The Mille a bit of a Dissapointment
#1
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
The Mille a bit of a Dissapointment
Friday gathering at JoshB's was great. Met several guys I had not met before and we had a good time hanging out.
However, I must say the Mille on Saturday was disappointing. It suffered from poor turnout and very poor organization. Somehow I managed to get lost on the "Worlds Largest Porsche Parade" and I was not alone! Kind of felt like I paid $50 for the "Worlds Largest Photo Op". I hate to be critical but when you charge good money there must be some expectations.
The only good part was meeting some listers such as Zeff, Drift944 Black944 Turbo and MudBuddah and seeing some 951's I had not seen before.
However, I must say the Mille on Saturday was disappointing. It suffered from poor turnout and very poor organization. Somehow I managed to get lost on the "Worlds Largest Porsche Parade" and I was not alone! Kind of felt like I paid $50 for the "Worlds Largest Photo Op". I hate to be critical but when you charge good money there must be some expectations.
The only good part was meeting some listers such as Zeff, Drift944 Black944 Turbo and MudBuddah and seeing some 951's I had not seen before.
#3
Rennlist Member
Hey Shawn, it was great meeting you. I enjoyed seeing all the different cars, however I was expecting a bit more from this event as well. Still worth the drive to meet everyone.
#4
I just got home. I'll try and upload some pics before I go to work tonight. It reminded me a little of cars n coffee where people just stand around. I think everyone got lost on the way to the infield (poor signage) did anyone get to do laps that paid?
It was really cool to meet all you guys and see some fancy 951's.
It was really cool to meet all you guys and see some fancy 951's.
#5
Burning Brakes
I agree with refresh. I only paid the $30 for the registration fee and was dissapointed as well. Not organized all that well and the signage wasn't good at all. I did have fun meeting a lot of new 944 owners, so that makes it worth it.
#7
This. It was great meeting up with everyone. As much as people are saying this was a failure, I like to see it differently. After looking back at the BMW one in 2008, all we needed to beat the record was 272 BMWs. Not only that, but the BMW event was held in April and there seemed to be a lot more influence from outside of Georgia.
The more I think about it, 2300 seems almost impossible to beat. Not only is Germany the size of a state, but they have Porsche there manufacturing cars and probably providing plenty of backup/support during that run. The Porsche community is small and spread out in the US. I also feel that the Porsche community as a whole is quite immature when it comes to make/model separation. Coming from a BMW background, I sat there and watched how the event almost turned into a "highschool click" environment. The BMW one had the exact opposite feeling. Socialization would have been nice too. I feel that a lot of people there were pissed at the fact that we were not going to beat the record. Because of that, they decided to stay in their cars and not partake in some friendly conversation. I do want to say that not everyone did this and the ones who didn't probably enjoyed the event better.
The only things that I can blame the organizer on were the lack of signage/directions for the course and the lack of organization on a few parts. Not only did I enjoy getting lost (that back road was quite fun), but the standing around wasn't the end of the world. I could have left whenever I wanted to. While we can all sit here and blame the organizer for failing, I see it as the community failing as a whole. The organizer only created the means in which to get everyone together, but there was no way he could force people to show. He provided the tool and we failed to use it. He did not fail, we did. I feel if as if the Porsche community as a whole were more tightly knit together and not fighting for separation, not only would we have more people there from a better spread of word-of-mouth, but it would have been a more enjoyable time.
With that said, I am pretty sure that the helicopter pictures will be pretty epic and will probably end up in a magazine anyway, and with the couple of flaws in organization, I still find the event to be a success. It was great meeting new faces and throwing out advice/help when needed. Hopefully we can throw together another event soon, but with a different attitude.
/soapbox
The more I think about it, 2300 seems almost impossible to beat. Not only is Germany the size of a state, but they have Porsche there manufacturing cars and probably providing plenty of backup/support during that run. The Porsche community is small and spread out in the US. I also feel that the Porsche community as a whole is quite immature when it comes to make/model separation. Coming from a BMW background, I sat there and watched how the event almost turned into a "highschool click" environment. The BMW one had the exact opposite feeling. Socialization would have been nice too. I feel that a lot of people there were pissed at the fact that we were not going to beat the record. Because of that, they decided to stay in their cars and not partake in some friendly conversation. I do want to say that not everyone did this and the ones who didn't probably enjoyed the event better.
The only things that I can blame the organizer on were the lack of signage/directions for the course and the lack of organization on a few parts. Not only did I enjoy getting lost (that back road was quite fun), but the standing around wasn't the end of the world. I could have left whenever I wanted to. While we can all sit here and blame the organizer for failing, I see it as the community failing as a whole. The organizer only created the means in which to get everyone together, but there was no way he could force people to show. He provided the tool and we failed to use it. He did not fail, we did. I feel if as if the Porsche community as a whole were more tightly knit together and not fighting for separation, not only would we have more people there from a better spread of word-of-mouth, but it would have been a more enjoyable time.
With that said, I am pretty sure that the helicopter pictures will be pretty epic and will probably end up in a magazine anyway, and with the couple of flaws in organization, I still find the event to be a success. It was great meeting new faces and throwing out advice/help when needed. Hopefully we can throw together another event soon, but with a different attitude.
/soapbox
Here are my pics...
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#8
Rennlist Member
I will try and post up a few pics as well, when I get a chance to edit down the size.
BTW, those banks are completely insane. I thought I was going to roll over on my roof. It was a great experience all in all.
BTW, those banks are completely insane. I thought I was going to roll over on my roof. It was a great experience all in all.
#10
That one is not an official RUF IIRC, but it was built with orriginal CTR parts purchased from RUF. It has all of the parts of a CTR, and it is just as quick, but it doesn't have the build paperwork from RUF Automobile GMBH.
I think it's for sale.
I think it's for sale.
#12
Did anyone see the Stone Grey 951 with turbo twist wheels? They were near me when we started doing laps and I know the passenger got some great pics of Rich's car. The guy was standing up through the sunroof snapping pics while we were going through the banking.
#13
Rennlist Member
Well, despite breaking a timing belt on the way up there and costing me a whole day and a lot of extra money I wasn't planning on spending ($110 tow, $50 hotel, $36 timing belt delivered from Atlanta to the wrong town, $25 taxi fare to have the belt delivered to the right town LOL, $18 spare timing belt (thanks Josh!), $etc.), I am really glad to have attended the event and overall had a great weekend.
I wish I had the time to meet up with you guys on Friday evening, because cruising down to AMS as a group was perhaps the most fun part of the day on Saturday.
As for the event itself, I personally didn't mind any of the trouble with signage or bathrooms, etc. However I was confused by the extra $20 parade-lap fee because it seemed like everyone in attendance got to do the 5 laps, and I felt like I could have saved myself $20 had I not paid that extra, and then did the laps anyways. I guess that is where organization and instruction could have been improved.
But anyway, it was indeed great to meet a lot of guys on here and match usernames to faces and cars. Hopefully I can get a couple pics uploaded soon so I can post them up!
If anyone finds the helicopter's areal view photos, pleast post them!!
I wish I had the time to meet up with you guys on Friday evening, because cruising down to AMS as a group was perhaps the most fun part of the day on Saturday.
As for the event itself, I personally didn't mind any of the trouble with signage or bathrooms, etc. However I was confused by the extra $20 parade-lap fee because it seemed like everyone in attendance got to do the 5 laps, and I felt like I could have saved myself $20 had I not paid that extra, and then did the laps anyways. I guess that is where organization and instruction could have been improved.
But anyway, it was indeed great to meet a lot of guys on here and match usernames to faces and cars. Hopefully I can get a couple pics uploaded soon so I can post them up!
If anyone finds the helicopter's areal view photos, pleast post them!!
#14
Rennlist Member
Well, despite breaking a timing belt on the way up there and costing me a whole day and a lot of extra money I wasn't planning on spending ($110 tow, $50 hotel, $36 timing belt delivered from Atlanta to the wrong town, $25 taxi fare to have the belt delivered to the right town LOL, $18 spare timing belt (thanks Josh!), $etc.), I am really glad to have attended the event and overall had a great weekend.
I wish I had the time to meet up with you guys on Friday evening, because cruising down to AMS as a group was perhaps the most fun part of the day on Saturday.
As for the event itself, I personally didn't mind any of the trouble with signage or bathrooms, etc. However I was confused by the extra $20 parade-lap fee because it seemed like everyone in attendance got to do the 5 laps, and I felt like I could have saved myself $20 had I not paid that extra, and then did the laps anyways. I guess that is where organization and instruction could have been improved.
But anyway, it was indeed great to meet a lot of guys on here and match usernames to faces and cars. Hopefully I can get a couple pics uploaded soon so I can post them up!
If anyone finds the helicopter's areal view photos, pleast post them!!
I wish I had the time to meet up with you guys on Friday evening, because cruising down to AMS as a group was perhaps the most fun part of the day on Saturday.
As for the event itself, I personally didn't mind any of the trouble with signage or bathrooms, etc. However I was confused by the extra $20 parade-lap fee because it seemed like everyone in attendance got to do the 5 laps, and I felt like I could have saved myself $20 had I not paid that extra, and then did the laps anyways. I guess that is where organization and instruction could have been improved.
But anyway, it was indeed great to meet a lot of guys on here and match usernames to faces and cars. Hopefully I can get a couple pics uploaded soon so I can post them up!
If anyone finds the helicopter's areal view photos, pleast post them!!
#15
+1 ?!!??!?!?!?!!?!?
Sorry to hear some of you guys weren't happy with the turnout. Looked like fun to me, sad I couldn't join you guys.
Any details on the crazy "Smith Motorworks" 951 build-in-progress or the ridiculous front mount turbo'ed 968?
Sorry to hear some of you guys weren't happy with the turnout. Looked like fun to me, sad I couldn't join you guys.
Any details on the crazy "Smith Motorworks" 951 build-in-progress or the ridiculous front mount turbo'ed 968?