Written by Matt Innes Friday, 05 April 2013 00:00
Welcome!
April is now upon us, but judging from the weather you wouldn’t know, seems winter doesn’t want to let go this year! I guess we were spoiled last year with a very mild winter.
Cars n Coffee is now in full swing. I went to the March meeting and the weather was sunny but a little cold due to the wind. The turnout was good in general, but not so good for Porsche with only 4 cars turning up so at the next one (4/13) let’s try and fill a row up with Porsches. It is now held at Captains Quarters. There are coffee and cakes for sales inside the main entrance.
This month I have my first 2013 track event and will be at Putnam Park on April 5th- 7th with the 10/10th group. I will be instructing and taking part in time trials and hope to add to my trophy collection!
I attended the zone 13 PCA meeting in Springfield IL last weekend and it was an opportunity to meet PCA President Manny Alban who I found really down to earth and easy to talk to. I also met with our zone 13 Rep James Jacisins. The meeting was held at the Isringhausen Porsche dealership in Springfield Illinois. The meeting was a chance for each Zone 13 president to bring up issues they have and to share ideas to help each other’s club be more successful. I spoke with Bluegrass President Ed Stevenson and we discussed teaming up on some of our drives this year as it will be a good way to increase participation at our drives and meet some new people. Manny presented reports that showed PCA has been growing nationwide over the past year and we are doing well at retaining existing members.
Manny also brought up the subject of the Street Survival Program that Tire Rack and the BMW Club have been running for some time. PCA got involved in a trial last year to see how it would be received and all indications are that it went very well. Street Survival is a driving course targeted at young drivers from the age of 15-21 years old. The course is designed to teach young drivers how to react to certain highway emergency’s such as sudden stops and braking hard in wet conditions. The students are encouraged to drive their own cars on the course so they get to know how they behave in different and extreme situations. I think the course is something we would all like our own children to try as it helps to prepare them for the trials of driving on our street and highways. Let me know if any of you would be interested in volunteering time to assist in one of these events as I can contact National for more information on how to get one setup.
Written by Matt Innes Wednesday, 06 March 2013 00:00
Hello Fellow Porsche Fans,
March is upon us and that means basketball and March Madness. Being from England, basketball is not followed as keenly as it is here in the States. We tend to watch football, or soccer, as its better known over here. To be honest I’m not a fan of either; I used to play rugby at school, which was a pretty rough game! I was ok at it but I was never going to be a champion of any sorts.
From a young age my Dad and I would spend most weekends at our local race track “Brands Hatch “. The track dates back to the mid 1920’s. It was first used as an army training ground before becoming a race track in 1926. The Grand Prix circuit is 2.6 miles in length and the Indy circuit is only 1.1 miles. Unfortunately due to noise restrictions the Grand Prix circuit is rarely used these days. My Dad and I were present for the last ever Grand Prix held there in 1986. In those days Grand Prix cars were unbelievably loud and if you didn’t have hearing protection you could only endure around 10 minutes next to the track!
