Lessons learned in Porsche Sport Driving School

THE SLALOM and emergency lane change demonstrated the ultrasharp responsiveness of the mid-engined Cayman GTS. photos by Botchi Santos

Who doesn’t love track days? When you get to go on the track and drive flat-out, sampling some of the finest four-wheeled machines in the world and experiencing their performance and technology working perfectly together in a safe, controlled and repeatable environment?

But to do so with the latest model Porsches is just an amazing experience.

The Porsche Sport Driving School was launched in 1974, together with the introduction of the original 911 Turbo. Many at that time felt that such a powerful vehicle required specialized training for it to be used  safely and responsibly on the road. Forty years on, much has evolved.

The Porsche Sport Driving School is an internationally standardized, high-performance driving school which offers everything from basic high-performance driving lessons to advanced driving techniques and specialized programs such as drifting, ice/snow driving and  offroad driving techniques. It even has an amateur racing driver’s program, which sees aspiring racecar drivers  put through their paces and eventually receive a pro-level, FIA-certified driving license for competition.  Events are held all over the world, from select race tracks in Europe such as Hockenheimring (where the first event was held 40 years ago) to Silverstone, and the ice lands of Finland to the FIA-certified test track owned by Porsche in Leipzig, Germany.

THE GT3: Sound is perfect, electronic steering is very much sublime and, when carving corners, the rear-wheel steering system is unobtrusive and feels well-matched to front steering inputs.

We recently joined a group of Asian journalists invited by Porsche to the Aldenhoven Testing Facility, just outside Dusseldorf, Germany, to sample a small portion of the program Porsche Sport Driving School offers, along with the chance to drive some of the latest Porsche sports cars.

The event  allowed us to sample the 911 Turbo and Turbo S, 911 Carrera and Carrera S, 911 Targa, Boxster GTS and Cayman GTS. There were also two additional treats in store for us, as we were given  an opportunity  to drive  the 991 GT3, which Porsche had initially recalled due to engine problem, and got a taxi ride aboard a Porsche 918 Spyder, the hypercar of the future thanks to its advanced hybrid system.

The event was divided into three activities: high-speed driving and emergency braking was the first one on the high-speed banked tri-oval, followed by a slalom course and “emergency lane change” maneuver on Aldenhoven’s skid pad and finally a small handling track which would allow us to get familiar with the various Porsche sports cars’ driving feel and behavior.

Amazing reliability

The high-speed driving and emergency braking highlighted Porsche’s amazing reliability: I must have done at least 20 Launch Control Starts and not once suffered any transmission-related problems. The Launch Control optimizes any Porsche Sports Car for a perfect drag race launch: Simply step on the brakes, put dual-clutch transmission in D (or manual mode in first gear), floor the throttle all the way and the revs hold to a predetermined rpm. It will hold that for about 5 seconds, and an indicator on the dashboard says Launch Control is engaged and the 5-second timer starts counting down.

Once you’re ready (and you have to be), jump off the brakes and the 911 (or Boxster or Cayman) catapults forward like a bat out of hell. And by the time I reach the emergency braking point about 200 meters away, we’re already skimming close to 180 kilometers per hour, at which point I stand on the brakes again and the 911 brings itself to a complete stop.

The test day was  wet and wild. You can just imagine how hairy it is braking to a full stop in the wet. But thanks to the Michelin tires and rear-weight bias, along with advanced traction and stability controls plus ABS-EBD, the 911 would stop in a straight line, even with your hands removed form the steering wheel (not that you should do it of course!).

After the 20 or so Launch Control Starts, my hands, head and shoulders were hurting because the launch is so violent such that if you’re not ready, your whole body will shake violently despite being nestled on supportive bucket seats. My elbows kept banging against the door sidings, and my head banged against the window once.

Ultrasharp responsiveness

The slalom and emergency lane change demonstrated the ultrasharp responsiveness of the track-biased 911 GT3 and mid-engined Cayman GTS in particular. Since the surface was soaked, we would get the car sideways more often than straight. But it was easy to regain control, though at times it seemed like we were fighting against the car’s own electronic safety aids,  trying their best to also keep the car planted on the straight and narrow.

Nonetheless, the immense grip, even from the 911 GT3’s dual-compound Michelin Sport Cup 2 race tires, was amazing in the wet. It was easy finding the limits of adhesion without breaking traction in the wet, removing some of the fear of the 911’s supposed widowmaker abilities and instilling much-needed confidence in the wet and our rather poor driving skills.

Porsche’s strength

Our last activity was the handling track. It’s a short track, where you’re mostly in second and third gear, but provides just enough speed, steering finesse and braking technique to allow you to fully experience and savor the Porsche sports car’s strengths. It consists of two short straights, connected by a sweeping, decreasing radius counter-clockwise turn that has a variety of lines depending on your car on one end, and a quick right turn that’s off-camber, followed by another sweeping left with a large dip on the racing line that purposefully unsettles the car to check for individual axle articulation.

Normally, in the dry, this emits a slight shimmy form the rear, but in the wet, often saw me sideways at full power, second gear and opposite lock! I’m no drifter, but I know the theory behind going opposite lock, keeping the throttle steady and looking at where you wanted to go. The 911 GT3 made it so easy for me to hold the drift until I found dry ground, wherein the GT3 would correct itself rather sharply and violently with some modest steering effort on my part.

Truly, the GT3 is worth the wait for all those who ordered one. The sound is perfect, the electronic steering is very much sublime and, when carving corners, the rear-wheel steering system is unobtrusive and feels well-matched to your front steering inputs.

Next week, a short stint behind Porsche’s awesome 918 Spyder.