2007 – SHENANDOAH REGION

2007 NEWS ARCHIVE

Annual Holiday Party: This year’s party was held at Michie Tavern on Sunday, December 2. Drinks and munchies were served at 6 PM, there was a free tour of the tavern museum; dinner was served at 7 PM. After dinner various awards, serious and otherwise, were handed out. Shown below, from left to right, are Jeff Elmore (autocross and Tech Tactics), Harry Kennison (“Vintage Corner” author), Mel Brannan (with comeback boomerang), and Johnny Johnson (most photographed car, his 356B outlaw).

FALL FOLIAGE TOUR

2007 Oct 28

The weather was perfect on October 28 for this year’s Fall Foliage Tour organized and led by Phil and Susie Audibert. Twenty Porsches and one BMW left the Bank of America parking lot in Gordonsville, and the route made a three-quarter circle around the City of Charlottesville, like a fishook, leading to the Basil Mediterranean Bistro for a great complimentary meal of hors d’oeuvres, pizza, and a keg of German beer, thanks to Raif Antar.

Phil at drivers meeting

Porsches at Gordonsville

Herb, dressed to drive

Harry Kennison, vintage racing author

Tony Davis and the "Ivy Manor" Carrera

Gary Hagar's new Carrera conversion

Johnny's ever-popular outlaw

Our host, Raif Antar

Susie Audibert, in Green Bean, led the tour.

SYNERGY'S FALL FLING

2007

Synergy sponsored their annual Fall Fling at VIR over the October 13–14 weekend. A wide variety of Porsches and other cars participated in four run groups—green (novice), blue (intermediate), white (advanced), and red (racers). The weather was perfect both days, and the event was both fun and safe, thanks in part to excellent track supervision by Rick Ebinger and Eric Moody. Mel Brannen (Welcome back, Mad Mel!), Jim Condon, Howie Dunbrack, Matt Einstein, and Alex Smith represented the Shenandoah Region on the track. The banquet on Saturday night featured outstanding food served in the “Gallery” at VIR.

Synergy's Fall Fling

Rick and Eric

Sherry Westfall

An Ariel Atom

The Ariel Atom at rest

One of several GT3RS

Fly Yellow Ferrari

De Tomaso Pantera

Matt Einstein

Jim Condon behind HLNASP

Howie Dunbrack

Alex Smith

Ford GT40

Is it contagious?

Mad Mel is back!

Request for Volunteers: Zone 2 is hoping to bring PCA Club Racing to VIR and is looking for key volunteers to support the affair for the whole weekend or at least for a day. They need to have evidence of support before finalizing the track contract. If you are interested in volunteering please inform Herb Distefano at 804-448-3448 or herbd911@comcast.net, who will have a Zone 2 Rep contact you.

Driving Clinic at Verona

JULY 29, 2007

Thanks to Rick and Eric for organizing this very successful autocross driving clinic. They began with lectures covering the basics of autocross driving: car preparation, acceleration, braking, and turning. After walking the autocross course, the students were divided into small groups for intensive practice driving a slalom (weaving in and out past a row of cones), a Chicago box (a three-cone slalom disguised in a C-shaped wall of cones), a keyhole (drivers pass through a narrow gate, drive around a cone, and return through the gate), and a long straight (acceleration and braking). In the afternoon, these elements were combined to form an autocross course. Finally, there was a circular skidpad to teach the limits of turning traction. More photos…

FOX & HOUNDS RALLY WITH THE BRITISH CAR CLUB

2007 July 21

Fourteen antique British sports cars and six Porsches of varying vintages drove in the Shenandoah British Car Club’s “Fox and Hounds” Rally on the beautiful sunny morning of Saturday, July 21. Rallymasters Ken Brasfield and Pete Schofield were the foxes who laid down roadside lime markers for decision points and confirmations. The “decisions” required guesswork, and the goal was to complete the course in the fewest odometer miles. A “panic” envelope (with full directions) was provided at the start of the event in case anyone got completely lost. The course started in Crozet, went through western Albemarle County and Greene County, and ended up near Garth Road in Hunt Country. Former Shenandoah PCA member and social chairman Mike Shutty showed up with his Sunbeam Tiger, and PCA’ers Chauncey and Hermione Hutter drove their 1957 TR3.

Former PCA'er Mike Shutty's 260 c.i. = 4.3 liter(!) Sunbeam Tiger

Cockpit of a 1963 E-type Jaguar

1957 TR3

Hermione and Chauncey Hutter ready to rally in their 1957 TR3

Porsche finishers Jeff and Ginger Elmore

Bill Krause

Bill Trevillian

Eric Huggins

Inside a TR4

Inside an MG "A"

A very shiny TR3

Lord Chauncey and Lady Hermione motoring off

Mike hoping to find some brake fluid in his Sunbeam Tiger

Sunday’s main event was an autocross at the Southside Speedway. We set up the same type of course, the twenty racers that took their 6 runs saw what they usually see, and again it was fun. The weather was warm and with a bit of a breeze, tolerable.

Bryce Jewett brought out his 993 to put down some good times for the day. Pat Daily also had out the good old 356 to drive hard around the course and turn a pretty good time. It is always good to see the earlier generation (car) come out and compete. Chess, Diane, and Howie always bring good times and a lot of fun to the events. Jeffrey Elmore did a great job moving his Boxster S around the course. With Jeffrey judging Concourse, rallying, and autocrossing during the weekend, he took advantage of the entire event. Good for you Jeffrey. Emmett and Chess ran the “new” cars to the top of the pile and with a strong showing from our friends John Kessler and Bobby Smith holding down the top times, it is a good showing for the cars from the last century. Good talent and great cars.

Fast Frieda

Photos by Pat Daily

Alex Smith's new GT3

Photos by Pat Daily

Copyrighted photos by Michael D. Early

My student from last year, Mary Taylor, came and joined the fun also with her very nice 997 S. Mary has improved greatly and I see her times coming down with her seat time increasing. Herb and Bob were also great help for the day and with Kerrigan Smith we had a really easy day. 6 runs over 60 seconds each, completed by 2:30 PM, and no incidents. Great day in the sun for everyone, and a perfect end to another fun weekend.

Here are the RPM autocross results

Place	Class	First Name	Last Name	Car Model	Raw Time	From FTD
1	i01	Bobby	Smith	1973 914	61.882	0
2	i01	John	Kessler	1971 911	66.503	-4.621
3	s01	Chess	Earman	06 Porsche Cayman S	67.263	-5.381
4	p02	Howie	Dunbrack	86 Porsche 951	68.58	-6.698
5	s02	Emmett	Richardson	06 Porsche 911 Carrera S	68.677	-6.795
6	s02	Erik	Boody	2005 Porsche 911	68.885	-7.003
7	p02	Chess	Earman	86 Porsche 944 Turbo	69.008	-7.126
8	s02	Rick	Ebinger	2007 911	69.104	-7.222
9	p04	Alex	Smith	2007 GT3	69.398	-7.516
10	p03	Mike	Kilmer	83 Porsche 911 Sc	73.461	-11.579
11	p02	George	Kovatch	89 Porsche 944 Turbo	73.716	-11.834
12	s02	Bryce	Jewett	1995 993	76.711	-14.829
13	s01	Doug	Cramer	2003 Boxster	76.79	-14.908
14	s01	Jeffrey	Elmore	00 Porsche Boxster S	76.854	-14.972
15	s01	Bill	Alley	Boxster S	78.099	-16.217
16	s01	Phil	Audibert	1999 Boxster	79.013	-17.131
17	p01	Pat	Daily	356B 1963	79.655	-17.773
18	lad	Diane	Earman	06 Porsche Cayman S	79.703	-17.821
19	s02	Herb	Distefano	05 Porsche 911 (997) Coupe	83.962	-22.08
20	lad	Mary	Taylor	2007 911	90.845	-28.963

… Rick Ebinger
Michael D. Early has posted many more excellent RPM concours and autocross photos on his website.

Spring Tour

2007 Apr 27–29

Shenandoah Region members Herb Distefano, Alicia Fink, Jim Condon, Sherry Westfall, and Chauncey and Hermione Hutter participated in the Carolina Region’s Spring Tour on April 27–29. We stayed at the McKeever Lodge in Pipestem State Park, West Virginia. The weekend began with a welcome party in one of the executive suites at the Pipestem Resort. Saturday started with a hot breakfast buffet, a 9 AM driver’s meeting, and a 9:30 start. The 168 mile drive on the scenic (meaning, very curvy and hilly) byways of West Virginia included a poker run and a boxed lunch at Twin Falls State Park. Back at Pipestem Resort, the evening’s activities included a western-style buffet, door prizes, a $300 prize for the poker run, and dancing to a live band, the “Collegians,” who played Carolina beach music along with hits from the 50s, 60s, and 70s. Driving directions were added to the TRIPS page so you can make the run yourself.

Saturday morning at McKeever Lodge

Ron Reed

In the Porsche Only parking area

Chauncey & Hermione Hutter

Hitting the road

Alicia, Herb, & Sherry

Sherry at the dining car

Bramwell, WV from the train station

House of coal barons in Bramwell

Houses of coal barons in Bramwell

"prairie style" house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright

Houses of coal barons in Bramwell

The Bramwell train station

Back into the real WV

Shelter 3, Twin Falls State Park

On the curvy roads again

Ice-cream stop

Caperton Center at Tamarack

Three beautiful early 911s

Groundhog near McKeever Lodge

Looking west from the Lodge at sunset

"The Collegians" band

photo by Ron Reed

The Social/Business Dinner Meeting

April 17, 2007

The Social/Business Dinner Meeting took place on April 17 at Wild Greens Restaurant, with a record 29 members present. Rick Ebinger, our Driver’s Education Chairman, told us about the upcoming High Performance Driving Clinic scheduled for Sunday, July 29, 2007 at the Augusta Government Center. If you have little or no autocross experience, this clinic will teach you how to drive your Porsche better in a relaxed and controlled environment. It will help to make your street driving safer as well as your competitive driving smoother and faster. Spouses on the sidelines and new Porsche owners: this is a great event to get you started! Damien Walsh, president of the First Settlers Region, described their DE event at VIR over the Memorial Day weekend (May 25 through 27) and said that registration has not yet filled up. Herb asked for volunteers to serve on the driving safety committee, primarily to make sure that everyone signs the waivers at autocross events.

Autocross at RIR

March 31, 2007

Our first autocross of the year took place on March 31, when we raced at the Richmond International Raceway on the big banked oval. There was a 14 degree bank, a Chicago Box in the middle of turn one, and a killer straightaway to make this an interesting event. As usual, Euroclassics put on a good show, with lots of support and a lot of interesting characters. This was the second event at this site and I hear rumors of more in the future. We had a small herd of GT3s and a number of Lotuses on the course. It was a very fast day for everyone, with some of the cars using four gears on the track, but Erik Boody and his old 911T produced the FTD. Chess Earman ran very near the top, and Howie Dunbrack’s 944 came in a very respectable fourth overall. Mark Cooke and Alex Smith battled Rick Kiser’s new GT3 and all were in the top ten. Andy Turner got his white 911 back and knocked off the rust to run again. Andy’s car is still one of the best-sounding Porsches around. The event had its share of spins and slides, but the players stayed off of the walls and we had a safe and accident-free day. It was a great day, thanks to all who came, and thank you Euroclassics for sponsoring the event.

Rick setting up the course

Alex Smith waiting in line

A Boxster ready to launch

Mike Kilmer going around the bend

The Earmans' Cayman

Chess out for a spin in his 951

Alex Smith's & Mark Cooke's GT3

Alex likes it

Joe Lau's 2006 Cayman S

Jack Woodfin's 2001 turbo

Stuart Kramer's 2007 997

Rick Kiser in his 2004 GT3

Lineup of curves

Photo by Phil Audibert and Emmett Richardson

Kerrigan Smith, tech inspector

Photo by Phil Audibert and Emmett Richardson

FTD Erik & wireless timer

Photo by Phil Audibert and Emmett Richardson

The banked track

Photo by Phil Audibert and Emmett Richardson

Mike Moore's 2006 cab

Photo by Mike Moore

Rick Ebinger
Here are the results

Number	Class	First Name	Last Name	Car Model	Raw Time	Best Run
1	i01	Erik	Boody	73 Porsche 911	80.438	3
2	p05	Chess	Earman	06 Porsche Cayman S	80.874	2
17	p04	Tom	Stenzel	2004 GT3	81.002	3
7	p02	Howie	Dunbrack	86 Porsche 951	81.5	6
6	s02	Jack	Woodfin	01 996 Turbo	81.568	4
38	oth	Steven	Henri	02 Chevrolet Corvette Z06	81.846	4
13	p04	Mark	Cooke	2007 GT3	82.032	2
11	p04	Rick	Kiser	04 Porsche GT3	82.809	3
5	s02	Emmett	Richardson	06 Porsche 911 Carrera S	83.146	2
15	p04	Alex	Smith	2007 GT3	83.659	4
44	oth	Eric	Cline	04 Nissan 350z	83.669	4
16	lad	Linda	Stenzel	2004 GT3	83.757	2
27	s02	Michael	Moore	911 Cab	84.395	3
314	i01	Rick	Ebinger	73 Porsche 911	84.924	3
36	oth	Mark	Cooke	2006 Lotus	85.146	4
4	p02	Chess	Earman	86 Porsche 944 Turbo	85.262	5
14	s02	Alex	Smith	1998 C2S	85.675	3
90	oth	Scott	Krzastek	90 Mazda Miata	86.069	6
32	p04	C.F.	Gerster	2007 GT3	86.479	6
37	oth	Roman	Lifson	06 BMW M5	86.967	3
777	s02	Randolph	Kohr II	06 Porsche Carrera 4	87.124	5
8	p02	George	Kovatch	89 Porsche 944 Turbo	87.726	6
39	s01	Julian	Burleigh	2006 Boxster	88.068	2
25	p02	Bill	Sanders	94 Porsche 928 Gts	88.73	3
26	p03	Mike	Kilmer	83 Porsche 911 Sc	89.48	3
111	oth	Doug	Gimbert	05 Roush Sport Gt	89.888	6
31	s02	Craig	Pelouze	2002 996	90.056	2
21	oth	Mark	Richard	Lotus Elise	90.515	3
18	p03	Andy	Turner	1985 911	90.692	3
19	oth	William	Boyd	2006 Lotus Elise	90.97	3
35	s01	Brian	Fox	2007 Cayman S	91.439	3
24	s01	Terry	Paquette	Boxster S	91.632	1
3	lad	Diane	Earman	06 Porsche Cayman S	94.025	2
20	s01	Phil	Audibert	1999 Boxster	94.776	3
9	s01	Jeffrey	Elmore	00 Porsche Boxster S	95.636	4
34	s01	Tom	Paquette	2002 Boxster S	96.632	1
22	oth	John	Steele	Corvette ZO6	97.225	3
12	s01	Bill	Thurston	03 Porsche Boxster	98.256	2
33	s02	Stuart	Cramer	2005 997	98.577	5
9	oth	Charles	Reed	81 BMW 528i	98.99	3
29	s01	Joe	Lau	2006 Cayman S	99.348	2
30	s01	Rodney	Harry	2005 Boxster	101.212	2
72	s02	Herb	Distefano	05 Porsche 911 (997) Coupe	101.676	2
10	s01	Chauncey F	Hutter	98 Porsche Boxster	105.19	4
40	s02	Gregg	Klich	2006 997S	113.711	4
888	oth	Dale	Varga	06 Mercedes SLK	121.356	3

Zone 2 Driver Ed

2007 March 16 — 18

The PCA Zone 2 DE used the full course at the Virginia International Raceway for three days, March 16–18. The first day was rainy, giving the intrepid an educational experience (as in “Oh no, not another educational experience!”) driving on a very wet track. Saturday and Sunday were cold and windy, but dry. The entire event was well organized, thanks in large part to our new Membership Chair, Rebecca Morgan.

Morning in the paddock

Rebecca Morgan's 996

Rebecca Morgan's support vehicle

A synergy 997 in German colors

Ford GT40 in the green group

Chess out for a spin in his 951

The Princeton tiger

Tom Bobbitt's new GT3

A train in "the snake"

Another spin at NASCAR bend

Stover Babcock's open 914

Med Mel's 964 has a new wing

Jim Condon's 996

Board Meeting

January 20 , 2007

The board met at 10 AM on January 20 under the gavel of our new president, Herb Distefano. Its main task was drawing up the 2007 calendar of regional events, which is still preliminary and subject to revision. Note that the social meetings were moved from Thursdays to Tuesdays.

The board approved spending up to $2,000 for a transmitter that remotely controls autocross starting lights so the start/finish lines are not tied by cables to the control computer. This allows greater flexibility in course design and facilitates operation at large venues such as the Richmond International Raceway. To pay for this, we may have to increase the autocross registration fee from $20 per car to $25 for members and $30 for nonmembers. Drivers who want to autocross more than one car in a single event may be charged $10 for each additional car.

The board requested that the club offer free on-line Das Market ads (with optional color photos) to region members buying or selling Porsche cars and parts, and that the Shenandoah Region Club Store post a list of available goodies on the web.

On-line Ad Page

April 17, 2007

A MART page has been added to the web site. Classified ads for Porsche cars and parts may be posted by Shenandoah Region PCA members only and are free of charge. Email your ad and optional photo(s) to the webmaster, and please email again to cancel your ad. On-line ads will be canceled automatically after 60 days unless you request a renewal.

The MART page also includes a photo catalog produced by Ben Briggs of items available from the club Goody Store..