June 2020 President’s Message

I hope this message finds you all healthy and doing well. My spirits are much higher after taking a short break from the rest of the world on a little drive this afternoon. Having little incentive to drive lately, I’m afraid I’ve neglected poor Sasha (and myself) these last few months. Nothing like a fast, beautiful car on the road in the bright sunshine to make you smile. Despite all that is going on in the world, please do not forget to occasionally take a breath, be thankful, and, perhaps most of all, take care of yourself.

As we went through May, I think I still had some hope in the back of my mind that we’d be able to return to some modified events to get our club calendar back on track by the time I had to write the June President’s Message. A “tried and true” gathering of Porsches with slight social distancing modifications sounds very comforting about now. Afterall, we still had an entire Summer of events to look forward to, including Porsches on the Plaza in Sonoma, the Porscheplatz at the Monterey Motorsports Reunion, and Werks Reunion. I’m sorry to report, if you were not already aware, Porsche on the Plaza, Monterey Motorsports Reunion, and Werks Reunion (and likely others to come) have all been cancelled due to continuing concerns for public safety. This means we will continue to have to make do with a limited calendar, and will absolutely need to double-down on some innovative thinking to kick-start some club fun that can be enjoyed as a group…separately. I still await definitive confirmation that our insurance companies will accept e-waivers for driving events, as the challenges of safely handling that required aspect of a rolling outing will demand it. As I understand it, we have some regions in our zone that are hosting some upcoming autocross events, so I will be interested in hearing how the modified safety programs adopted for it work out. I remain hopeful that we will be able to pull together a Redwood hosted tour of some sort soon. Please continue to stay tuned.

As I believe I mentioned previously, current social limitations have given me the opportunity to become reacquainted with sim racing (or eSports racing or iRacing). This can be fun as an individual endeavor, but a little over a year ago, e-racers from the Peachstate Region shared their club’s love for sim racing with PCA National. Interest grew quickly from there and it all turned into a very well-managed virtual racing community of PCA members from regions coast-to-coast (including Canada) that mirrors PCA’s real life club racing in many respects. In recent months, this took on an international feel with a pair of special events where drivers from the Porsche Club of Great Britain and Porsche Club of America went head-to-head for bragging rights. The next “season”, Series 5, of PCA Sim Racing doesn’t begin until September, but they are currently hosting a fun “Summer Interim” series, in which I’ve been able to participate the last couple of weeks. Like most PCA events of this type, eDE (virtual driver education) is provided (during the week ahead of the race night), as is great “pit” comradery and friendly tips, and, of course, some very serious competition. If you think you could get interested in something like this given a little encouragement, hit me up and let me encourage you. I can think of nowhere else you might get the opportunity to secure bragging rights on definitive, immutable proof that you’re faster than your club President at Sears Point (I mean, Sonoma), Laguna Seca, or even Le Mans…and I could use a few more drafting partners for the long straights.

As always, I’m happy to hear from members. If you have ideas, concerns, questions, or anything else you’d like to share or discuss, please let me know . In the meantime, stay safe and take care of yourselves!