Based on the information people provide when they first became a member of the Allegheny Region Porsche Club, there is a great interest in attending driver education events. However, my discussions with several new members has indicated you have some wariness of what exactly is involved in these events. Briefly, a driver education is a method for you to learn what it means to drive your Porsche in a high-performance manner. It allows you to learn the basic skills needed to drive fast safely, and to learn your car's response and feedback to your driving input with a skilled instructor familiar with your type of vehicle and at a pace with which you feel comfortable. Driver education events are held at any one of a number of road race tracks; in the "local" area there is Nelsons Ledges (near Warren, OH), Mid-Ohio (near Mansfield, Ohio), Summit Point (SE portion of W. VA), and Watkins Glen (near Corning, NY). AND now we have a new hometown track, BeaveRun, near Beaver Falls.

The procedure is that all registrants are broken up into about 4 run groups, with about 15-25 drivers per group (depending on the track size). Each driver is then assigned an instructor, who is typically a person with several years experience in driving the track and knowledge in the characteristics of your particular vehicle (a 911 does not handle the same as a 944, for example, and the driving approach is somewhat different). Each group will typically get three to four driving sessions on the track per day (school typically is a two day, Saturday/Sunday event), each session lasting about 25-30 minutes. With the instructor in the passenger seat, you will commence driving around the track at a relatively slow rate of speed. He (or she) will describe to you the various corners, straights, and track features to watch for as you are driving, and where to position your car at the entrance, middle, and exit of each turn. He (or she) will describe at what point you should start braking, when to stop braking and start applying the gas, and when to "floor it". Once again, you will be driving at your own pace, and will start driving faster ONLY when you feel comfortable AND your instructor is confident of your ability to do so safely.

These events are DEFINITELY not races or racing schools; there is no official lap time kept. You do not have to worry about someone cutting you off going into or exiting a corner, since no passing is allowed except on a DESIGNATED straightaway (identified at the start of the driving session). Even then, if a car wants to pass someone, it MUST wait until the driver being passed DELIBERATELY waves him by.

In addition to the on-track instruction, most organizers of track events (including Allegheny Region) also provide classroom sessions to enhance your education in high performance driving. These sessions get into more detail on safety and high performance driving techniques than is possible in the car at speed on the track.