356 Parade and Porsche 60th aniversary down under

The Australian 356 Register has traditionally held their 356 Parade at Como Park. This year it was held at Rochfords winery in the Yarra Valley, as Como Park has undergone a lot of work and is getting restricted use at the moment. Porsche Australia also were celebrating their 60th year in Australia this year. As a result these 2 events were run in conjunction with each other this year.
There were approximately 70, 356’s present, from across the country considerably less than previous years! The standard of cars was very good and in general was better than the past. This could have been due to the venue and also due to the later model Porsches in attendance. there was a large display of most Porsche models.
Rochfords is approximately 1 hour from the Melbourne CBD as opposed to Como being about 15 mins. The setting at Rochfords is much better than Como, lending itself to large numbers of people, cars a parking much better.
The number and variety of Porsches was quite a sight, spanning from the early 50’s to current models.
Billy was the only one to come with me today as Charlie and Tom were in Melbourne. We had a good trip over in the van in true Lisa style the tourists were a bit of an issue though. I had almost forgotten how well it handles, but it really is a very well behaved, people mover. (fun!!hehe)
I know it is a conflict of terms (people mover, handling, and fun) but it can be done.

Sunday at Jinks Creek

Billy, Charlotte and I went to Jinks Creek winery and B&B for lunch with Lisa’s Cousin Caroline, her husband Pierre, and Mother Samira.
We all had a very enjoyable day at the beautiful setting in Tonimbuk. Located 10 kilometers off the Princes freeway and approximately 80 kilometers East of Melbourne it is an easy and fun drive.
Billy spent most of the afternoon with his mate Charlie, the son of winery owners Andrew and Abi Clarke, running and driving the buggy around the property. While Billy was doing that we were having a relaxing pizza lunch complemented with some lovely red wines.
During the afternoon many friends had also dropped in on their afternoon drive. I was actually surprised as to how many people we knew arrived during the course of the day; it was good to see so many familiar faces.
Caroline, Pierre, and Samira all had a good and relaxing day, they had been visiting friends overnight, and Caroline was helping me get my head around MYOB, while Samira was giving Charlotte some pointers with sewing and dress making.
Much thanks goes to them both.

Jinks Creek Winery can be found here http://www.jinkscreekwinery.com.au

November Breakfast Club

Well the improved weather certainly brought out the people and cars this morning! The new area where Breakfast club is held was very full, justifying the move to the lower Woolworths car park. This was done to help with safety as there is no longer a problem with people stepping out on the road without looking!
There was an estimated 60-70 cars of many different makes and models, Daimlers, BMW 635, M3 and a JPS 323i, many Minis of all types, Citroen SM, a Lancia Fulvia, Ferrari 308 GT4, Porsche, Mercedes Benz, Riley, and the usual MGs, Sprites, US cars and our local Australian cars.
Many spectators were strolling amongst the array of well presented cars from the 1950’s to 1990’s,even a T Model made an appearance! Moving through the display was at times not easy at all, due to the number of people enjoying the morning.
To add to the occasion our youngest, Billy spent the morning collecting donations for the http://www.mcgrathfoundation.com.au/ in memory of Lisa and managed to collect well in excess of $150.00 and still counting! Well done Billy!!

Australian Rally Championship final round

This weekend saw Gippsland host the final round of both the Australian and Victorian Rally championships simultaneously. The classes included were for ARC, VRC, Historic Rally, and Hyundai Championships.
Some of the competing cars were Mitsubishi EVOs, Subaru WRX STIs, Hondas, Ford Escorts, Nissans and many others.
This event was based at Lardner Park, where the service, scrutiny areas and also a special stage sprint was held.
This is where the photos below, where taken during the final stage of the event.
Local driver and navigator pair Simon and Sue Evans in their Subaru STI won the event out right, with Geoff Portman and Ross Runnels in their MK2 Escort winning the Historic class.

Australian Hill Climb Championship

0ctober 27- 30 2011 saw the running of the Australian Hill Climb Championship back at the Haunted Hills track in Newborough.
This event was run by the Gippsland Car Club, on the previously un-used anti-clockwise figure 8 layout, this was a great leveler for all competitors as nobody had a local knowledge advantage.
This layout requires very good and accurate car control and a good memory as a lot of the corners are blind and the correct line is critical!
We had 2 friends competing there neither of which are Porsche owners but are still clients Ian Holdsworth has a series 6 Mazda RX-7 and Wayne Walker a Toyota MR2 AW11. Ian won his class and Wayne finished 2nd in a class that his car could never be truly competitive in!
more photos to follow