Rennsport 7: BRANDS! You need to do experiential marketing like this…

The Event: https://www.porscherennsportreunion.com/

This past Saturday I took my boys to day three of Porsche’s Rennsport Reunion.? Most people would get excited about something like this, but me? I’m jaded. I live at race tracks, and around cool racing cars everyday. I work for a vintage racing team and a Lamborghini Super Trofeo team at Sonoma Raceway. I have thousands of miles under my belt at Laguna Seca. A majority of the current 992 GT3 Cup cars are based feet away from my office.? I am making time to drive six hours because my middle boy loves the brand. I expect to have fun, but I am not ready for the level of amazingness this event will be.

Rolling In

The parking lot was a car show itself with thousands of interesting and sometimes very expensive cars parked right in the dirt lot with us. The hills looked like they were covered in Skittles, but on close inspection it was just every color of 911, Boxster, Macan, 718, 918, etc etc!

Some Of What Was In The Paddock & On Track

• Celebrities (actors, athletes, YouTubers, Transformers, oh my!)
• Rare Porsche racing cars (including 550-001)
• Iconic famous Porsche racing drivers?
• On track modern and vintage racing
• Fun activities for kids
• New one of a kind prototypes and rare models (Mission X, OMG!)
• Free shuttle around the facility in new Porsches
• Interactive APP with?scavenger hunt
• OEM and “tuner” displays EVERYWHERE

Full access and southern hospitality

I have worked in IMSA, IndyCar, CART, F1, and NASCAR events.? Access is typically very limited. At Rennsport we could get just about everywhere!? The boys were able to get inches away from the Mission X prototype, as well as the Penske Porsche LeMans 963. Grayson my youngest is currently fixated on LeMans and getting close to this one (and many vintage ones) was a highlight.?

While we were admiring the 963 a woman (Diana?) in a Porsche uniform came up to us and told us all about it and the other car that was on display with it. She was so kind and helpful. I asked her where she was visiting from. Porsche NA Atlanta Headquarters, which is where many of the volunteers were visiting from. We took a free ride up to the corkscrew in a brand new Macan and our chauffeur was also from headquarters and was equally friendly.? We found this to be the case everywhere that we found volunteers.

Side Notes:

1. My eldest son Massimo (13) got sick and could not attend.? He was bummed, but Rennsport broadcast every day live and he got to watch along with us from home. You can find replays at: https://www.youtube.com/@MotorTrendWatch
2. I was told by many of my friends and work colleagues that the day we went was the worst (rain, schedule issues, etc) If that is true, I can't even imagine how the other days were.

MY PERSONAL PORSCHE STORY:

I grew up about 3000 miles away from Laguna Seca. When I was young, I had my Aurora AFX tracks setup like Laguna Seca and I competed in my favorite toy Porsche 917. I collected about a dozen of those specific cars in a variety of liveries. I dreamt of someday going to and racing at Laguna Seca.

Fast forward a handful of years and I was working (and racing) at Laguna Seca (1993-1996) It felt like I had realized that young boy’s dream…but actually this past Saturday at Laguna with my boys and the Gulf 917 felt like the dream really came true.

Thank you Porsche Cars North America , Porsche Motorsport North America , San Francisco Region SCCA , and WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca for helping us make life long memories.

A Few Photos...