President's Message

From the Interim Co-Editor(s)

Redwood Region's Annual Holiday Party will be held on Saturday, December 7, 2013 at The Lodge at Sonoma Renaissance Resort & Spa (1325 Broadway, Sonoma). Planned for the evening are dinner, wine, a no-host bar, dancing to a live band and sharing holiday cheer with your friends. The event will start at 6:00 pm and run to approximately 11:00 pm. Details about the menu and band are being finalized and will be available soon. As has been our practice, Redwood Region will subsidize the party making it very affordable. Also to come are details of hotel arrangements for those who want to stay the night in Sonoma.  

by David Yusem, Assistant Editor der Riesembaum 

Road trips in our Porsches are just about the only reason many of us would consider getting up at 4 am (or earlier!). When our P-Cars's engines are turned-over, the earth shakes just a wee bit, and trying to sneak out of the neighborhood is impossible, we know that it will be a good day.  

August 16, 2013 was such a day for Bob Schoenherr and his Irish Green 1971 914-4 at the fifth annual Legends of the Autobahn 2013. Bob's 914 won the Porsche Best of Show award for what is fast-becoming the place to have your baby judged. (See more regarding Bob and his 914 below/here.)   

Sharing Bob's good fortune were Dean Treadway's 1986 Audi Sport Quattro, Bob Newman's 1985 BMW M635 CSI, and Gary Jarvis' 1967 Mercedes-Benz 250SL.  The People's Choice award went to Timothy Hensley's 1967 Porsche 911S, which was hand painted by Phyllis Yes back in 1985.

Of the more than 175 vehicles entered in the Concours d'Elegance, 50 were Porsches, and there were 117 Porsches parked in the PCA corral. Nice work to everyone who worked so hard to prepare their vehicle and to those who showed-up to participate in the corral!

Porsche's 50 Year 911 (photo by Simone Kopitzki)

Porsche was also at the event, celebrating 50 years of the 911. Their display of classic 911s included the very special Paris-Dakar 1984 Porsche - Type 953 911, and many other historic Porsche models. Audi's R-8 WSC race car graced the event, as well as Gullwings and 300SLs, Alpinas, BMW's 3.0 CS and many other examples of gorgeous steel, innovation, mechanics, electronics, and art.  

Legendary Porsche drivers Vic Elford and Hurley Haywood were in attendance. The adventures they experienced while campaigning their (mostly!) trusty Porsches were shared with all who were listening.

Redwood Region members Craig Steele and Simone Kopitzki were two of the region's members who awakened before the birds on August 16th to join other car-lovers at the event. They were greeted by a typical overcast and drippy coastal morning; cars that had been freshened for the drive were soiled along the way. Simone wrote, "The freshly cleaned car was a mess again when we arrived at 8am in Carmel!" No doubt, we can all relate to that sentiment - thankfully, our cars are relatively small and clean up quickly.

In addition to getting on the road early, Simone and Craig wrote about their experiences at the events they attended during Monterey Car Week; der Riesenbaum wanted to share snippets of their personal adventures of the event and related activities.

For additional Legends photographs, see Redwood member Ben Brown's collection here 

Member Adventures

Craig Steele - 1999 Guards Red 911 Carerra Cabriolet 

Getting up at 4:00 am Friday is an unnatural act for me, unless I'm heading to the Monterey peninsula to see the Legends of the Autobahn and watch the Laguna Seca Motorsports Reunion races. Steve Frugard, a Club member from Myers Flat, and I drove our red 911 Carreras down to Carmel along Highway 1. En route we were speedily passed by three brand new Ferrari sports coupes and speed checked by a CHP.

Saturday morning came with the typical Monterey overcast. Steve and I took both Porsches to Laguna Seca Raceway. When I arrived it was time to be immersed in all things Corvette -- the featured car for this reunion. I love to take photos and I got my share of sixty years of Corvettes parked in corral. My favorite photo opportunity was "Shark Island", filled with historic examples of Corvettes before they went into full production. I was drawn to the Mako Shark concept car which was created in 1961 and contributed to the 1963 'Vettes we remember as kids.

After seeing enough 'Vettes, I was ready to look at the other reunion racers and I wandered over to the pit area. I was drawn to a gray green 1954 356 racer from Australia driven by Ron Goodman. He was kind enough to unwrap the car so I could get some good shots. I loved the boxing Kangaroo decal on the side of the car. I finished up my day by photographing racers at Turn Five as they raced heading uphill to Turn Six.

Ron Goodman's Australian '54 356 (photo by Craig Steele)

Sunday brought clouds and foggy conditions to the track. I stopped by one of the stages to hear a presentation about one of the  historic Porsches from the Stuttgart factory museum. Dave Engelmann, from Porsche Cars North America, was interviewed about "Baby", the Porsche race car. This car was designed to run in only a single race to test 4-cyclinder turbocharged engines. It won and got retired. 

Corvette R7 Proto (photo by Craig Steele)

I ended my Sunday back at Turn Five. While waiting for the next race to start I saw a wildly decorated race car zoom by. I had never seen such a psychedelic checkered pattern. It was the new R7 Corvette racing prototype. Chevrolet trailered it to the racetrack, drove it out onto the track for a couple of laps, re-trailered it, and drove off. I did the same and got in my 911 Cab and took off for Santa Rosa, a 3-1/2 hour drive north. As I drove, I recounted my adventure and the 1,300 shots I captured on my Nikon. Next year, I a plan to arrive earlier for the mid-week events, like the auction and other car shows, before the weekend reunion races start.  

Simone Kopitzki - 2012 Aqua Blue Boxster S  

Simone, Richard & Margo Maxey and their '86 911 Carrera  (photo by Simone Kopitzki)

After having attended two previous Legends of the Autobahn (2010 and 2011), the plan for 2013 was to travel to Carmel for the day and return home that evening. However, Redwood member Carla Daro invited Thorsten and I to stay with her and Ray for the weekend.

We left Marin at 6 am; it was very foggy and cold. The freshly cleaned car was a mess when we arrived about 8 am in Carmel. Thankfully we had not entered the concours!  The weather was great: sunny and a little breezy. We met many Redwood Members, including Jeff Johnston with his GT3, Richard and Margo Maxey with their '86 911 Carrera Coupe, and Bob and Anita with their award winning 914.

After enjoying a fantastic day in Carmel, we headed to Fisherman's Wharf in Monterey to meet Carla and Ray for dinner. We had a fantastic seafood dinner and then drove to the Daro's very special house in the woods on Pebble Beach's famous 17 Mile Drive.

Early in the morning we headed to Mazda Raceway with Carla and Ray. We had so much fun watching the old race cars, eating German bratwurst, and shopping at the vendor sites. We so enjoyed being with PCA Redwood Region Members - it was truly a wonderful experience to share.  

Legends of the Autobahn 2013 - Best of Show: Bob Schoenherr's 1971 914-4

Bob Schoenherr was confident going into the Legends of the Autobahn 2013 Concours d'Elegance that he had the car to beat. There were a couple of other Porsches that he worried might upstage his Irish Green beauty -- the '68 911 and the Slantnose.

Bob Schoenherr's Porsche Best of Show 914-4  (photo by Kelly Wozniak, PAK Photography)

His concern was unfounded, and he fulfilled his intention to demonstrate that the 914 model has a rightful place in Porsche's motoring history. Bob came home to Lake County with the Best of Show award, honoring his car as the finest Porsche entered in the show.

Earlier this year, Bob purchased the 914 from John Fitzgerald, the car's second owner. The original owner took European delivery of the 914 in 1971. In a previous life, this 914 was used for autocrossing and was a hill climbing demon.

Bob was up past 11 PM on Thursday evening busily preparing the 914 for Friday's event. He was up again at 5 AM the next morning to finalize preparation. To say that his hard work paid off is an understatement!  When we spoke, he was off to Gardnerville, NV to participate in another Concours and then on to the Ledson and Livermore events. Bob is well on his way to achieving his goal of placing his 914 squarely in an esteemed place in Porsche's history!

by Joan and Mark Campagna, Redwood Region Members

Field Stone Winery: A Cool Summer Destination

Several hands shot up toward the brilliant morning sky in answer to the question: Any new members here today? You bet! Welcome to the Redwood Region Porsche Club and our August Field Stone Winery run!

Rounds of applause greeted new members as well as old friends as we worked our way through the Drivers' Meeting and prepared for our ride. A hallmark of this club is the thought and preparation that goes into making club runs as smooth and pleasant an experience as possible. Today would prove this once again as we adapted to more than one detour in our plans.

Detour #1 was before we even started. The Freeway exit to our meeting place, Kaffe Mocha on Airport Blvd., Santa Rosa, was closed. Not to worry, though...we were as prepared as a troop of boy scouts. We pulled out the "detour alert" we had printed from the Club website and continued on to the meeting place.We didn't know it yet, but it would not be very long before we hit Detour #2.

Club business completed, our convoy of 26 sleek machines pulled out of the parking lot and headed east and south, down Old Redwood Highway, and east on Mark Springs West Road, where we hit Detour #2. This short wait worked in our favor, though, as trip leader Scott Buchanan talked up the signalman, who ushered all of us through as a group.

We hit the "high point" of our route as we continued to travel east on Porter Creek and Petrified Forest Roads through the Mayacamas Mountains that span the Sonoma/Napa county lines. Our pace picked up as the roads rose and fell in curve after curve before us, slipping by in that special way time moves when you're "in the moment." And nothing can put you in the moment like driving a Porsche on a road like this!

Dropping down out of the forest, we followed Foothill Blvd. to Tubbs Lane to CA-29 S., crossing the floor of Napa Valley to regroup on the eastern side on Silverado Trial. From here, the halfway mark on this 50-mile jaunt, we rode south for several miles, turning right onto Deer Park Road to make our way back to the western side of the valley.

As lunchtime approached, we joined the stream of Saturday traffic moving north on CA-128 W. We passed our entry point into the valley again - Petrified Forest Road - but continued north for several more miles. Field Stone Winery was fast approaching!

Panoramic view of the vineyards and our Porsches (photo by Paige Gaines)

For those not familiar with this Healdsburg winery, it is renowned as much for its architecture as for its wine. To quote the Field Stone website:  "....the winery is a fascinating, small, underground facility carved into a picturesque oak knoll in the midst of its rolling vineyards...." And - lucky us - waiting there in the shade of a 100-year old oak tree was wine and a catered lunch and an afternoon yet to be filled.

We gathered round the oak for introductions and a few tastings before splitting up into two groups for a tour of the winery. We walked through fields with vines as old as that oak out front and sampled the unpicked grapes, so different from the grapes on our market shelves. The underground rooms were delightfully cool after the day's ride.

Lunch was served beneath the oak tree shortly thereafter: a buffet of BBQ tri-tip, sausages, ranch beans, a salad, and brownies or chocolate cake for dessert. As our party relaxed around the tables (a few of us going back for seconds) we had the chance to catch up with our new members and find out what they thought of the run.

And we hope we do see each of them again, along with the friends and colleagues we already know. Party season is coming up and you know what fun that always is!

Editor's note: Joan asked some new members for feedback about their first Redwood event. Paige and Eileen Gaines' reply is reproduced below.

Hi Joan,

As newbies to the PCA- Redwood Region, this was our first event... and we thoroughly enjoyed it!  

Meeting friendly folks, touring twisty roads in the 911, wine tasting and eating BBQ is pretty much my idea of a perfect day.

When we pulled up at Kaffe Mocha, Eileen was a little bit bashful about being thrown into a group of strangers only to realize (as is usually the case at any given affair) that she already knows more people than I do. It was nice to see that we weren't the only first-timers, though, allowing any deer-in-the-headlights expressions/confusion to be shared!

The printed instruction and route sheet was clear. The mileage points were a little out of whack for our old '85er, opening a small can of worms. Does this mean I have the wrong size wheels? A bad speedo sensor? Did someone replace the gearbox in the past? Does this mean I'm really not exceeding the suggested speed limit by as much as I've thought?

The route was great. The Silverado Trail, Hwy 128 and Hwy 29 are some of my favorite roads in that area. Taking Mark West Springs is the preferred road to Calistoga. It was fun playing the game of "keep the Porsche behind you in sight while you watch the taillights in front" along the way!

We were dutiful lemmings and followed the small group that made that final left turn a bit too early. About a half mile down the road I conceded that there was no winery entrance to be found. I believe this eventually made us the very last car to arrive at the correct parking area. This, in turn, allowed us to park in the very most scenic spot next to the vineyard (as was my plan all along) for taking pictures.

Eileen loved the wine (I don't drink) and joined the Field Stone wine club. I loved the BBQ and have begun searching for those Bar-M beef sausages. We both loved the winery, vineyards and the area. I managed to meet my photo quota with my little camera. As I frequently say as I get older, "Sudden stops for photo ops" has replaced "I don't care where I'm going as long as I get there fast!" Here's a link to some pix.  

After a nice afternoon in the company of our new friends and fellow Porsche enthusiasts, we finished the Hwy 128 ride to 101 and headed home.  We're looking forward to the Sept. 28^th, Oktoberfest for our next event!

Cheers,

Paige

Kurt's Korner: Pool Party at the Bergman's -- September 1, 2013 

by Kurt Fischer, Past President, Redwood Region

On a sunny Sunday afternoon, we had our 4^th visit to the wonderful country home of John and Wynne Bergman for our annual Redwood Region BBQ and Pool Party. It was a small group, only 34 people and we all behaved nicely!  There were several other Zone events happening on that day -- the reason why at least 20 more people did not join us.  Next year... better planning, no date conflicts.

Again, we had Randy Apel doing the catering with tri-tip and chicken on the BBQ along with Caesar salad, pesto pasta, and appetizers.  Not to forget various cookies for desert too!  Randy's food is outstanding.

John's Revenge.

As this was a BYOB party. We had a table set up to hold an eclectic selection of wines from all over the "Redwine" Region. You name it and it was there: blushing rose's, cool whites and our main stay, reds. 

After lunch, it was pool time.  The Bergman's pool is salt water, solar heated to about 87F; it feels like a bathtub. It makes your skin feel so good versus ugly smelly chlorine.  John has pool toys galore and they were all in the water. Dragons, floats and the all-important massive squirt guns that were used with aplomb to soak our still clothed host, John Bergman.  John got his revenge: he ducked behind the bushes, pulled out his garden hose and with COLD water blasted the instigator, one John Fitzgerald (aka "Fitz").

All had a great time! We helped stow all the tables and chairs and by 5:00 pm we said our fond adieus to our hosts, the Bergman's.

Many thanks to the Bergman's, Vern Rogers and Don Magdanz for the set up and planning!  Plans will be made for a 2014 Pool party -- try not to miss the event next year.

Click here to see more Pool Party pictures    

                     (photos by Jerry) 

James Heisey   jheis@sonic.net

Directions        www.ledson.com/winery/directions.asp

Kurt Fischer  truk50@ix.netcom.com

Registration:  MotorsportReg.com

Questions?   Ann Roth alroth@sbcglobal.net

Autocross Results

PCA Escape to L.A. October 24 - 27, 2013

 Rik Larson  rik.larson@gmail.com  or Ray Fiore  rafiore@sonic.net

Redwood History

Membership Report

Membership Information

Der Riesenbaum is the official newsletter of the Porsche Club of America, Redwood Region, encompassing Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake, Marin, Mendocino, Napa, and Sonoma Counties. This publication is intended to inform Club members about Club activities and other related matters of interest. The opinions expressed in der Riesenbaum are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Porsche Club of America, Redwood Region, its officers, or its members.

Letters to the editor, feedback, questions, and suggestions about der Riesenbaum and the Redwood Region in general are welcome. We also encourage members to submit photos and/or write-ups about Club events or related activities. Written contributions and photos are welcome and should be emailed to the editor. The submission deadline for publication in der Riesenbaum is the 15th day of the month preceding the month of publication. Material received after the deadline will be considered for publication the following month. The editorial staff reserves the right to edit all material submitted for publication.

All written content and images in this publication are protected by copyright. Permission is granted to reprint any original content herein provided credit is given to the author, to der Riesenbaum, and to the Porsche Club of America, Redwood Region. 

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Thank you all for supporting your Club!

Barbara McCrory & Jerry Gladstone, der Riesenbaum Co-Editors   

Porsche Club of America, Redwood Region