An early rise and a buffet breakfast in one of the large reception rooms (dubbed the 928 room for the weekend) signalled the first organised get together for all participants. Welcome speeches from the organisers and some useful information on local highway code and locations of petrol stations and the all important car washing facilities. This done it was time to set off on a tour of the countryside of the Grand Duchy which incorporated visits to some fine castles and local beauty spots.
Luxembourg for those who are not familiar is one of the smallest countries in the world, it is also one of the richest per capita. The country is steeped in European history and large areas of unspoiled woodland and rolling hills. It has a very high density of castles of all periods and styles and it was this fact that prompted the organisers to call the Friday tour of the Euro-928 “the castle tour”.
Back at the hotel a quick rest and freshen up before a talk on the technical and practical aspects of 928 ownership by the Daniel Martin, chief technician of the Luxembourgish Porsche dealers of 51 years “Losch Porsche”. This was an interesting discussion dealing with things as “normal” as what to look for when buying a second-hand 928 to things as “obscure” as why it was Porsche policy to cut a piece out of the engine under-tray of 5-speed 928s!
The cars returning from the nurburg ring later that evening came with reports of one GT who had dislocated his gear lever and another who had a stone chip stuck in his brake caliper. Both of these problems were quickly resolved early next morning by the Porsche dealer who were kind enough to have a technician on call for the duration of the event as well as allowing the use of their facilities during normally closed period.
Speeches over it was dinner time and this was a joy as the hotels restaurant was excellent and the participants were wined and dined in grand fashion. After dinner those who had any energy left had a swap meet in one of the function rooms where models etc were bought sold and exchanged. Lots of price calculations being made, this at least will be easier at next year’s event when the Euro will be the unit of currency for everyone, well almost everyone.
Saturday morning came and it was time for some driving fun, a one-day course on driving skills had been organised. This type of event when organised for Porsche meetings is normally geared towards the more numerous rear engined cars but this time not only was it geared towards the transaxle cars but was 100% relevant to the 928 with its near perfect weight distribution.
The course was organised at the ultra modern drivers training center in Colmar-Berg which is conveniently located next to Goodyear’s European headquarters and proving grounds including a fine test track. The organisers had arranged for the track to be available for the EURO928 that day and the drivers training centre’s multi-lingual team of instructors made sure that the 928 owners didn't get a minute’s rest the whole day!
The entertainment started with a lecture on tyre, suspension, brake and steering designs and development with particular emphasis on the 928 and it’s weissach system at the rear. Answers were given to even the most technically demanding questioning by the more inquisitive participants.
Now to test our skills on the tracks both wet and dry…. Participants were split up into Language (German, French, Dutch and English) groups for ease of instruction, issued with radios etc. and led away by their instructors.
Lunchtime quickly came and this was taken care of by the centre’s restaurant during which some extra guests turned up in the form of the Jaquomond brothers in two of their tuned 928s sporting their wide body kits. A photo shoot on the banked curve of the Goodyear test track followed and then back to the exercises including a timed combination of a slalom and high speed overtaking maneuver for the Mr. 928 competition.
The end of the free laps marked the end of a most enjoyable and informative day and everyone left feeling that they had learned more in one day (in safety) than they would have learned in years of normal driving.
There was still one thing to do that day before the enthusiasts would be allowed to retire to the hotel and that was to visit the only 928 theme pub in Europe the “Brasserie 928” located in the south of the country and conveniently en-route to the hotel.
Back at the hotel it was time for a gourmet dinner and most importantly the announcement of this years Mr. 928 and the winners of the “concours d’elegance” and all the other prizes. The EURO928 concourse is divided into 3 categories 928/928S, 928 S4/GT/CS/SE and 928 GTS and it is judged by the participants of the event themselves. There are prizes for the oldest participating car and the longest distance traveled (by car) to the event which was this year won by a couple from Latvia.
After the prize giving etc. there was a video show of rarely seen 928 videos which were made for information and marketing purposes.
Sunday morning arrived and the participants set off for Luxembourg City where one of the main squares had been specially opened to traffic for 928s only. The Grand Dukes Palace overlooks the square. Members of the press were out to record the event for the newspapers the following day. In the square participants were met by multilingual tour guides who took them on a walking tour from there to the Casemates. The Casemates are an impressive series of ancient tunnels in the rock on which Luxembourg City is perched, there are 22 km of tunnels quarried out of the rock and they are fascinating to explore. If you look out one side you see the city, walk 10 m further and look out the other side and you see countryside. Centuries old cannon are still in their positions in the defence of fortress Luxembourg the Gibraltar of the north.
The participants emerged to the sunshine and a walk back to the square for one final look around at the cars to chat and take a few photos and finally to say goodbye to old and new friends. Just before leaving it was announced that the EURO928-2002 would be held in Stuttgart and organised by the Porsche club 928 Germany.
Kevin Jackson
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