Blogging My First Porsche DE Event

This weekend I will be participating in a "Driver Education" event at Summit Point's Shenandoah course in West Virginia. A DE event differs from a race in that there is no timing, no order of finish and no regard for race car classification. On the other hand, there is a lot of testosterone around when you put 60 or so Porsche drivers on the same track. So there will be plenty of competition, unofficial as it may be.

This is my first event since buying the Porsche. I had previously done a couple of events with the Ferrari, but a big GT is not a good car to learn on, and the thought of repairing it gives me the shakes. I've done some karting, too, but as safe as it is you are a little ... exposed. I took The Prince, my 11-year-old son, and after some initial jitters he loved it. Me, too. We're going to go again, but we have to make sure the The Boss, my wife, doesn't come to the track. The Boss has a truly wonderful outlook on tracking: stay safe, have fun, and don't break anything expensive. She was all for the idea of buying an inexpensive track toy; anything is better than putting all that Italian sheet metal and carbon fiber (gulp!) at risk. After due research, I settled on a Porsche 944 - low powered but great handling, with plenty of (relatively) inexpensive go-fast goodies available to will make it a competitive racer in the right hands.

A local guy who sells high-end Porsches turned me on to The Man, a highly-regarded preparer and driver of 944s. We talked, and he made some suggestions about what to look for and what to avoid. Before long he found me a car - a gold over brown leather '86 with about 130k on the clock. The mileage is not a problem, by the way, because (a) the weak parts have already been replaced, (b) the other parts are bulletproof, and (c) all of the mileage-limited parts that matter are going to be replaced when the car gets worked on (pity about the interior - it's in unbelievable shape for a 20-year-old car).

Anyway, The Man instructed me to run at least one DE event with the car bone stock so I can establish a personal baseline against which to compare the upgrades. The rotors and pads are new, as are the street tires (the old ones were too old to be tracked). I think the baseline idea makes a lot of sense from a prep standpoint, and it's flattering to be told that I will be able to tell the difference, but really - was anyone going to keep me off the track this fall?

So here I am in tobacco country, ready to drive my first club event. My other track events were with a group that was unaffiliated with any particular marque, and there was everything from VWs to (ahem) Ferraris on the track. This event is through my local region of the Porsche Club of America, and it does indeed appear to be more ... clubby. That said, everyone has been nice to the newbie, and very helpful. These guys certainly are committed to knowing their cars: at the tech inspection two senior members debated, intensely but without rancor, whether my car is supposed to have one heat shield (a 6" by 12" sheet of aluminum) or two. The consensus finally was two - which The Man says is incorrect.

My intention is to blog after tomorrow's session and, after I get home, Sunday's as well.