Porsche Sport Driving School Review
03-16-2010, 11:09 PM
#1
Still plays with cars.
Lifetime Rennlist
Member
Thread Starter
Porsche Sport Driving School Review
Porsche Sport Driving School
Masters Program
Last week, my sons and I attended PSDS, sort of a father - son outing. We stayed at the Ross Bridge Resort – the official hotel for the school. A very beautiful place with outstanding amenities, restaurants and spacious rooms. It defines first class and then some. The staff were extremely helpful and friendly.
There isn’t much to say about the track itself that has not already been written. The place is beautiful and I can see where the rumored 50 million dollar investment went! The slopes surrounding the track are graced with sculptures – some funny, others pure art. I was intrigued by a huge spider surrounded by her babies. Apparently people opposed to the construction claimed that the land was the last habitat of some kind of spider or other. Nice try, but it failed. As the story goes, Barber said “as long as I own this track there will always be spiders”. Well he was good to his word, hence the very large bronze sculpture!
Day one begins with a classroom briefing covering the agenda and reminders of driving basics. Since we had heavy rain there were good tips on how to handle the conditions. Track sessions used a fleet of 997 C2S PDK, 997 C2 and 997 Turbo Tiptronics. PDK Caymans Boxsters were used for some of the other exercises and competitive events.
To learn the line, we did “ducks in a row” lead and follow sessions in all three car types. Then off to the wet skid pad for a very tough but simple seeming exercise - drive a figure 8 as quickly as possible. The skid pad is finished in some sort of sealer which is astonishing for its total lack of grip. I’ve driven on ice (normal where I live) and ice feels like hot asphalt by comparison. Laps were timed and a prize awarded to the fastest driver. I use “fast”, but we’re talking about 12 miles per hour here. Getting around without spins or slides was devilishly hard! Electronic aids were turned off for this exercise.
Next we moved to the autocross, a pretty decent sized course set up in one of the parking lots. At this time we were formed into teams. We were lucky to be joined by Rennlister mdrums! Mike is a very good driver and great company to make things even better.
Mike proved his skills by setting the fastest time on the preliminary Auto-X – which was a good thing because I’m easily cone-fused. In short, I suck at autocross.
Lunch was served at the Barber museum – great food and we got to chat with the instructors – all of whom have impressive racing records. They made pleasant lunch companions and passed on lot of useful tips.
We went back to work with an exercise designed to test and perfect heel and toe downshifts and trail braking. Then an emergency lane change – in a Panamera Turbo – whoooooeeeee! We did multiple runs and got to sample normal, sport and sport plus modes. The difference was obvious and the handling has to be experienced. The car rocks.
Day one ended with a banquet at the Ross Bridge resort with the school instructors. It was a very nice four course dinner with complimentary beverages. We didn’t stay late because we had to be on the shuttle at 7 AM the next morning.
Day two began with open lapping. By now we knew the layout and enjoyed multiple half hour sessions. You get a lot of track time with PSDS. That’s a good thing because the circuit has a lot of challenging corners, many technical and a few with a serious pucker factor.
Drivers can choose a car with a 6 speed or PDK. The latter are faster than the manual cars. In a manual the school insists that you use only 3rd and 4th gears. The cars are fully instrumented so they know what you’re doing. Using third gear out of some of the slow corners like the Corkscrew and the Hairpin compromises exit speed. Second gear would be quicker. In a PDK car, stick it in Drive and it selects the right gear for you. You’ll pull away from the guys condemned to using only 3rd and 4th.
We went back to the Auto-X course for the team competition. We had only 4 members, Chris, Matt, Mike (mdrums here) and me. We were called “7 legs, 4 guys”. Mike has a prosthetic left leg. Fortunately we competed in a PDK Boxster.
The competition was based on total time including driver changes. Since we were only four instead of five guys on the other teams, Mike drove two sessions. With one driver change less than the others we had a time penalty added to keep things fair.
Mike drove quick laps, Chris was a bit faster but nicked a cone for a
a 2 second penalty. In spite of my suckage at autocross I managed a respectable time and Matt made us proud with an outstanding drive. As we later discovered, 7 legs-4 guys won the competition and Matt recorded the fastest time of all. Given that all of us are PCA instructors we felt that we had done justice to our own driving programs.
The open lapping sessions were a blast. Instructors acted as flaggers and observers offering critique and hints after each session. Every car has a radio which means the pros can talk to you but you can’t talk back. If anything untoward happens you receive instructions via radio in addition to the customary flags - a clever set up which promotes safety.
I mentioned earlier that the cars are fully instrumented. They carry video cameras, one pointing out the front and the other aimed at the driver. There is a USB port in the car and each driver is given a memory stick. You plug it in before your session and remove it afterwards. It’s worth knowing that PSM is always on and the button to turn it off is disabled to make sure nobody gives in to temptation
When you get home you can watch your video along with telemetry of your session, G-forces in all directions, throttle position etc. A great souvenir! You can also download a lap driven by Cass Whitehead in the same car which is also fully instrumented so you can compare your own laps with his.
The program is marked by extreme professionalism and instruction provided in a concise and friendly way. Things run on schedule and participants don’t end up standing around being bored – ever! It was easy to see why so many people attend multiple times. Even for experienced track drivers the school is pure fun. Would I go again? Yeah, in a heartbeat!
One last thing - on our last day we saw people out painting the grass. Yup, there is an IRL race at Barber soon and ready or not (mostly not, the grass is brown) the cameras will see acres and acres of greenery!
Best,
Masters Program
Last week, my sons and I attended PSDS, sort of a father - son outing. We stayed at the Ross Bridge Resort – the official hotel for the school. A very beautiful place with outstanding amenities, restaurants and spacious rooms. It defines first class and then some. The staff were extremely helpful and friendly.
There isn’t much to say about the track itself that has not already been written. The place is beautiful and I can see where the rumored 50 million dollar investment went! The slopes surrounding the track are graced with sculptures – some funny, others pure art. I was intrigued by a huge spider surrounded by her babies. Apparently people opposed to the construction claimed that the land was the last habitat of some kind of spider or other. Nice try, but it failed. As the story goes, Barber said “as long as I own this track there will always be spiders”. Well he was good to his word, hence the very large bronze sculpture!
Day one begins with a classroom briefing covering the agenda and reminders of driving basics. Since we had heavy rain there were good tips on how to handle the conditions. Track sessions used a fleet of 997 C2S PDK, 997 C2 and 997 Turbo Tiptronics. PDK Caymans Boxsters were used for some of the other exercises and competitive events.
To learn the line, we did “ducks in a row” lead and follow sessions in all three car types. Then off to the wet skid pad for a very tough but simple seeming exercise - drive a figure 8 as quickly as possible. The skid pad is finished in some sort of sealer which is astonishing for its total lack of grip. I’ve driven on ice (normal where I live) and ice feels like hot asphalt by comparison. Laps were timed and a prize awarded to the fastest driver. I use “fast”, but we’re talking about 12 miles per hour here. Getting around without spins or slides was devilishly hard! Electronic aids were turned off for this exercise.
Next we moved to the autocross, a pretty decent sized course set up in one of the parking lots. At this time we were formed into teams. We were lucky to be joined by Rennlister mdrums! Mike is a very good driver and great company to make things even better.
Mike proved his skills by setting the fastest time on the preliminary Auto-X – which was a good thing because I’m easily cone-fused. In short, I suck at autocross.
Lunch was served at the Barber museum – great food and we got to chat with the instructors – all of whom have impressive racing records. They made pleasant lunch companions and passed on lot of useful tips.
We went back to work with an exercise designed to test and perfect heel and toe downshifts and trail braking. Then an emergency lane change – in a Panamera Turbo – whoooooeeeee! We did multiple runs and got to sample normal, sport and sport plus modes. The difference was obvious and the handling has to be experienced. The car rocks.
Day one ended with a banquet at the Ross Bridge resort with the school instructors. It was a very nice four course dinner with complimentary beverages. We didn’t stay late because we had to be on the shuttle at 7 AM the next morning.
Day two began with open lapping. By now we knew the layout and enjoyed multiple half hour sessions. You get a lot of track time with PSDS. That’s a good thing because the circuit has a lot of challenging corners, many technical and a few with a serious pucker factor.
Drivers can choose a car with a 6 speed or PDK. The latter are faster than the manual cars. In a manual the school insists that you use only 3rd and 4th gears. The cars are fully instrumented so they know what you’re doing. Using third gear out of some of the slow corners like the Corkscrew and the Hairpin compromises exit speed. Second gear would be quicker. In a PDK car, stick it in Drive and it selects the right gear for you. You’ll pull away from the guys condemned to using only 3rd and 4th.
We went back to the Auto-X course for the team competition. We had only 4 members, Chris, Matt, Mike (mdrums here) and me. We were called “7 legs, 4 guys”. Mike has a prosthetic left leg. Fortunately we competed in a PDK Boxster.
The competition was based on total time including driver changes. Since we were only four instead of five guys on the other teams, Mike drove two sessions. With one driver change less than the others we had a time penalty added to keep things fair.
Mike drove quick laps, Chris was a bit faster but nicked a cone for a
a 2 second penalty. In spite of my suckage at autocross I managed a respectable time and Matt made us proud with an outstanding drive. As we later discovered, 7 legs-4 guys won the competition and Matt recorded the fastest time of all. Given that all of us are PCA instructors we felt that we had done justice to our own driving programs.
The open lapping sessions were a blast. Instructors acted as flaggers and observers offering critique and hints after each session. Every car has a radio which means the pros can talk to you but you can’t talk back. If anything untoward happens you receive instructions via radio in addition to the customary flags - a clever set up which promotes safety.
I mentioned earlier that the cars are fully instrumented. They carry video cameras, one pointing out the front and the other aimed at the driver. There is a USB port in the car and each driver is given a memory stick. You plug it in before your session and remove it afterwards. It’s worth knowing that PSM is always on and the button to turn it off is disabled to make sure nobody gives in to temptation
When you get home you can watch your video along with telemetry of your session, G-forces in all directions, throttle position etc. A great souvenir! You can also download a lap driven by Cass Whitehead in the same car which is also fully instrumented so you can compare your own laps with his.
The program is marked by extreme professionalism and instruction provided in a concise and friendly way. Things run on schedule and participants don’t end up standing around being bored – ever! It was easy to see why so many people attend multiple times. Even for experienced track drivers the school is pure fun. Would I go again? Yeah, in a heartbeat!
One last thing - on our last day we saw people out painting the grass. Yup, there is an IRL race at Barber soon and ready or not (mostly not, the grass is brown) the cameras will see acres and acres of greenery!
Best,
03-16-2010, 11:39 PM
#3
Still plays with cars.
Lifetime Rennlist
Member
Thread Starter
Could not hurt to ask
03-17-2010, 01:29 AM
#4
Race Director
Hi Bob, you beat me to the write up....thanks! I have to add that even though Bob and I and his sons are PCA instructors that PSDS Masters still gives you lots to think about, work on and learn. I learned and reviewed many driving skills and also picked up instructing skillls from the awesome instructors at PSDS. Just for measure in Bob's and my group we had a Rolex Grand Am driver in our group, Ari Strauss. That along with the best instructors...their comunication skills are above top notch....made for a great learning experience.
Lots of great things have been posted with video's, pictures and write up's here on Rennlist but my experience mirros those.
Lots of great things have been posted with video's, pictures and write up's here on Rennlist but my experience mirros those.
03-17-2010, 08:22 AM
#5
Addict
Lifetime Rennlist
Member
Lifetime Rennlist
Member
GREAT REVIEW!!!
It's everything that Bob & Mike said and more!!!
I'm currently attending the 3 Day Masters Plus course which takes the instruction to a whole new level.
The focus is about driving....only one short lead follow day one, then you are out driving on your own for the rest of the class. One session yesterday was close to 70 mi. with a critique following the session.
It's all GREAT!
Consider attending the "Three Day"
You will not be disappointed!!
It's everything that Bob & Mike said and more!!!
I'm currently attending the 3 Day Masters Plus course which takes the instruction to a whole new level.
The focus is about driving....only one short lead follow day one, then you are out driving on your own for the rest of the class. One session yesterday was close to 70 mi. with a critique following the session.
It's all GREAT!
Consider attending the "Three Day"
You will not be disappointed!!
03-17-2010, 05:08 PM
#7
Rennlist Member
My teammate is there doing the 3-day school right now. He pretty much is saying the same thing you are about it. Great writeup
Trending Topics
03-17-2010, 06:09 PM
#9
Rennlist Member
03-17-2010, 06:17 PM
#10
Still plays with cars.
Lifetime Rennlist
Member
Thread Starter
Paolo, several of the guys taking the course when we were there wer getting tips for the upcoming Rolex race. Says something about the quality of the instructors. I still laugh about the fact that they were painting the grass though.
03-17-2010, 06:19 PM
#11
Nordschleife Master
03-17-2010, 06:25 PM
#12
Rennlist Member
I am going to seriously look into taking the master course........
Now..... if they let me in is another matter..........
Anything is possible.......RL is a corporation isn't it?.........
03-17-2010, 06:55 PM
#14
Rennlist Member
Another great write up on PSDS! I've spent 7 days there and loved every minute.
Glad you had such a great time with your sons. See you at LCMT in July?
Oh BTW, I had the fastest autoX time. Where is that pat me on the back emoticon?
Glad you had such a great time with your sons. See you at LCMT in July?
Oh BTW, I had the fastest autoX time. Where is that pat me on the back emoticon?
03-17-2010, 07:31 PM
#15
Race Director
