgart Cup, Mission Foods GT3 Cup Trophy and The Maranello Cup championships.
The Stuttgart Cup includes Cayman 3.4 and 3.8 liter cars. The Mission Foods GT3 Cup Trophy features 996, 997 and other GT3 Cup cars from the last decade. The Maranello Cup includes Ferrari 360, 430 and 458 challenge spec cars. All classes compete for season-long sprint championships.
With rare exception, all three divisions compete on track at the same time for individual class honors in their own and exclusive International GT run group. Most race weekends feature a minimum of one enduro and two sprint “points” races that count toward the season championships.
This month’s column is about membership communications and more Sim Racing.
With our website and social media being our primary communications vehicles to the membership, you will see much more content than you used to find in the NOR’EASTER appearing on porschenet.com. To ensure that there is a steady and interesting flow of content there we have established a formal submission and publication process. In addition to the regular contributors, we would love to hear more from any members that have something interesting to share, like a trip report, or your experience from your first DE, Autocross or Rally, the new or old Porsche that you just bought, or anything else that you would like to share with the rest of us.
Submissions should preferably be in Microsoft Word format and emailed to [email protected] with any pictures attached. The pictures should be in the highest possible resolution you can provide. Once we receive the email, we run the text through Grammarly to fix any punctuation, spelling, or grammatical errors, but we do make sure that your writing style is preserved. It is also categorized and tagged in order to make it easy to locate in the future. After that is done, it is sent to our web team, who add the content to the website and schedule it for publication. New content is summarized on the front page. Then, on a weekly basis, we send an email to all members summarizing and linking to all new content published after the previous email and a calendar for the current and following month to ensure that you don’t miss anything interesting. Any questions or comments you may have for us should also be emailed to [email protected]. We look forward to hearing from you.
The summer Sim Racing race series and both the regional and national levels are wrapping up, and the fall race series are about to start. This is a good time to jump in and join the fray. We have loaner equipment that we let members take home to get a taste of Sim Racing with minimal investment. If you are interested, send an email to [email protected].
At the regional level, the next series will be racing Porsches on a weekly basis. Race evening is Tuesdays at 8 PM and lasts about two hours with practice, qualification and races. We have a friendly, welcoming, and fun group and work hard to keep it this way. We also invest a lot of effort in bringing new racers up to speed with advice and practice races. To learn more, join our Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/810156892838722
At the National level, we will be racing the Porsche GT3 R, a sweet car, in an 8-week series. National also works hard to be accommodating to newcomers and has programs targeted towards bringing them up to speed and into the races. They have divided the races into four classes, Challenge, Sport, Club, and Pro, according to the driver’s abilities, so you will race against drivers with similar skills. The next series, number 7, will be published soon on the National Sim Racing League’s website pcasimracing.com. The website has a wealth of information about what Sim Racing is, how to join, and much more, so head over there and take a look.
At the National level, December, January, and February are dedicated to races between the PCA Zones. They have been organized into five groups that each will run their own races in December and January to select the top 8 drivers in each class for each Zone Group. These 32 drivers will participate in a series of three races in January that will crown the Zone group and individual winners within each class.
While we wait for Series 7 to begin, there will be an exciting two-race series between International Porsche club teams. The races will be broadcasted on YouTube and will take place (virtually) at Road Atlanta on September 11th and Spa Francorchamps (no rain!) on September 18th. It will feature the best Sim Racers in the PCA and is guaranteed to be exciting. When I know the exact times and have the URLs to connect to, I will let you know.
Finally, a few comments about myself and Sim Racing: the series that just completed was organized by the West Coast Zones in PCA and featured the Porsche GT3 R in 8 venues. 7 were road races, and one was an oval race at Indianapolis Speedway. To do well in these races, requirement one was to participate. To increase your chances of placing well, you also had to finish well in at least 7 of the eight races. To do that, you had to avoid incidents (crashing, getting penalized for violating racing rules, spinning or running off the track), and finally, you had to have a decent pace. Good pace with incidents leads to worse results than slower pace and fewer incidents. It also requires a huge amount of self-control. It is easy to increase speed when you are anxious to pass a slower driver or when a faster driver is on your rear bumper, but increased speed also increases the risk of incidents, so the best strategy is not to let the adrenalin surge take control and lead you into trouble. I have worked on this for two years now, and it finally came together in this series, and I placed much higher in the rankings than I expected.
It was a good thing that only 8 out of 7 races counted. My performance on the oval was embarrassing. I was involved in multiple crashes (but didn’t cause any) and was black-flagged multiple times for infracting rules that I didn’t quite understand. It was fun but very much a learning experience. If you are interested in seeing a 10 minute summary of the race, check out https://youtu.be/cU1VilIrWsU for a 10-minute video or https://youtu.be/lmr3GXoHO08 for a 30 minute video.
Anker
It’s still too early in the year for you or your Porsche to hibernate so swing by September’s Cars and Coffee!
Schedule below – Details within links:
9/19 Cars & Coffee – Northborough, MA – 8:00 AM to 10:00 AM
9/19 SoBo at Sweet Berry Farm – 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM
15 August 2021 South of Boston (SoBo) Porsches and Coffee
Field 2
Field 3
Before I discuss some of the Porsches, I want to mention a couple of items: one is June’s coffee, where I interviewed Edmund Williams with his yellow 2000 911. In retrospect, I may have overlooked that it was a GT3. Hopefully, Edmund will return, and we can further discuss his highly desired Porsche.
The second item is the electrifying of cars in general. Whether they become a permanent fixture or not, they are here, and today I interviewed owners of a hybrid Cayenne as well as a Taycan Turbo S.
The Exleys 74 911 Targa
Three generations posed in front of their 1974 911 Targa. Charles Exley Sr. purchased the Targa (a yellow B6) in 1977 from a car collection with about 15k miles. Currently, the Targa is showing 36k. The 91-year-old Senior Exley has passed the driving baton to his son and grandson. Charles jr. seems to have taken an interest in maintaining the car for his son Charles 3rd. The eye-catching Targa appears solid and original but a bit tired.
Lou DiRienzo’s Cayenne Turbo S e-Hybrid
Lou DeRiennzo was an early arrival with his Cayenne Turbo S E-Hybrid. A 4-liter Turbocharged V8, this big beast has the GO. Lou chose a cashmere beige metallic exterior, a club leather interior in truffle and Cohiba brown, with black walnut trim, making it a very appealing look. The battery is in the trunk floor area and is not easily accessible. When the battery power expires (around 32 miles), an audio notification is provided. On just the battery, the max speed is about 83 MPH. This is Lou’s second hybrid; previously, he had a 2011 Cayenne hybrid.
Dantas’s 2020 graphite metalic Taycan Turbo S
Gregory Dantas arrived in his graphite metallic 2020 Taycan Turbo S. The Bordeaux red interior certainly adds much bling to the car. To me, the car appears shorter than a Panamera but wider. This is Gregory’s first Porsche, and his wife likes it as well. On a full charge, the range is 280 miles. One of the options was a rear bench seat, so as a family car, it can seat all four of his kids. He says it feels like driving an S-class Mercedes. There are two charging ports on either side of the front fenders; the right side is for rapid charge, and the left for home charge. I was surprised that a sunroof is not an available option.
Bixby’s 87 928 S4
Barry Bixby’s pristine 87 928 S4; it is the nicest original 928 I have ever seen at our coffees. With a dark blue exterior and linen-colored interior, this untouched 928 with a manual transmission shows 68k miles. Purchased this year in March, it was found by word of mouth. The car was located in Colorado; he is the third owner. Barry has been in the Porsche business and certainly has a keen eye when it comes to finding Porsches. Asked if he considered selling, he replied “38k”.
The next SoBo is scheduled for 19 September (10-Noon) at Sweet Berry Farm, 915 Mitchell’s Ln, Middletown, RI. The event as always is FREE, and no pre-registration is necessary. The only requirement to park on the grass is your Porsche. A Porsche logo sign should be in place directing you to the parking area. Sweet Berry Farm is child friendly, encouraging small children to enjoy a working farm, so when entering and exiting, drive carefully. And, as always, for any SoBo related questions, please email me at: [email protected]
Rog Slocum