History of the Chesapeake Challenge

The first Chesapeake Challenge was held in 1968. It was created by Bob Rassa and was modeled after the PCA California (West Coast) Weekend which was written up in the January 1968 issue of Porsche Panorama. It was a multi-regional event drawing participants mostly from East-coast regions. Chesapeake folks were not allowed to win 1st Overall in the Challenge back then because it might be seen as “home field advantage”, although they could compete for trophies in individual events.  

The Chesapeake Region had only 26 members in 1968 so getting enough volunteers was a “challenge” all in itself, but fortunately we had a core group of enthusiasts who were also members of the Chesapeake Sports Car Club and readily volunteered to help. This first Chesapeake Challenge drew 42 cars, over half of which were from outside Regions such as Central Pennsylvania, Metro New York, Northern New Jersey, Riesentoter, and First Settlers. The Challenge originally consisted of a Friday evening registration party, a Saturday morning Concours, a Saturday afternoon Rallye, a Saturday evening dinner, a Sunday morning autocross, and an Awards Luncheon immediately following the autocross. During the early decades, all the events were located in the Towson / Hunt Valley area of Baltimore County, but as the Chesapeake Region became more geographically diverse, the Challenge was held at various Baltimore, Howard, and Anne Arundel County locations.

The First Overall Award was named the Knowlton P. Long Memorial Award in tribute to him after he passed away in 1970. He was the first Porsche dealer in the Baltimore area and had a two- bay / one-car showroom on Susquehanna Ave in Towson.  “Knowls” or “Pappy Long” and his wife, Marjorie were true friends during the early years of the Chesapeake Region. Marjorie continued to donate funds to Chesapeake for many years after his passing.

This First Overall Award was created and given to the participant with the best score in the Concours, Rallye, and Autocross.  The participants’ names were engraved on the trophy (kept by the CHS Region) and a symbolic trophy which varied from year to year was given to the participant. 

In 1971, the German airline company Lufthansa gave Chesapeake a $50 donation – we did seek donations from local merchants and typically got dozens of door prizes plus a few monetary donations. With this donation, Chesapeake created a trophy for First Overall Chesapeake Region member, since they had not been allowed to compete for First Overall at the start of the Challenge. It was awarded to the highest placing Chesapeake Region Member(s) with a composite score from the Concours, Rallye and the Autocross. This was a perpetual trophy and names of the winners were engraved on the trophy and a smaller “keeper” trophy (usually a small Pewter bowl) was given to each of the Chesapeake winners of the Challenge. It was first won by Bob Rassa.

Over its five decades, the Chesapeake Challenge has altered its format over time. At some point around the late 80’s the First Overall policy was changed and Chesapeake members were allowed to win the Challenge. Also, it has mostly become a one day event consisting of a Concours, Rallye, Tech Quiz, and banquet. The Sunday autocross was dropped due to cost. There have also been Friday night receptions and Sunday morning gymkhanas in the recent past.

Unfortunately, the CC was not held in 1987 and 1992 when Chesapeake was unable to find volunteers to run the event.

Here are some additional awards from the earlier decades:

Best New Chesapeake Region Member – having joined since the last CC event.
 
Concours D’elegance Best in Show – Awarded to the highest scoring Concours entrant. The Best in Show trophy was awarded to a Full Concours Class / Complete Car participant….but not to a Top Only participant. Top Only was only initiated after PCA National introduced that category, in the mid-1980’s. The trophy was usually a small silver bowl.
 
Mark Donohue Memorial Award – Originated after Mark Donohue’s untimely death in 1975. The trophy went to the FTD (overall) at the CC autocross.  Unfortunately, the Mark Donohue designation disappeared along with several other trophy designations due to lack of continuity in Challenge personnel and lack of a Challenge manual.