Spiel

and bounds as I'm passing other cars in the 'let-by' zones. My braking points are getting shorter and Randy comments on my trail-braking technique. Randy lets me in on a bit of a reality check during the last half of the fourth and last session of the day, as he drives my car while I'm the passenger. I am completely blown away at the car's abilities! Randy brakes deeper and carries more speed through the corners than I ever thought possible! My driving is no where near the Cayman's limits. This is in fact, a good thing. My driving ability and experience will improve with time and I will continue to enjoy the dynamic capabilities of the car for years to come. At the end of the DE event, Randy tells me that I still need time to perfect my driving line and smoothness around Pacific Raceway and that he can not in fairness and in good conscience sign me off as a 'Solo' driver. Fair enough. I would need at least another DE session to gain the coveted 'Solo' sign-off, so that I could redeem that HighPerformance Driving Certificate at PR. The next DE event at Pacific Raceways one month later had me was paired up with instructor Steve Downing, PNWR Safety Instructor. I felt that I picked-up where I had left-off from the previous event and I made a concerted effort on improving my driving smoothness. Turns out that the key to this, as pointed out by Randy Wells previously, was looking ahead. It all came together throughout the day and at the end of the session Steve had graduated me to 'Solo' status meaning that I can run in Group 'C' at the next DE event! Excellent! The next week I called Don Kitch at ProFormance Racing School at PR and explained that I wanted to redeem my certificate and subsequently signed up for their next HPDE event. It was a Thursday event that saw a mix of different vehicle brands. Beside several Porsche GT3s and Caymans there was a few Corvette ZR-1s, Mustang 350GTs, Subaru WRXs, an Audi R8, and even a Ferrari 360 and a highly modified Lamborghini Gallardo. There was an unannounced special guest for today's event that would be running during our lunch hour on their own. It was a recently purchased white, authentic Porsche 908 being driven on some shake-down laps to prepare for an upcoming SOVERN historic race. This was a real treat to see and hear this historic Porsche circulating the track by its self. I loved hearing that boxer-eight engine wail as it ran up the back stretch, the engine and exhaust sound reverberating off the trees! It was an absolute joy to finally drive a Porsche on a dedicated race track by myself! A dream come true that I thought would never happen. With the historical perspective of having the 908 run while I was there made it that much more special to this Porsche enthusiast! This has certainly whetted my appetite for more DE days and I now plan to double my participation to six events this year. After participating in the Porsche Roadshow Driving Event at The Ridge Motorsports Park last summer and being impressed with this new facility, I will be making the three and half hour drive to Shelton for several PCA-DE events this year. Yes, I have seen that slippery slope and I think I am beginning to fall.... SEPTEMBER 2013 45 www.pnwr.org increments so we don't get bunched-up. I slowly pull-up and stop, so that the marshal can check the color of my wrist band. White is for Novice. She waves us off and I deliberately accelerate onto the short straight between turns nine and ten and begin rowing up thought the gears. The first two laps are under yellow caution flags being waved by the corner workers from their stations around the track as our tires come up to temperature. I have to temper my enthusiasm a bit by slowing down as I've caught up the car in front of me. Now that we're out on track, Randy points out to me the braking and turn-in points at each of the corners by the location of specially placed cones along the side of the track. He also makes a point to explain where the beginning and ending of each 'let-by' zone is and also the locations of the corner worker stations and the meaning of flag colors. "Always pay attention to the flags at these stations and be looking ahead", I hear Randy explain through the radio head-set. Lap three comes around and a green flag appears, so it's time to open it up. Randy begins a measured-paced dialogue of information as we begin to circulate around the circuit: braking points, turn-in points, which gear to be in, the proper line through each corner, watch your rear-view mirror during entrance to 'let-by' zones, look for any flags from the corner worker stations, steering input/smoothness. I am so concentrated on driving that what seems like a just a few minutes and the session is already over. We perform a cool-down lap at reduced speeds and revs and I begin the mental and physical decompression from the track session as my adrenaline slowly begins to subside. After we exit the track and I park in my pit-stall, Randy gives me a debriefing on my driving. The one thing that I find myself not doing is looking far enough ahead. This will be a hard habit to break as the years of mountain biking have trained me to look only 20 - 30 feet ahead scanning the rock and root-infested trail surface as I'm traveling 15 - 20 mph. I've got to look ahead to the next corner to set the car up for the proper braking and turn-in points. While Randy gives me a realistic and positive appraisal of my first track session, I'm a bit demoralized. This is a lot harder that I ever imagined! There is so much to be aware of and to mentally process that I now have greater appreciation of what professional racing drivers go through when racing on track for hours on end. I am an 'old school' fan of standard transmissions who loves to make his own gear-shifts. There is a magical feeling with the mechanic nature of the car by a perfectly executed double-clutched downshift, but now I can believe that the use of semi-automatic gearshifts via steering column paddle actuators makes for quickly satisfying lap times. But semi-automatic double clutch gearboxes will have to wait for another day. I need to perfect driving the Cayman S 6-speed on the track first. Street driving is one thing, but driving with no limitations on a track is completely different. With each track session throughout the day Randy and I see improvement in my abilities. I'm absorbing the experience in a more measured and calculated way compared to the overwhelmed feeling I had during the first session. My confidence is now growing in leap

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