Bury it in the Asphalt: Porsche Sport Driving School

You will come back to your hotel each night spent, hot, and sunburned. Your clothes and hair will smell like auto exhaust, motor oil, and brake dust. You will be mentally drained, immensely satiated, and you’ll have had time of your life.  This was my experience at the Porsche Sport Driving School at the Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama last week, where I attended the PSDS women’s only entry level performance driving class.  

Why?  It goes without saying that this is the Porsche driving school, so do I really need to explain? But actually there were a couple other reasons I did this.  First, ever since I bought my 911, everyone including my friends, my boss, and my neighbors kept asking me the same question: “When are you going to take your car to the track?”  This was the answer to that, and the clever birthday present my wonderful husband proposed in lieu of my wearing out my own tires and brakes on the track.  And what a gift it turned out to be, because—and the second reason I wanted to go to PSDS—I wanted to become a better driver, especially because Porsches and particularly 911s require special handing because of their engine placement, weight distribution, and immense power. 

Pit lane at the Barber track

The entry level performance driving course is intense, professional, well organized, and more physically and mentally demanding than I ever imagined.  Most of my classmates agreed about this.   Most of us were first timers to PSDS, with the exception of a few repeat customers who loved it so much they wanted to do it again. 

Even though the school sent a welcome package in the mail early on and instructions about attire (casual with no sandals or open toed shoes allowed), logistics, and to bring your valid drivers license, I didn’t quite know what to expect when I arrived in Birmingham, where I and other attendees were collected by a limo driver at the airport the evening before the course started. 

At the track

Class starts promptly at 8:00 am, after about a 40 minute ride to the track from the hotel.  The first thing the attendant at the registration desk asked was “Can you drive a manual?”  Many participants could not or instead requested paddle shifters, of which there were plenty available.

2014 Boxster and 911 Carrera S

Overall the course consists of two very full days of driving exercises, track time, and group and one-on-one attention from instructors, along with a small amount of classroom time.  There are almost no breaks between events. Participants are constantly evaluated, data is collected as you drive, and you’re given tips for improvement based on your skill levels and strong and weak points.  They divide you up into small teams right away and your team moves from exercise to exercise to track throughout each day.  

We drove 2014 Panameras, Caymans, Cayennes, Boxsters, 911 S sticks, automatics, and paddle shifters, and a 911 Turbo.   They also had a single Macan available, which is a new, small SUV that is still hard to come by at dealerships: one of my teammates fell in love with the Macan and at the end of the course she was headed home to order one.  And somewhere they had hidden a 918 Spyder hybrid on the property, but I didn’t spy that.  Word got around during the course that it was reserved exclusively for serious prospective buyers to try out on the track prior to ordering one. 

On the skid pad

We did multiple episodes learning on the skid pad, autocross, cornering, lane changing, heel to toe downshifting for those who drove manuals, effective breaking at high speeds, launch control in the 911 Turbo, a rugged off road adventure in a Cayenne, and lots of track and lap time.  Other than the approximate 1.5 hours spent in the classroom and short lunch breaks, most of the time you are outdoors.

I liked all the exercises and loved the track time, but for some reason the skid pad was just plain old fun:  it’s about a 25 by 25 yard square of slick surfaced asphalt that adjacent sprinklers keep good and wet.  You drive out, speed up straight, turn in a figure 8, your wheels skid, you might spin out, and you learn to recover and gain back control back.  Then you do it again several times.

The launch control exercise was mostly for thrills, but gives you a taste of what the 911 Turbo beast can do:  0-60 in 2.2 seconds.  Initially you’re in the passenger seat while the instructor—ours was a way cool lady named Tiresa-- explained how to use launch control, which is a Porsche option you can purchase on 911s with the Sport Chrono package.  She warns you to be tightly buckled in with your head back on the headrest, then she launches the Turbo.  It’s thrilling and scary, and over in a few seconds.  Then it’s your turn, and it’s even more thrilling and less scary when you’re in the driver’s seat.  

911 Turbo Launch

Some people can get motion sickness from certain course activities, because you do get up to high speeds, near 80-100 mph or so on the track towards the end of the second day, and most of the exercises are intense.  But if you are prone to motion sickness they provide Dramamine.  They also provide water and sodas all day; this is Alabama, it’s hot most of the year and easy for you to become dehydrated.  I was there in mid-September and it still reached 90 degrees F with strong sun in the afternoons, and I got sunburned even while wearing sunscreen and a ball cap.  

2014 911 Turbo S

As fun as the whole event is, the course, its instructors, and the Barber track are all very technical.  Don't come here thinking you're going to just screw around with these cars.  The Barber track is a demanding 2.38 miles long with a lot of elevation change and curves.  At PSDS it’s about technique, precision, discipline, safety, and making you a better driver, and not about being reckless and turning you into a race car driver in two days—sorry to break the news but that takes years to achieve.  In the entry level course you aren’t allowed to go out on the track alone, instead you either follow your instructor in their pilot car as they give directions and tips via intercom or they will ride with you (you still move at high speeds!) However, once you pass the entry level course, PSDS does offer more advanced classes culminating in a GT3 Cup experience.    

Above: The GT3 Cup Car Exterior and Interior

The school strongly emphasizes directing your head and eyes up and ahead on the track so you can anticipate what’s coming and plan for it, instead of reacting to it.  At curves they want your head turned practically 90 degrees right or left to be aware of the upcoming horizon.  And they kept drilling us on placing our hands at 9:00 and 3:00, along with smooth but firm acceleration and breaking. 

The instructors are delightful, knowledgeable, and charming.  Don, a senior instructor with whom we did lane changing and breaking exercises, told me to hit the break on the 911 S “like you’re going to bury it in the asphalt!”

About 50 instructors work at the school; most are former professional race car drivers.  Hurley Haywood of Daytona, Le Mans, and Sebring fame directs PSDS.  We didn't get to meet Hurley, unfortunately, but no doubt he’s one busy guy running that school.  He did sign all of our graduation certificates.   

Sure, the course had a light but not overt sales pitch undertone to it. For example, given my expressed preference for a stick, that’s what I drove most of the time on the track.  But I was given an automatic Carrera S for one set of laps and was then asked how I liked it.  I liked the speed and the way the car handled, similar to mine, but I still love the way you engage with the car more completely with a manual transmission.  I told them I’m not willing to give that up yet, and no one tried to sway me otherwise.  And really, the staff’s beaming professionalism is one of the strongest points of the whole course, outshining all else. 

How do you sign up?  It basically goes like this:  go to the PSDS web site and you can email them to start the registration process at sportdrivingschool@porsche.us.  You can also register by calling them at 888-204-7474.  I registered on line and it was easy, fast, and seamless.  The official lodging is at the Renaissance Ross Bridge Golf Resort located about 20 minutes outside of Birmingham.  If you book the school’s hotel package, you’ll get free airport pickup and drop off and transportation to the track both days.   Breakfast and lunch are served at the track, and you can have dinner with the instructors one night at the Renaissance. 

Finally, since everyone asks about this, there is a small Porsche swag shop next to the classroom, with apparel, model cars, and other Porsche gear.  And, the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum is on site, which you can visit when the course concludes. 

If you plan to enroll in any of their courses do it at least 3-6 months ahead as all of them sell out early.  The women’s only course is currently offered one time per year, in mid-September.   They also offer classes to corporate teams and groups.     

I’ll likely be back to take the master’s class at some point down the road when I'm craving another 2 days of Porsche-fueled pure adrenaline. If you love to drive these kinds of cars and want to learn how to do that best, this is the place.