Category: NorEaster - Page 2 - Northeast Region, Porsche Club of America

Fall Finale At Palmer

The Northeast Region enjoyed spectacular weather for our end-of-season three-day event at Palmer Motorsports Park. We saw record attendance at this event with 170 cars (!!!) and over 180 drivers! That is absolutely incredible by any standard of measurement. And lest you think all those cars might cause congestion out on track – the organizers were right on top of it, making us all practice our “exercises” (point by to the left…point by over the roof to the right…repeat…) before hitting the track on Saturday morning.

Speaking of teaching and practicing, we were lucky to once again have Lee Carpentier, pro driver and coach, to instruct many of the run groups during the course of the weekend. Lee’s sessions, with content tailored for each run group he addresses, helps us all improve in his very cheerful and humorous style. Lee also spent a lot of right-seat time with our instructors, helping to make sure we are all at our best.

As yet another special educational experience, Dr. Andy Kaufman, a PCA member from Syracuse (but a Boston guy to us since he went to MIT), a forensic psychiatrist, and coach to many performance athletes and business leaders, gave memorable and fascinating sessions about how to prime one’s brain for high performance driving by focusing on the mental side of performance using cognitive science. He focused on the two main stumbling blocks many of us face while high-performance-driving: focus and confidence. His qualifications and teaching experience (SUNY Syracuse) allow for a much deeper dive into the workings of the mind than might be typically covered by most coaches. Dr. Kaufman is mentored by Dr. Jacques Dallaire, author of some fascinating books about mental performance and coach to folks like Helio Castroneves and Patrick Dempsey from his office at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Dr. Kaufman led a session for the White run group on Friday and one for our advanced drivers and instructors on Saturday. He taught them “the three R’s” for maintaining focus and reducing possible anxiety. What are those three R’s? Luckily we’ll all be able to learn more about them next season as our head of DE, John Dunkle, has asked Dr. Kaufman to team up with Lee Carpentier next year to begin to develop some NER-specific programming. We’re blazing a trail in this area and yext year is going to be even better. Our DE team is really putting the “E” (education) back in “DE”. And the kicker – Andy lost third gear in his GT4 during the first session on Friday but stayed with us and did a great job. We hope his car is back out there soon.

If all that weren’t enough already, we had a live auction on Saturday after the track went cold and raised over $1,000 for Homes for our Troops by auctioning Porsche swag donated by Norbert Martel. The one item John Dunkle, auctioneer, wanted for himself – a 1/18 scale 2.7 RS – went for some serious money. We had a lot of laughs that evening.

Many thanks to all the people who came out for the event and huge thanks to the team that pulled it together and to South Shore Autoworks, the event sponsor. It really was a grand finale!

For anyone who wants to check out the track and see some great cars, don’t miss the big Porsche-only show, swap-meet, exhibition at Palmer on October 8th. You’ll even have a chance to drive the track (at parade speeds) to get a feel for how amazing it is. Come join us for what looks to be another great event!

John D. runs the auction in first-class style. But is a bit upset when the item he wanted was bid up a bit high. Great for our charity, Homes for our Troops – not so good for John!

palmer motorsports park september 2017 de ner pca

Bill S. has formed his own run group.

Huge thanks to our event sponsor, Justin Becker and his South Shore Autoworks!

Surely they are discussing the finer points of the line around Palmer’s track.

914-6! And it’s fast!

September 27, 2017/by Sterling Vernon

For Enthusiasts, News Update, Social, The Nor'Easter Magazine, Tours

First Annual Dow Fall Tour

What a gorgeous day to take a drive around New England, it was this past Sunday! Thirty five cars with sixty people joined us for the First Annual Charlie and Martha Dow Fall Tour. Many thanks to Gary Cooper and Tony Miniscalco for all the work they did to arrange and run this event with help from our veteran tour-meister and ramble-guru, Dennis Friedman, and the activities committee. Charlie Dow’s son, Eric, and his family were kind enough to come and we presented them with a custom plaque made specially for them that will hold a photo of everyone at the event. Thanks to all who participated and thanks to our volunteers for making a very memorable event. We all look forward to continuing this wonderful tradition in Charlie’s name for years to come.

Attendees arrive. Here comes Ramble Master, Dennis Friedman, who is used to a large number of cars at his Rambles.

First Annual Dow Fall Tour - anticipation

When do we get this thing started?

Under Bill’s watchful eye, Gary explaining to the group that McQueen was cool, but the tour drivers are not McQueen.

Charlie’s son Eric telling the group how much his Dad loved NER and Porsche, and how he would be thrilled to know his name will forever be associated with the tour.

The group posed for a shot before taking off

NER only parking at Michael’s Harborside

The tour organizers failed to check the commuter rail schedule. Provided by Linda Montoya Mullen from Michael Kaleel’s car.

Where’s the beef?

Gary telling the group that normally the sweeper car is not the first to arrive at the destination

And thanks to Anker Sonne-Berg for the photos unless otherwise noted!

September 12, 2017/3 Comments/by Sterling Vernon

For Enthusiasts, Social, The Nor'Easter Magazine

Porsche Day

Every year, we look forward to Porsche Day at the Larz Anderson Museum in Brookline, MA. This year was a tremendous success with at least 70 cars. The weather was perfect. And NER was out in force.

Hanging out with Rocketman Ron S.

Porsche Day 2017 Larz Anderson Museum - ruffians and hoodlums

NER ruffians and hoodlums right here.

Porsche Day 2017 Larz Anderson Museum - 914-6

Beauty of a 914-6

Solid structures

Why else?

Expressive

Porsche Day 2017 Larz Anderson Museum - great stripes

David from RI’s got great stripes

Porsche Day 2017 Larz Anderson Museum - ri crew

The RI crew with Josh and Chris

Porsche Day 2017 Larz Anderson Museum - ron oil check

Is it time for an oil check, Ron? Wait, what was that noise?

Original paint

Perfect patina

Porsche Day 2017 Larz Anderson Museum - senior row

The senior row

Porsche Day 2017 Larz Anderson Museum - classic

So classic

Porsche Day 2017 Larz Anderson Museum - tom tate 356

Tom Tate’s maybe?

Porsche Day 2017 Larz Anderson Museum - something for the kids

There is fun for every age.

Porsche Day 2017 Larz Anderson Museum - good crowd

Now that’s a good crowd!

Porsche Day 2017 Larz Anderson Museum - gary planning trip

Looks like Gary is planning another trip!

Porsche Day 2017 Larz Anderson Museum - rigruppe

The RI GRUPPE is on hand.

Porsche Day 2017 Larz Anderson Museum - 928

928

Cayman corner

Porsche Day 2017 Larz Anderson Museum - white 991 targa

991 Targa in white

Porsche Day 2017 Larz Anderson Museum - spring

Get sprung

Porsche Day 2017 Larz Anderson Museum - rally 911 back

911’s make great rally cars

Porsche Day 2017 Larz Anderson Museum - rally 911

Stripes!!

Boxster Spyder

991 Targa

Porsche Day 2017 Larz Anderson Museum - kachel motor company

The Kachel Motor Company

968

Porsche Day 2017 Larz Anderson Museum - gt3

GT3

Porsche Day 2017 Larz Anderson Museum - david v

New transfer into NER. Great car!

Porsche Day 2017 Larz Anderson Museum - cup to rsr

Look who’s coming to the October “Porsches on the Mountain” at Palmer on Oct 8

Porsche Day 2017 Larz Anderson Museum - cup to rsr motor view

The business end of a Cup-turned-RSR

Porsche Day 2017 Larz Anderson Museum - one of our favorite tracks Palmer

One of our favorite tracks – Palmer Motorsports Park

Porsche Day 2017 Larz Anderson Museum - 918 spyder

918 Spyder on display

Porsche Day 2017 Larz Anderson Museum - shiny

The shiny corner

Porsche Day 2017 Larz Anderson Museum - serious

Serious fun.

Porsche Day 2017 Larz Anderson Museum - hiding

Does he think he can hide in here?

Porsche Day 2017 Larz Anderson Museum - rgrupe plate

The best license plate award

Porsche Day 2017 Larz Anderson Museum - happy people

Many happy faces

Porsche Day 2017 Larz Anderson Museum - burgundy

Lovely color 911

The trophies

Porsche Day 2017 Larz Anderson Museum - historic car shows

What an early Porsche Day looked like…before Porsches.

Porsche Day 2017 Larz Anderson - Carrera GT Supercars Origins

Supercars Origins Display – Carrera GT

For 944 specific pictures:
944’s

September 12, 2017/3 Comments/by Sterling Vernon

For Enthusiasts, Social, The Nor'Easter Magazine

Air Cooled And Caffeine Powered

On a beautiful – if slightly hot – day in August, the “SoBo” (South of Boston) arm of Northeast Region swarmed the Newport Car Museum in Portsmouth, RI. With over 100 attendees and over 70 cars, the museum let us know that we were the largest club group they have had the pleasure of hosting to date! Thanks to all who turned out to check it out and brought their phenomenal cars. This venue has a huge parking lot, huge interior areas for socialization, a great collection of cars, simulators so you can have some fun at the wheel, and some really great staff. Thank you, Newport Car Museum, for doing such a wonderful job hosting us!

We saw everything from a 356 Speedster to new Macans and Panameras – with 911 “outlaws”, 935’s, 930’s, 911’s, 964’s, 993’s, 996’s, 997’s, 991’s, Boxsters, Caymans, and just about everything in between! This was the place to be to see such a huge array of Porsche hardware.

But the real attraction is always the people. It was a delight to be able to walk up to anyone and just start talking about their cars, the cars in front of them, or anything else.

Special thanks to Roger Slocum and his wife, Rosemary, for being the ones to pull all this together!

Our next Sobo event is September 17th at Sweet Berry Farm in Middletown. Come join us!

We also have the West-of-Boston Cars and Coffee this coming weekend on 8/19 in Northboro. And another one on the Cape the same day. The summer BBQ at Marcus and Dani’s house is next Sunday 8/20 as well. Mark your calendars!

august-sobo-pca-ner-newport-car-museum porsche events 911 boxster air-cooled

Porsches as far as the eye can see.

august-sobo-pca-ner-newport-car-museum porsche 356

David’s beautiful 356

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Speed and Speedster

August 14, 2017/by Sterling Vernon

For Enthusiasts, Porsche Events, Social, The Nor'Easter Magazine, Tours

Virginia is for Outlaws

by Gary Cooper

Greetings NER members! We are in the middle of a great summer and the heart of the driving season. I recently returned from a short trip to Virginia and thought you might enjoy this account of the weekend’s activities.

The invitation to go to Virginia came via my friendship with Bruce Russell, the Membership Chair for the Shenandoah Region of Zone 2 PCA. I last saw Bruce when we were returning from the Blue Ridge Boxster Summit, (read about that adventure here if you missed it). Bruce had just purchased a beautiful 997.2 Carrera S and we made plans for a weekend of driving fun.

But, before I could leave, I needed to get the bumper of my Boxster fixed. Yours truly was behind the wheel for a very low impact (while inching forward in heavy traffic) tap into another vehicle, causing some minor damage to the front bumper. Some call it operator error – I call it stupidity. In any event, based on the many good things I’d heard about them in the Nor’easter, I made an appointment with Mike’s Auto Body of Malden. While the insurance appraiser said the damage could be repaired, I suspected – and Mike agreed – a new bumper cover would be needed. I asked if they could complete the job before I was scheduled to leave for Virginia. Well, they worked with the insurer and were able to expedite the job just in time. When I picked the car up I was impressed with the quality of the perfect paint match, but even more so by the attention to such details as reinstalling my homemade front grill meshes (helps to keep road debris out of the rads), and by making sure the emergency frunk cable release was just where I had relocated it on the original bumper. I cannot recommend Mike’s highly enough! And I was ready to head to Virginia.

Bruce lives in the Richmond suburbs, so I left very early on Friday morning. Before I left, I purchased a few small items as I way of thanking Bruce and his wife for yet again putting me up in their beautiful home – as they did when I returned from the Werks Reunion in Florida earlier this year. Some assorted German foodstuffs from Karl’s in Peabody and a few little accessories for the new Carrera seemed appropriate. I think he was pleased.

Bruce let me know what he had planned for the weekend. On Saturday morning we’d meet up with some fellow Shenandoah members and go on a 55-mile PCA driving tour – ending up at the site of Region’s 22nd Anniversary picnic at Keswick Vineyards outside of Charlottesville. We had a small, but enthusiastic group of 11 cars.

Note: Speaking of driving tours, be sure to check out the NER Events site for the First Annual Charlie and Martha Dow Fall Tour on September 10th. This is sure to be a fun tour of beautiful Cape Ann and the Essex coastal plain.

The picnic was a great time for me to meet many of Bruce’s friends in the region. Shenandoah is a small region of less than 300 primary members, so it was very impressive that about 85 people came out for a purely social event.

Thanks to the region and it’s president, Hank Weil (pictured above speaking to the group) for warmly welcoming me!

After the picnic, Bruce had planned a fun route for him and I to visit his family’s rustic cabin in the mountains. We traveled up and over the Blue Ridge, across the Shenandoah Valley, and up again into the Alleghenies. If you’ve never been to this region, you should plan a visit – it is gorgeous. I attempted to keep up with Bruce in his good-as-new Carrera S and it’s 425 ponies.

It was dark by the time we got home that night, and we went to bed with our bellies full of some delicious Virginia comfort food had along the way. We turned in early as the next day would have a “zero dark thirty” start.

Bruce and about 10 other regional members have an informal “outlaw” fun-run group. Think more spirited, but safe, driving without the PCA forms, waivers and reports. Their main rule is there are no rules, and you can bring whatever vehicle you like. They planned an early Sunday morning (fewer cars on the road) around the eastern slope of the Blue Ridge northwest of Charlottesville. This day, Bruce opted for the more nimble ride – his Guards Red 1984 3.2 Carrera Targa. We met around 7:00am and drove a while before breakfast at a Tastee Freeze. You read that right, but don’t snicker – it was delicious Virginia baked ham, eggs and biscuits [ed: there was no mention of Jack or Diane, sadly]. Then it was off on some incredible, fun backroads in Madison County. The scenery was just as good as the roads. I love being around people who share my passion for driving.

pca ner shenandoah virginia outlaw group porsche

The Outlaw group from left: Gary Graff, his Dad – Dan, Gary Hunter, Bates McLain, Bruce, and Bates’ son Colin.

Then it was back to Bruce’s house where our rides received a nice bath, and we relaxed, ate and talked the rest of the day.

I had a long, rainy ride home on Monday, but that couldn’t dampen my memories of a great weekend spent with great people and great cars. Again, thanks to Bruce, the Shenandoah Region and lastly – my wife Ellen, who is very understanding and supportive of my fun, but sometimes distant, trips.

August 13, 2017/by Sterling Vernon

Concours, For Enthusiasts, Porsche Events, Social, The Nor'Easter Magazine

Tutto Italiano – Cars, Wine, Food

This Sunday’s 1st Annual Italian Wine & Food Pairing at Alta Strada in Wellesley was a huge success! Chef Tim Reading prepared fantastic dishes and Claudio Andreani, US Brand Ambassador for Folonari wines, shared his knowledge and passion for the Folonari brand and wines. If you weren’t able to join us, be on the lookout for more of these events so you can experience “la dolce vita”!

Here’s the full story courtesy of Glenn Champagne:

“After fielding many requests for a wine tasting, NER finally was able to hold its first annual “Italian Wine & Food Pairing” on Sunday August 6th at Alta Strada in Wellesley Massachusetts.

Alta Strada, a Michael Schlow restaurant, is the “dream restaurant” that chef/owner Michael Schlow had been planning for a long time. The hallmark of the restaurant is to be attentive, intelligent, offer without hesitation friendly service, serve delicious authentic Italian food at reasonable prices.

The REAL genesis behind the creation of Alta Strada was to make a restaurant that locals would call their OWN and be casual and approachable enough that everyone could eat there on a regular basis. Since Betty and I have standing reservations for every Friday night, I think he nailed it!

The two stars of the luncheon Chef Tim Reading and US Brand Ambassador Claudio Andreani of Folonari Wines, were at the top of their game. Chef Tim and Claudio shared their respective knowledge and passion with each course.

The three-course luncheon was quickly upgraded to a four course luncheon, additions included two signature appetizers, grilled octopus with poached potatoes, shaved red onion, tomatoes with fresh herbs which included a side of crunchy lamb meatballs which sit a on top of a spicy tomato basil sauce.

The first course started with Grilled lemon & herb chicken with arugula salad and paired with Tenute del Cabreo La PietraChardonnay di Toscana IGT. Followed by corn tortelli with shallots, mushrooms, and grana padano, paired with a Tenuta di Nozzole Chianti Riserva DOCG.

Desert was soon followed by a decadent, yet light and scrumptious dark chocolate cake served with maraschino cherries and freshly made whipped cream served with a glass of Tenuta la Fuga Brunello di Montalcino DOCG.

The resourceful staff at Alta Strada showcased their creativity by securing – legally – all nine parking spots in front of the restaurant. This made for an impressive start to our afternoon of delicious food and set the tone for our spectacular wine adventure.”

Coincidentally, it also happened to fall on the same day as the “Tutto Italiano” car show at Larz Anderson in Brookline! So enjoy some photos from that event as well. There were more Ferraris and Lamborghinis than you could shake a stick at…but also Alfas, Fiats, even a Pagani. But the real spectacle were the people. Just like being in Italy, it’s the people that are most interesting. Peter Bourassa was there with his “Was Red” Ferrari that is about to drive across country to Pebble Beach. The weather was beautiful and the everything was very colorful!

August 9, 2017/by Sterling Vernon

For Enthusiasts, Social, The Nor'Easter Magazine

The New Newport Car Museum

We had a chance to stop by the new Newport Car Museum in Portsmouth, RI just ahead of the Sobo Cars & Coffee event that will visit on August 13. The museum is notable for many things. I was struck by the sheer size of the space, for one. There are 4 main exhibit spaces, each dedicated to a genre or area of origin. There is definitely a bit of something for everyone. All the way from a Jaguar XJ220 to a 1970 Hemi Cuda to a 991 911 Targa with the crazy roof mechanism!

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A stunning entry point

Gunther Buerman, owner of the museum along with his wife Maggie, was there and very graciously allowed my son to hop inside the stunning Lamborghini Countach that you see when you first enter the museum – talk about lifetime experiences!

Gunther explained how much he has been enjoying chasing down each of these cars and that he may likely have a couple more special Porsches to display during our upcoming visit. The exhibit space is clearly a labor of love with well-designed display areas and numerous complimentary pieces of art and photography on the walls. There are even iconic pieces of contemporary furniture to enjoy looking at as you peruse the cars. Last but not least is the dedicated room with 6 Forza-video-game racing simulators set up for use by visitors. My kids both had a blast cruising around Catalunya in a 1989 Porsche 944 turbo – the apples don’t fall far!

newport-car-museum-sobo-cars-coffee-pca-ner forza simulators

Time to get competitive!

I hope you’ll come join us for what looks to be a great Cars & Coffee event on August 13th at a can’t-miss location!

Given the amount of space and acreage they have due to the departure of Raytheon, this museum may have quite a bit more in store for visitors in the near future!

SoBo Porsches and Coffee – at the new Newport Car Museum

newport-car-museum-sobo-cars-coffee-pca-ner mustang

The Ford/Shelby room is impressive.

August 3, 2017/by Sterling Vernon

For Enthusiasts, The Nor'Easter Magazine

Summer’s Outdoor Opulence

Edward Julius Berwind, prosperous coal company magnate from Philadelphia and New York, was a fan of technology. His “summer cottage”, The Elms, completed in 1901, sported the latest in electric lights and appliances when everyone else was still just cooking with gas. He was the first to have an ice-maker installed in his house. As a German immigrant to America, he, no doubt, would have been a Porsche fan had they yet existed. Edward was early to change his stables at the Elms over to an extremely large garage, stocked with “luxury cars”. When his sister, Julia, took over the house, she is said to have insisted on driving the cars around Newport herself, something that was not done at the time. She clearly was in love with the act of driving. It is then fitting that Edward’s back lawn should be filled with a cadre of amazing vehicles at least once per summer. Julia would surely approve!

The next event in this series is Saturday August 5th at Chateau-Sur-Mer. We have “Porsches On The Cape” that same day. And don’t miss our Italian food and wine pairing in Wellesley MA the following day, Sunday August 6th!