Welcome to the November edition of the Windblown Witness. Ready or not, the holiday season is upon us, and with it comes our annual club parties: the volunteer appreciation party on November 28, our Porsche Prom and Installation Dinner on January 8 and then our Driver’s Awards party on January 30. Additionally, Zone 8 (of which our region is a member) has its annual banquet on January 15. For all of these, they will be the first since the COVID pandemic begin, so they are sure to be popular. Keep an eye out for information on how to attend as it becomes available.

Our membership chair, Lana Gill asked me to inform you of another upcoming event, our next New Member Social. The theme of this event is: Murder Mystery! Whether you’re a long-time PCASDR member or brand new to the club, this event is for you. It’s a great way to meet people and to get introduced to the club while having a lot of fun. All you need to do is bring your cars, smiles and a bit of competitive spirit. A live version of our favorite childhood game, Clue, this will test your sleuthing skills. Join the fun, Lana is famous for her fantastic new member events, and this one is sure to please. Register here quickly to ensure you don’t miss out: http://msreg.com/murdermystery

I received another interesting request to pass along to you. Chris Saeli recently purchased a very special 1984 “special wishes” program turbo slant-nose. The car is the last turbo coupe built in 1984, VIN WP0ZZZ93ZES000804 and comes in a paint to sample Gemini Grey metallic over Burgundy interior with every single option available from the Sonderwunsch program at the time. It is a very special car to Chris, and he is trying to put together a complete history of it. The car was originally titled in the San Diego area, and he is looking for its original owner. If you have any information on this car or remember who owned it, please let me know at: tb911@tbsoftware.net so that I may pass it along to Chris.

Last night Susan and I had pleasure of entertaining Christian and Ortrun Hartinger at our house for dinner. You may be familiar with them, or at least, their cars. They are driving the “twins,” two “his and hers” 997 GT3RS on an epic vacation of a lifetime. (See them on Instagram: gt3rs_twin.tour) They are German, living in Leipzig, where Christian is the president of the local Porsche club. (They like to boast that they are the only Porsche club with their “own” Porsche factory AND Porsche test track.) Eighteen months ago, they shipped their two 911s to the United States and began an on again/off again tour of the country, where they would travel for 3 weeks at a time and then fly home to work for a six to eight weeks and then fly back again to continue the odyssey for another three weeks. During the pandemic, no less, which would start only days after their initial arrival! Apparently, due to our foreign car licensing restrictions, once the cars where here, they had no choice as they were only legal to be driven here for 18 months. It was either continue with their plans or they would have shipped them here for nothing. Of course, traveling during COVID had some advantages, such as seeing the Grand Canyon without any other visitors. Along the way they would visit local PCA regions, attend club events, and (through their connections with the Porsche in Leipzig) meet Porsche celebrities. Their first event was the Amelia Island PCA Werks Reunion and their last event was our very own California Festival of Speed. In between they visited both Porsche Experience centers, two Werks Reunions in Monterey and Treffen in Scottsdale. Their only regret was missing a Porsche Parade, as Palm Springs was postponed due to COVID and French Lick didn’t fit their travel schedule. Now their journey draws to a close, but only after putting over 18,000 miles on each car here in the United States. (As they both love to drive, sending just one car wasn’t an option.) Truly a lifetime worth of memories. On a side note, Christian is an architect, and he designed their home, including building a display area for a vehicle in their living room, in full acknowledgement that Porsches are a work of art.

As the year winds down, I’d like to take a moment to acknowledge our region’s wonderful sponsors:
• Porsche Carlsbad
• Porsche San Diego
• Völlig Autowerks
• Black Forest Automotive
• Charlie’s Foreign Car
• Autos International
• Makello’s Classics
• La Jolla Audio
• Phil Thearle’s Autowerks
• Integrated Consultants Inc.
• Mirage International
• 5-Point Auto Spa
• Design by Anastasia
• Western Financial Corporation
• APEX Contracting and Restoration
• Elite Finish Detailing
• San Diego Tire & Wheel
• Endeavor Group

We have a long history working together with many of these and we look forward to developing that relationship with our newer sponsors. It has been a tough couple of years, but they stuck through it with us, and I wanted to mention once again how much we appreciate their support and to encourage you to patronize them. When you visit them, please let them know that you are a club member, that you see their ads with us and please thank them for supporting the region.

The “twins” – notice the personalized plates with their initials, Christian’s has “OC” and Ortrun’s has “OC”

Christian and Ortrun Hartinger with the “twins” near our house in Mission Hills

The Hartinger’s custom designed living room with their Speedster on display

Chris Saeli’s 1984 911 Turbo, originally from San Diego