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In achieving the Club’s objective of constantly bringing its members to new and exciting events, the Club once again broke new ground and brought its members to Ningbo in 2017!! 

 

The Ningbo Drive (3rd November (Friday) to 7th November (Tuesday)) attracted the participation of a wide range of Porsche models, including, 996 GT2 and Turbo, 987 Cayman S, 997 GT3RS, 981 GT4 and Spyder, and 991 GT3 and GT3RS etc.  They started in Hong Kong, heading first to Xiamen (廈門), then continuing to Wenzhou (溫州), and finally arriving in Ningbo (寧波).  Road conditions were generally fine, especially on the first day where members travelled on a very new highway with few cars with modern and well facilitated service stations.  On the day from Wenzhou to Ningbo, members drove on a scenic mountainous highway with unexpected countless number of tunnels, which was undoubtedly a strong reminiscent of driving in the European Alps!!

 

Track Day at the Ningbo International Speedpark (6th November):  Club members were amongst the first to try out this brand new, recently opened, FIA-approved circuit which had just hosted the World Touring Car Championship's Race of China a couple of weeks earlier.  Members were all eagerly looking forward to this track day; none of them was disappointed.  This anti-clockwise circuit is 4.0 km long with 23 turns.  Remembering all 23 turns is already a challenge in itself!!  In fact, a few members felt rather dizzy after driving for only a few laps!!  It is interesting to discover that Turns 7, 8 and 9 combine together into one gigantic right hand bend.  Finding the correct line and apexes were hits and misses.  Then there are the two chicanes followed by a tight left hairpin that surely contributed to the dizziness.  Immediately thereafter, the two right hand turns (Turn 19 and Turn 20) where the car was charging downhill challenged both the car’s handling and the driver’s courage.  Finally, for Turns 21, 22 and 23 (left-right-left combo) before the front straight, car balance and overall speed through these turns are definitely more important than the maximum speed at any one particular turn.  Despite the technicality of the corners, all participants enjoyed the challenge and, most fortunate of all, the track remained dry the entire day.  It did not start to drizzle until the very end when members, though already quite exhausted, reluctantly needed to pack up.  When Club members were flying back to Hong Kong the following day, it was completely wet in Ningbo; talking about good fortune!!