Nearly 70 Enthusiasts Attend Tour & Rally School

During the planning of our recent “Tour & Rally School,” fellow co-chair Randy and I estimated that we might attract 20 to 25 attendees at most. But we were undeterred. And on March 25, nearly 70 people gathered in Owings Mills “to learn not to get lost and to stay married.”

Dozens of PCA-CHS members came with their spouses. A few came alone or with friends or with their children. The promise of a lunch buffet from Mission BBQ may have helped. But there was no doubt that the main attraction was the participation of Bob Gutjahr and Ellen Beck. The Chesapeake Region’s Tour & Rally Committee was fortunate that they kindly accepted the invitation to serve as the school’s rally instructors.

Bob has organized many Chesapeake Region rallies over the years, and is chairman of PCA’s National Policy Committee. Ellen is the Porsche Parade Gimmick Rally chair, as well as the Chesapeake Region’s chief driving instructor. Both have been competing at the regional and national levels in gimmick and TSD rallies for many years.

At the school, Bob and Ellen spoke about the history of rallying, Porsche’s place in it, and the different kinds of rallies. In particular, they explained to the attendees how gimmick and time-speed-distance (TSD) rallies are organized, as well as how to compete in them. Their efforts went a long way toward achieving the rally school’s aim to promote interest in rallying and to better prepare rookies and veterans for this year’s Porsche Parade and Chesapeake Challenge rallies.

The event started at 8 a.m. with coffee and doughnuts, followed by the introduction of our sponsors’ representatives, Bruce Wakefield of CPR Classic East and Randy Moss of Collectors Car Corral. Bruce spoke briefly about his Porsche restoration shop in Easton, MD, while Randy told the attendees about the car storage facility he founded several years ago.

In the first “classroom” session, Randy and I provided an overview of driving-tour planning, preparation and participation. We invited the attendees to join our committee’s newly launched Tour & Rally Registry. Then I explained how to use the Porsche GTS Routes smartphone app as a navigation aid during this year’s tours.

Two 25-minute classroom sessions on rallying followed. Bob and Ellen’s presentations were both educational and entertaining. Those sessions were reinforced by a short road rally, which gave the participants an opportunity to put what they had learned into practice. Bob and Ellen had prepared a clever and fun gimmick rally on a scenic route in northwest Baltimore County. It took drivers and navigators approximately an hour to complete. The rallyists were then rewarded with a well-deserved and delicious lunch buffet from Mission BBQ at the Collectors Car Corral.

CPR Classic East generously came forward to subsidize our catered lunch, allowing us to charge each attendee only $10. We had 3 kinds of meat: sliced brisket, pulled pork, and pulled chicken; 3 sides: Mac-N-Cheese, green beans with bacon, and cold slaw; bread; various kinds of sauces; plus sodas and water.

A short post-rally debrief was held after lunch. Bob and Ellen told the participants how well they did and highlighted the key lessons of the day. The top finishers were presented. The navigators and drivers who received trophies were: Jennifer and Larry Robinson, who came in first; Sue and John Jensen, who came in second; Perry Pitrone and Rick Soloway, who came in third. Honorable mention went to Tami and Stuart Fine, who came in a close fourth.

Our thanks go to Collectors Car Corral, for providing our classroom and lunch venue, and to CPR Classic East, for subsidizing our breakfast and lunch buffet.

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