In 2017, Jim Kinnear offered us a ready-made gimmick rally that he had designed and conducted in 2012 for a joint event of the Free State Corvette Club and PCA Potomac. Fellow Tour & Rally Co-Chairman Randy and I tested the rally around midyear and liked it. Early in 2018, we tested it again and confirmed its place in our 20-event 2018 PCA Chesapeake Tour & Rally Schedule.

We ran the contest on May 26 in perfect sunny weather, with the expected rain not arriving until evening. We called it the “Memorial Day Weekend Gimmick Rally.” It attracted 42 competitors in 21 Porsches, not only from Maryland but also from Virginia and West Virginia. Randy and I came in our own Porsches, while Jim brought his 2017 Corvette Z06 convertible. A friend of Randy’s came in a Ferrari 360 Modena coupe to observe. Altogether, 25 cars gathered in the ReMax Advantage Realty parking lot at 6021 University Blvd., Ellicott City, for the 10 AM launch of the Howard County rally. Jim and wife Diane served as the guest rally masters.

As in most gimmick rallies, those participating in the Kinnears’ contest had four objectives: (1) Follow the route, as instructed; (2) take note of certain details along the way; (3) carry out certain tasks; and (4) answer some questions. On every page of the route instructions, there were spaces where notes and answers to questions could be written down. The rally’s finish line was at the parking lot of our lunch destination, Looney's Pub, 8180 Maple Lawn Blvd., Fulton. Jim and Diane collected and scored the answer sheets. After lunch, Jim announced the rally results.

The top finishers were Mario (driver) and Lisa (navigator), who came in first; Richard and Kris, who came in second; and Stephen and Cheryll, who came in third. They were awarded beautiful glass trophies.

Of the 20 events in our 2018 Tour & Rally Schedule, seven will be overseen by guest rally and tour masters -- fellow PCA Chesapeake members who have accepted our invitation and have volunteered their services.

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