THANKS TO EVERYONE!

With 20 928s, by my count at noon, and over 50 owners with their families and companions, and a few former owners and non-owners in the midst of a Shark hunt, I declare Sharks in the Park 2001 a success! What a thrill to see (and hear) all that V8 power and meet all my email and message board friends. A great car attracts great people.

Look for pictures and documentation online in a few days thanks to George Suennen. George's 928 website can be found here - it is a true treasure trove of 928 information. http://928.jorj7.com I will email the direct link to the event documentation when George has a chance to get it posted this week.

A VERY special thanks goes to ALLAN MOCHWART of RINGS RESTAURANT located in the Embassy Suites Hotel in San Rafael (101 Mcinnis Pkwy, San Rafael, CA 94903; 415-479-1623) for providing a bountiful supply of ribs that made the barbecue a feast. Be sure to visit Rings for food and drink when in the San Rafael area.

Thanks to Susan Thomas and Bora Akyol for all the expert food prep and cooking. We only lost a few burgers to the fire and everything was cooked to perfection.

Thanks to Brad of DEVEK PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS, INC. for the corner balance presentation and on-site evaluations. I'm scheduled at DEVEK in 2 weeks to fix my lopsided car.

The FUN RIDE included about 11 or 12 cars "touring" some of the wilds of Contra Costa County. It turned out to be even more fun than expected after yours truly, serving as ride leader, made a left instead of a right, leading us a few miles down the wrong road. We regrouped, giving George another chance for some group shots, and proceeded to use a very convenient circular driveway as a turnaround to the "amazement" of the home owner. Was that her "waving" at us? Nice lady. She should be so lucky as to have some of the nicest cars on the planet in here driveway if only for a few seconds.

George, who has more than a few high-speed track and road race miles under his belt, followed politely behind me and didn't laugh very loudly when I asked at a stop if I was going too fast. The 928 is the only car that would allow an unskilled driver like me to flick through the twisties like I did and not end up in the bushes. I had a blast and trust the other fun riders did as well. Traffic was light to non-existent in most areas and the federalies were nowhere to be seen.

Other than the wrong turn, we did get separated into two groups due to some uncertainty in the road map, but we managed to meet up again re-entering Tilden Park. No casualties were reported, and my suspension is now properly settled for an alignment.

Thanks again to all participants. To those that had schedule conflicts and could not make it this time, we will meet again. I'm considering one more event, if time permits, prior to DEVEK DAY in August. At the very least, "SHARKS IN THE PARK" will become an annual Spring event for 928 Owners in the greater SF Bay Area.

See you all again soon.

Bill Ball
89 S4

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