Porsche Sacramento opened their new facility quietly on Monday, May 13, 2024. While the sales department was preparing more than 60 new Porsches for sale, the service department was busy doing their routine preparation of new cars as well as welcoming a few customers. The new dealership located at 2200 Auburn Blvd. is significantly larger than the Rocklin location with 14 service bays and an area exclusively dedicated to the service of Porsche electric vehicles. In the coming days, the dealership will be celebrating their grand opening and letting the Porsche community in the Sacramento region know about their new store. I have heard that if you have ever had an interest in purchasing an allocated or special edition Porsche, now is the time to drop by to get your allocation or name on the waiting list. The dealership is eager to sell you a new or certified pre-owned vehicle. In addition, the new dealership will be a classic dealership and have technicians on staff specially trained to work on classic Porsches whether they be a 1960 356, or early 1970’s 911 or 914 from the 1970’s.

I took my 2016 Porsche GT3RS in for a courtesy inspection this morning and was happy to learn all is well with all my services up- to- date and no current service being recommended. I was customer #1 for the new dealership service department. The following are photos taken at the new dealership with some of their service staff.

For many members, you clearly have a choice in where to take your Porsche for service and routine maintenance. However, did you know that both Porsche Rocklin and Porsche Sacramento offer SVR members a 10% discount on service and parts. It really adds up to a ton of savings as I have had two of my Porsches serviced this past month and I have saved $700 with the discount. In addition, your Porsche gets a complimentary car wash, and the dealership will provide you with free transportation to and from the dealership to your front door or office.

Editor and a major sponsor of SVR for events and The Drifter

 Rik Larson, SVR President

·      Remember to come out to the new Porsche Sacramento Center on Sunday. This is not a grand opening event but a special invite to members of SVR and also the 356CAR group. Come any time after 10 am. If you bring your Porsche, we can put you in the Porsche corral.

·      For planning purposes, we would appreciate it if you would sign up (for free) at msreg.com/SVRSPECTATOR  

·      And there is a SVR Concours happening that morning (starting at 7 am) at that same location. Drop in and see some beautiful vehicles. Judging starts at 9 am. Registration for that event (second in the 2024 Zone 7 Series) is at msreg.com/2024SVRConcours. Registration for this event closes on Wednesday, June 9^th.

·      We have a lot of events happening in the next couple of weeks.

o  Catch the ongoing SVR TSD Rally Series (6 events this year) that has an event on Saturday, June 8^th. Registration closes on June 5^th. You can register at msreg.com/SVRGoldCountryRally

o  The Porschettes are gathering for a tour of Lavender Farms of Newcastle on Friday, June 14^th and then lunch afterwards. Contact Susan Green (susangreen021@gmail.com) or Gail Hawk (gail.hubbard7@gmail.com) to confirm your attendance.

o  A repeat of the opportunity to feed the less fortunate on Tuesday, June 25^th. It is only 2 hours of your time. Contact Dick MacFarlane via email at dickm@hpsionline.com. He needs 30 volunteers to start the shift that begins at 5:15 pm at St. Philomene Catholic Church Gym (Bell and El Camino, Sacramento).

o  And then Bob Peake is having 3 events (Clean Cars and Coffee) this summer that feature the Wash and Shine concours aspects of your vehicle. The first event will be Saturday, July 6^th and held at Detail Manic in Sacramento. They will cover: how to prep your car for a Wash & Shine Street Concours; PPF -- Paint Protection Film --- different types and why you should have it on your vehicle; and window tint – UV only or shaded tinting. Registration is available at msreg.com/DetailingClinic. Limited to 50 participants.

o  And a minor correction from the BLAST issued on Tuesday, May 28^th ---- the TSD Rally shown as occurring on July 6^th is actually happening on July 20^th .

·      Discussion is underway to adopt a change that will provide for elections every year (November) that would elect 3 of the SVR directors as compared to electing all 6 of the directors every 2 years.

·      The TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E team performed very well since our report 2 months/ ago.

·      The 16 race season is rapidly approaching the end of its season as there are only 4 races remaining --- 2 in Portland at the end of June and then the final 2 races in London in July.

·      So in 2^nd place is TAG Heuer Porsche driver Pascal Wehrlein and only 25 points behind Nick Cassidy (driving a Jaguar)

·      Antonino Felix Da Costa is down in 7^th place. He has won 2 of the last 3 races for the TAG Heuer Porsche team. Those wins put him 83 points out of the lead.

·      In the team standings, TAG Heuer Porsche is in 2^nd place, 73 points behind the Jaguar TCS Racing Team.

·      In the manufacturers category, Porsche has a 9 point lead over Jaguar (328 vs. 337). Porsche provides the powerplant for the Andretti team who is currently in 5^th place in the team standings.

·      Trying to find live TV coverage of the races this year is tough. How good are you at getting some foreign TV networks? Some sources say to try CBS Sports Network, TNT, Paramount Plus. Good luck.

·      Remember to wear your SVR name badge to events. 

Vice President

Thanks to all who replied to our survey. Your input helps us to make sure we are running events that are most important to you!

As we roll into June (pun intended), we look forward to the Gold Country Rally on June 8th! If you have never tried a TSD Rally, this would be a good opportunity to check it out. This will give you an opportunity to drive on beautiful roads while testing your ability to arrive at the destination at a precise time.

The following day (6/9), SVR will host our Zone 7 Concours at the newly opened Porsche Sacramento. Come on out to check all of the unique - and clean - Porsches!

We follow that with our fourth autocross event of the season at Thunderhill. New drivers are welcome! We provide instruction and helmets free of charge.

Porsches and Pints will be held at Drakes The Barn in West Sacramento. This will be an awesome event, as they are opening the lower lawn area for all of the Porsches, and will set up taps for us so you can have a pint and mingle with the cars.

Wrapping up June, we have the Route 40 Tour, the Rivercats Baseball event, and community service at St. Philomene. It will be a busy month!

Event registration can be found at:

Do you have an idea for an event you would like to host? Reach out to me at vicepresident@svr-pca.org and we can talk through the details and get it added to the calendar.

Tour season is here and we kicked it off with the April Poker Run Tour from El Dorado Hills Town Center down to Plymouth, up to Placerville, over to Sutter Mils and ending up at the new Moonraker Millhouse Tap Room in Cameron Park. Congratulations to Greg Pasiuk and Linn Tyer, Kent and Jennifer Langendorff, and Tracy and Janice Nations for winning the poker hands in their respective run groups.   May featured our first Winery Tour with three run groups departing West Sacramento, following the Sacramento River north, then crossing the valley to pass by Lake Berryessa enroute to Bally Keal Estate Winery.   Next up on the calendar is the June 22 historic Old Highway 40 Tour from Granite Bay up to the Old Hwy 40 Café at Donner. See details in the flyer elsewhere in the Drifter. Registration closes June 16 so don’t miss out.  

The Gold Country Rally, a time-speed-distance road rally, is nearly ready.

The route is set, measured and instructions prepared and checked. The route which traverses well maintained roads in Placer County, most of which are rural, other than some state highways. No interstate freeways.

Assigned speed are below posted limits and in cases where there is no posted speed limits, they will be reasonable and safe. Mileages are provided for all directional instructions. The rally is approximately 100 miles in length and will take less than 4 hours to complete including breaks.

Awards will be provided to the driver and navigator of the top three finishers in Novice Class, and for first in Senior Class. Additional awards may be made depending on the number of entrants.

Registration closes on Wednesday, June 6th at 11:59:59 p.m. Should you have any questions, feel free to contact the Rallymaster. Gold Country Rally Flyer (5-3-24).pdf 2024 Rally Schedule Announcement (updated).pdf ​​​​​​​2024 SVR Rally Series Standings (5-10-24).pdf

Click the link below to register for your tickets and receive further details. Contact Mardi Quain at social@svr-pca.org or 650-504-4866 for more information.

SIGNUP EARLY TO BE PART OF THE PORSCHE PARADE! Registration opens May 1, 2024.

Porsches and Pints chair, John Leet, booked Oak Park Brewing in Oak Park for our second event of the year. To ensure there was plenty of parking for our favorite rides, John secured a special permit from the City of Sacramento to close off the street adjacent to the brewery.

There were at least 40 cars on the street and the small parking lot owned by the brewery.

On April 20, 2024, the Sacramento Valley Region (SVR) Board, Leadership and New Member Team was thrilled to host forty-five New Members and Co-Members to our Region. The New Member Tours (NMT) are held twice per year and invitation only for Members and Co-Members joining in the past year or so.

For those not familiar with the NMT, it’s an opportunity for our SVR New Members and Co-Members to get acquainted with the volunteer leadership of our club. They are also introduced to our various local and national events such as Autocross, Concours, Tours, TSD Rallies, Parade, Treffen, Social Events… just to name a few. We are an active group. If you don’t believe me, check out our calendar. There is something for everyone!

Rick Duste, our illustrious Tour Director, planned a lovely sixty mile Tour starting in El Dorado Hills, winding through the foothills and Placerville then ending at Andis Winery in Plymouth. We’ve been fortunate to have Andis host our event for the past few years thanks to the relationship developed by previous SVR President Eduardo Ortega.

The weather was perfect. New Member guests were treated to lunch and wine tasting. Many choosing to up their game to bottles to be enjoyed once back home. Safety first!  A good time seemed to be had by all with great conversations about cars, events and what lead folks to buy a Porsche and join the Porsche Club of America.

Thanks to the camera skills of Collin Fat, current SVR Autocross Chair and many other previous PCA local and regional positions.

The Fall New Member Tour is October 12, 2024. If you are a New Member in the past year and have not attended a New Member Tour, you are welcome to sign up. Registration will open up mid-September. I will email all New Members the link.

If you have a Co-Member or PCA Junior that you would like to join PCA, let me know. It’s FREE with your primary Membership.

If you are going to attend events, it’s great to have a PCA SVR Badge. You will find the Badge Form embedded in the Membership page of our site at  https://svr-pcaor.org/wp/membership/

If you are interested in joining the leadership team, we welcome all comers. We are an all-volunteer team.  Many hands make for light work!

Be well and come join us. The club is only as fun as we make it.

SVR members arrived early and posed for this group photo

By Collin Fat

Photos by Collin Fat

On Saturday, 7 members joined a caravan to Beale Air Force Base to attend the bases, Auto Expo. With more than 400 cars in attendance, John Mueller organized this last-minute event with the registration window only open for 12 hours. The whole event was organized via email as an event of interest and in total with several other Porsche car clubs in attendance we had over 30 Porsches among all the American muscle and other European exotics like Lamborghini, McLaren, and Ferrari.

The story of the last-minute planning revolved around another club that was invited to display their Porsches but had to bail at the last minute. They sent an urgent request to John Mueller who brought the event up to several board of directors of the club to see if we could fill the spot left open for Porsches. With the blessing of some of the board members, John reached out via email the same day and received 12 responses within several hours of the event deadline.

I was not expecting a great turnout for Porsche cars but the fact that the base was going to assign our display area to one of their hangars immediately caught my attention. I needed a co-pilot and my granddaughter, Olvia Chang, enthusiastically volunteered. Olivia is 7 years old and one of the first 200 PCA juniors to join the club which now numbers in the 2,000 or so children and grandchildren of PCA members.

I was amazed by the vastness of Beale Air Force Base and estimate the base occupies at least 400 acres in Wheatland, California some 30 miles north of Roseville. Military service members directed check-in and traffic control as well as assisted in positioning of the display cars. Service members were very courteous and helpful in all points of the experience. My hats off for their service! Beale Air Force Base is best known as the home of the 1960’s era spy plane the SR 71, otherwise known as the Blackbird. These planes are still flying and being maintained by a cadre of young service members.

More than forty drivers braved the rain to compete on day one of a two-day Zone 7 autocross at Thunderhill Raceway in Willows, Ca... The weather forecast did not waiver from the forecast issued 10 days earlier and it rained all day long making for difficult conditions on the course. At the driver’s meeting, caution was urged to all drivers who decided to compete with safety of upmost concern. All drivers were encouraged to take it easy and drive at 70% maximum to account for the water on the course surface throughout the day. There was not a deluge of rain but just steady rain throughout the day and it was just enough to slow down the drivers but not the urge to compete. Top time of day went to Dave Dunwoodie of Loma Prieta Region with a time of 53.674 followed by Steve Nieslony, Sacramento Valley, 55.180, Monty Pack, Golden Gate, 55.251, Ed Burgardt, Loma Prieta, and Darrel Huckaby, Sacramento Valley, with a 56.955. The surprise of the competition was Darrel, finishing in the top five driving his 2021 Porsche Macan GTS! The fact that he beat a cadre of GT3’s, Boxsters and Caymans surprised everyone! However, keep in mind that Darrel has been a competitive driver for at least 40 years and his Macan was equipped with All Wheel Drive and the latest Michelin summer tires for SUV’s. . Results for SVR’s April 13^th event are now posted at: https://svr-pcaor.org/wp/autocross-results

It rained in the morning for the second day of the two-day weekend with Redwood Region hosting the event on Sunday. Thirty-nine cars had registered with only twenty-nine cars showing up and competing for points in the Zone 7 competition. Results from Sunday are posted at: https://redwoodpca.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/2024_Rdwd_AX1_by-Time.pdf

Many of you are thinking about why these drivers are competing in the rain with the chance of hydroplaning on a wet surface resulting in a spinout. Well, it is the challenge of learning to drive your car in any condition, rain, or shine, and learning its handling limits not only in ideal dry conditions but also on a rain slick surface as well.

By Collin Fat

Photos by Collin Fat

More than 22 cars attended the Caffeine & Porsches event at Laguna Creek Racquet Club in Elk Grove on Memorial Day, May 27^th to help the club celebrate the grand opening of their new pickleball courts.

The weather could not have been more perfect as more than 45 members enjoyed the coffee and doughnuts provided by the Porsche Club as well as a catered lunch of burgers and hot dogs provided by the racquet club.

There were a variety of Porsches on display for members of the club to view that ranged from a pristine 1980 911 SC to a bright orange 914, and a red 1989 911 Speedster. There were plenty of newer Porsche models on display as well.

Dick MacFarlane provided music and displayed his colorful banners including the American flag to celebrate the Memorial Day.

A big thank you to Dick, Ed and Teri Parra and Elaine Fat with help in parking the cars and signing in registered cars.

Ron and Sally Boeck’s 1980 911 SC

L/R : John Mueller, Lori & Eric Boucher, Aracele & Jerry Mercado

L/R: Lori and Jim Gibbs

L/R: Lisa Menning and Elaine Fat

Ed and Teri Parra’s 991.1 Porsche Turbo

4^th of July Pocket parade update:

Due to changes by parade organizers (City of Sacramento)

car clubs are limited to 12 vehicles.

It is imperative you contact the event chairman (Robert Hrabak: 916-296-1629, Robert.hrabak@et.eurofinsus.com or roberthrabak@sbcglobal.net) prior to June 20^th if you would like to participate.

We can add a 2^nd “club” if participation warrants,

but that “club” will have to be registered by June 21^st. 

By Christopher T. Carey

I talk to my Porsche. The fact that it is named ‘Jezibel’ is in itself anecdotal (but inconsequential here,) in the colloquy between us that occurs virtually daily. Yesterday, for example, I found I had left open on my garage’s workbench a copy of Sprenger & Heinrichs’ beautiful compendium of Porsche’s early sportscar history, which sits very near my ’74 914-4’s accustomed spot. When I walked back into the area to retrieve the book before it got inadvertently soiled, I was stopped dead in my tracks for a moment. I could swear on a stack of 550A Spyder references that I heard some muted sniffling coming from that part of the garage my 914 lives in. A bit flummoxed, I kept unnaturally still for a few seconds to see what and where this noise was coming from…but let me explain a bit before you write all this off as the meandering fantasies of an increasingly senescent old fool.

This isn’t the first time I’ve heard strange sounds coming from my garage (where my 914 shares space with Madam Chairman’s immaculate 2005 Toyota Camry). Odd and largely unidentifiable snaps, creaks, bumps and so forth, yes…engines and hot oil routinely rend the air with such low-key smidgens of low-key noise, but this was the first time I had ever heard what I could swear sounded like barely stifled human whimpers of extreme sadness coming from there!

Next to my car, sat the open book, just filled to overflowing with page after page of gorgeous illustrations, photos and diagrams of my humble 914’s illustrious predecessors. After a quick glance at the book and back at my car’s corner of the garage, I had a whimsical thought: was that muted and oh-so-human-like sighing whimper coming from Jezibel?!

As Madam Chairman puts it with her clipped little Hong Kong accent, “Neva hoppen, barbarian!” And of course she was absolutely correct; my highly rational intellect affirmed the fact that such blatant anthropomorphisms were not just at odds with even the most bizarre quantum unlikelihoods (except, perhaps, ‘Schroedinger’s Porsche’?...), but also further likely confirmation that I am definitely weaving a path down a precarious road of premature senescent geezerdom (like a certain Chief of State we all know?). Still…!

And so, silently asking myself what J.R.R. Tolken (or George R.R. Martin, if you will) would do when confronted by a situation like this, I turned towards Jezibel and only half-seriously said, half audibly, “Is that you, Jez?” Naturally, there was no response as Jez’s hot-engine sounds continued to snap, crackle and pop, cooling off from our just finished weekly, short ‘freshening-up’ drive.

So, I walked over to my bench, gathered up the book, closed it and walked back to the door leading into the house, pausing only for a second to look back at Jez, over there in its corner of the Gasoline Alley cavern. The truth of the matter is that although our Porsches DO NOT deign to communicate so directly with us as to utter actual human-like sounds, they do communicate in many other ways…which is why, by my reckoning, such needlessly distracting annoyances as radios (music) are a complete waste of time for seriously driving an automobile. Call me VERY old school if you must, accuse me of being a sentimental old fossil if you must, but by my inherited Austrian standards (maternal, hailing from the Oberkrain region, which is now part of Slovenia after being hacked off from the Habsburg realm, long ago), to my manner of thinking, engine ‘noise’ is a most interesting and useful foreign language to familiarize oneself with.

I would therefore much rather to spend my time zipping down twisty, forested rural roads (keeping a strict eye out for existentially unaware bicyclists, of course) listening to what my engine may be telling me in mechanical epithets than let myself be distracted by even the most sensual rendering of Rachmaninoff’s piano concertos by Yuja Wang (or perhaps Kraftwerk’s seminal ‘AUTOBAHN’).

In short, to my way of seeing it, a radio in a sporty car makes about as much sense as Bill Clinton’s coy evasions when he tried to ‘splain-away’ his egregious Oval Office dalliances with Monica (Prosecutor: “Were you distracted by your radio just before you wrapped your car around that tree?” Bill: “Define ‘distraction’, sir…”).

As a person with well-defined (if somewhat diluted) Teutonic proclivities, music…in any way, shape or phonic form…is an experience one ought properly to devote one’s entire and complete attention to…and should never be considered as mere background noise (albeit of a semi-melodic kind). I can no more read a book about Herr Doktor Porsche’s incredible genius and listen to a symphony simultaneously than I can beat the pants off a haughty Ferrari driver in my flat-4-engined Jezibel.

And like masterful musical compositions that speak to your very soul, Porsche engine noises communicate at a most intimate level of subliminal awareness (well, perhaps I’m both biased and exaggerating, here) that demand respect and attentiveness as you strive to drive your car within (and not too far beyond) its carefully engineered limits. (After all, as a noted local club-racing friend of mine never fails to remind me, “The car’s engineers know best: They DESIGNED the car!”)

But returning to the mysteriously muted snuffling sounds I fancied I had briefly heard in my garage, just now, I’ve given this a lot of thought (and admit to have even mused verbally to Jez) as to what that was! I’d like to think that my poor little ‘Ugly Duckling’ Porsche (that I really respect so much) was wistfully reflecting, when I walked in on it, on the hard-to-ignore fact that despite remaining the ‘Poor-she’ most sniffy, modern Porschophiles love to badmouth (after a few drinks at social events), my poor little 914-4 has far more in common with both the origins (i.e. 550s and early racing designs, et al) of Porsches and certain recent, strikingly advanced Porsches (the Boxter/Cayman, for example) than all those Porsches that either have a Dihydrogen Monoxide cooled, rectally inserted powerplant OR a front-engine (also cooled by H20). And the mid-engine design configuration, regardless of and despite the intended market status incidentals a particular model may have acquired, has continually been demonstrated as superlative to any other possible Porsche weight-distribution schema. Finito, punkt, owari!

Naturally enough, regardless of my having reasoned away any possibilities of Jezibel actually speaking to me in my native language (like the good little pedantic rationalizer I am), I remain convinced my little Ugly Duckling is a marvelous emotional support vehicle that suits me perfectly. As such, it can hardly be surprising that we 914 people tend to communicate more deeply in some ways than those with the latest Porsche 911 GT3 RS rocket ship!

Here’s to you, Jez, regardless of all the supercilious, haughty sniffers! Dream on, little black duck and remember, I’m still taking basic 914 language lessons!

SVR Membership Report

By completing the membership badge

request form (link)

Membership Director, at:

membership@svr-pca.org

Since we use e-mail for most of our communications, it is necessary to keep our e-mail address current with SVR and PCA. To update your information, go to www.pca.org and login. You can then make any updates (address, car, e-mail etc.).

Also, even though we receive the information from PCA monthly, you can send the same updates to: membership@svr-pca.org. New Member badges will now come with a removable colored sticker to encourage introductions at club events. They can be removed at any time. Welcome to the Sacramento Valley Region of the Porsche Club of America.

How do you join the Porsche Club? Go to: https://www.pca.org/user/join/membership -This is an online system that will request a credit card for payment. If you would rather fill out a paper form, contact 2023 SVR Membership Director, at membership@svr-pca.org

Not a Porsche owner but interested in the PCA? Try the PCA Test Drive program. For information, go to: www.pca.org/pca-test-drive Need to update your PCA information? Update your PCA record at www.pca.org

Do you have 2 e-mail addresses? Want Club info sent to a second email, work, home, spouse, friend...? It’s as easy as e-mailing your second e-mail address to the Membership Director, membership@svr-pca.org

PCA Members may place non-commercial classified ads for no charge. Photos will be published on the SVR web page at no charge.

Non-PCA members may place ads on our webpage, on a space available basis, as follows: Ads without photos $20.00; Ads with photos $35.00. All ads run for two months unless canceled. There will be no refunds for paid ads.

Ads must be submitted electronically with attachment to classified@svr-pca.org. PCA members must include your PCA membership number on all submissions as proof of membership.

Paid ads will not be published until payment has been received. Checks must be made payable to PCA-SVR, and mailed to: Porsche Club of America; Sacramento Valley Region; PO Box 254651; Sacramento, CA 95865-4651

Click the logo for listing.

The Drifter is Produced online monthly for its members. Written contributions are welcome and should be e-mailed to editor@svr-pca.org The deadline for submissions is the 15th of the month prior to the month of publication. Submissions in WORD or TEXT are preferred.

Photos are always welcome. Photos should be sent separately from the text. (You may also use a downloadable link to the photos.)

Please NO embedded photos in the submission. editor@svr-pca.org

To change your email address or street address, please email our membership director to insure uninterrupted delivery.

membership@svr-pca.org

All material in this newsletter is protected by copyright.

However, newsletter editors of other Porsche Club of America regions may reprint any article provided that credit is given to the author and Sacramento Valley Region and also The Drifter is cited as the source.

The above as mentioned by Rik Larson just so you know. This is something that has been in the PCA RPM (Region Procedures Manual) since at least 2019 and is now appearing at more and more PCA events (social media driven).