Test Drive: Porsche Driving School, For Drivers who Relish a Challenge

Leipzig, a city located in East Germany near the Polish border, well-known in the 17th century for its learning and culture in areas such as music, astronomy and optics, was ranked 35th in the world out of 256 cities for cultural, economic and social innovation. But the purpose of our trip was for the Porsche Sport Driving School. The question remains: Why in Leipzig? The answer is quite straight: It is the city where the Porsche Cayenne and Panamera are produced, and most recently, is where the Cajun project was confirmed.




We woke up in the very early morning and left to the famous FIA-certified track at the Porsche facility in Leipzig. At our arrival we were brought in for a briefing of our track day event. As we all know, Porsche stands for tradition and so does the Porsche Sport Driving School. Since 1974 it has been offering participants first-class training and tremendous driving behind the wheel along with the chance to sharpen our driving skills both on and off road. The Porsche Sport Driving School offers an extensive series of thrilling courses, where qualified instructors showed us how to really improve our driving expertise.

As the Porsche Sport Driving School says, each training level requires a specific period of time. But we, as journalists, have enough knowledge of driving so we received the whole range of Porsche Sport Driving School levels in one day. Normally the first level is the warm-up level which requires one day. The second level is the precision level that requires two days. The third level is about performance and lastly, the master level, requires two days before acquiring and applying for a racing license.

Warm-Up Level

We already knew the basics of mastering a vehicle but in the warm-up training, we practiced how to react correctly to critical scenarios as they may occur in our everyday road traffic. Our instructors gave us tips on how to recognize possible hazards in advance and thus deal with them more efficiently or, better still, avoid them totally. You will learn to find your ideal seat and steering wheel position which we already knew before. We also practiced emergency stops, took evasive action and correct vision control. They also familiarized us with the basic laws of physics relating to driving and vehicle handling. We experienced for ourselves the difference between oversteer and understeer and how we can retain control in each situation and bring our vehicle back on track. We learned how to skillfully respond to load changes with precise corrections to the steering. On the circuit the professional instructors demonstrated for us the optimum and ideal way to do the cornering technique.

Precision Level

The only difference between the previous level is that we had the opportunity to complete full laps of the circuit. The particularly important factors here in this level are learning to estimate speed and being able to react quickly. We practiced taking evasive action and experienced the effect that even slight differences in speed can have on the intensity of load changes. With our instructors on hand during the day, we simulated on the circuit all driving conditions such as accurate steering, skilful braking and careful acceleration.

Performance Level

This driving safety course mainly concentrated on further improving our vehicle control. The sections focused on more specific driving skills, in particular following the ideal line and the resulting load-changing reactions, were aimed at further improving our command of the vehicle. Effective braking when entering a corner and avoiding unnecessary steering inputs are primarily among our practice. This is why we spent much time in the driver’s seat. In this level we finely sharpen our skills over the entire circuit, while our instructors were monitoring our driving. The whole emphasis is on improving our ability rather than driving at high speed.

Master Level

This level is primarily devoted to motorsport-oriented aspects. The driving program included the identification the ideal line on a circuit, precision braking and controlled acceleration out of a bend. When we were driving laps, we had to be able to find the optimum line over the entire course. The instructors were in front of us in the GT2 and GT3 RS and there to discuss our performance on the track afterwards. The theory sessions cover aspects such as race etiquette, racing flags and correct clothing in motorsport which is the only section we didn’t do and stayed in normal clothes. As a further highlight, a guest instructor from the world of motorsport was on hand, Manuel, not only to reveal us some of the tricks on the circuit, but also to take us for a “quick spin”. All this gave us a perfect idea on the high art of skilled motoring and an occasion to switch over experiences with the professionals. To maximize our fun learning, we got a recording video when we were sitting in the passenger seat for a quick spin!

Verdict

With Manuel & Sebastian

I personally got emotionally involved about the track driving and wanted to continue with any upcoming levels of the academy. I knew that when being at Porsche, evolution does not stop at their sports cars; it gives you the extension feeling of doing the whole driving experience off road too. After we successfully completed the various training levels we can apply for a professional racing license.