Some of you have asked what exactly Zonefest is and what are these activities such as concours and autocross.

So here are the Details . . . theZonefest scheduleis planned to start on Friday afternoon with registration at the Chateau Elan (which is our host hotel). For those not familiar with the Chateau, this hotel overlooks the Sebring International Racetrack and will be the focal point for all the activities. One of the premier events of Zonefest will be the concours which is a display of beautifully detailed and immaculately presented Porsches. Most of the Porsches don’t show up in such a pristine condition (except those lucky enough to live in an enclosed trailer). So, one of the first activities for those showing up early on Friday will be hours of cleaning and preparing the Porsches for judging on Saturday morning. It is really quite a treat to watch how serious some of this group is about detailing their cars. For more specifics about concours classes or what judges look for, check on the PCA website or www. zonefest.org

Usually in the late afternoon check in will open and final registration will be available. This year we are planning to have a separate station for each activity within the registration area. Those planning to participate in the concours, rally, tech quiz, autocross and DE will visit each of these stations to get final information, confirm your class, and ask any last minute questions you may have. After you complete your registration, you can either go back to cleaning your car or enjoy an adult beverage or snack in a hospitality area reserved for participants. On Friday night, refreshments and beverages will be available, but won’t constitute a meal. We suggest you sample the downstairs restaurant, or for those really adventurous, take a trip into downtown Sebring and enjoy some of the local hospitality.

Saturday morning starts out very early for the truly dedicated concours enthusiasts, who are up bright and early making last minute preparations for showing their cars. Judging usually starts around 8:30 am and is done with a team of two to four judges who focus on a specific group of similar cars. These judges have dirt magnets and white gloves and WILL find any minute particles of dirt. All the cars are generally displayed in one large area and spectators are encouraged to “look but don’t touch” and certainly not interfere with the judges. Competition is usually very fierce. There are classes where everything is judged (full concours) as well as classes where just the interior and exterior (called French or wash and shine) are judged. Also offered is a touring class that looks at most everything except the undercarriage.

After the concours is finished and everyone has had lunch (on your own), we start the rally. The 2013 rally will be a gimmick rally, similar to the one at the 2012 Zonefest. These are more exciting and less stressful than TSD rally’s and offer fun for the whole family. Here’s an actual question from this year’s gimmick rally…as we were leaving the start, one of the first clues was “elephant’s pride” …..so looked to a group of stores and there’s one named TUSK….so that was the answer they were looking for! The rally should be 2-3 hours long and bring the thirsty group back to a cold keg overlooking the track from our Hospitality suite. This is where you can turn in your score sheets, chill out and discuss your adventure with fellow rallyists, and if you want, take the Tech Quiz. Quite simply, the tech quiz is a paper and pencil test of your knowledge of Porsche technical information and history. The day’s activities continue with a cash bar/social hour, followed by a dinner, the price of which is included in your registration fee. The dinner plans are not finalized yet but Saturday most likely will be casual and possibly a buffet and a slide show of the day’s activities as well as door prizes.

The fun starts again on Sunday…But you get to sleep in or enjoy the Town of Sebring and surrounding attractions in the morning. Starting around 11:30 we’ll have a box lunch at the Autocross (AX) site. You must let us know in advance if you will be coming over to the AX for the box lunch so we can order enough food. The plan is to have the Auto X on that big strip of concrete between turns 16-17 (Where all the team trucks park for club race), however an alternative site may be used,(such as the skid pad), if our 1^st choice can’t be secured. For Autocross classes, we will use the Parade Competition rules (PCR’s) for midsize regions and require a tech inspection (done on site) prior to start. An Autocross is simply driving your Porsche around a course of pylons at a safe controlled speed. The object is to stay “on-course” and not hit any pylons. Most course designs can be done in 2^nd gear and take roughly 45-80 seconds.

A social hour/cash bar, banquet, awards ceremony and trophy presentation is planned for Saturday evening.

New to the Zonefest agenda is an optional Driver Education (DE), planned for Monday (Memorial Day). A DE is driving your Porsche on Sebring Race track, with an instructor and learning car control in a safe environment. Helmets and a pre event tech inspection are required. The DE price is $200 for students and solo, and $50 for instructors.

Registration: $130.00 per person. Register on line @ clubregistration.net…or get a paper application @ zonefest.org

Host hotel: Reserve your hotel accommodations at the Chateau with the special rates of $95.00 to $115.00 per night using offer code Zonefest 2013 phone (863) 655-7200…. no on-line hotel reservations at this price.

Contacts: Steve or Dottie Kidd (954) 946-3196, or use the email addresses in Kassette, or go to www.Zonefest.org.