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Getting Started with NER PCA

Welcome to the Home of the Porsche Club of America’s Northeast Region!

Below are some helpful links to the activities shown in the NER PCA flyer you received, as well as contact information for the experts who can answer any questions you have on each type of activity.

If you have ideas for additional events we could plan or would like to volunteer for existing activities, please feel free to email me at [email protected].
We can always use help keeping our members connected through communications on our website, writing articles for us to publish, event planning, or if you have technical expertise, we welcome any and all perspectives to ensure members are getting the most out of the club!

If you are already a member of NER PCA and don’t currently receive our News email which goes out around the 15th of the month, please reach out to me on that as well. I will provide information on how to update the email address on file with PCA National.

On behalf of NER’s board of directors and myself personally, thank you for stopping by to check out what the club has to offer and we look forward to meeting you at one of our future events!
Lisa Burke
NER PCA Membership Chair

Full calendar of club events: https://porschenet.com/events/
Recurring weekly events not listed in the calendar:
Sim Racing, Tuesdays at 8pm
Cape Cod Porsche Gruppe Cars & Coffee, Saturdays 7:30am

Concours: https://porschenet.com/activities/concours/
Chair: David Melchar, [email protected]

Driver Education: https://porschenet.com/activities/driver-education/
Chairs: Adam Schwartz & Charles Kenney
Registrar & Safety: Stan Corbett, [email protected]

Ramble: https://porschenet.com/activities/the-new-england-ramble/
Ramblemeister: Dennis Friedman, [email protected]

Sim Racing: https://www.facebook.com/groups/810156892838722
Chair: Robert Galejs, [email protected]

Autocross: https://porschenet.com/activities/autocross/
Chair: Chris Ryan, [email protected]
Registrar: Jeff Johnson, [email protected]

Social Activities: https://porschenet.com/activities/social-events/
Chairs: Glenn Champagne & Betty Mae Mosley [email protected]

Facebook groups to connect with other members:
• Main group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/northeastregionpca
• Autocross: https://www.facebook.com/groups/260319394517298
• Technical: https://www.facebook.com/groups/3572353792857260
• Sim Racing: https://www.facebook.com/groups/810156892838722
• Cape Cod Gruppe: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1570367176509558

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8/7: NER’s Annual Summer Party is Back!

Join NER and Porsche Norwell on Sunday August 7st for the 5th Annual Summer Party!

If you are already a member, thinking about joining or simply want to know why all these people are crazy about about Porsches, this is one of our best events of the year and you should come hang with your friends or make new ones!

Date/Time
Date(s) – 08/07/2022
11:00 am – 4:00 pm

Learn more and sign up here!

Summer Party Sign Up

 

We’ll have 

  • An eclectic Porsche car show of course ( expecting 75-100 cars, and more when you sign up and bring yours!)
  • A deliciously catered lunch accompanied by an awesome live band 
  • A full outdoor bar serving locally crafted beverages (try the Blueberry ale while you’re there)
  • The world famous NER cornhole tournament (try your skill to take the crown from the region’s reigning champ and 1970’s legend, Bill Seymour!) Bonds have been made and rivals have been born at this tournament so be sure to sign up!
  • SIM racing machine try outs and learn from our SIM pro Anker. While you are there also check out the rad Robotics exhibit put on by Mechanical Advantage

 

See you there and thank you to our sponsor Porsche Norwell!

NER Autocross Presented by PCANER and Porsche Norwell

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DE Crier: Thompson Report

It was a long winter but clean living prevailed, and we finally got on the track. The NER season opening DE was over Memorial Day weekend at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park:  three days of rip roaring fun for novices and veterans alike. 

On Friday there was special attention paid to drivers new to DE and to the track.  After a classroom session by Ed Mansing and their first on-track session, the Green and Yellow drivers (two novice run groups) were sent to a big parking lot for braking and cornering exercises.  Autocross Chair Chris Ryan and his AX crew led the drivers through two sessions of exercises which included a wet skid pad.  (The skid pad was left open during the day for anyone to use.)  There were also classroom sessions for Advanced drivers led by Peter Tracy and Kevin Gross.

 

Friday saw a little mist in the morning but the day stayed dry.  Not so on Saturday where the afternoon was pretty wet (great opportunity for learning!).  Sunday was beautiful and the reduced turnout allowed combining run sessions so drivers could wear out their tires to their hearts’ content.

Saturday night there was a track social that featured a nice selection of your favorite beverages and a catered dinner.  Thanks to Judy Mansing and Pam Mascetta for their usual fine job.

 

As has become the tradition for this event, there was acknowledgement each day of the purpose of Memorial Day with a moment of silence for those who lost their lives in the service of their country. Stan Corbett distributed flags from American Legion Post 234 that had flown over the graves of fallen heroes.

Turnout for the event was a little disappointing and the current signup for the second NER DE at Palmer is also below normal levels.  What are you folks waiting for?  All those people I talked to at the Ground School, where are you?  C’mon and signup!  Here are the counts from Thompson…

Total attendees: 90

Green (Beginner): 17

Yellow (Novice): 13

Blue (Solo): 7

White (Intermediate): 9

Black (Advanced): 16

Red (Instructor): 28 

Note that 10 attendees had never been to a DE before and an additional 10 had never driven at Thompson before.  Speaking of people who had never before attended a DE, one who fit this description was Bill Miniscalco of Sudbury who came with his 2018 Boxster.  Bill was having a great time and encouraged anyone who was on the fence to give it a try.  I asked him what if anything surprised him and his reply was “what a wide variety of cars and levels of experience there are.” Everything from completely stock cars driven by those with no track experience to PCA club racers driving dedicated track cars. And all were very friendly and willing to help and offer advice when asked.

So thanks to co-track chairs Adam Schwartz and Charlie Kenney for running a great event and to Stan Corbett for all the work he does as Registrar (assisted by Paul Skinner and Judi Mansing).  There was a bit of last minute work shuffling as the Covid took out two Chief Instructors (Dave Berman and Tom Buckingham – leaving Mike Woodward in that role). And thanks to Instructor Development Chair Matthew Wallis who is hard at work molding the more experienced drivers into instructors. Our sustainable future depends on attracting new drivers – and in order to host Green and Yellow students we must have a strong cadre of Instructors.

And speaking of moving on up, here are the promotions that occurred at this event…

Green to Yellow:   Patrick Bergstedt and Benjamin Zendejas

Yellow to Blue:  Ana Malone Oliver, Duan Yutong and Diou Shi

Blue to White:  David Timberlake, Jeff Croteau, Ana Malone Oliver (she advanced 2 run groups at Thompson)

White to Black:  Dan Zal, Bobby Jacobsen (NER Region President)

New Instructor:   Michael Bodden

 

Finally, on a personal note, I was there on Sunday with no car – planning to drive Dave Berman’s car after his generous offer.  But Dave was down with the Covid. Up stepped Bob Binder and Chris DeGrace (one of the PCA club racers!) to graciously allow me three sessions of driving. You know the saying:  “It’s not just the cars, it’s the people!”

-Bill Seymour

 

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Driver Education Ground School

NER’s first Driver Education event of the season took place on Sunday April 24th at Palmer Motorsports Park.  No, this wasn’t your usual DE, rather it was the annual Ground School – held at a racetrack (rather than the usual location at HMS Motorsports in Danvers).  And a great idea is was as it allowed those attending to do parade laps and see what a really cool racetrack looks like.

There was an excellent turnout:  40 registered and 37 of them showed up plus there were 24 “day of” drop-ins for a total of 61 Green student wannabees.  The day started with coffee and pastries (courtesy of David Peterman and Panera) served in the main Palmer garage. Once all were settled we were greeted by co-Track Chair Charlie Kenney (Adam Schwartz stayed home so we wouldn’t catch anything bad) followed by a series of presentations that explained what DE is, how to sign up, how to prepare for an event and then what to expect at an actual DE event.  Driving tips (apexes, friction circle, flags, etc.) were NOT explained – that will come at the events themselves. What the attendees DID learn about were…

  • Dave Berman explained the instruction process and instructor/student pairings
  • Paul Skinner explained how to register, car numbers, etc.
  • Aaron Murphy detailed the car tech form and tech line process
  • Cody from HMS talked about the required safety equipment
  • Judi Mansing promised wonderful social hours once the track is cold
  • Ed Mansing described how NER’s program fits with our sister region NCR’s parallel program
  • Mike Woodward talked about what goes on in a typical track day and how to get the most out of it.
  • Charlie highlighted the tracks we visit

With all of that good stuff in mind, attendees were then sent out to do some parade laps so they could get totally psyched up. The laps continued until the “meatball” flag was shown which signaled that pizza (courtesy of HMS Motorsports) had arrived (they should have shown the “pepperoni” flag but that apparently was at the F1 race in Imola that weekend). Good pizza, some soft drinks, some more chat and everyone went home happy and newly knowledgeable.

                                 

 

In my role as DE Crier I made sure to chat up some of those attending. While most were clearly there with the intent to do DE there were also some who saw this as an opportunity to meet some PCA folks, see the Palmer race track and MAYBE get talked into doing a DE. I suspect some will indeed start down the slippery slope. One such was Joanne Young of New Braintree who showed up in a very pristine 2005 Boxster.  I was her right seat passenger for a few parade laps and then took the wheel to better demonstrate the Palmer “line.”  Great fun.  During pizza time I had another nice chat with mother and daughter combo Nita and Jenna Moton.  Nita recently moved from Los Angeles to be closer to her daughter and her 911 is in the process of being shipped here. I forgot to tell them that it’s OK to share a car at DE (although difficult if both are Green novices). 

           

 

So all in all it was great day with good learning and the fun of parade laps. If you were there I know you will agree.  But let’s end with this note:  if you haven’t done a DE, would like to, but missed the Ground School, YOU CAN STILL SIGN UP FOR ANY OF OUR DE’S. See you at the track – and come and tell me a good story.

And thanks again to Panera, HMS Motorsports and hosts Palmer Motorsport Park!

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Newcomers Meeting: 4/10

Date/Time/Location
Date(s) – 04/10/2022
10:00 am – 12:00 pm

Porsche Norwell, Norwell MA

Come one, come all! All members are welcome! See what’s new, and improved, as well as what NER has to offer! If you are new to NER PCA, trying to decide whether to join or maybe an existing member who has been out of the loop. This year’s meeting is hosted by Porsche Norwell.

Whether it’s the various Social Events, Driver Education, the Ramble, Autocross, Concours, Tours, or Tech Sessions, NER PCA has something for all its members.  

Doors open at 10:00, followed by presentations starting at 10:30 pm.  Coffee & refreshments will be served. 

Learn more and sign up here:

Newcomers Meeting 2022

 

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2022 DE Season Updates

Whether it’s your first season on the track or you are a seasoned track veteran our 2022 DE Schedule is ready and we hope to see you there!

If you are a first timer or want a refresher, we suggest your attending Ground School :

2022 Ground School

General Info and DE Days are found here:

2022 DE General Info and Updates

For more info and questions please contact: Stan Corbett, NER Track Chair at [email protected]

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Life Changers

This past Wednesday was my last meeting in my current tenure. I became a member of the board four years ago, very shortly after I joined the PCA, and now, after three years as Membership Chair and one year as VP of Communications, and for the majority of the time, NOR’EASTER editor and the person responsible for getting a stream of content (articles, columns, event promotions, event reports, new member welcomes, and recognition of anniversaries) to the membership.  I have run into the term limit set in the bylaws. I am all in favor of term limits and four years feel about right; I need a break. It has been a great experience, and I have made a lot of new friends at an age where the circle of friends normally shrinks. PCA activities at all levels, Regional in NER, Zone level in Zone 1, and at the National level have filled my calendar and enrichened my life.

I am proud to have been heavily involved in evolving NER, which we have to if we want to remain viable in this world of constantly accelerating change. We reintroduced Rallying, which has proven to be a popular re-addition to our portfolio, Sim Racing has expanded explosively in the last two years, and Cars & Coffee events have become much more frequent and popular.

The bottom line, Porsches and the PCA have become a big and rewarding part of my life.

Now it is my turn to focus on participation in the events I enjoy, which pretty much includes the entire range. I’ll continue to commit time to run the club: I will still be responsible for the gathering of content to be communicated, I am a member of the Autocross committee, I am a Zone coordinator for Zone 1 Sim Racing, I am on the Rally committee, and willing to jump in and lend a hand where a volunteer is needed.

If you enjoy making a difference, getting to know people, and being a member of a team, I recommend you follow the same path! Join the board or become a member of one of our many activity teams.

Recently I had another lucky and life-changing experience. 

Several years ago, while I was NOR’EASTER editor, Bill Seymour secured permission to reprint the contents of a couple of Ross Bentley’s Speed Secrets emails. I suspect many of you know who Ross Bentley is. Race driver, racing coach, and author of the Speeds Secrets series of instructional racing books. 

Ross is also a person who is a complete joy to get to know. I wrote him a few emails over the years commenting on his Speeds Secrets emails. Ross replied to every one of them and obviously spent some time considering what I had written. As I became more and more involved in sim racing, my emails were mostly about the connection between “real” racing and sim racing, both similarities and differences. I also commented that it would be fantastic if he could expand his focus into this realm.

Out of the blue, a couple of months ago, Ross emailed me and asked me if I was willing to join a group of beta testers for a new service, Sim Racer Academy. The service is broken into two parts. One is a website containing a wealth of self-paced instructional material about all aspects of racing, the other a Discord-based forum providing a social platform for the service. I accepted immediately, and in the course of our communications, he mentioned that he was looking for a few individuals to help him run the service. I responded, “Me! Me! Please, Me!”.

I have taken responsibility for the day-to-day operations of the Discord service and joined Ron Gale, who will be running practice and race sessions, Conor Murphy, who is the Sim Racing technology expert, and of course, Ross. We work as a closely-knit team, communicating on a daily basis electronically because we are spread over the US and Canada.

The service has been well received, and we are all really busy. Busy enough that I have needed to cut back on some of my other activities. Being part of building something new, figuring out how to make it succeed, and interacting with the users is just up my alley!

Now we have to get rid of this COVID thing!

On that joyous note, I wish all of you Happy Holidays. See you in the new year on the track, at the C&C, at the Gala, the Rallies, and all the other places we NERs have fun together!

 

Written by: Anker Berg Sonne

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NER AX#5 Results

 

NER Closed out its Autocross season under sunny skies with a Fall chill in the air. The event was sponsored by Herb Chambers, a perennial autocross supporter, and we thank them once again for their continued support.

Fifty-seven drivers ended up posting times for the event. This number of drivers was lower than usual, largely due to a number of no-shows. Several of those had the courtesy to notify us ahead of time they would not be there, and that was appreciated. However, there were several who had registered for the event, but simply skipped out unannounced. As a reminder, when we confirm your registration, we ask that you notify us before the event if you are not going to make it -no-shows make staffing and running an event particularly difficult – I hope people will take that more seriously next year.

Once again, we had a fair showing of Novices (12), which will now be minus one (Adam Norton) as he took first in the Novice Class and thus will be registered in his regular class (Class 7) at his next event. Congratulations Adam!

Elsewhere in the day, Chris Darminio took Class 1, posting an 81.35 in his ’76 914 to beat our old friend Jack Goudreau who returned in his ’73 914. John Staton  posted an 82.94 in his ’77 911S in Class 2. Great to see these old cars showing up for our events!

Chris Hubert was tops in Class 4 by about 2.5 seconds; Lev Tabenkin took Class 5 by beating out the Boxsters by 5.5 seconds; Ernie Grasso took Class 6 in his 718 Cayman, just edging our Eric Kessel and yours truly by .3 and .6 seconds, respectively. Tony Miniscalco was the winner in Class 7, while Jeremy Mazzariello won Class 8, even after having to spend lunchtime digging small pebbles out of his tire bead after an “agricultural excursion” from the course. Bill Aubin and Ollie Lucier took classes 9 and 10, respectively, while Wil Koscielny (2020 Miata) beat our course designer Rob MacAlpine (1999 Miata) in the non-Porsche Class; taking FTD in the process!

The qualifying (minimum of 4 events run) Class Winners for the Season were: Neil Halbert (Class 4), Lev Tabenkin (Class 5), Mark Skala (Class 6), Tony Miniscalco (Class 7), Jeremy Mazzariello (Class 8), Walter Lunsmann (Class 9), and Rob MacAlpine (Non-Porsche Class 11). This year, we plan to have the Season awards made in conjunction with NCR at Billiards Café sometime in January – stay tuned for announcements with further details.

Thank you to everyone who participated and helped run the events this year – especially Rob and Sheryl MacAlpine. We hope to see you all back again in 2022 – including all you Novices – and bring your friends!

-Chris Ryan

Results:

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