Columns Presidents Message

CLUB RACE 2023

By the time you read this, our annual Club Race at Lime Rock Park will only be a few weeks away. For those of you who are not familiar with it, PCA Club Racing is an organized race series for Porsche owners only. While it is amateur racing, it is true wheel-to-wheel competition for PCA members who have passed the rigorous tests required to allow them to compete. There are a number of classes for Porsche sports cars, from mildly modified to full-on pro-level race cars and vintage race cars.

The Connecticut Valley Region is one of the few Porsche Club of America regions that sponsors and holds a PCA Club Race. We are fortunate to have Lime Rock Park in our state, where the races will be held on Friday, April 21, and Saturday, April 22, 2023.

Never experienced wheel-to-wheel racing at Lime Rock Park before? This is a great opportunity for you to watch fellow CVR club members (and PCA members from many other regions) in action at one of the most storied race tracks in the USA. Best of all, it is free.

If you want to really up your experience, why not volunteer to help? The Club Race Committee is looking for people who want to be in the thick of things and have fun! There are positions for both experienced volunteers and rookies. You can volunteer for one day or two – Friday is qualifying and practice, Saturday is race day. Volunteering for one day gets you a limited edition Club Race hat and lunch, volunteering for two days adds a beautiful limited edition Club Race jacket.

If you are interested in volunteering, please follow the directions for registration in the graphic below.

I look forward to seeing you there!

A Pivotal Moment in Porsche History

Many of you may not know this, but in 1893, at the age of eighteen, young Ferdinand Porsche took a job at the Schnitzel Vacuum Manufacturing facility in Vienna. Young Ferdinand was already attending classes at the Imperial Polytechnical College in Reichenberg where he showed an uncanny aptitude for technology. He was especially intrigued by both electricity and increasing the output of internal combustion engines. While working at Schnitzel, he reasoned that increasing the power output and suction would improve the performance of the already dated Schnitzel technology. He drew up plans and brought them to the attention of his direct supervisor Dr. Wolfgang Fabrikbesitzer. The good Dr. looked at the detailed technical drawings and called Porsche a dummer kopf. Undaunted, young Ferdinand decided to forge ahead with his little “project” at night when the factory was empty.

Several weeks later, Porsche revealed his master creation to a stunned gathering of employees and supervisors. He had mounted the largest canister in the factory on a custom tubular chassis, sourced the drive wheels from his good friend Ernst Fuchs and mounted them utilizing an independent trailing link suspension arrangement. He then fitted the largest turbolader (turbocharger) he could find in Vienna into the drive train. The turbolader was capable of pushing 930 meters per second of air through the system, hence the name for his project, the “930 Turbo”.

The large crowd on the factory floor collectively held its breath as Porsche moved the massive machine into position and gingerly turned the starter key to the left of the steering bar. Instantaneously, an incredibly loud sucking sound, similar to a B52 at takeoff, overwhelmed the group and the Fuchs sourced drive wheels spun wildly, kicking up a huge cloud of smoke, burnt rubber and wood chips as they ripped viciously into the oak plank factory floor.

The device took off like a rocket, careening wildly from side to side like a crazed wild boar, sending tables, tools and screaming factory workers scattering for their lives. When it impacted the far wall of the factory some said it was traveling in excess of 120 kilometers per hour. Needless to say it left a smoky gaping hole in the brick wall where it hit. Young Ferdinand Porsche was immediately told to clear his lederhosen out of his locker and never return.

To this day many believe the stories Porsche told his children about that device hurtling though the factory led his son Ferry Porsche to initiate the development of the Porsche 930 Turbo in 1975. After all, what does the truth have to do with a good story?

Happy April Fool’s Day.

CORRECTION

I’m sorry to say that one of our sharp-eyed CVR members pointed out a fairly serious mistake in the 2023 Calendar that I put together for the club.

The dates on the month of August are wrong. Since it would be far too costly to re-print and mail I have included a one page PDF “patch” for the month of August with this article. This can be printed out at full size on your home printer and affixed to the calendar with tape or staples.

August Calendar patch instructions: Click the link below to view and download the patch

One Comment

  1. Now I know where Tim Taylor got his inspiration !

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*