Issue link: https://digital.nexsitepublishing.com/i/1466236
FEATURE STORY 20 Spiel – April 2022 Driver Education 2022 Great instruction, lower temperatures, mixture of weekend and weekdays Story by Driver Education Chairs Olly Downs and Kevin Nouwens and Chief Driving Instructor Paul Blake Photographs by Christian Bouchez J udging by the participation the PNWR's winter tours and pop-up socials, we don't think many of you have been keeping your cars in the garage during the winter months, but, nevertheless, the beginning of our performance driving events (Autocross, Driver Education, and Driver Skills) really does mean the driving season is upon us! Whether you are just considering getting closer to the limits of your Porsche and yourself as a driver for the first time, you're an advanced driver looking for opportunities to grow and develop others in the hobby, or are somewhere in-between, the 2022 Driver Education season has been designed for you! Driver Education events are your chance to improve your driving abilities and learn about the capabilities of your Porsche in a safe environment. Driver Education builds on our Driver Skills program by taking drivers into the high-performance driving environment of a racetrack. In the Pacific Northwest Region, we are lucky enough to have access to four superb local or short-haul venues for these events: Pacific Raceway's historic road circuit, The Ridge Motorsports Park, Oregon Raceway Park, and Portland International Raceway, a regular host of the IndyCar Series. A Focus on Instructor and Driver Development What truly makes our DE days special are our instructors. They bring a wealth of experience from across the region and around the world. In recent years, our excellent instructor leadership has increased the emphasis on enjoyment and inclusion. Education happens when we are all having fun. Our instructors are here to help, to nurture you and your driving, and to become friends and mentors. They are continually training and making progress as instructors themselves. We have an active program of instructor recruitment, and they are often from the ranks of our very own DE day drivers. As a bonus, the instructor group is a sight to behold when they are out driving on track: incredible drivers in top-tier machines. We very much encourage you to come out and take advantage of this priceless resource of which we are very proud. Our 2022 Events We are very excited that every event this year offers instruction and is open to first-time drivers. Our season now extends earlier and later and includes some hard-to-secure weekend dates for those for whom getting off work is a challenge (Saturday, April 30 at Pacific Raceways and Saturday, October 1 at The Ridge Motorsports Park)! We are continuing the tradition of our annual weekend at Oregon Raceway Park but have moved it earlier in the year (June 11-12) in the hope of avoiding the 100+ degree temperatures that have been a hallmark of our past couple of visits. However, the warmth of camaraderie and time for social interaction remains, and the weekend will include dinner at the track on the evening of June 11!