First Porsche Parade Tampa, June 03 By Jim Cambron

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1 First Porsche Parade Tampa, June 03 By Jim Cambron First, let me say that I m a car guy. I love cars, always have, and to put this passion into perspective by one who knows me best; my Mom once quipped, You ve rather live in tent beside a 12 car garage full of sports cars, than spend your money on a house! That may have been the only time my Mom and I were in complete agreement. Of course as a car guy, I always loved Porsches, but from afar. I rode and drove a few but never thought I d actually own one. That was until my wife suggested that I get one for my 50 th birthday my automotive life has not been the same. Soon after receipt of our Porsche, I joined the Porsche Club of America and Porsche Owners Club. I soon received the Heart of Dixie newsletter and started attending the local meetings. I have to agree with a comment you often hear around the PCA it s the people that make it special and that is certainly true with our Chapter. The wife and I reasoned that if the local Chapter was this much fun then the Porsche Parade should be a real blast and we made arrangements to attend. I had never heard of the Parade, and we were fortunate that this year s Parade was close to home (relatively close at 700 miles well, at least closer than the west coast). The Porsche Parade is held every summer in a different city and this was the 48 th event. They sort of alternate between the eastern and western U.S. this year was in Tampa, next year in Ft. Worth, and in 05 it ll be at Hershey so we have a unique opportunity to attend three relatively close Parades. By the way, Ft. Worth is also only about 700 miles from Huntsville an easy 10 hours and without a time change. Most of this year s participants arrived at the Saddlebrook Resort, some 30 miles or so north of Tampa, on Friday and Saturday to prepare for the events starting on Sunday. Day 1 Sunday 6/22 Sunday was set aside to arrive, get you and your Porsche settled into their home for the next week, register with the hotel and the Parade, get the cars cleaned up after the trip and tech inspected (for participation in the variety of events), and then either begin preparation for Monday s Concours or observation of others preparing for it. Pirelli sponsored the first banquet in the Grand Pavilion featuring a German buffet. We missed it as work prevented us from departing a business meeting in Chattanooga prior to 11 a.m. so we arrived about 8 p.m. Sunday. The Saddlebrook Resort is a 5-star resort featuring the Arnold Palmer Golf Academy. It was a great place for the Parade with the exception that the Porsches were parked about a mile from the rooms and required a shuttle to and from the lot but the positive side of that location was the opportunity to see hundreds of Porsches side by side what a feast for the eyes and the soul!

2 Zymol sponsored an eight-bay wash facility and included all the supporting equipment including experts offering cleaning and detailing tips. Across the street in their detailing tent, the Zymol experts were available all week to discuss and demonstrate various techniques and procedures. Just their expert tips alone would have made the trip worthwhile. Registration was quick and efficient with care packages provided to both entrants including t-shirts, catalogues, umbrellas, pins, and decals, etc. The Tech Inspection only took about 5 minutes. Observing the preparation for the Concours was also a rewarding experience and well worth the trip. There are thousands of little tips to be learned and then perfected. This is an area that I want to enter next year in the drivers class which is a whole different level of respect and recognition compared to those trailored rigs. One of the primary enablers for the Parade is the volunteer workers; about 80% of the participants. They ask you to work eight hours (usually two 4 hour shifts) during the 6-8 day period. Choices include parking, registration, the Tech Inspection, a variety of children events, the Hospitality Room, the Goodie Store, the Art Show, the Concours, the Rally, the Autocross, the Driver Education event (at Sebring), the Collier Museum tour, the Tech Quiz, the Swap Meet and the list goes on. We worked registration, the Goodie Store, and the Autocross (yes, we put in more than 8 hours but loved meeting and working with the people). The benefit, in addition to working with the people is the Saturday Worker s Luncheon where over 150 gifts were distributed. We didn t win any of the tire sets or vacations, just tee-shirts, hats, etc. but we plan to work again next year to make more friends and share stories which is what the Parade is all about! Day 2 Monday 6/23 The Concours started at 9 a.m. and ran until the rain washed it out maybe 3:00 p.m. Displays and participants included two 959s the red and white ones pictured; a whole passel of race cars from 935s to 917s and everything on both sides of those racers; and every other Porsche imaginable from vintage to the new GT3.

3 I was particularly interested in the various modified Boxsters, plus the opportunity to learn how to identify the various models and options. As the afternoon thunderstorm approached the Parade site several of the more exotics headed for their trailers. I heard the owner of one pristine 904 explain to the judge that although he was the shoe-in for a trophy he had a whole room of $10 trophies but his Porsche was irreplaceable. The Concours included a fabulous salad and sandwich lunch and was followed by Monday night s Concours Banquet. Peter Porsche and the Porsche Corporate staff were the featured speakers. Day 3 Tuesday 6/24 The Rally includes classes for amateurs and professionals, equipped and unequipped. This was only our second rally, and since the first one included me pulled over while my co-pilot barfed I was determined to keep this event as low key and unstressful as

4 possible. There were 262 entries in the amateur unequipped class driving every variety of Porsche. You get to pick your starting time group within 30 minutes. I reasoned that we should get an early start to avoid the heat of the afternoon (it lasted over 4 hours). We did OK for a beginner at least we finished but missed two of the eight checkpoints and threw away our scorecard. The important point was that we had fun, and no one was sick. Only 60 of the 262 finished and trophies were liberally awarded at the Rally Banquet the next (Wednesday) night. Since Tuesday was the first night without a scheduled Banquet, we drove down to Tarpon Springs for fresh seafood. Day 4 Wednesday 6/25 Wednesday through Friday was the Autocross at the near-by Zephyrhills Airport. I thoroughly enjoyed working the event. I started as a lunch relief worker at the main gate ensuring all entrants signed the liability waiver. In between processing the entrants, I watched the Porsche s on the track about 100 yards away. My second job was working turn #7. My co-workers and I observed and resettled the pylons following out-of-bounds excursions. All three days following the timed trials, the Michelin guys provided tires for your car so you could enjoy the experience of running different types of tread compounds as well as the overall experience of running the course. I took advantage of this opportunity to practice on someone else s tires. The overall Autocross winner was a heavily modified 914-6, driven by the PCA VP. Watching him run was great but not nearly as entertaining as watching his wife drive his car through the turn #5 grader s tent. Ice chests, people, and paperwork went flying as she took down the tent and removed her front air dam. It was taped back on and was sufficient for his win a few runs later. An additional benefit was talking to other guys running Boxsters and learning their preparation secrets.

5 The Swap Meet was held Wednesday afternoon and included a great assortment of Porsche paraphernalia. I collected a few scale models and out of print magazines. The Rally Banquet was held Wednesday night and featured a local Ybor City Cuban menu. Day 5 Thursday 6/26 We took three bus load of members on the three hour trip to Naples to tour the world famous Collier Museum. There were probably 20 or so Porsches on display and although this helped me differentiate between the various historical racing Porsches I m not sure it was worth the eight hours required. Thursday night was a chance to skip a meal and cool off at the same time. A movie was shown at the Dive-in Theater. I think most of the folks drank their supper pool-side. Another treat was Porsche Goodie Store Champagne Sale running 10-70% discounts from 8 to 11 p.m. Day 6 Friday 6/27 Friday was the last day of the Autocross and Michelin test drives and the Porsche Art Show and silent auction. The other featured event was the Cayenne off-road test drive. Three Cayennes were also available for use at the Autocross and driven by one and all until the crowd had gotten their full of whipping the nearly three ton vehicles around the course. Friday also featured the Tech Quiz and our Heart of Dixie Chapter Charlie won 2 nd place in the 911 SC category. This is his 4 th win (two 1 st places and two 2 nd places). Friday night s Autocross Banquet was sponsored by RUF and included a short preview of their latest Porsche.

6 Day 7 Saturday 6/28 Saturday featured the Worker s Luncheon. The few items left in the Goodie Store were further discounted. Many of the parade participants took local sight-seeing tours with friends Saturday afternoon. The Grand Banquet of them all was held that night featuring Beef Wellington. The longest drive was honored and a video was shown to get everyone excited about next year at Ft. Worth. Day 8 Sunday 6/29 We departed at 4:30 a.m., made it home in the early afternoon. The entire way back we talked about the new friends we had made, the PCA events we want to try this year, and our plans for the trip next July to Texas.