Month: October 2024

Concours, For Enthusiasts, Porsche Events

2024 NER Concours Report

The annual NER Concours was held on Saturday, October 5, at The Elms in Newport, RI with beautiful sunny weather. The Concours coincided with the fifth Audrain Concours and Motor Week activities that took place October 3-6, culminating on Sunday, with an international Audrain Concours d’Elegance held at The Breakers, the former summer residence of Cornelius Vanderbilt II.

The Elms was the summer residence of Mr. and Mrs. Edward Julius Berwind of Philadelphia and New York. Mr. Berwind made his fortune in the coal industry. In 1898, he engaged Philadelphia architect Horace Trumbauer to design a house modeled after the mid-18th century French chateau d’Asnieres (c.1750) outside Paris.

The NER Concours included two categories: Full and Werks. The Full category used traditional judging sheets, examining Porsche exteriors, interiors, storage compartments, engine compartments (where viewable), and wheels/wheel wells. Each entrant started with a perfect score, with point deductions for soil or uncorrected blemishes. The entrants, in class, were ordered in descending point order. First place and two runner-up trophies were awarded per class.

Participants in the Werks category prepared their cars for the Concours, however unlike traditional Full or Parade style judging, Werks judging considers not only the appearance but also the history of the car, its usage by the owners, and overall aesthetic appeal. Werks judging creates a somewhat more relaxed environment and encourages participation by a wide variety of interesting Porsches. At PCA Werks Reunions in Monterey and Amelia Island, everything is found from highly authentic restored cars, Le Mans winning race cars, outlaw & hot rod style Porsche builds, and unique original cars.

This year’s Concours had almost 200 Porsches on the lawn, between 103 Concours entrants and 95 spectator Porsches. Porsches began arriving at 7:00 am with volunteers, followed at 8:00 am by entrants and spectators. George’s Food Truck was ready for all the early arrivals with hot coffee and tasty breakfast pastries for purchase, followed later with delicious lunches.

Volunteers quickly got to direct the parking of Concours entrants in ther respective classes, supervised parking of spectator Porsches to the designated area, setting up the registration and scoring area, and hooking up the P/A system. By 9:30 am, a judges meeting run by Head Judges Paul Whooten for Full and Ceileidh Segal for Werks assembled the judging teams and provided final instructions.

Thanks to the many NER member volunteers, judge teams were able to begin the judging at 10:00 am. The awards ceremony commenced shortly after 1:00pm.

The Concours trophies consisted of 7 ½” tall rectangular inscribed glass and base and were presented to recipients by NER President, Glenn Champagne. He and Betty Mae Mosley, NER Secretary, spent all day helping make the Concours function by assisting in numerous capacities.

Mark Shane, NER VP Admin, was instrumental in facilitating the parking of spectators all day. All their help was very much appreciated.

Several special trophies were presented by some of the sponsors. Rick Lavigne, of Quonset Motor Sport, selected Sonny Roussel and his pristine 1971 white 911 for his special sponsor’s award. Grenon’s of Newport awarded a “Spirit of Speed” award to Gina Catalano and her 1974 yellow 911 Targa, presented by Ceileidh Segal. Glenn presented the Cayman Island Tourist Office special trophy to Earle Assanah for his immaculate 2020 Cayman 718 GT4.

Complete Concours results are reflected in the accompanying tables. The high quality of Porsches entered in the Concours was only in keeping with the impressive surroundings of The Elms and the gorgeous weather. Whether attendees were participating in the Concours or parking their Porsche as a spectator, an elegant time was available to all. Many thanks to the numerous volunteers who allowed this event to function with timely precision, particularly to those who shared their enthusiasm and expertise by serving as judges for the Full and Werks categories.

Several special Porsches were on display including a Carrera GT, two 964 Turbos S flat nose Coupes, a tribute Mark Donahue IROC winning 1974 RSR, a Lola/Porsche race car, 2018 911 GT2 RS Manthey, 2024 992 GT3 RS and Kim Saal’s Concours winning 1958 356 Coupe.

Special gratitude goes to key volunteers who were instrumental in the execution of another fine NER Concours including Bob Hinrichs (Concours Vice Chair), Sterling Vernon (motorsportreg, t-shirts, scoring) Paul Whooten, Rick Boyer (spectator parking), Ceileidh Segal, Patricia Collins (registration), and Roberta Melchar (registration). A special thanks goes to those who helped on Friday to set up the lawn including Bob Hinrichs, Pat Burke, Luis Lebrun, Pete Johnson, Fred Johnson, Tony Miraglia and Bill Cambra.

Lastly, the ability of Concours attendees to leave their Porsches on the lawn of The Elms until 6:00 pm after the conclusion of the Concours to visit nearby Audrain exhibits, including the Audrain Concours entrant display on Bellevue Avenue, Motor Village and the Audrain Museum was very helpful due to difficult Newport parking. We hope to see everyone at next year’s Concours!

NER would like to thank Dave Melchar and the volunteer crew that put on this amazing event!

CONCOURS WERKS RESULTS

Werks Category	Rank	Entrant	Porsche
356	1	Michael Alves	1960 356B Cab
911 ’65-‘73	1	Susan Silberberg	1970 911T
	2	Rob Nudelman	1965 911
	3	Blaine Stein	1970 911 S Targa
911 ’74-‘89	1	Karl Spooner	1986 911 Turbo
	2	Aaron Pring	1986 911 Carrera Targa
	3	Gina Catalano	1987 911 Carrera Targa
914	1	Ellen & Bruce Hays	1974 914
964/993	1	Elizabeth Henderson	1992 964 Targa
	2	Frank & Jill Chicherchia	1991 964 Targa
	3	Sokol Kodrasi	1995 993 C2
996/997	1	John Nai	2011 997 GT3 RS
	2	Ralph Trepanier	2003 996 GT2
	3	Ted & Lisa Shaw	1999 996 C2
991/992	1	Kevin Donaldson	2017 991 Carrera
	2	Andrew Lewis	2023 992 GT3
	3	Kevin Moran	2018 991 GT3
	4	John Buckley	2019 991 GT2 RS
Boxster/Cayman	1	Anthony Curreri	2011 Boxster Spyder
	2	Michael Ladouceur	1999 Boxster
	3	Judith Wojcik	Boxster
924/944/968/928	1	Timothy Lippold	1989 944 S2
	2	Christopher Hoell	1991 944 S2
	3	Peter Feinstein	1987 924S
Panamera/Cayenne/Macan/Taycan	1	Peter Palermo	2015 Panamera
	2	Dave Wojcik	2006 Cayenne Turbo
	3	John Bentley	2013 Cayenne Diesel

CONCOURS RESULTS

Full Category	Rank	Entrant	Porsche	Points
356	1	Tom Moses	1960 356 S-90 Coupe	284.5
914/914-6	1	Joseph Moccia	914 2.0	279
911 ’65-‘73	1	Christopher DeGrace	1973 911S Coupe	297
	2	Fred Johnson	1971 911T Coupe	292.5
	3	Sonny Rousell	1971 911	292
	4	Mark Lappin	1970 911T	277.5
911 ’74-‘89	1	Keith Bianchi	1989 Carrera	292.5
	2	Joseph Venturoso	1986 Carrera Targa	284
	3	Robert Leonhardt	1988 Carrera	271
	4	David Reilly	1989 911 Turbo	270.5
	5	Jeremy Pinsly	1988 Carrera	269.5
	6	Jaime Barnes	1974 911 Targa	251.5
	7	Richard Towle	1984 Carrera	205
964/993	1	Justin Pessa	1997 993 C2	295.5
	2	Jack Bevilacqua	1995 993 C2	285.5
	3	David Flynn	1995 993 C2S	281.5
996/997	1	George Castellano	2012 997 C4 GTS Cab	299.5
	2	Paul Whooten	2011 997 Turbo S	295.5
	3	Mark Hinckley	2004 996 C4S Cab	294
	4	Luis Lebron	2004 996 C4S Cab	293.5
	5	Pete Johnston	2010 997 C2S Cab	291.5
	6	Tony Magnanelli	2005 911	278.5
	7	Brian Kearney	2002 996 C2	275
	8	Constantine Tsivelekidis	2008 997C2S	274
	9	Robert Gauvin	911	271
991/992	1	Joshua Teverow	2019 991 Speedster	261
	2	Alanso Bonifacio	2024 992 GTS	254.5
	3	Ian Haan	2018 991 Carrera T	251.5
	4	Dale Roberts	2024 992 Carrera S	249.5
	5	Emanuel Coelho	2023 992 C4 GTS Cab	243
	5	Mark Popeleski	2024 992 Carrera S	243
	7	Robert Bowie	2015 991	241
	8	Ann Fagan	2014 C2S 50TH Anniversary Edition	234
	9	Robert Seigel	2015 991 C4S	228.5
	10	John Davidson	2013 991 Carrera S	219
Boxster/Cayman	1	Earle Assanah	2020 718 GT4	299.5
	2	Daniel Neri	Cayman	254.5
	3	Robert Reyes	2021 718 GTS 4.0	253.5
	4	Gary Cooper	2013 Boxster	253
	5	Kevin Fitzgerald	2013 Boxster S	252.5
	6	Michael Panarello	2015 Boxster S	252
	7	Rick Archambault	2012 Boxster S	250.5
	8	Coleman Maguire	2024 Cayman GTS 4.0	250.5
	9	Larry Levin	2022 Cayman GTS 4.0	250
	10	Ryan Kitlinski	2010 Boxster	249.5
	11	Cindy Teverow	2023 718 Boxster Spyder	248
	11	Craig Desrosiers	1999 Boxster	246
	13	Don Derosiers	2014 918 Boxster	244.5
	14	Eric Letson	2015 Boxster S	243.5
	15	Jose Alberto	2006 Cayman S	242
	16	Bill Porter	2007 Cayman S	238
924/944/968/928	1	Austin Spooner	1983 944	296
	2	William Cambra	1990 944 S2	289.5
	2	Ken Pelletier	1987 928 S4	289.5
Cayenne/Macan/Panamera/Taycan	1	Lauren Pagani	2024 Macan GTS	299.5
	2	James Burgarella	2017 Macan GTS	298.5
	2	Scott MacDonald	Macan	298.5
	4	Cathy Spooner	2015 Macan S	296
	5	Lou DiRienzo	202 Cayenne Turbo S E-Hybrid	295.5
	6	Reginald Macari	2016 Cayenne GTS	294

October 21, 2024/by Luis

Porsche Events, Social

7th Annual Dow Rally Invades NCR

Well the weather wasn’t perfect but everything else pretty much was. The course, which took us into Southern New Hampshire (take that NCR!), explored some interesting towns, found nice windy roads and offered lots of spectacular views (great job Anker!). We had a good turnout – 34 signups but a few last minute dropouts – and the Dow family was nicely represented. Lunch at the Billiards Café (the Autocross watering hole) was excellent and a few folks even picked up a cue stick.

This is a “gimmick” rally and there were, indeed, a few gimmick questions. Let the record show that there were NO questions that were missed by everyone – so we’ll call it fair. The winners got 23 of 25 right and second place was very close with 22 correct answers. It is true that the two top finishers had 8 eyeballs in the car so extra passengers do help. The winning team “Familia Lopez” (Roger, Lisa, Natalia and Gabriela) all fit into a 911 which was quite impressive.

Second place went to “Team Websters” (the Beaver family) who were more comfortably seated in a Macan.

The other “gimmick” was that a prize was rewarded for “your most embarrassing car story.” While there were some pretty embarrassing stories (at the next Autocross ask Chris Ryan how a 911 wound up in a pond) and even an embarrassing moment (one of the rallyers stalled his car at the start) there was a clear winning story. It belonged to Wayne and Teresa Mattson who reported that many years ago when Teresa was 7^th months pregnant, Wayne drove them to the local gas station for a fillup in their manual transmission Hyundai. He went into the store to pay but came out to see the car slowly circling around the parking lot, barely missing the other cars. Teresa, as she waited, decided to turn on the radio and needed to turn on ignition. Since this was before the era when you needed to depress the clutch as a safety measure, the car started and took off. She was frantically reaching across and steering but unable to stop the car. Our hero (goat? – he left the car in gear) was able to open the door and yank on the ebrake to bring the situation to a safe conclusion (and win our trophy).

Once again the Dow Rally proved to be a great event for newer members and/or those who want to use their Porsche SUV for something other than getting groceries. Hope to see you all at the Annual Gala.

Note, if you wish to drive the very scenic route here are instructions…

The course is available on Ride with GPS. You need to have the application installed on your
phone in advance (there is a 7-day free trial). To load the route, click on or type the following
into your phone browser: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/48643420.

October 17, 2024/by Bill Seymour

Monthly Columns

Four Speeds and Drum Brakes: Another Old Car in the Family

There was an addition to the family a while back that is now in my driveway. Daughter, Kerry and her husband George, had a neighbor with a 1966 Ford Mustang that they admired for a few years and so when he decided to move on they grabbed it. It wasn’t expensive, was in great shape and had been used in a movie with Kate Hudson years ago. After a couple of years ( anda few rides in my Turbo S) they decided to replace it. Of course I volunteered to find a new home for it.

I love old cars and a chance to explore a 66 year old Ford looked like fun. Besides, it’s always nice to drive something new to the train station.

One thing that I discovered over the years is to know what you’re selling so I drove the Mustang to a local Hot Rod gathering on a Saturday afternoon and asked some muscle car guys to show me the features. They were great. They explained that the VIN showed the engine to be correct for the car and that the AC unit was Factory installed. I sounded like an expert in no time.

I thought that given its ready to show condition maybe Kate Hudson, the actress in the Movie, “A Little Bit of Heaven” would want it as a keepsake. If not, maybe Goldie Hawn, her mother, might buy it as a gift, Christmas is coming and those folks are hard to buy for. I needed to take a look at the movie and see if the car had a positive role or not. Ebay produced a copy for only $7 and it was in my mailbox in just a few days.

The movie cost me an hour that I’ll never get back and showed me that in the 4 seconds of screen time all the Mustang did was run her off the road while she was riding her bike. Not a great memory, she’s probably not a buyer. I’ll include the CD with the trunk full of Show trophies but not make a big deal of the movie connection. This car was no Christine.

This car is a hoot to drive around town. Like 356’s, people point and wave and getting gas always draws someone over from the next aisle to talk about the one their uncle had years ago.

I do remember these cars all those years ago. Just a year after this car was built Bullet was filmed in San Francisco with probably the best chase scene ever seen. That green Mustang fastback was on every kids wish list. To this day I can still hear the throttle blip between upshifts as Steve McQueen chased that Dodge Charger down to the gas station. I still do that myself if the car I’m driving is loud enough and most of them are.

The automatic is a three speed and the brakes are drums all around so it definitely feels at home in my garage but I can’t keep them all. It’s been a great summer. Give me a call if you want to go back to the ’60’s for short money.

October 3, 2024/by Luis

Archive for month: October, 2024

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