Covid, Wild Fires, and Drought:
Who would have imagined earlier that after the successful development of the Covid Vaccine and its subsequent FDA approval that the Delta variant would result in a secondary wave of infections and deaths among the unvaccinated? With wild fires raging in Northern California and a severe drought forcing water conservation measures throughout the state, it seems that we are getting hit on all sides regarding bad news! With our young children returning to school, parents are justifiably concerned about the safety of their children. With booster shots becoming available soon and approval of a vaccine for children 5-12 on the horizon, a future free from the restrictions imposed by the pandemic are sure to diminish.
The impact of the current wild fires and smoke the fires have created have had effects on club activities. Out of an abundance of caution and concern for the health of our members with the unhealthy air conditions, “Sierra Nevada Region club president Millie Smith made the hard decision to cancel the concours portion of their 2 day event on August 28-29th. The social that they have planned for Saturday is still on.
As Californians and club members, lets do our share to conserve our water usage, keep our families and friends safe from the virus, and do our best to help members who may have been impacted by the recent fires.
Werks Reunion Monterey:
Werks Reunion Monterey was held at Bayonet Golf Course on the beautiful Monterey Peninsula on August 13th and preliminary attendance numbers point to a very well attended event. There were approximately 166 judged cars, 600 cars on the grass in the corral and well over 1,000 Porsche owners and the general public who attended to see the beautiful display of Stuttgart’s finest under clear skies and mild temperatures. This was the first time at this venue and Tom Provasi and his team did a masterful job of pulling it all together after learning several weeks prior to the event that Corral de Tierra would not be available. My hats are off to Tom and all the volunteers who scrambled to make this a very memorable event. From my perspective, I thought the site more easily accommodated access without the traffic gridlock seen over the past years at the old location. Conveniently located just off of Highway 1, entering the event was quite easy while exiting was also much better than the gridlock experienced during exit at Corral de Tierra. I am looking forward to next year vent at this same location! In addition to the cars on display, there were at least a dozen sponsor booths at the event which included Pelican Parts, Michelin, Griots, Hagerty and Xpel to name a few.
Also in attendance were most of the executive council which included Cyndi Jacisin, Aaron Ambrosino, Todd Benz, Craig Kugler, and Caren Cooper. Vu Nguyen, our PCA executive director was also in attendance and handled the awards ceremony as one of his tasks.
The Beauty of the Monterey Peninsula was on full display at Bayonet Country Club
L/R Lynn Friedman, Craig Kugler, Cyndi Jacisin, Caren Cooper, Todd Benz and Collin Fat
PCA Juniors were involved in the judging at Werks
Rolex Historic Races;
More than 14 PCA members volunteered at this year’s Rolex Historic races at Laguna Seca which was held from August 12-15th. The Corral Parking nearly sold out with some 188 passes sold. The weekend had record attendance with well over 600 visitors to the hospitality tent, and broke the all- time attendance record. The racing was spectacular with early 1920’s Indy Cars as well as more modern 1980’s Indy cars in action. Thanks to the following PCA members for volunteering: Kristi Jordon, Paul Sedillos, Jimmy Willrodt, Ted Miles, Pam & Dan Richards, Steve Ponsi, Gilbert Bouzeid, Sharon Castle, Vern Rogers, Sergio Meza, David Gates, and Paul & Debi Scherer.
Race Cars at Laguna
Hospitality Tent at Turn 5 at Laguna
Zone 7 Concours Series Update;
The second concours in the series was held on August 1st at Porsche Rocklin and was hosted by the Sacramento Valley Region. There was a record turnout of 43 judged cars along with dozens of more Porsches driven my local members who chose not to enter their prized Porsches but wanted to take in the sights of what it takes to compete in a PCA concours event. No one left disappointed and congratulations to the concours team of Kim Nelson and Al Price for all of their hard work in organizing this annual event.
Monterey Bay Region hosted another spectacular display of more than 33 judged cars at Carmel Valley Community Park on the Monterey Peninsula. It was a great turnout and I also presented the region with their 60th Anniversary Citation that was presented by PCA National and the Executive Committee. It’s so hard to realize that the club was formed in March of 1961!
I was recently informed by Sierra Nevada Region club president, Mille Smith, that because of health concerns related to the recent fires and unhealthy air conditions that their concours on August 29th has been cancelled but that their planned social on August 28th is still on.
Next up on the concours calendar is Redwood Region’s concours on October 3rd being held at Luchessi Community Park in Petaluma and registration is now open at http://msreg.com/2021RRConcours. Diablo Region concours at Porsche Livermore will follow on October 17th with more information available on this region’s event at their region website (diablo-pca.org).
Monterey Bay Concours
Collin presenting MBR President Natasha Zeligs with her regions 60th Anniversary citation
Sacramento Valley Concours Spectators enjoying the great weather at Porsche Rocklin
Zone 7 Autocross Series Update;
September Zone autocross events will be held at the Cow Palace on September 4th and September 5th over the Labor Day weekend with Loma Prieta Region hosting the event on September 4th and Golden Gate Region hosting the event on Sunday, September 5th. Registration for both events is open but may be sold out by the time this column is published. Please check with each region’s website for the most current registration status. There was a error in last month’s column related to Redwood Region hosting a Zone autocross at Sonoma Raceway.
Also holding a non-Zone event is Sacramento Valley Region at Thunderhill on September 18th with registration now open at http://msreg.com/SVR2021AX6. For all those competing for year end Zone awards you will need to compete in at least 50% of all scheduled events as well as compete in at least 3 regions events. For the latest standings please visit the Zone 7 website.
Events of Interest:
1) PCA Fall Treffen at the American Club, Kohler, Wisconsin, October 13-17; treffen.pca.org
2) PCA Spring Treffen at the BROADMOOR, Colorado Springs, Colorado, April 27-May 1, 2022
3) CRAB 38 by Sacramento Valley Region, May 13-15, 2022.
4) Parade 2022 at Kahalari Resort Poconos, Pennsylvania June 12-18th
Note that past Treffens have sold out in as little as one hour due to their popularity. Registration for the Treffens typically opens 3-4 months prior to the event.
2021 PCA West Coast Race Series Schedule
With Federal and State directives pertaining to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Club Racing schedule is very fluid and subject to change on a day-to-day basis. The racing schedule shown below will be frequently updated with the latest official status of each of our races.
