Slipstream - September 2017

Porsche Parade 2017: Mavericks Experience the Northwest
By Carey Spreen
Photos courtesy of PCA
he Porsche Parade is
T
PCA’s annual convention,
spanning seven
days and comprised of
competitive events, driving tours,
awards banquets, and technical
seminars. It’s held in different parts
of the country each year, typically
alternating between eastern, central,
and western portions of the
US. This year was the west’s turn,
with the Parade headquartered in
Spokane, Washington.
The most direct driving route to
Spokane is more than 1,800 miles
from just about any location in the
Maverick Region. Nevertheless, almost
three dozen Mavericks made
that journey this year to attend the
Porsche Parade.
Traditionally, there are four
main competitive events at a Parade:
the Concours d’Elegance, the
Time-Speed-Distance (TSD) Rally,
the Autocross, and the Tech Quiz.
In addition to these events, the Parade
also offers a golf tournament,
a 5K run/walk, an art show, and RC
car racing for both kids and adults.
Mavericks competed in almost all
of these events and represented the
region in fine form.
The Concours d’Elegance took
place first, on Monday of Parade
week. The Concours is divided
into three groups: Restoration, for
Porsches that have been rebuilt
or otherwise restored; Preservation,
for Porsches that have been
maintained in their original condition;
and Preparation, for any
18 September
Porsche that has been modified
from original. The Restoration
and Preservation groups consist of
Porsches built before 1999, while
the Preparation group is open to
all Porsches, and is further subdivided
into Full, Touring, and Street
classes, with Full classes receiving
the most thorough judging.
This year, Tom and Marti Taff
were the sole representatives of
Maverick Region in the Concours,
entering their 1968 911S in class
RS03F (Restoration group, full
judging, 1965-1973 911 and 912).
But they represented us well! Not
only did the Taffs score 295.2 raw
points out of a possible 300 -- good
for 5th place in class -- they also received
a Zuffenhausen Silver Level
of Achievement Award for that
high score! Congratulations Tom
and Marti!
Tom and Marti Taff’s 1968 911S
The TSD Rally ran the next day.
A TSD Rally is a competition, but
not a race – driver/navigator teams
must follow a route according to
an arcane set of route instructions
that tell them where to turn and
how fast to go, but not much else.
There are several checkpoints scattered
throughout the route, but the
teams don’t know where they are.
However, they must arrive at each
checkpoint with split-second accuracy;
each second they are early
or late costs them one point. The
team with the lowest point score
wins.
There are five Rally classes,
based on how much rally equipment
the teams have in their cars.
They range from R05, Unequipped
(only stopwatches, original speedometers
and odometers, and pens
and paper allowed; no GPS) to
R01, Equipped (anything goes, including
specialized rally computers
that continuously calculate how far
off they are from the ideal speed
and location along the route).
Rally teams: Myra and Jerry Sutton
(top) with Don Breithaupt and
Carey Spreen (bottom)
Two teams of Mavericks participated
in the TSD Rally, both
winning trophies. In class R03,
Unequipped Navigational, Myra
Sutton (driving) and Jerry Sutton
(navigating) earned 3rd place out
of 54 class entries, while in class
R04, Unequipped Plus, Don Breithaupt
(driving) and Carey Spreen
(navigating) garnered 2nd place
out of 30 in the class. Congratulations
to both teams!
The Autocross spanned Wednesday
and Thursday due to the number
of entrants. An autocross is a
timed driving event which is held