NNJR New Member (2014)

NORTHERN NEW JERSEY REGION

of the

PORSCHE CLUB OF AMERICA

2014 NEW MEMBER INFORMATION

This information is intended to give new members of the Northern New Jersey Region Porsche Club of America (NNJR-PCA) some general information about the region’s activities; what they are and how they operate. We didn’t know anyone in the Club before we joined; we were the definitive “new members” and now we are the New Member Liaison representatives. Hopefully, we can relate directly to your questions and answer any you may have. If we can’t, we probably know who to ask. We are here to help so please don’t hesitate to contact us either at newmember@nnjr-pca.com or by calling us at the phone numbers listed.

There’s also a good deal of information for all activities on our web site: http://www.nnjr-pca.com/

We hope that you enjoy the Club, its activities and members as much as we do. NNJR-PCA has a very active calendar and all you have to do is sign up and get involved. The events sponsored by the Club fall into the following categories:

 

Driver Education Autocross Rambles & Tours Rally Charity
Monthly Meetings Social Events Technical Sessions Concours d’Elegance

Driver Education

NNJR is particularly well known for its active Driver Education Program. Driver Education (DE) is a non-competitive event which is held at a motorsport facility to teach high-performance driving skills. Additional questions may be forwarded to trackchair@nnjr-pca.com

For 2014, NNJR will be holding events at Lime Rock Park, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, New Jersey Motorsports Park (Thunderbolt and Lightning), Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Pocono Raceway, Virginia International Raceway and Watkins Glen International. Watch the web site http://www.nnjr-pca.com as well as the club magazine (Porscheforus) for up-to-date information on these events. Helmets are required (Snell MA, SA or SAH rated, 2005 or newer). The club has a limited number of loaner helmets that can be used during a DE. Cabriolets with pop-up roll hoops require additional rollover protection at Lime Rock, New Jersey Motorsports Park, and Virginia International (VIR) but are acceptable without modifications at all other tracks we visit. In addition, VIR requires additional rollover protection for pre-2005 Boxsters.

Be sure to register early as most of these events sell out quickly. Registration opens 8 weeks prior to each event and closes 2 weeks prior. All registration is online at http://nnjr-pca.motorsportreg.com. If you don’t already have an account you will need to establish one by clicking on “Create Account” and supplying the requested information. You will also need to enter your credit card information. Your account will not be charged until a few days before the event. You may also choose to pay by check. Be sure to create your on-line account well before registration for an event opens.

Except as previously mentioned, your car does not need any modifications but will need to pass a safety inspection. About ten days before the event, a mandatory safety tech inspection is scheduled at a local Porsche service shop. These free tech inspections are held in the evening. Tech inspectors will check your suspension, brakes, tires, etc. for safety. Any items that fail inspection must be corrected before the event. Any failure will be inspected at the track.

You can also take your car to a number of approved shops which are listed on the web site. The tech form and requirements can be found at:
http://www.nnjr-pca.com/index.php?option=com_docman&task=cat_view&gid=117&Itemid=176

A couple days before the event, the Track Chair will send you an e-mail instructing you to log on to the Club’s web-site to download the track package. In the package will be many helpful pieces of information including your assigned run group, your instructor and run group start times.

Most attendees drive to the track the evening before the event. For most of the track events you will need to make hotel reservations. We urge you to make your reservations early as many hotels book up weeks before an event. Lists of hotels for each venue are supplied on NNJR’s web site.

You will generally have to be at the track by 7:00am each day. First you will ready your car by removing all loose articles from the passenger compartment and the trunk. One helpful hint here is always bring a plastic sheet or large plastic bags to protect the items removed from your car in the event of inclement weather. Remember we run rain or shine. Next you will affix your pre-assigned numbers to your car then proceed to the tech line for a final safety inspection.

There are four runs for each group that are approximately 20 to 25 minute driving sessions on the track. You may also be given a work assignment in between your track time but this is generally on a volunteer basis.

In the evening most drivers and family members get together for an informal dinner at a local restaurant or quite often the get-together is at the track hosted by NNJR or one of the Club’s many sponsors. It’s a great time to share experiences with new and old friends.
Driver Education is a great learning experience. You have a chance to learn from experienced drivers how to properly drive your Porsche at speed. At track events you will often hear the phrase “Safe, Serious, Fun”. Track events are well organized, well run, and safe events. Try it! We guarantee it will be an experience you will never forget and leave you craving do it again.

Autocross

Autocross is an exciting timed handling competition held either in a large parking lot such as the newly paved MetLife Stadium or a road course such as the one at Englishtown’s Raceway Park. Helmets are also required for these events but unlike DE, cabriolets are not required to have a roll bar. The autocross is a one-car-at-a-time competitive event in which each driver negotiates his/her car through a course laid out with traffic cones. The course is electronically timed; a race against the clock for the fastest time. Cars are penalized by two seconds for each cone knocked out of the box. Cars are grouped by class, depending on the type of car, to keep the classes competitive among themselves. Awards are given to the three fastest cars in each class and to the fastest overall time. Each year there is also a Zone 1 Autocross event where you will get a chance to compete against other Zone 1 drivers.

Autocross is a fun event that also offers an opportunity to meet other members. Your individual speed and experience is important only to you. After a few runs your speed will improve and so does your self-confidence. More than speed, it is the skill of learning to handle your vehicle smoothly that will improve your time. As with DE, experienced instructors are available for advice and to help you improve your skills. NNJR holds an annual Car Control Clinic as well as an Autocross School. Both are a great way to learn the art of Autocross and explore the limits of your Porsche. Questions…contact autocross@nnjr-pca.com

Concours

Concours is a challenging and competitive activity in which the beauty and cleanliness of your Porsche is rated and scored. Judges with incredible knowledge and familiarity of Porsches inspect the competing cars. They look in places that you don’t even know exist! If you enjoy seeing great looking Porsches, if you like to see vintage Porsches, if you enjoy washing, cleaning and waxing your car … then you’ll enjoy Concours events. If this type of preparation seems daunting for you we also offer the wash and shine class. Just wash your car and compete for a Wash and Shine award. No need to spend endless hours with a Q-Tip!

NNJR sponsors several Concours workshops and clinics. These events will demonstrate the proper techniques on how best to clean and care for your car. It’s a real hands-on activity where you get a chance to see how various cleaning and polishing products are used and ask questions on the care of your Porsche. These events are generally scheduled to coincide with an upcoming Concours event so you will be able to put into effect what you have just learned. Information gleaned from the concours workshops are also worth putting to use on any of your daily drivers. Any questions?…concours@nnjr-pca.com

Rally

NNJR holds Gimmick Rallies that are designed to provide a fun and relaxing outing for everyone (children included). The route will include gorgeous scenery, country roads and unique local features. Gimmick rallying is scored based on a combination of mileage and responses/answers to series of questions imbedded in the route instructions. The idea is to answer all the questions correctly and come as close as possible to the official route mileage. This year there will be 4 rallies cumulating with the prestigious Rene Dreyfus Rally to which the winner is awarded the Rene Dreyfus trophy. Rallys can be run in any vehicle you chose however the winner of the Rene Dreyfus rally award must be driving a Porsche and must be an NNJR-PCA member. For each rally, trophies are awarded through third place in both novice and experienced classes. Check the NNJR web site and Porscheforus for dates and registration information. For novices the Rally Chair holds a short rally school before each rally. Rallies are fun for the entire family so come out and try one! For additional information email, rally@nnjr-pca.com

Technical Workshops

NNJR sponsors several technical sessions each season. These sessions cover a broad range of subjects such as how to maintain your Porsche, track preparation and many other subjects to numerous to mention here. Many of these workshops are hands on where you can bring you car and have a problem addressed. We also have a Technical Committee and you will find each committee member’s contact information, and specialty areas, on page 4 in Porscheforus. Don’t hesitate to contact these people with your questions. Check the web site and Porscheforus for the schedule of upcoming sessions. Technical questions may be sent to technical@nnjr-pca.com

Ramble, Tour or Trek

A ramble, tour, or trek is a relaxing drive through beautiful vistas (usually with a Porsche in view in front and back of you) to an interesting destination. It is a noncompetitive event meant to allow you to enjoy your car in the company of other Porsche owners sharing a unique experience. These event are extremely popular with our members.

Monthly Meeting

Monthly meetings are generally held on the second Wednesday of each month at The Villa in Mountain Lakes NJ. Each month a different subject usually relating to Porsches is presented by an invited guest or club member. The meetings are another great opportunity to socialize with fellow club members and talk about our common interest in Porsches. Questions about the monthly meeting can be directed to program@nnjr-pca.com

Social Events

Each year the Club’s Social Chairs work hard to bring us a wide variety of events that can be enjoyed by the entire family, even those not interested in Porsches or to young to participate in automotive events. Some examples of the Club’s past social events, as well as those on this year’s calendar, are visits to automotive museums, golf outings, wine tastings, chocolate tastings, dinners, picnics and sporting events. The social calendar cumulates with the clubs annual holiday party in December. Social Chairs can be reached at social@nnjr-pca.com

Charity

The Board of Governors, with input from club members, selects a charity to support through our fund raising efforts. These efforts include such activities as 50/50’s, raffles, rambles/tours/treks and culminates with our highly anticipated and strongly attended annual charity auction. The charity auction is run in a “Tricky Tray” format which means that attendees buy numbered tickets for specified dollar amounts and place them in buckets which represent prizes that they would like to win. At the end of the evening, a ticket is drawn from each bucket and a winner is named for each prize. This auction, open to NNJR members and friends, is held at the December monthly meeting. All members are asked to donate an item(s) for the auction. This year’s charity is Somerset Hills Learning Institute, a school for children and adolescents with Autism.

Additional Events and Benefits

Each year in April and October we hold our New Member Receptions. These “meetings” begin with some hors d’oeuvres then transitions to our regularly scheduled meeting. The Club’s event chairs will be present at these meetings to help you and answer any questions you may have about their program. In May of this year we will be holding our annual new member “Welcome to the Club” Concours, Rally and Social.

As an NNJR member, you are entitled to attend the events of other regions, the Zone and the PCA. The events you can partake in are endless.

Hopefully we have given you some useful information about NNJR-PCA and what it has to offer you. We think you will agree that there are more activities than most of us can possibly attend, although many of us try. As we mentioned at the outset, it’s up to you. Introduce yourself to other members. Get involved. Sign up for something – anything. When volunteers are asked for, raise your hand. Don’t be afraid to admit you are new to this. Someone will explain what needs to be done that’s how we learned. The members of the club are eager to meet new people and share their Porsche experiences. If you have any questions, please call or email us or a program chair person listed in the front of Porscheforus or on the BOG page of the web site. That way we can supply our contact information. If you have an interest in a particular area contact the respective chairperson and tell him/her you would like to help. Everyone on the Board is a volunteer.

Welcome to the Northern New Jersey Region Porsche Club of America
Be a part of the NNJR experience!

“It’s not just the cars, it’s the people!”

Sharon Doherty (908-237-0692)
&
Akemi Kane (973-476-7655)
newmember@nnjr-pca.com