Slipstream - August 2013

Summer Kickoff Picnic and Rally: DLBF -- But Smiling
By Karen England
It was one of
the last Maverick
Region events of
the spring, the
vaunted Summer
Kick-Off Picnic
Rally. A true novice
of the Porsche way,
and proud owner of a recently
purchased 944S, I thought the
Gimmick Rally sounded like a lot
of fun. After explaining to a friend
my plan to participate, I recruited
him to be my Driver. I would take
command as the Navigator; he
would follow my instructions at the
wheel. Mistake? You be the judge.
It was a beautiful day, and we
started out with great expectations.
Beautiful bright red Porsche
with the sunroof off, sun shining,
moderate temperatures, life could
not get better! As we drove up
to the pre-rally meeting outside
the Ball Park in Arlington, we
eyed the competition. Strong, but
beatable. Participants included
the full range from first timers
(us) to veterans (them) of the task
ahead. We were welcomed warmly.
Mr. Don Sebert gave the teams
their instructions, and then we
were on our way to the starting line.
One piece of art after another, each
car carefully spaced out in twominute
intervals for their departure
so no one would be following
another too closely. We started in
the third-from-last position, but just
knew we would move up quickly.
The first landmark to identify
was a billboard outside of the Ball
Park complex. Ah-ha! We spotted
it quickly and saw our first
competitor wasting critical time
Photo Credits as noted
Waiting for our out-time to arrive.
retracing their path to find it.
The rally is judged on mileage
and number of landmarks identified.
Sounds easy enough.
Our teamwork filled us with
confidence, and we drove on to
find the next landmark. It was a
little trickier, but we found it in
photo by Carey Spreen
continued on page 14
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12 August