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2018 - What a year to be a Porsche enthusiast!


Simonk

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2018 has to be the best year ever to have been a Porsche owner in Melbourne. Here’s my diary of what went on this year.

 

January 

Philip Island - I hit the ground running with a track day at Philip Island with the Maserati Club. Wilburforce joined me for our first experience at this amazing place. You may remember a four hundred and something degree day. Well that was the day we were there. Thankfully the ocean breeze provided some relief from the heat but hammering around the M491 with full length clothing was very sweaty work. Anyone who’s been to Philip Island knows how awesome it is. As you pull out of pit lane onto the track and the ocean appears in front of you, it’s breath taking. The rest of the track doesn’t disappoint with it’s high speed bends, undulation, and technical corners to keep you smiling from ear to ear. Favourite bit would have to be hammering out of the final corner in 4th. At the end of the day I headed over to Sorrento, jumped on the Queenscliff ferry and headed to Geelong because Hangar Bangar was the next day.

32595325458_9219183412.jpgIMG_9284 by RR Films, on Flickr

Hangar Bangar – The event of the year! John’s Porsche Hangar event was an unknown. It was supposed to start at 11am so I went for Breakfast at 9am. Thought I’d head back to the hangar at 10:30am to film all the cars arriving but I was too late. The place was already overflowing onto the neighbouring car park. It was massive!!! Those who attended were treated to a feast for the eyes. Porsches of all ages and models were there to drool over and a fantastic vibe was felt by all who enjoyed the sense of community that our cars have provided us. The great news is it’s happening again and will hopefully become Australia’s Luftgekhult in the future.

 

February

A couple weeks later I headed up to the Bathurst 12h with a bunch of Porsche Forum members. The 8 hour slog up the Hume was made much easier with company and we did manage to give the cars a good squirt once we left the freeway. It was all too much for The Okrasa Kid in his high top Hiace and he eventually accepted he couldn’t keep up. If you’ve never been to the 12hr, I highly recommend it. It’s like the 1,000 but it’s safe for ladies to attend. If you like to get on the juice, you’ll be in good company but there’s none of the bogan shenanigans you get at the 1,000. The event is well run with most categories worth watching. The Radicals were a good opportunity to restock the esky and go and take a leak. The sounds of the GT3 cars at full noise will bring a tear to your eye. The sight of 55 pairs of headlights hammering down Conrod is also pretty special.

46467973121_7946dfb68f.jpgIMG_8254p by RR Films, on Flickr

44651042780_1643355f48.jpgIMG_8292 by RR Films, on Flickr

45744464154_e16f45b6d7.jpgIMG_8301 by RR Films, on Flickr

 

April

I was invited to an exclusive event hosted by Porsche Forum Australia. The Haunted Hills hill climb was a test to see how an event could be hosted there in the future. It was also the stage for a beautifully produced video by Andy Gaunt. The place was more of a bowl than a hill but the track was amazing the way it squiggled it’s way down into the valley and back up like a roller coaster. It was all over in a bit over a minute and it was back to the car park to talk about it with the other participants. Another great day of camaraderie as we enjoyed our cars to their fullest.

32595326058_e495387981_c.jpgImage1p by RR Films, on Flickr

44651038600_ba798d90ac_z.jpgIMG_8466p by RR Films, on Flickr

 

May

The rapid rise of the Classic Porsche Australia Facebook Group… May saw an explosion of members to the page, including myself, and to celebrate, they had their first social drive from Woodend to Lancefield. The now infamous drive took us all well off the planned route and most of the drive was spent on remote dirt roads. We learnt that Sal should stick to the cooking and do less navigating! It was worth it for the laugh though and once back on the bitumen, we weren’t let down by the roads that wound their way over rolling hills covered in boulders and quite spectacular scenery. The drive was finished off with a great lunch and chat at Glen Erin winery

32595330068_c6779c2dc2_z.jpgIMG_8564 by RR Films, on Flickr

 

June

Porsche turns 70!

Porsches on the Pier. Some random guy decided to drive his clapped out 356 from Brisbane, down the East coast to Melbourne and Adelaide and film the whole thing. With the help of social media we found ourselves heading to Geelong on what seemed to be the wettest day of the year to celebrate the arrival of Lars Mueller and his beautiful struggling 356 as well as celebrate 70 years of Porsche. The rain was never going to dampen our spirits and with the generosity of John Orchard, we were back at the hangar for another huge Porsche meet.

 

July

2 guys decide they’re going to Adelaide for the weekend and 12 others decided to join them. What started as a low key weekend away turned into an unforgettable weekend which will surely become an annual event. 14 cars headed from Melbourne to Adelaide. There we were greeted with open arms. Some of the locals joined us for dinner and drinks on the first night. The next day we were shown the amazing Adelaide hills, treated to a guided tour of “The Bend” race track including two laps on the track and a beautiful lunch. We were then welcomed to Jarret Pinksterboer’s home where his wife and Sal cooked us an amazing meal and we all had a good reminisce of the day we had just had. The SA crew really were amazing and made sure our trip over wouldn't be the last. Plans have already begun for next year including adding a day to do a winery tour.

46416985562_7398d34b88_c.jpg1IMG_8708 by RR Films, on Flickr

46416983812_4448b2797e_z.jpg20IMG_8801 by RR Films, on Flickr

 

October

If there is one place you have to take your Porsche before you die, it’s Tasmania. Even better, do it with 10 or so mates. Our trip deserves it’s own write up but I’ll try to be brief. We took the night ferry over and arrived Monday morning and spent the next 6 days touring the island, taking in as many Targa Tasmania stages as possible. We also had a track day at Baskerville Raceway, just outside Hobart. Having the track to ourselves for the day really was quite special. Each day we did 3-400kms, taking in some of the most amazing roads, weaving their way through spectacular landscape. Traffic is very light and any cars we came across were incredibly courteous, always pulling over to let our group pass. You can’t really imagine how good it is over there until you experience it for yourself and sharing the experience with a bunch of great people made it extra special. Highlights would have to be Reece Dam and Strahan Targa stages. By the end of each stage I was completely exhausted but you couldn’t get the grin off my face.

45554982665_a942c2ceb9_c.jpgIMG_9023p by RR Films, on Flickr

44651034580_4166359410_c.jpgIMG_8944p by RR Films, on Flickr

 

December

The year was bookended perfectly with a track day at Sandown. Classic Porsche Australia Facebook page arranged with Driver Dynamics an allocation of 15 cars to fill one group for their December track day. For those that have never done a track day before, Driver Dynamics offer a great day for  beginners, providing an instructional briefing at the start of the day, a track walk, then the option of having an instructor ride shotgun to give advice on how to drive the track. The weather was perfect and all of us had a ripping day driving our cars the way they are supposed to be driven. In between each session was a good opportunity to recover and have a yarn with each other.

46416982932_cd499bca23_c.jpgIMG_1157 by RR Films, on Flickr

32595325818_33226c264c_c.jpgIMG_1158 by RR Films, on Flickr

What an amazing year! In between all of that, there was PCV Cars and Coffee, PFA Porsches by the Bay, Dak Dak, and Philip Island and Sandown Historics. With Hangar Bangar 2 just around the corner and the Bathurst 12h shortly after, 2019 will be well on the way to being another great year.

 

To all of you still reading, I hope you’re enjoying the holiday season and the family gives you some time to spend with your true loved one/s. Happy new year to all, may it be full of many Porsche adventures.

 

Simon (rr__films)

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Great write up @Simonk.  It was a privilege being able to share some of those events with you and all the other attendees.  We certainly had a lot of fun, laughs and beers, and made some good mates along the way.  Hopefully, in 2019 and beyond, we can do it all again. 

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Simon,

Really enjoyed your re-cap of what was indeed, a Porsche filled 2018 calendar. So happy to have been there with you on many of the featured runs and events. Memories, and friendships that will last a lifetime.

Looking forward to many more adventures in 2019 and beyond.

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