“RECOVERY”
I hope this Sunday’s email finds all of our members satisfactorily thawed and recovering from Snowmaggedon. Ugh, what a mess, but it could always have been worse, I suppose. For everyone, my wish for you and your family is a swift restoration in your lives, and no more freeze-a-thons.
Speaking of restoration, here’s some great events happening in your club that are sure to warm you up (and your P-Car):
Distinguished Speaker Series: Magnus In The House!
Hill Country Region is excited to announce our next Distinguished Speaker Series program, presented by Speed City Broadcasting on Tuesday March 16 at 7:00PM. This next DSS will feature Magnus Walker. Magnus is a renowned auto enthusiast and restorer, with a huge passion for Porsches. Best of all, he is undoubtedly a free spirit and not afraid to put his own stamp on his cars.
This will be another in our series of virtual DSS using Zoom. We are limited by our Zoom account to only 100 participants, so don’t delay getting registered. We will also open up this webinar to the entire Zone 5, so get registered now!
Registration is available here: HCR_DSS_MagnusWalker
This should be one of our most interesting DSS’s to date so we hope to see you Tuesday March 16 at 700 PM with Magnus Walker. For those members who don’t yet know Magnus, check out his videos on YouTube. Here’s one to get you started with a peek into his garage with Jay Leno: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VB3JZlV6RDM
For questions or more information contact HCR PCA DSS Coordinator Carl Rossi at carl@hcrpca.org.
CARRERA OF THE AMERICAS / Schnell Fests
The 2021 Carrera of the Americas Club Race and Advanced Solo DE wrapped up today with full slate of track events at Circuit of the Americas. We had a decent turnout of both racers and DE drivers, although COVID and various state restrictions served to limit our participants. Nevertheless, the weekend was successful, and several HCR members came out to watch the fun on the track and cheer on their favorite driver.
There are also now additional Schnell Fest dates loaded onto our calendar for April, June, and November. This is shaping up to possibly be one of the busier track calendars HCR has had of late.
Many thanks to all the volunteers who helped make the weekend happen!
Tech Session at XPEL Austin
The first tech session of the year is scheduled for Saturday, March 13 at XPEL Austin, located at 11100 Metric Blvd, Suite 200A in North Austin. We will use the same format as they recently performed for the Tesla club. We will gather up outside for our usual check-in at 8:30am with coffee and breakfast tacos (provided by XPEL, and small groups will be circulated throughout the business during the morning. Their facility is quite large, both the indoor reception area as well as the shop area in the back. At about 11:00am we will run a raffle with some really cool prizes such as 3 wash buckets with product materials, PLUS a special surprise item. All participants will also receive a goodie bag.
We will follow all COVID protocols for local, state and PCA requirements. XPEL Austin is well-versed in the protocols…they will even include a forehead temperature check pre-screen at event check-in.
The event is open on: clubregistration.net
It’s also posted on our club calendar with event details listed.
February is (still) PCA Event Registration Month!
2021 Parade is back this year! Yeah, buddy! Parade registration is still open but approaching sellout. So far I count 5 couples attending. Registration is still open, so come on and join the fun: Porsche Parade
Spring Treffen in Scottsdale opened February 24 and was an almost immediate sellout. Sorry folks. Look for Fall Treffen coming soon.
Bonus: Fiesta is in Road Runner Region (New Mexico) May 27-30:
Fiesta 21
HCR Annual Bluebonnet Tour
Here it is, our world-famous Bluebonnet Tour (that always sells out). The date is Saturday, March 27 (weather permitting). Our Tourmaster has chosen a particularly unique route this year, since we had to cancel the last two BB tours.
This tour is one of our region’s favorite driving tours. Due to its popularity, the tour will be limited to the first 60 cars/drivers who register. To help us manage the 60 cars, we changed the registration process slightly.
Here’s where you need to pay attention: in order to ensure that all vehicle passenger(s) are included, when registering you must indicate whether you are a “Driver” OR a “Passenger”.
Note: There can be only ONE Driver registered per vehicle, however MULTIPLE Passengers are allowed, depending on vehicle type.
Please remember that just because you registered, you must still receive a confirmation in order to attend the event. To obtain the confirmation, you must complete your eSignatures for both the Event Liability Waiver AND the Communicable Disease Waiver. In order to complete your registration, please return to your Dashboard by clicking My Account > Dashboard. Then, under the event, tap the “Request” button in the eSignatures section to request each link to be emailed to you. Then open your email program, select the email(s), and follow the steps to complete the eSignature.
Register Here: HCR Bluebonnet Tour
REMEMBER: Each adult participant must register separately on clubregistration.net, for each event, and using their own account. The eSignatures feature must be enabled on your account, and you must tap on the “Request” buttons (on your Dashboard where the event shows up) to request the eSignature links be emailed to you… The Communicable Disease Waiver (if previously signed) is good for a year for all events, and the PCA waiver must be completed for each event. Minor children must have their paper form completed, signed and witnessed at event check-in. If you need help getting registered and/or figuring out the eSignature part, when you log onto clubregistration, there is a help document that can be found under the My Account tab (tabs are across the top of your Dashboard screen), then in the dropdown box click on “eSignatures, How To”. Or get in touch with me and I can help you.
If you don’t do your eSignatures, you won’t be allowed to go on drives (or tech sessions)!
SAVE THE DATE: ALL MEMBER SPRING FLING
This is our annual “Holiday Party” that we had to reschedule from this past December. We’ve set the date for May 1, 2021 and it’s at the same venue: The Hills of Lakeway Clubhouse…same place we held the Holiday Party in 2019. Anyway, we’ve set the date and just moved our deposit out to May 1.
Watch for more details coming soon here and on our HCR website Calendar.
AUTOCROSS IS BACK!
On May 8, 2021, after many years of absence, we will host our Spring Autocross at the Travis County Expo Center in Austin. As most HCR members are novices at AX, this first event will be focused on safety, fun and timing…in that order.
The course is made out of cones in the parking lot at the facility, speeds rarely exceed 60 mph, and once you get into 2nd gear you are unlikely to need to change gears. Vehicles are placed into classes, so Caymans and Boxsters won’t have a big advantage over 911s.
The cost of this event is only $40 for PCA members, $45 for non-members. No special modifications, wheels, tires, roll bars, spoilers or parachutes are required, but you will need a mask and a helmet (HCR has a few loaner helmets that will be available first come first served). Several very experienced members will be available to act as instructors and accompany anyone that requests a ride-along. Everyone should get, at minimum, 1 practice run and 5 timed runs, but the hope is that we can get another set of up to 5 runs for everyone during the second half of the day. As assistant chair Alan Neiman puts it, “this is the most fun that you can have in second gear.”
Registration is open now at: HCR Spring Autocross.
If you want more information, contact AX Chair Alfred Freudenberger or Alan Neiman at ax@hcrpca.org.
OPEN POSITIONS
HCR has open volunteer positions where we could really use some help. Your club is only as good as the volunteers that help out. Open positions are:
* Membership Chair – Gordie is filling this role in the interim, but we need someone to take it over, as Gordie cannot fill both this role and Board Secretary long-term. If you enjoy communicating with people, this role is a good fit for you.
* Social Chair (A Standing Committee Chair and a voting member of the HCR BOD). At some point, we will be able to get back to doing some social events. Helping to plan events with other coordinators is the primary objective, along with planning our larger annual events like Spring Fling, New Member Picnic, and Holiday Party are primary goals.
* Community Service Coordinator – this position works to coordinate events with our two charitable organizations: Mobile Loaves & Fishes, and Texas Burn Survivors.
If anyone has interest in the open positions, please contact me and I can give you more information. My contact information is at the end of this email.
Battery Shortage
Several of our HCR members have reported problems with replacing batteries in their cars. One member had their car stuck at the dealership for 8 days, waiting on a battery. Another member just related a similar story where the requested battery ended up not being delivered as promised. Our intrepid reporter dug into this story and discovered that, yes, there apparently is a shortage of car batteries, and it affects all brands including our German fav Porsche. Our local dealership, Porsche Austin, confirmed the situation recently and stated that the battery shortage is “worldwide”. Another source stated that the shortage is caused from COVID lockdowns last year and “California wildfires”. (remember, I’m just the messenger here)
Anyway, if you are thinking about getting a new battery for your favorite P-Car, be aware and be prepared. Plan in advance and get your order in and be prepared to wait a bit.
WE ARE BLOOD
We want to urge all members to remember We Are Blood. The pandemic is still with us and they need blood and plasma, especially if you became infected and have recovered.
We Are Blood added a new service that should be useful: everyone who donates blood will have their blood tested for COVID antibodies. It takes about one week to get the results. This is NOT a test to see if you’re infected, only to see if you have the antibodies from having had past exposure. Read more at:
https://weareblood.org/blog/we-are-blood-covid-19-antibody-testing/
If you choose to donate, give them the group code of D103 or indicate that you are donating on behalf of “Hill Country Region Porsche Club of America.”
Our objective continues to be to keep our membership up to date on what is going on in HCR, as well as PCA nationally. Please remember, our goal is to deliver events that allow you to participate safely, and to ensure you have fun!
If any questions or comments, please let me know.
Charlie Sparks
President – Hill Country Region
Porsche Club of America
918.510.3604
Charlie@hcrpca.org
president@hcrpca.org
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