Porsche Sport Driving School
02-20-2017, 01:48 PM
#1
Racer
Thread Starter
Porsche Sport Driving School
I just spent four days at the Porsche Sport Driving School with Cass Whitehead and the other instructors completing the Intro and Masters courses. Amazing experience. I’d never done anything like that and to spend four days with those guys was unbelievable.
I found out about the class through Porsche North Houston (also known as (“GT Cars R’ Us”).
I flew in Wednesday night and I really didn’t know what to expect. Each morning you get picked up at the hotel and shuttle over to the track at Barber Motorsports Park (not connected to Skip Barber – this Barber is an Alabama dairyman with the biggest motorcycle and Lotus collection I’ve ever seen).
The day starts with classroom time to go over lessons for the day – for instance, the first day was the string theory (illustrated by drift king Doug Van Den Brink) illustrating the impact of turning and braking on tire traction and how weight transfer helps with braking. The class then breaks into groups who alternate through different skill exercises and track time with instructors. The instructors all have significant racing experience and help the students with track efficiency and decision making. And there was not a bad one in the group. Just terrific people who are passionate about the brand and the sport.
There is an autocross competition where students break into teams and try not to plow through cones and a skid pad competition designed to enhance car control skills. During the Masters program Van Den Brink showed students how to drift the car in a circle (download video). Other exercises included trail braking, throttle steering, etc. Driving the Cayenne off road was fun too (instructor and offroad expert Larry Parmele pictured).
The track time was great. Students rotate in and out of cars in between sessions (which are about 20-25 minutes long). During open lap sessions instructors will stand at different corners in the track and provide feedback for the previous session. During follow the leader sessions, instructors provide real time feedback through the radio as you go around the course following the instructor car.
The hotel was great – close to the track, good food, nice room. After each day, you’re pretty wiped out. There are different options, but if you stay at the Grand Bohemian, they shuttle you to and from the airport and take you to the race track each day. There is a dinner with instructors each night that’s included as part of the program.
The cars were the latest Porsche offerings including the 718 (much more fun than I imagined – very nimble), PDK and manual 911s (there is a PDK only option for students who are so inclined), and the turbo S. Stay for the Masters program and you also get to drive the GT3 RS.
I’m not affiliated with the school in any way – but didn’t know what to expect when I registered. So I thought I’d post something for fellow RLers thinking of trying it. If you want to improve your skills or are a track novice like me – I think it’s a great class and the cost is a bit more than the new set of tires you’d have to purchase after all the track time you get at the class. Made some new friends there too (like-minded Porsche enthusiasts) – so that was an added bonus.
I found out about the class through Porsche North Houston (also known as (“GT Cars R’ Us”).
I flew in Wednesday night and I really didn’t know what to expect. Each morning you get picked up at the hotel and shuttle over to the track at Barber Motorsports Park (not connected to Skip Barber – this Barber is an Alabama dairyman with the biggest motorcycle and Lotus collection I’ve ever seen).
The day starts with classroom time to go over lessons for the day – for instance, the first day was the string theory (illustrated by drift king Doug Van Den Brink) illustrating the impact of turning and braking on tire traction and how weight transfer helps with braking. The class then breaks into groups who alternate through different skill exercises and track time with instructors. The instructors all have significant racing experience and help the students with track efficiency and decision making. And there was not a bad one in the group. Just terrific people who are passionate about the brand and the sport.
There is an autocross competition where students break into teams and try not to plow through cones and a skid pad competition designed to enhance car control skills. During the Masters program Van Den Brink showed students how to drift the car in a circle (download video). Other exercises included trail braking, throttle steering, etc. Driving the Cayenne off road was fun too (instructor and offroad expert Larry Parmele pictured).
The track time was great. Students rotate in and out of cars in between sessions (which are about 20-25 minutes long). During open lap sessions instructors will stand at different corners in the track and provide feedback for the previous session. During follow the leader sessions, instructors provide real time feedback through the radio as you go around the course following the instructor car.
The hotel was great – close to the track, good food, nice room. After each day, you’re pretty wiped out. There are different options, but if you stay at the Grand Bohemian, they shuttle you to and from the airport and take you to the race track each day. There is a dinner with instructors each night that’s included as part of the program.
The cars were the latest Porsche offerings including the 718 (much more fun than I imagined – very nimble), PDK and manual 911s (there is a PDK only option for students who are so inclined), and the turbo S. Stay for the Masters program and you also get to drive the GT3 RS.
I’m not affiliated with the school in any way – but didn’t know what to expect when I registered. So I thought I’d post something for fellow RLers thinking of trying it. If you want to improve your skills or are a track novice like me – I think it’s a great class and the cost is a bit more than the new set of tires you’d have to purchase after all the track time you get at the class. Made some new friends there too (like-minded Porsche enthusiasts) – so that was an added bonus.
02-20-2017, 03:16 PM
#2
Platinum Dealership
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Glad you had a great experience there, it is definitely great training. I have been there numerous times for driver training and product launch events and the instructors are top notch, good times.
GT CARS R US.. I like the sound of that!
GT CARS R US.. I like the sound of that!
02-20-2017, 11:49 PM
#6
Rennlist Member
Great write up. I did the 2-day course in 2015 and had a favorable experience, and left a write-up for the same purposes. I know this: I will be back!
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02-21-2017, 11:35 PM
#8
Ok so for someone who've been tracking for 5+ years and is very comfortable in open passing advanced groups, which program do I start with? Masters or Masters R?
02-22-2017, 12:03 AM
#9
Like all others said, everything is first class, especially the instructors.
But for someone with your experience, I recommend calling to speak with Cass Whitehead (head instructor) to see if Masters R would be of interest to you and whether they would permit you to attend without having done the earlier classes. Chances are they would let you skip the first one (the one I did) but perhaps not the second. And there are some who go right from class one to class two, so still not much experience.
After all of five track days total ever, I did the first class last March, and I was one of only a few who had ever driven on track. Unfortunately, the lead-follow is limited by the slowest person in your group. I was in the fastest sub group but we still always had to W-A-I-T....F-O-R....A-N-D-R-E-W. I was/am no track wizard but five days experience is an eternity compared with those with none. And you have five YEARS!