The Ideal Line: More Pro Tips With Patrick Long and the 911 R
After having previously watched episodes one, two, and three of Porshce’s “Driving Lessons With the 911 R,” you should be getting pretty good behind the wheel. But without lesson number four below, your training is incomplete.
Porsche works driver Patrick Long is back to show us how to drive the ideal racing line. To demonstrate as much, he takes two very spoiled Porsche enthusiasts to three very different sections of the Porsche test track in Weissach.
Before jumping into the different sections, Long explains that there are three parts to a corner: “your braking and turn in, your apex, and your corner exit. It’s all about making the radius as large as possible, being smooth with your hands, then picking your eyes up.”
Then he shows us exactly what that means on three very distinctive sections of the proving grounds, starting with a traditional right hander. From there, they move onto a hairpin, the tightest corner on the track, which requires a completely different strategy. Then Long teaches us how to take two corners together, a section with a nice elevation change, which also helps show the importance of getting back to full throttle as quickly as possible.
Just one more great pro tip from your friendly, local, Le Mans-winning pro instructor.