2 On the Cover MARCH/APRIL 2009 “Winter Fun” See page 17 Photo: Ken Souser Features Editor Riesentöter 2008 Awards Banquet . .8 Maureen Sangiorgio Interview with David Donohue . .10 484-358-4590 [email protected] Porsche 911 GT3 to Make World Debut . .13 Basic Tire Pressure and Brake System . .14 Photography Editor Ken Souser RTR’s First Annual Drive & Ski . .17 610-966-4301 From the Vault . .22 [email protected] RTR Taste of the Track . .27 Contributing Writers Porsche Factory Drivers for 2009 Season . .29 George Busch Christopher G. Karras High Performance Driving Schools, Part II . .30 Bill Lehman Steve Mankowski Driving by the Book . .32 Steve Meenan Ken Souser Robin Zelinskie Coming Events Calendar of Upcoming Events . .7 Advertising Steve Mankowski Upcoming Social Events . .19 [email protected] Submissions Departments The deadline for submission of From the Editor’s Desk . .4 materials is the 10th of the month preceding bi-monthly State of Affairs . .4 publication. Please e-mail sub- missions to [email protected] RTR AutoX . .6 with “Der Gasser” as the sub- Marktplatz . .21 ject line. RTR Membership . .25 Der Gasser is the official publication of the Porsche Club of America, Riesentöter Region, and is published six times a year. Any statement appearing in Der Gasser is that of the author, and does not constitute an opinion of the Porsche Club of America, Riesentöter Region, it’s executive staff, or the editors. The editorial staff reserves the right to edit all materials submitted for publication. Classified ads are free to PCA members and are printed on a space-available basis. For the latest information, please visit the Riesentöter Region web page at: www.rtr-pca.org. 3 From the Editor’s Desk The first day of Spring is March 20 and boy I’ll tell you . I can’t wait! During the winter months, our Boxster turns into a “garage queen,” so when the snow melts and the streets are cleaned of that nasty gravel, we fire up “Zip” and hit the road. It is also my heartfelt wish that the new season ushers in a stimulated economy. In an effort to cut costs, the Exec Board recently voted to decrease publication of Der Gasser from ten times per year down to six times per year. Due to the high postage cost, this should save the club thousands, and result in a thicker magazine chock-full of articles. According to the recent member survey, about fifty percent of you said you were in favor of Der Gasser switching to a bi-monthly, so we felt comfortable making the switch. The survey also said many of you would like to see articles on how-to/mainte- nance, track-prep, and technical issues, so I’m currently looking for contributors to tackle those topics. See you ‘round the garage, Maureen Sangiorgio State of Affairs By Graham Knight, RTR President We are well into 2009, and your executive team is planning many events intended to attract your participation including our monthly meetings, monthly breakfasts, annual picnic, drive and dines, driver education and autocross events. We have a dedicated team crafting more than 30 great events that will cater to the various interests of all of the Club’s members. Be assured that we listen to your thoughts and judge our success by the level of your participation. As is the rest of the world, Riesentöter is concerned about the state of the economy and is watching finances closely. As you will see in the 2008 financial statements elsewhere in this issue, your Club spends almost $250,000 every year, most of which supports our driver education program. Track rental for several of our DE events approaches $50,000. This year we are looking for new marketing opportunities to attract your interest and participation in our events. We are looking to cut the costs wherever possible without reducing the value of our activities. For 2009 we are planning 10 monthly member meetings, eight events on our autocross road show, a gala picnic, annual banquet, 10 drivers education events and several new rallies. We hope that there will be something for everyone. In our continued effort to keep our members informed of upcoming events, our web site is going to undertake another change. We want you to be able to check on upcoming events from your computer. Der Gasser will still be sent via mail, however, we are working to make the web site the current, up to the minute conduit for events, stories, pictures and the calendar, with the opportunity for you to receive updates by RSS feed or e-mail. We are also beginning to publish the minutes of our Board meetings on our web site so that you can better understand how the Exec team is working for the Club. As the Club grows and becomes more complex, we are expanding to include committees to work with several of our executive positions. We will be posting “Help Wanted” ads on the web site and in Der Gasser to let you know what positions are available. We hope you will have the desire to get more involved—our Club has a rewarding position for you! Thanks again for being part of the Club, whether you come out to vendor night or you participate in every DE event, enjoy our banquet or attend a rally. We appreciate you as a member and are working hard to make this a thoroughly enjoyable Club. -Graham Knight [email protected] 4 NEW DER GASSER PRODUCTION SCHEDULE In an effort to save the club $$, Der Gasser is changing from 10 issues per year down to six. We’re also going to scale down our postage status to non-profit organization postage. Here is a handy guide to help you with the new submission deadline dates: ISSUE DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS May/June April 10 July/August June 10 September/October August 10 November/December October 10 — Maureen Sangiorgio, Ed. 5 AutoX News Drivers . Start Your Engines! RTR Autocross Receives International Coverage By Mike Kling Philadelphia SCCA hosted their first Winter Series Autocross at Citizen’s Park. As luck would have it, I ran into my old friend, Myles Tidball. Myles is a reporter for Canada’s leading monthly Motorsports magazine “Autocross Weekly”. Below is his article, reprinted with permission. Winter Auto Cross Gains Traction in US by Myles Tidball Congratulations! Our southern neighbors have finally figured out how much fun winter driving can be. Auto Sledding and Car Skating, along with Winter Auto Cross have been enjoyed for decades here in the Great White North. Now Philadelphia, PA, in the USA, has started a winter Auto Cross series. Philadelphia, famously known as the “cradle of liberty” and “city of brotherly love” and infamously for their motto “Come for the cheese steaks, stay for the angioplasty”, is the perfect venue to launch such an event. The day started early with the intrepid racers busy in their preparations. The bleachers quickly filled and were a sea of blue. It seems defending RTR Auto Cross champion, and home town hero, James Wirth, has quite a following. The fans’ deep blue shirts emblazoned with WIRTH’S WARRIORS were quite a site. The crowd rose to their feet cheering as Jim entered the field for the obligatory autograph signing and pre race interviews with local television reporters. The western side of the course had some commotion as Wirth’s competitor rolled onto the course. Current Broken Crankshaft Award winner, newcomer and Cinderella story Mike Kling piloted his car to a smaller crowd waving their signs and chanting “I LIKE MIKE”. Apparently Kling’s fan base comes mostly from his home town of Pittsburgh. A bystander told me that the crowd was unusually small as revelers continue celebrations since the winning of some competition involving a large basin. I believe he said it was a “Super Bowl”? I have never understood American sports. Anyway, the grid was hot, the air was cold, and the race was set to go. Jim and Mike slogged it out. In the end, there can be only one winner. The crowds were cheering frantically for Jim as he handily won the contest. He’s on his way to another great season. At the trophy ceremony Jim pledged that all of his winnings this year will be donated to the Human Fund. No wonder he’s the crowd’s favorite. As always, Myles has captured the thrill of Auto Crossing in his very insightful article. Your RTR Auto Cross committee is putting together an exciting season for all members. Our kick off for 2009 will be Saturday April 18th. Dave Neuman will again teach a class at Specialty Auto Center in Allentown. Our first event will be in Hershey on Sunday April 26th. Mark your calendars and come on out for a great time and learn just how great these P-cars can perform. On last note, our Planes and Porsches event date must be changed due to a scheduling conflict with Reading Airport. Stay tuned for the new date. Mike Kling Official Autocross Newbie 6 RTR MONTHLY DE TECH INSPECTION SCHEDULE MEETING SCHEDULE Meetings start with a social hour at 7pm unless otherwise stated. May 2 Holbert’s (Pocono) May 23 Meenan’s Transmissions (NJMP one day) March 25 - Vendors Night at Dougherty Automotive Services, 720 East Nields Street, West June 13 Dougherty Automotive (NJMP Lighting) Chester, PA. Contact 610-692-6039. July 11 Meenan’s Transmissions (NJMP one day) April 29 - Penske Racing Shocks, 150 Franklin July 18 Dougherty Automotive (The Glen) Street, Reading, PA, 610-692-6039.