Its been quiet the last couple-o-weeks. There was a lot of buzz immediately following the 1st WCC, but we haven’t heard any follow-up.

So whats happening behind the scenes?

There was general consensus that the WCC should move around between the SF Bay area, the Portland Oregon area and SoCal, for lots of reasons.

The 1st WCC seemed to really benefit and frankly was only possible because we by piggybacked onto other concurrent events. Portland was suggested for WCC 2005. Any progress made?

Here is an another idea: Parade 2006 is scheduled for Portland. That is one huge P-car event and whatever happens, the 914CLub should be planning to show EN MASSE…we could coattail onto it and make it even bigger. But is Parade too big to run a concurrent 914-only event? Maybe the WCC2006 is before or after Parade? Maybe its altogether a bad idea? If WCC2006 is in P-land then that would suggest that WCC2005 be held in SoCal. Anyone from SoCal willing to put the WCC2005 together next year? I nominate Team Slits/Cricket or Team Kline/Howard to show us the SoCal way to party 914-style…

The WCC2004 was planned in about 3 months, and it worked out ok, but 6 months or more for an event of this caliber would be much mo’ better and effective. A lot of upfront work should be and can be done before the end of this year…lining up sponsors, drafting the brochure, creating graphics, creating a website, roughing in the event schedule. Registrations should begin 3 months before and cut off no less than 1 month before the event. The major key is identifying and coordinating with concurrently planned events, if that approach will be taken…its not the only way, just the easiest way. A stand-alone event with sufficient activities to keep the interest high, is very difficult to pull off.

The WCC2004 Sponsors are ready to commit for next year...as soon as they are contacted. I believe we could get larger sponsorships from additional sponsors in 2005 with better organization.

There are many who are willing to assist …but one person needs to step up to take the lead.

Then is that a suggestion to hold the WCC every TWO years?

Rocky Mountain Classic? i'll help

There was a time last November and December when I didn't really see the WCC"04" event coming together. Jeff's approch was award winning. I am truely impressed. You really learn alot about people when the heat is on.

I would love for the next event to be is So Cal. That was the original plan for WCC 04. If it's going to be there we need a committed group of So Cal members to see things through. From first hand experience... planning an event in So Cal or anywhere in California from out of state is nearly impossible.

I also like the Portland Parade idea for "06". The other P cars guys won't know what to think!

Doesn't really matter where the event is located. I'm behind any location and will make every attempt to attend again.

I met some great new friends. I saw some of the best 914's.

Remember! the WCC "05" is just around the corner. If your car needs work, get busy! And buy parts from the SPONSORS that helped make this happen!

BTW: Our sponsors helped make the WCC happen. I'm not sure how many of you noticed but they have continued support for the MWC! So Show some respect!

As I posted before, if there was a desire to do it in L.A. I would certainly help. But there is no AX that I know of in this area, so San Diego Qual Comm might be a better choice if there are any members that would be able to hook us up with the group that runs the AX there.

Who ever's gonna follow in Jeff's footsteps for 2005 is in for quite a challenge.
Jeff put the bar pretty high (specially for a new/first time event)

I'm sure if Jeff hadn't stepped up to pick up the leadership for the event, we'd still be chasing our own tails
I prolly said it before, but I can't say it enough... Jeff did great (and I still can't believe we pulled this off in just 3 months)
He kept everybody on his toes without being a "boss" or jerk about it (and I've seen it different quite a few times).

But don't let that discourage you!
I'm sure you can count on the help of some (if not all) of this years co-organisers (I'm in for sure, for what ever that's worth )
I think we've put down a good precedent in 2004 that will help us build upon for 2005

So... who will accept the challenge for 2005???
Come on and step to the plate

cheers,

Jeroen

Jeff you did a truly magnificent job & the 914 world owe you thanks. Leadership is planning ahead & it's good to have future schedule's so other parts of the country can attend.

Our Mid-West meet in August is benifiting your results. Sponsorship money is rolling in due to the success of your meet. Our SMOG guys also stepped up (Tom Mulcrone, Gary Stellmach & Dick Zarbo) when our previous leader stepped down. Our guys finally found a location to continue our MW meet. We found it takes over a year to secure prime spots. We found the plumbers & other groups already had the choice spots for their conventions. Our Mid-West meet will get better each year same as the West Coast meets. Yes, planning is important as well as leaders to steer the course of our 914 future.

Thanks again Jeff & all the others. The list of sponsor's are growing for the Mid-
West meet & it's going to be one Hell of a meet. Note: Pun intended "Drive to Hell" for an ice cream cone by Tom Mulcrone on curvy roads.
Tom:
P.S.
I just got my car out of winter storage & I love my 914. Can't wait till Aug. 7th.

Not sure about others with two P-cars, but a problem I'll have to deal with re: Parade '06 is which one to bring! I do know I plan to attend Parade for sure!

Deal me in for SoCal 2005. Have plenty of support (drew, skline, slits, formerly known as toast) who want to play. Formerly known as Otto wants to sponsor. 2006 should probably be in Portland to link with concurrent events.

The real wildcard is competitive events. We would have to join someone or rent a track. Tracks in SoCal are in ugly places, especially during summer months. If we skip the AutoX or track, we can make a beautiful venue.

Jeff, you're a tough act to follow, but think we can do it with your help. The big deal is attracting people like Rich who will make the long haul. Looking back at 2004, it was more people than planned events. I'm willing to trade AutoX for family BBQ, if it comes to that. Maybe even do it in February/March to help the snow birds. Would advise we donate a portion to a charity (I like Special Olympics) so it would be a tax deductible.

Ok, If Howard is in, then so am I. I was thinking we could maybe even talk to some people in the military and have an AX event (Maybe) at the old El Toro Marine base like Mazda did with their Rev it up event. The other place would be the OC fairgrounds or Irvine Meadows where they held the VW Classic the past few years. I know of some people to contact for this and it could happen. If an AX event is important, (I really liked it) then it gives us something to shoot for. It is for sure a challenge but I think we have some people that will play ball with us and I think we can make it happen. So count me in and lets see what happens.

The AX was by far the most critical, and difficult event to pull off for the WCC 2004. Not for me personally...it was the easiest...Rob and Demick did everything. Recall that we originally discussed a separate stand alone event in Cambria...but that was impossible to do for insurance reasons...teaming up was the only way it happened.

Brad said early on that without an AX we would not attract 50% of those who would normallly attend, and I think he is dead-on right. Several AX-only 914 owners attended the event and what is equally significant, is that a handful of us who had never AX'd before...are now AX enthusisasts...Thew WCC brought the two groups together. No AX...it will just be the 914 socialites...

I think the AX is a critical thing for the overall success of the event, and attendance will be way off without it.

That being said, Howard you are also right..I think we realiazed that the event is really about the people as much as it is about the cars, and a BBQ or other more social focus would be great too. But without an AX...(or maybe a competitive, very well done road rally...?) we will lose attendance.

But whatever works out...Show us what you SoCal-ites do for 914 fun...show us the SoCal way....we dont have to follow the same model all the time...

a redo in sj would be fine with me. perhaps a ax at the alameda venue would be possible. sj is a nice mid point for those both up and down the west coast. later in the summer, further south, would probably be a bit warm for my taste. why mess with success?

kevin

I disagree that the AX is crucial to the success of this event. Locally there are only a handful of 914 autoXers and I'm sure that 75% of them would have show up to the WCC anyway.

Don't get me wrong though. It was damn fun and I'm thinking that I will definitely attend the next one in Alameda.

Maybe. I don't have the data to support this, but perhaps that is due to the fact that folks could attend the AX seperately from the WCC? Again, I don't have the numbers, so I could be talking out of my hat. Personally, an AX wouldn't be the main atraaction for me.

I think the AX is a must for the WCC as it was the one time I could wander around talking and BS to people without a time constraint. Driving to this and that leaves little time to BS, eating at restaurants leaves out the cars.
A AX is a all day event with the people and cars with a little racing added in. Working on the course is the time to meet new people and talk about more than "What 914 is your car?".
I could care less about the swap meets and concours events........
TECH sessions (hint hint)

Totally agree that it should be Portland in 2006.

Geoff

I have been lurking in the back before commiting to spearheading an effort to bring the WCC 2005 to Portland Oregon.
The one event that I would want to piggyback off of is the Baxters Vintage car races, check the website. www.portlandhistorics.com
I have been waiting to attend the three day event and see how it plays out, and to judge if it would be an event the we can seamlessly work into.
All of the other needs are already in place. Such as lodging, restaurants,shopping,day trips, and "in case of rain" other things to keep you from melting in the downpour.
I received my Historic Races three day pass this past week, and they are planning a two day Sat. and Sunday autocross at $5.00 per car. It will be held in the infield pro pits, which is the same spot that the PCA has the monthly autocrosses when we are unable to have them in the outside parking area.
I have posted about this event in the early days after just returning form the WCC in San Jose. Some people in the PNW were supportive of this venue. I have mentioned this to people (914 owners)who did not attend the WCC 2004 and have received an overwhelming show of support and willingness to "call me if I can help".
I have been to many PCA parade starting back in 1975. Unless you are a Porsche club member, and you want to follow the parade agenda for each and everyday, then you are going to be out of luck. Yes there are some free time days but still PCA oriented. CCLINWCC2005INPDX?????

I think the AX is very important and here is why:

I figure that 11 of the 72 registrations were directly attributable to the AX event…no AX, I don’t think that these 11 would have attended. These 11 have now seen the rest of what the 914Club is about and some are now more active in the BBS. I am pretty sure Brad had a lot to do with getting them to attend. I have no doubt that Brad alone could have gotten the WCC 2004 to 100 with enough effort.

Most of the 60 other registrations were at least interested in trying the AX…and they did. 57 of the 72 registrations participated in the AX.

Over 20 registrations had never AX’d before and many of those now have ‘AX-fever’.

Not to say that a WCC without an AX would not be a great thing, its just that if you offer:

* A BBQ only, say X cars will show up…

* A BBQ, scenic road trip and a trip to Laguna, 2X cars will show up…

* A Breakfast, road trip, Laguna, AX, Concours, Swapmeet, Prizes, Awards…72 914s sign up!

The point is that not everything will appeal to everyone influencing their interest in attending, and not all registrations will attend every event either. If a variety of opportunities are available, more will want to attend the event. Not many of us would drive to SoCal or P-Land just for a one-day event, so make it interesting!

Slits and I have been talking about it almost daily since the WCC 04.

So. Cal. is such a large area (from Riverside to the beach to San Diego) it has been challenging for Slits and I to come up with a centeralized location.

It appears that their are at least 4-5 So. Cal. 914 owners who would be willing to get an event together. So, I will contact thoes members (Howard, Scott, Slits, Me, drew365(?) ) and see about arranging a planning meeting. Hey, the more help, the less stress for one individual.

Ok guys, lets give it a shot!

WCC 2005......Here We Come!

By all means come to the Parade in 2006. Piggybacking on to that would be a real chore, however, and prolly would not be well received......that's a personal WAG.

The local club is talking about 200 cars (minimum) for the AX and it will be spread out over 2 or 3 days....not to mention trying to find a venue big enuff to hold it. I plan to be busier than a one legged man in an asskicking contest during that time.

As Craig said, the Historic thing looks like a possibility. BTW, Craig, that's 5 bucks per run. Since this is *new*, no one knows how it is going to play out. I *assume* the SCCA is going to run it....I'll find out this weekend.

I can't believe there's NO AX in LA at all. Teaming up with another club is, as Jeff pointed out, the way to go.

From dealing with a few small AX clubs in the Midwest years ago, I'd bet that most of them would welcome the extra cars if they also came with plenty of extra help. In the Midwest, even the local Corvair club managed to host their own AX, and they had no problem with other people showing up. There's a Datsun 510 club in the Bay Area that has hosted an AX from time to time. Find the LA equivalent of these clubs and talk to them. At the very least, finding out how they're insuring the event will go a long way, even if they're not willing to co-host.

Is there no PCA region down there? Don't they host an AX? Are they just assholes?

The problem of course is that the LA Region PCA is more of a wine and cheese club. We'd have to go down to San Diego to piggy back with the San Diego Region AX.





My experience was the exact opposite. At the AX I felt like I had very little time to talk to folks. Either I was getting my car ready, in my car during my run group, standing out in the parking lot working the course (covering a large area by myself), and then during my off time I had an hour to eat and get my car ready for the afternoon run.

The POA holds an AX and race event annually at the California Speedway in Fontana, Ca. called The Festival of Speed. There is vendors, a selling area, races, and a "drive your own car on the track" event.

Thats the only one I know about. Im still a newbie.

Doing some poking around, it looks like the Riverside region of the PCA holds an AX nearly every month (so their website shows). There are at least two other regions in this area according to the PCA website, but the regions' own websites aren't all that helpful. Sounds to me like Riverside is where all the cool types hang out.

Not all the cool people are out in Riverside/San Berdo area, did anyone think to check with the Orange Coast region? PCA Orange Coast I think I will make a few contacts with them and see what happens. I even have some possible additional sponsers I will look up as well.

I was going to say, couldn't we rent, or at least ask the Ca Speedway about using the parking lot for the auto-x?
It seems like the magazine-tv shows use their parking lot for events, why not us?
Too much cost just for us? Then make it a Porsche Club event.


Or contact Willow Springs about using the Streets of Willow Springs, much tighter & slower than the big track.

SoCal in 2005 sounds good.
Portland in '06 in & around Parade sounds good too.

Nice thread Bowlsby.

Scott the problem that we (914Club) have is insurance. Even if we had the $, we don't really have the infrastructure that may be required by most insurers. Piggy backing on another event allows us to use the other club's clout for insurance.

My input is that the event should be held in conjunction with some other interesting Porsche or Historic automotive event that complements WCC. Examples historic races, Dunkle Bros., etc.

Interesting venues will attract more people as well. Car museums or specialty Porsche shops are fun destinations for me.

Getting out to a track is good. Cool track opportunities will get people motivated to show up! I drove 60 miles from a rescheduled job interview in Cupertino just to get the one lap and photo's on Laguna Seca and then drove back and interviewed at 3 pm.

AX should be part of the event if possible, but wouldnt be primary motivation for me. Unless of course it was in So cal at Streets of Willow! Now that would be a cool 914 event!

Yes, For the benifit of those not in the planning thread, we researched this extensively. I made several long distance calls researching the minimal requirements to qualify for event insurance. The big stumbling block was the insurable identity. An online club doesn't have one.... Second thing was the cold hard cash! Event insurance is Bling! Like in Bling! Bling! Lots of exposure. Ask Howard he'll tell ya. Best way around that is to grab onto someones coat tails and go along for the ride.

BTW: 05 should go a little smoother. the 04 crew did alot od research the 05 group will benifit from.

Scott - OC Region holds AX at Orange County Fairgrounds. I talked to the guy that runs it briefly. He didn't jump up and down, but then he was in after hours, after parts.

The California Festival of Speed is a full on Pro Road Race along with Porsche Club racing - the "spectator" on track time is during lunch on Sat or Sun and they charge $20 bucks per head (I think) to do 5-7 laps. I would think they would put the "club" in one group together if we could join them for that event. It's held in April as I remember. Precision Motion provides volunteers (me & Glenn) to run the swapmeet on Sat. Pelican had a booth there once too. More high dollar racing crowd than anything else. The laps on the road course at Calif Speedway are fun - limited to 65 mph - Hah - speedo read 110 going into turn one.

Twisty Roads - Mountain Roads from Big Bear to Lake Arrowhead to Crestline. (Trees & somewhat cool)
or
North County San Diego (temecula - dry, desert & Hot)

Accomodations: Many hotels near Ontario Airport which would be "close" for Mountain drive and Cal Speedway (nothing is close in LA).

More ideas please!

Ok - that's what I know for now

OK, what needs to happen is that we need to decide on SoCal or PacNW. Before anything else can be decided that decision should probably be made.

How 'bout one of those famous canyon runs up Mulholland Dr...

Bumper to Bumper - the demise of the Mulholland Racing Association

I recall the drives through Temcula and they were quite fun. That is an option. I think many would like to do an AX event and so lets try to find out more information on the OC fairgrounds Or the retired military bases. I used to have a contact with the company that runs the fairgrounds, I set up a network for them about 8 years ago. I will see if they are still there. My father is a retired officer in the Navy and I will contact him and see if he can find out a contact for the El Toro Marine base or the Tustin Helo base. The mountain roads would be very cool but the traffic going up there would be a hindrence and if someone got carried away they could lose more than just thier car. I am looking at it from a safety aspect. 1000 foot cliffs make for some scary runs. We want people to be safe. Not saying that anyone here is stupid or crazy but accidents do happen. Let just make sure they dont happen to any of our members.

Are you speaking of - harruph - you and Howard in your V8s?

Well, I for one am not ready to go cliff diving in a 914. But even in my 4 cylinder car it got a little hairy out on the twisties a few times and my car was fully S optioned with very good tires. Not that everyone drives as insanely as I do. But I do love to go fast around the curves and I could see something tragic happening to an inexperienced driver. I am taking the rest of the night away from the board, The news about Chip has really got me down. I am just not in the mood for much right now. I will pick this back up tomorrow.

I'd also like to know what makes the WCC the WCC? If it's AXing then we need to find a spot and if it's not then we can at least host the WCC on a weekend that will also have an AX in the vicinity that is accessible to the public (if that's even possible). So was the WCC split between racers and non-racers? I didn't feel like it was but on these threads it does seems like an AX is the make it or break it. For me that weekend was about meeting members of the club and bonding with me son. It seems that the first hurdle to deal with is, do we even consider WCC2005 if an AX event is not possible.

I think WCC was "The Full Package" which is what it should be IMHO. The more variety, the better attendance. My 2 cents.

What happened?

Check SAD NEWS ON BIRD BOARD thread.
CCL

If you want to expose the club, ride the coat tails. On the Friday before the Monterey Historics is an Italian car event. It started as a small free show but has grown into a entry fee Italian theme event and invites other marques with their own corral.
Dunkles in SoCal would be cool too.
Felix

Thanks Boxstr.
Besides the rumors that there will not be another Dunkle's (although this time it maybe true), How many Dunkle events happen a year? Feb. maybe less attractive for out of towners. I like Slits & Co.'s idea of Speed Festival in May.

It seems like finding a suitable AX event we can tag onto will determine where and when our event will be held so that is #1. Did anyone attend the Festival of Speed and did they have an actual AX. Parade laps during lunch break is not my idea of a track event. Does anyone know anything about the POA, and would they want us improving their get together?
I didn't attend this years event but from what I gather it would be best to keep all events in the same general area and avoid long drives between events. We could probably tag onto someones event at Streets of Willow but that is over a hour north of L.A. Is that too far?

c'mon Drew, you know its about 2 hours north of LA

I actually make it in 1 hr 10 mins. But I'm freeway close and I drive a race truck.

yeah, I was on the south side, so it took longer about 2 1/2 hours from Redondo.

drew365-you're right about parade laps not being a track event. It was offered more like the Laguna lap. Streets of Willow is a bit far if the rest is in LA let alone OC but Laguna Seca wasn't around the corner from the Pruneyard either. Funny thing is I enjoyed the drives between venues, but that was SJ/ So. SF not LA!

Just adding opinion.

I like SoCal for 05.

I like Portland with Parade in 06

I like the idea of "Festival of Speed" I'm pretty sure it wouldnt take much to talk the 914 guy who puts the event on (Ron Mistak) to also include a AUTOX. It would be pretty easy if we rounded up some local AutoX people to help organize it. The parking lot is PLENTY big and would give spectators something else to look at.

As far as fun runs go near Fontana..

You can run straight out and up to a ski resort not too far away. My dad lives in the Ontario area. I can volunteer him to help out the SoCal guy's. He is BIG TIME into SoCal street rodding and know's all the cool places/hangouts..


B

Mistak still has his 914. You know the GT1 looking 914.

His daughter runs her yellow 914 in AutoX (Ashley) and has done some track events with it.


B

Starting to sound like a plan.