he North West Region'snew regional event,Porsches at Arley Hall,on September 26 exceededthe expectations of even themost optimistic member ofthe organising team, and, in

a year when many events were blighted by rain,having blue skies and sunshine for most of theday was the icing on the cake! To be morespecific, as reported in the RS column of lastmonth's Porsche Post, we exceeded each of ourthree key targets by about one hundred percent. Hence, the organising team has everyreason to be pleased with the outcome anddeserve a pat on the back for the six monthsof hard work that went into achieving it. Itwould also seem - not least from the manycomplimentary remarks on the Forum - thatmembers found the event's combination oftraditional car festival features and familyattractions to their liking.

The venue proved ideal, with whatChairman Andrew Kenyon aptly called the'[acobethan-style Hall' itself providing both anornate backdrop to the event and vantage pointon its roof from which Phil Graham was able toget pictures of the entire event area. Its award-winning gardens were awash with autumn

A new venture for Region 5, and agreat success as Barry Dolton reportsPHOTOS COURTESY OF PHIL GRAHAM

flowering plants, and members who found timeto go into the Hall endorsed its reputation asone of the most appealing historic houses inNW Englarid. Come lunchtime, the Tudor BarnRestaurant became the focus of attention forthose who had not brought a picnic, whileothers repaired to the picnic area or madeuse of the tables and chairs around theRS refreshment centre.

"HAVING BLUESKIES ANDSUNSHINE FOR

"-MOSTOFTHEDAYWAS THE ICINGON THE CAKE!"

Enthusiasm for the event on the part ofPC Wilmslow, without whose early promise ofsupport we could not have even contemplatedgoing ahead, and among the North West'sindependent Porsche specialists was self-evident, both from the scale of theexhibitor stands for which they opted andthe sophistication of their displays. Facedwith tough competition from the independents,

PC Wilmslow pulled out all the stops inthe run-up to the event and arranged forthe official Porsche Mobile Exhibition Unitto be the centrepiece of its display on theHall Forecourt, Quite a challenge given thelimited time available for setting-up. Welldone to all concerned and a big thank you toSteve Webb, PC Wilmslow Dealer Principal,first for having confidence in RS's plansand, second, for all the diverse supporthe gave us.

It was likewise 'all go' from 0800 on theday for the event's other commercialsupporters at the opposing ends of theevent arena. Away from the Hall, the Porscheindependents and other car-orientatedexhibitors were pouring in with car transporters,their own exhibition units and even aWinnebago or two. At the other end, the tradestallholders were putting up their gazebosand setting out their wares. Perhaps becausethey had less to do individually than ourover-stretched team, in what seemed asurprisingly short time all was calm amongthe Porsche independents and the traders, andthey were ready for visitors and customers.Later, on the one occasion that I managed tohave a walk around the event arena, it seemedthe former were attracting a lot of attention, ~

whereas the trade stalls as a whole seemed lesspopular. All, however, warrant our appreciation;they are listed opposite.

Of the various entertainment attractionswe had planned, only the laser clay pigeonshooting came to fruition. By all accounts itproved very popular, with, on the one hand,some keenly fought competitions takingplace, while on the other a few would-besharpshooters found their aim wanting.Apologies all round for the missing attractions,not least to the boys, both young and not soyoung! We were let down, and regrettablythat meant we let you down.

Order prevailed at all times - I'm told - inthe R5 refreshment centre housed in themarquee borrowed from Club HQ. From there,my wife Keri and Nette Graham, along withtheir team of stalwart helpers, kept us allrefreshed throughout the day. Had the weathernot been so kind to us, space inside themarquee would no doubt have been at apremium, but, as it was, it was the tablesand chairs with their cheery red and whiteumbrellas (also borrowed from Club HQ) thatwere in demand. They, together with themarquee and R5 flag, became the rendezvouspoint for members and guests alike, and havingthe Club's cut-away 996 alongside providedan apparently welcome diversion for malemembers while their spouses surveyed thenearby trade stalls or simply dallied over theirtea or coffee.

More than 40 cars were 'booked' in advancefor the '60 Years ofPorsches' display, includingthe Betty Haig pre-A 356 and a Panamera 48that constituted years one and 60 respectively,and most of the key gaps were filled on theday. Regrettably, the 914 model seriesremained unrepresented and we didn't manageto get all the cars in the right order, but therewere plenty of fabulous cars on view. Each had

41 The Porsche Centre Wilmslowstand was a focus for the event2 The refreshment centrewas busy all day3 The '60 years of Porsches'display taking shape4 '60 years of Porsches'early arrivals5 A Langley Car Club 'rogue'appeared in the Concours area6 The Porsche independents'displays were popular7 Arley Hall's renownedherbaceous border

"THE ORGANISINGTEAM HAS EVERYREASON TO BEPLEASED WITHTHE OUTCOME"its own display label indicating model andyear of first registration, plus engine size, topspeed and 0 to 60 time. The display thusdemonstrated both the changes over time in thephysical appearance of the cars we so love andthe development of their performance. I amgrateful to each and everyone who agreed toput their car in the display, and if you wereone of those who did not receive yourcommemorative plaque, please contactme so that I can send it to you.

The Regional Concours attracted 20-pluscars, spread over four classes defined by dateof first registration, plus a Visitors Class, and, asyou may have read in November's Porsche Post,Register Director Barry Smith considered anumber of them worthy of entry in the Club'sNational Concours. The judging was verykindly undertaken jointly by Marc Clowes ofwell-known Porsche independent Ninemeisterand Andrew Kenyon, and my thanks go to bothof them for their contribution. My thanks alsogo to Chris Sanderson of equally well-known928 specialists Loe Bank Motors, who, althoughunable to be at the event, very generously

,. sponsored all the Concours awards.

ARLEY HALL

The planned Guest Club displays fell shortof our original expectations. Nevertheless, someinteresting cars owned by mem bers of theLangley Car Club were on display and earlierin the day a couple of Aston Martins put inan appearance. TIPEC was well represented,as was the PCGB 928 Register. In recognitionof the latter group's planned presence,Chris Sanderson also sponsored an awardfor the Most Original 928, won by RegisterSecretary David Hemmings' S4.

I could not conclude this account ofthe event without thanking the manyvolunteers who helped with the setting upand dismantling, and throughout the day.I will not try to name them here and in allhonesty I could not, since quite a few juststepped forward when it was apparent weneeded help and I do not know all theirnames. You know who you are, however, somany thanks for your help. I must, though,single out for additional thanks those of youwho manned the two entry gates for longperiods without respite. Other people shouldhave taken over from you after an hour, but 'something went wrong with the system, AndI must also thank Keri for her extraordinarypatience over the six months prior to theevent, when I know it seemed I had nointerest in anything else! •

Porsches at Arlty Hall 2011 will take place onSeptember 11, with a main display entitled 'Porschesin Competition '. Wt> will thus be seeking a wide rangeof circuit and rally cars to be exhibited.

Thanks are due to the following event supporters:Auto Smart, Black Code, Bobby Wheelan, CES (UK) Ltd, Happy Beef, Heather Evans,Jasmine Motorsports Ltd, Loe Bank Motors, Ninemeister, Porsche Centre Wilmslow,Riverford Veg, Snow Blossom, Sports & Classic, Tech 9, Unit 11, and Virtual Eventz.

Concours Results

Class 1 (up to 31.12.73)Winner Lindsay Gray 356A Cabriolet(There were too few entrants in this Classto warrant a Runner-up award)

Class 2 (1.1.74 - 31.12.89)Winner Martin Renshaw ~911 SCRunner-up Simon Clough Carrera 3.2

Class 3 (1.1.90 - 31.12.99)Winner Steve Kings 993 RSRunner-up Rob Sharp 968 Sport

Class 4 (1.1.2000 & later)Winner Jim Robinson 996 TurboRunner-up Cecil Henry Cayman S

Class 5 (Visitors)Winner Steve Platt 944 Turbo SERunner-up Steve Taylor 944 Lux

Lindsay Gray's car also achieved the highestpoints score, so was the Overall Winner. Lindsaywill be presented with the Vincent MansuetoMemorial Trophy at the R5 December ClubNight. which she will retain for 12 months.

Porschepost january 2011 www.porscheclubgb.com 29