311RS visits: Smokies GT 2017
Smokies GT is a not-for-profit group of Porsche GT car owners who get together annually in the beautiful Smoky Mountains for a weekend of driving. This year’s Smokies GT event was held April 21-22, and it would be the first time we’d attend but certainly not the last.
The event benefits the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and this year’s Spring meeting was a massive success – more than $120,000 was raised by the 85 Porsche GT owners on hand. What an accomplishment for a great cause.
Friday is spent at Atlanta Motorsports Park for an open track day. For us, it was the first time we’d been on track in 2017. We brought down 4 GT3s from Minneapolis – one 996, one 997, and two 991s.
As part of the fundraising effort, Leh Keen was on hand giving rides for charity. He’d be using our 991 GT3 for the rides, which was quite an honor for us, and quite a ride for the passenger we’d have to imagine. Together we raised $2,500 for the cause.
Saturday began with a drive to Heaven’s Landing – which is a gorgeous private air strip up in the Smoky mountains. We were there to run the cars flat out for 1/2 mile. Imagine the sound of 85 GT cars flat out for 1/2 mile. Quite nice huh?
There’s a more to the story, but for now we’ll let Peter’s photos do the talking. Thank you once again to the organizers of SmokiesGT for the incredible event. We’ll see you next year! And to Leh and his wife Eliza, the hospitality was much appreciated you two. See you soon.
Photos courtesy of Peter Lapinski.