There was a rule in the Croteau household that if you wanted help getting your first car, you had to learn how to drive with a manual transmission. As a result, the first car Brianna owned was a standard shift and she has been driving one ever since. Learning right from the beginning gave her a certain sense of confidence and pride in her capabilities. She said “I first thought this was a silly rule to have, but I learned to be grateful for it. I grew to love driving a manual so much that my everyday car now [is], and I anticipate for the rest of my life, will be a manual.” According to her dad, Jeff, he had two reasons for this rule: 1) less chance of them being on the phone if they had to shift the transmission and 2) it was less likely that other people would ask to borrow the car.

Brianna began attending SCCA autocross events with her dad, in 2015 when she was 18. At first she drove her daily driver, a 2012 Hyundai Veloster and later the 911 (991) that her dad bought. She developed a love of driving as she developed a greater understanding of how a car operates and at the same time, learned how to push the car to its limits and still maintain control. The 2nd PCA autocross she attended, she won the Novice category. A few years later the two of them were introduced to track events. Her dad went to one first and encouraged her to give it a try. She remembers her first day at Thompson in 2021 and how nervous she was, but once she started driving she realized how much fun it was. The track environment can be intimidating in the beginning, but Brianna’s fears soon dissipated because “…being at the track is an awesome experience and everyone there wants to see you do well and see you have a good time.” “I never once felt like I didn’t belong at the track; everyone welcomed me with open arms and was excited to teach me both on and off the track.” At first, Brianna’s mom wasn’t a big fan but as Brianna became more comfortable with her skills on the track, her mom grew to appreciate the father/daughter experience, and grew more comfortable too. By the end of the 2021 season, Jeff decided to purchase a dedicated track car. So they bought a 1999 911 (996). Brianna drove it at Thompson, and plans to drive at Watkins Glen, Palmer, and Club Motorsports in 2022. She drove a few sessions in the solo (Blue) run group at Thompson, and is hoping to get to be promoted soon.

Growing up in Milford, MA Brianna was on 3 Varsity teams, playing volleyball, basketball and lacrosse. She went on to attend the University of Rhode Island, where she earned a BS in Kinesiology and a Minor in Psychology. After a year interning as a Physical Therapy aide, she has just begun graduate studies at the University of Vermont in the Doctor of Physical Therapy program. At 23, she will be a busy student, that’s for sure, but she will still find a way to fit driving with her dad into her busy schedule. See you soon, Brianna!

Captain Kim Lefebvre has retired after 29 years in the Naval Medical Service Corps. Her military service has taken her far and wide. She has been stationed in California (San Diego, Monterrey, and Port Huyneme), Jacksonville FL, Groton CT, Philadelphia PA, Puerto Rico and Sicily. She was the Commanding Officer at the Naval Submarine Medical Research Laboratory in New London, CT and at the Naval Hospital in Sigonella, Italy on Sicily. Having grown up in Rhode Island, summering with family in New Hampshire, Kim and her husband Peter have decided to return to New England. They have chosen Moultonborough NH as their permanent residence.

As we are moving forward into a new season of driving, I thought it might be nice to look back and compare things then and now. Phyllis Stibler came to visit our July Tamworth DE last summer and we had the opportunity to chat a bit about the way things used to be when she was driving DE. She commented that although she was impressed by the beauty of CMI, a track she had never seen, and the speed of some of the cars, the event itself had a familiar feel to it.

Phyllis initially joined PCA in 1982 and then rejoined in 1987. There were just a few NCR members that participated in DE at that time. By 1989-1990 that number grew to about a dozen regulars who had established a seasonal rhythm: Lime Rock Park with CVR, Watkins Glen with Zone 1 and New Hampshire Motor Speedway with NER. Few cars were trailered back then and many of them were daily drivers, so they would organize caravans to the events. Similar to our DE group today, they enjoyed dinners, happy hours and other activities together. The events themselves were organized and run in a similar fashion with run groups and volunteer work assignments. In those days, however, participants not only manned Control and Staging, but also did the flagging at flagging stations.

If you have been to almost any NCR event, you have probably seen this smiling face.  Perhaps it was at a car show, or autocross, or DE, or at a banquet or rally.  Meet Lisa Roche and her favorite car.

Lisa began her Porsche odyssey doing car shows with her ex-husband and his 914.  When he refused to autocross his car, she bought her own ‘89 944.  Starting out, she claims they were the slowest on the course, but she couldn’t get the smile off her face. Now, 20 years later, still loving it, Lisa and her partner Joe have fun battling for the fastest run times.  She has won many Autocross Class Champion awards, including multiple National Porsche Parade events, Zone 1 Autocross events and a LFT (ladies fastest time overall) award at the 2009 Zone 1.

Lisa’s autocross experience shaped her excellent driving skills on the track.   She drives in the Black (Advanced) Driving Group for DE events and especially loves to drive in the rain.  With the rain being a great equalizer, Lisa has been known to pass much faster cars with her smooth car control skills. You go, girl!

I have always loved to drive, beginning with my little red pedal car when I was 5. My love affair with Porsche began in my late teens. A friend of mine had an adorable 911 he called “The Silver Bullet”. I loved the way it sounded, the way it smelled and the way it felt out on the road. One day we were zipping around when we came up behind a very slow Cadillac on a wide exit ramp. He said “Hang on!” and neatly proceeded to execute a pass. I was momentarily terrified but thrilled at the same time.

We have a series of six events planned for your enjoyment.

May 17, 2025, starts with a Rally Tour along the southern Maine coast winding through the back roads.

For our June 7,8,9, 2025 GetAway we will be in the Bar Harbor area again.

July 19, 2025, adventure bring us through the European towns in New Hampshire.

August 16, 2025, we will be exploring the Lakes Regions areas.

Our fall GetAway, September 6,7,8, 2025, will be in the Catskills Region to explore more exciting roads.

Our fall foliage event will be on October 25, 2025, we will be in the Newport area of New Hampshire exploring the land of Mary Had a Little Lamb.

All events are listed at  NCR-PCA.ORG and registration is now open at MotorsportReg.Com.

For now they are listed with the basic information, as further details are finalized, we will update these for starting locations, breaks and lunches. They are now listed for general location for your registration.

Please remember to complete your SpeedWaivers when you register.

If the event suggests its full, please send us a note to place you on the wait list. We do have some cancelations, and we will work to fill any open spots.

Any thoughts, ideas or questions please feel free to reach out to us at: rally@ncr-pca.org