Announcement: Pelican Parts to be a sponsor of Rennsport Reunion IV at Laguna Seca!

[Wayne 962]

Hi all. I am pleased to announce that Pelican Parts will be a sponsor of this years' Rennsport Reunion IV event, which is happening at Laguna Seca. The dates are October 13th thru October 15th. Sunday, October 16th will be the Porsche Race Car Classic presentation at the Quail lodge. For those of you who are not aware of what Rennsport Reunion is, it's a gathering of hundreds of Porsche race cars organized by the Porsche factory. They will be bringing over several of their historically significant cars for the event, to combine with privately owned cars here on the west coast.

There is no official website or announcement from Porsche yet - the press release is due to come out tomorrow.

Here are some links that you might find useful:

Link to 3000+ photos from Rennsport Reunion 3: Pelican Parts Photos - Porsche Rennsport Reunion III at Daytona Speedway - November 2007 - Rennsport 3

Link to 3000+ photos from Rennsport Reunion 2: Pelican Parts Photos - Rennsport Reunion - Daytona 2004

Link to the Porsche Race Car Classic website at the Quail: Quail Lodge Events | Porsche Race Car Classic

Link to the Hilton Garden Inn, where I have made reservations and will probably be staying: Monterey Hotels - Hilton Garden Inn Monterey Bay Hotel, CA - California

It should be a great event! I plan to be there with the Pelican Yokohama 962, and perhaps some other cars!

-Wayne

[TRE Cup]

this is fantastic ! There were rumors about Rennsport coming to Laguna, and now glad to hear it is to be.

Enjoyed seeing the 962 today at the Phoenix club. You should have a great time piloting around Laguna (one of my all time favorite tracks to race on)

Thank you for supporting this important event

[R K T]

We made our hotel reservations early this morning. Hotels will book up fast....do it now!

[FastCarFan]

That is very exciting news. I was fortunate to attend RRIII & LOVED IT! I was hoping there would be a RRIV.

Congratulations to Pelican for sponsoring it. And thank you!

[pete3799]

Good for you Wayne. A bit too far for me sadly. Of course you could slip a plane ticket in my next parts order

[jjwood]

Wayne, what great news. With this advance notice, maybe some of us that are more than a few hours away can make plans.

[johndglynn]

Top work mate, will see you there

[zuffen]

made my reservations at the Marriott!

gonna be fun to meet you all


Best,

James

[911Freak]

Fantastic news! So pleased to see it's on the west coast this time!!! We just booked in Seaside, Ca for the weekend

Hope to meet/see my fellow Pelicans

Thanks Wayne for supporting another epic Porsche event!

[Wayne 962]

Okay, it's official. I've been forwarded this press release:

PORSCHE ANNOUNCES RENNSPORT REUNION IV TO BE HELD IN OCTOBER

World’s Largest Gathering of Porsche Race Cars and Drivers Seeks New Frontiers, Moves West ATLANTA, GA –

March 8, 2011 — Porsche Cars North America (PCNA) and Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca today announced Porsche Rennsport Reunion IV will take place at the famed California racetrack the weekend of October 14 – 16, 2011.Sponsored by PCNA, Rennsport Reunion IV brings together an unprecedented gathering of significant Porsche vintage and current race cars, as well those who have driven them to victory in the world’s most famous sports car races. The three-day program of on-track competition is complemented by a concours d’elegance, which is open to invited race participants, and special activities celebrating the decade-long, illustrious history of the legendary 911 race cars.

After the highly successful staging of three venues in the East, held every three years, with the first one held in Lime Rock in 2001, Rennsport Reunion IV will now be moving west, tapping a vast array of car aficionados and Porsche enthusiasts.

“While the Rennsport name has become a staple fixture for international collectors and racers over the past ten years, choosing the Monterey Peninsula will open up this one-of-a-kind gathering to the many Porsche fans in California and beyond who were previously unable to attend,” said Detlev von Platen, President and Chief Executive Officer of Porsche Cars North America. “Now they’ll have the opportunity to see, feel and hear from up close hundreds of famous Porsche race cars and dozens of their drivers from past and present during a truly memorable weekend dedicated to Porsche’s motorsport heritage.”

Porsche Rennsport Reunion IV will assemble the wide variety of Porsche’s most historic racing models from the nimble 550 Spyder of the mid-Fifties through the mighty 917 and 956/962 of the Seventies and Eighties to the highly successful RS Spyder of the last decade. Special tribute will be paid to the numerous racing versions of the Porsche 911 and their countless victories on the dawn of what will become another milestone of this iconic sports car from Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen.

“This will truly be a rare gathering of significant Porsche race cars on the West Coast,” commented Gill Campbell, CEO/general manager of Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. “Porsche has a long racing tradition in Monterey and we look forward to celebrating its heritage in a befitting manner for everyone to enjoy.”

Complementing the Rennsport Reunion IV venue is the Porsche Race Car Classic, an exclusive concours held at nearby Quail Lodge in Carmel on Sunday, October 16. Steve Heinrichs, producer of the Porsche Race Car Classic, explained, “this once-in-a-lifetime gathering of vintage Porsche race cars solely from Porsche’s break-out era of 1950-1965 will raise critical funding to directly support lung cancer research. We’ll have Gmünds, Glöcklers, 550s, 718s, 804s, 904s, 356s, Abarths and more
- in numbers and provenance never before seen.”

I actually have changed my reservation to the Monterey Hyatt - I always get those confused. A bunch of us are staying there. AAA room rate right now is $179 for the first two nights, and $188 for the next two nights.

-Wayne

[911Freak]

Along with several members of local PCA we're staying at the Embassy Suites Monterey Bay - Seaside
1441 CANYON DEL RAY
Seaside, CA 93955, , right now room rates are right under 200 per night (Sat & Sun)

Rates will most likely go up now the official press release has gone out, so book'em up guys!

Wayne will the 962 be there and will Pelican have a booth display area?

Thank God they held it on a weekend that wasn't the wife or sons B-day (Like the historic races in August etc.)


Looking forward to soaking up all things Porsche!!!

Can we make this a sticky thread Wayne?

[Wayne 962]

Originally Posted by 911Freak

Wayne will the 962 be there and will Pelican have a booth display area?

I'm planning to have some cars there, most likely the Yokohama 962, maybe some others. I got my hand slapped for releasing this info prior to the press release, so I'm not sure what our sponsorship levels will be. It would be nice to have a hospitality suite with food and computers to check email and post on the forums, etc.

-Wayne

[Mahler9th]

Rates are already beginning to go up significantly!!!!

[911Freak]

Originally Posted by Wayne at Pelican Parts

I got my hand slapped for releasing this info prior to the press release, so I'm not sure what our sponsorship levels will be. It would be nice to have a hospitality suite with food and computers to check email and post on the forums, etc.

-Wayne

(Local region of PCA informed us of this upcoming event last night...)

Don't let 'em getcha down, you know we'd love to see a big Pelican presence, we're proud birds you know

YES! The hospitality suite would be perfect for live blogging to the forums from the event!

[zuffen]

Thanks Wayne!!!!!

looking forward to this

[Mahler9th]

Wayne:

I am sorry to hear that your heads up may be problematic in retrospect... I hope that it all works out as I know you are an enthusiast and are just plain excited about this opportunity to get together with other like-minded folk.

I am not quite sure how these things are orchestrated from a PR standpoint, but I am sure that it isn't handled as "agressiveley" as the launch of the next Apple product...and that is probably a good thing.

I remember back a few years ago I went to Laguna on the CART weekend Friday, and saw the PMNA trailer unloading. Alwin and the late Bob Carlsen were there and they unloaded the first GT1 to hit our soil. They were there to do exhibition laps/modest testing on the CART weekend a month or so before the IMSA weekend where McNish was gonna race it. Well I got on their cases a little 'cause no one in the local community knew it was going to be there...and many would have come to Laguna just to see that car. Kind of a missed PR opportunity from a Porsche-enthusiast standpoint.

Bob and Andy Schupack then invited me to come back Saturday with a small number of "friends," for a private tour of the GT1 from Alwin and Alan McNish. So I got a few friends together and we got beyond the ropes Saturday am with Gil Deferran, Mario, Tommy Kendall and fellow Dartmouth alumn Varsha-- all of these folks came by to look at the car.. There were about 7-8 of us "enthusiasts" getting the special tour... I took a lot of pictures of stuff I wasn't supposed to see, and the ladies were all excited because they thought McNish was pretty cool. Anyway... PR rarely goes as planned.

On this deal, I need to thank you Wayne 'cause I was able to book nice rooms at a decent rate 5 minutes from the track... so if I get to meet you, I will buy you a beer... or I will put in a good word for you with my friend Ron that knows all about 962s and has lots of parts stashed away in case you need a widget or two whilst at the big event.

[Wilhelm]

Good news for sure ! Hey, I cant afford to stay the whole weekend. So I will probably just attend one day. What is the schedule. ? What is the best day to attend to see some on track action and get up close to the cars in the paddock? Not interested in the concours thing really.

Thanks for any advice.

[kevin993]

We'll be there. Nobody should get wound up about early news release. We booked our rooms a month ago after seeing that the factory was sending cars for the Quail event. Not likely they were doing that without some other reason to ship cars that far. Seemed like a pretty solid signal to us. Thanks as always to Wayne and Pelican for supporting local events.

[carr914]

Wow! - I've been to the first 3, don't know if I can make it out West. Glad it's happening though.

[efhughes3]

Yeeha! RR3 was awesome, and now I don't need to go to Florida again-already a great start!

Room is booked.