Please feel free to call me at (812) or drop me an at

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1 Welcome to the Dog Days of Summer Porschephiles, Oh, yeah, we ve been having the dog days for, what, five months now?! I gave up on the yard looking nice, which means less guilt when I spend the weekend at the track instead of weeding the flowerbeds. We had a real treat in late June at the Alabama Region s HPDE at Barber Motorsports Park. Porsche Cars North America (PCNA) had just delivered three brand new Boxster S s (model 981) to the Porsche Sport Driving School. This was a two weeks before any were delivered to dealers. Not only did we get to see the new model, but two of the school s instructors were giving rides at speed on the track! As you can imagine, almost all participants wanted to go for a ride so, there was a sizeable line. This being a PCA event and in the South to boot everyone was very courteous. It was common for someone to hold your spot in the line while you went out for your run group. I got two laps with Cass Whitehead, the Lead Instructor at the school. Let me just say that these guys are in a whole different universe! The cars were equipped with the PDK transmission. To my amazement, Cass left the transmission in full automatic mode. The only adjustment made for the track was turning both the PDK and PASM system to sport mode. When asked why the automatic mode, he said simply, it s better than I am. With the Pirelli street tires squealing continuously whether under extreme braking or four wheel drifting through a sweeper I hung on for the fastest two laps of Barber I ve ever had. The lines of the new Boxster are awesome, and the performance amazing I dare anyone to call this new model a chick car! Have a great month everyone! Please feel free to call me at (812) or drop me an at gfcollins911@gmail.com.

2 Inaugural Rolex Grand-Am at Indianapolis Motor Speedway On Friday, July 27 th, I attended the inaugural Rolex Grand-Am sports car race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. In conjunction with the races, the Central Indiana Region of the Porsche Club of America hosted a Porsche car corral and Tom Wood s Porsche of Indianapolis sponsored a hospitality suite for PCA members. I arrived at the track at about 10:15am their time, checked in to receive the appropriate credentials and wrist bands, and then went to watch the remainder of morning practice. After checking out the 100 or so other P-cars and wandering the other make car corrals, I went to the hospitality suite to have some lunch. I was greeted by food, drinks, air conditioning and multiple TV monitors displaying the events taking place out on the track. Now here is where it gets even more interesting. An Indy Motor Speedway comes into the room and asks for 38 volunteers. He promises a free t-shirt so I and 37 other PCA members jump up to receive our special wrist bands and follow him as instructed. After parading through multiple security checkpoints and walking through pit access areas people such as myself would never have the opportunity to see, we found ourselves in the Trophy Room beneath the VIP suites of the famed Pagoda! There, we were given identical SunTrust t-shirts and numbered grid signs, the boards used to position the cars before the start of a race. We were then led to our appropriate spots in the barrier between the track surface and the pit lane where we stood during the driver introductions, invocation, the singing of the National Anthem and finally, the call for Drivers, start your engines. As all of the cars for each class roared past, it was for me pure sensory overload. The heat, the noise and the colors were just too cool. After the parade lap, the Grand-Am cars pulled off the track while the Continental Tire Sports Car series cars stayed out on the track and lined up in their starting positions. Our assignment completed, we returned to the base of the Pagoda and deposited our signs, thereby returning to the world of spectator, rather than participant. What an unexpected and memorable experience! But the day still held more interesting experiences. Next up was a tour of the Brumos Porsche racing team s pit area. A national PCA rep led a group of 30 PCA members way back to the far corner of the paddock to visit the Brumos team. There we got to meet and talk to Brumos drivers Andrew Davis and Leh Keen as well as the living legend himself, Hurley Haywood. What can I say but Wow! Pitted next to the Brumos team was the Magnus racing team, eventual GT class winner. On the other side of the Brumos transporter was the SpeedSource Mazda team which placed 2 nd in the GT class. Brumos finished 3 rd in the GT class, a race made interesting due to the fact that it started moments after a torrential downpour so the cars were on full wets. The track dried quickly, however, forcing the teams to go to slicks only to be caught out in the rain during another brief downpour. The teams went back to wets and were faced with trying to make them last for the duration of the race as the track dried once again. Lots of strategy and plans went out the window. Yes, I sat through three heavy downpours. Yes, some of the shenanigans on the track and the eventual outcome of the races was a little disappointing (finishing a race under yellow is never good, especially both races!)), but what an incredible day. There were even some NASCAR stars around if that s your thing. The 2013 race is already scheduled so mark your calendars and plan to attend. I feel that IMS, PCA, and CIR really worked hard at making this an enjoyable and memorable event for Porsche club members.

3 Here are a few photos from our day at IMS: Group of drivers Hurley Haywood at IMS PCA Corral Brumos Yours truly (hard at work)

4 Events Page August 2012 This last month we drove to French Lick and had lunch under the dome in the West Baden Hotel. We started out with eleven Porsches, and ended up with eleven cars in West Baden. But for most of the way in between, we were in groups. There were a few cell phone calls of where are you now? and which way should we go and where do we turn? Oh well, it did make for an adventure and there were some great twisting roads. For those that know the roads in that area, there is a section of IN 62 that leads to IN 145 which heads north to French Lick. It is a great drive. I had Bob and Pam Simpson behind me in his Red Cayman and I was setting what I felt was a pretty good pace, and I would occasionally glance up in the mirror to make sure I was still leading someone. Never fear, Bob was right there. And speaking of Caymans, this event had two new Cayman R s on the drive. Jeff and Cathi Bailey were in their new Basalt Black Cayman R and new member Dan Pearson in his black Cayman R made a sharp looking pair of Caymans.

5 Once there, we had a nice lunch under the West Baden dome. They were ready for us and pushed together a group of tables for our group of 21. We left a little time for walking around and I think there were even a few purchases in the shops. It was then time to head up the mountain to the Pete Dye golf course. The head pro had met our group while we were having lunch and offered directions for when we were ready to drive up and park in front of the mansion. When ready, we all lined up and drove a road behind the West Baden Hotel, all in one group this time ;^), getting higher and higher up the hill. We finally reached the security gate and I announced our group over the intercom and the big gates swung open. This really was a privilege for us as this is not open to the public unless you are staying at the Hotel and have paid to play the course. We finished driving up to the top and parked on the circular drive in front of the 1920 s mansion. Other car clubs that had been invited up to the site this summer were a Ferrari club and PCA CIR from Indy.

6 As would be fitting for the original owners of the West Baden Hotel, it was a very nice place. After we assembled on the circle, we were given a history of the house and the golf course by the golf pro. One of his functions now is to promote the site, and what a great setting it is. It is the 2 nd highest elevation in Indiana and the views were fantastic and there was a pleasant cool breeze blowing the whole time. Who needed air conditioning when it was this pleasant?! Afterward, we were allowed to roam around the inside of the mansion and relax outside. All I can say.this would be the good life!

7 Upcoming event - Drive to New Harmony, IN This month our driving event takes us to New Harmony on Sat., Aug 18th. We will meet in Evansville at the Diamond Federal Credit Union parking lot, as we have done before. We will plan to meet at 9am. It is a pleasant drive to New Harmony and we will arrive at Creation Station as we did last year. Once again, for all those SIR members that go, you will receive a hand etched SIR Porsche glass courtesy of SIR. See my picture below. These will be the same design as before, so if you went on this drive before, you can add another glass to your collection, or get your collection started. If you want additional glasses, there will be some available for purchase. We are also attempting to arrange a tour of some of the Historic Rappite buildings and to learn some of the history. (Our SIR events might seem to be turning into history lessons sorry, no college credit is offered!) We will also have lunch at one of the local New Harmony Restaurants and there will be plenty of time for shopping in the many antique and Arts stores. Do plan to go it will be a good mix of activity and Porsche friends!

8 1st Saturday event at D-Pat on 8/4 We will have another 1 st Sat at D-Pat coming up on Aug 4th. These are well attended and it is good to have some informal time around the cars and the good company that comes with it. Get that Porsche out of the garage and get your Saturday started off right. We plan on meeting at 9am again. Below is the SIR Events Calendar for The events have been color coded for added meaning. Set your calendars in advance to give the best opportunity to participate as much as possible. Keep the shiny side up! Mark Roethemeier SIR calendar of events 8/4 1st Saturday 8/4-5 Central Indiana Region tour to Jasper/West Baden 8/2-4 American LeMans Mid Ohio 8/18 Driving tour SIR-New Harmony 9/29 Louisville Concours 9/1 1st Saturday 9/29 Driving tour Overlook 10/6 1st Saturday 10/13 SIR Car Show 10/? Huber Winery 11/3 1st Saturday 11/17 LeMans Party at Yeltons Green - Scheduled SIR event Blue - 1 st Saturday event location to be determined. These are a non-driving event. Orange - Informational notation of other area/zone events of possible interest to our members

9 Press Release July 15, 2012 Development of the Porsche super sports car enters next phase 918 Spyder prototypes commence trials Stuttgart. The Porsche 918 Spyder is on the road: Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, Stuttgart, has taken the driving trials of the super sports car of the future a step further with completion of the initial prototypes. The 918 Spyder will go into production at the end of September 2013 as planned, with the first customers receiving their vehicles before 2013 is out. What we are doing with the 918 Spyder is redefining driving fun, efficiency and performance, said Wolfgang Hatz, Member of the Executive Board Research and Development of Porsche AG. The prototypes, their camouflage harking back to historical Porsche 917 racing cars, signal the final touches to the 918 Spyder. The focus is on the interplay between the highly sophisticated individual drive components. The combination of combustion engine and two independent electric motors one on the front axle and one in the drive line, acting on the rear wheels poses completely new demands on the development of the operating strategies. They are therefore a critical component in this vehicle into which we have put all of our expertise and capacity for innovation, said Wolfgang Hatz. These operating strategies and the development of the software to go with them are one of Porsche s core competences. Both of them have a major influence on the extreme driving fun to be had with the 918 Spyder and they make possible a unique combination of minimal fuel consumption and maximum performance. The initial results of the driving trials are in line with the high expectations placed on the 918 Spyder. The super sports car is designed as a plug-in hybrid vehicle combining a high-performance combustion engine with cutting-edge electric motors for extraordinary performance: on the one hand, the dynamics of a racing machine boasting more than 770 hp, on the other hand, fuel consumption in the region of three litres per 100 kilometres. Moreover, Porsche is breaking yet more new ground with the technology demonstrator with spectacular solutions such as the full carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) monocoque with unit carrier, fully adaptive aerodynamics, adaptive rear-axle steering and the upward-venting top pipes exhaust system. In the process, the 918 Spyder is offering a glimpse of what Porsche Intelligent Performance may be capable of in future.

10 Our Vice President, Phil Green, attended the Autocross last month at Roberts Stadium. Here are some pictures he sent to me; some of them may be club member s cars: Check out the SIR calendar of events above. Lots to do, thanks to Mark Roethemeier, our club s events chairman. Don t forget 1st Saturday event at D- Pat on 8/4. Check your for reminders. If you have any comments, suggestions, critiques, newsworthy info, or want to buy - sell, send your contributions to me, Mike Fox, at mlfox8944@gmail.com