Assessment of Porsche Monitor Experiences 2 Day Grasp Racecar Course Held at Spa Francorchamps on September 4-5, 2024

Assessment of Porsche Monitor Experiences 2 Day Grasp Racecar Course Held at Spa Francorchamps on September 4-5, 2024

Final week, on September 4 and 5 at Spa Francorchamps in Belgium, I attended the Porsche Monitor Experiences Grasp Racecar 2 Day Course, which is run by Manthey Racing.

SUMMARY: Merely put, it was an excellent program, offering extraordinarily top quality one-on-one instruction as to drive or enhance your driving of a race automobile on an F1 monitor, tons of monitor time in a Porsche racecar that’s your personal for all the course (I drove over 700 kilometers at Spa) and nice worth for the enrollment value, which is about $25,000. If you wish to learn to drive a Porsche racecar on an F1 monitor, that is the course for you. Footage from the course are beneath. The automobile that I used was the quantity 12 718 GT4RS Membership Sport. All different pictured automobiles have been utilized by others.

When you’ve got by no means pushed a race automobile on monitor earlier than, it’s an unimaginable expertise. The G forces and speeds of a race automobile on slicks are a lot higher than a avenue automobile. With these sorts of capabilities on a curler coaster of a monitor like Spa Francorchamps you really want to kick your sense of concern to the curb and persuade your self that the automobile can, in actual fact, nook and brake THAT FAST. When you’ve got by no means skilled going 150-160 miles per hour on a straight after which standing on the brakes with 200 plus kilos of power and braking all the way down to 40 miles per hour in 150 meters whereas getting thrown into your harness, downshifting and cornering, or going round corners at speeds you by no means thought potential, prepare. Additionally, carrying nomex fire-resistant tops and bottoms, a balaclava, gloves, racing boots, a firesuit and a helmet in a automobile that has no air-con and no actual air flow you’ll sweat greater than you ever thought potential. That’s all what you’ll expertise on the Grasp Racecar course.

COURSE SUMMARY: The Grasp Racecar course is an intensive, two day course whose sole focus is instructing its individuals drive or bettering its individuals' expertise in driving a racecar. There are solely 5 individuals within the course.

DEDICATED RACECAR, INSTRUCTOR AND MECHANIC FOR EACH PARTICIPANT: Every participant will get their very own racecar, driving instructors (all of whom have vital racing expertise) and mechanic. Accordingly, there isn’t a sharing of your racecar. My teacher, Stefan Schmucker, was excellent. He had vital prior Porsche racing expertise and knew his stuff. His steerage was invaluable and he’s an actual skilled and a fantastic individual as well. Extremely really helpful.

MASSIVE TIME ON TRACK – OVER 700 KILOMETERS DRIVING – AND LOTS OF SETS OF TIRES: On account of the undivided time in my racecar, I drove ten 45 minute stints within the automobile, driving over 110 laps at Spa or over 700 kilometers — virtually three lengths of the Belgian Grand Prix — on the monitor. Three stints have been within the rain on rain tires, one was in blended circumstances on rain tires and 6 have been on a dry monitor with slicks. They usually gave me at the very least three new units of slicks in the course of the 3 days in addition to a set of rain tires at no additional price. There are SO many periods that an teacher advised me that some individuals decide out of driving the final stint of the day. After all, after flying 8 hours from New York after which driving to Spa, I soaked in each minute of the expertise and drove each accessible minute.

SMALL CLASS SIZE: The course solely consists of 5 individuals. That is so that every participant will get the assist of a full mini-race staff. The course was solely held three different instances this yr at different tracks.

THE PORSCHE RACECARS: The course got here normal with a 718 GT4RS Membership Sport. As a result of it was my first time with Manthey Racing, they required me to make use of this automobile. The reason being though it’s nearly as highly effective because the 992 GT3 Cup Automobile, it’s mid engine versus rear engine and isn’t almost as susceptible to snap oversteer because the Cup automobile. It additionally has much less downforce than the Cup automobile so its cornering speeds are decrease. For 3,000 Euros extra, individuals might use a 992 GT3 Cup automobile as an alternative. Most individuals opted for that. As anticipated, the automobiles have been glowing clear after they arrived, this yr's automobiles and meticulously maintained by Manthey Racing. Manthey Racing is. for many who don't know, one of many high GT racing groups in Europe in addition to the main efficiency/racing bundle provider for Porsche, which is almost all proprietor of the corporate.

VIRTUALLY ALL OF THE RISK OF LOSS OF THE CAR REMAINS ON MANTHEY RACING/PORSCHE AND NOT ON THE PARTICIPANT: In contrast to personal racecar leases, the chance of lack of these automobiles for collision harm (though not for legal responsibility for harming others) is NOT on the individuals however stays with Porsche/Manthey Racing apart from a modest deductible in relation to the worth of the automobile – 10,000 Euros for the GT4RS and 25,000 Euros for the GT3 Cup Automobile. Because of this, in contrast to personal racecar leases, you do not want to purchase monitor insurance coverage, which may be very costly.

THE INSTRUCTION METHOD – HOW THEY TEACH YOU: After an preliminary security briefing, this 2 day course consisted of ten 45 minute driving stints on monitor, separated by 45 minute durations the place every individuals reviewed the info and video from their automobile and the teacher's automobile with their teacher (the road/highway automobile monitor periods have been held throughout these intervals). Throughout these periods, my teacher gave me pointers as to what I used to be doing mistaken and the way I might enhance in addition to what our improvement targets have been for the following stint.

In the course of the first day, the participant follows the teacher across the monitor. You study the racing line, braking factors, braking methods, flip in factors, correct nook exists and also you progressively get quicker. The second day is a mix of the participant main the teacher and the participant driving alone. In the course of the driving, your teacher is continuously in communication with you, giving your driving suggestions in addition to holding you knowledgeable of security and monitor points akin to overtaking, yellow and pink flags.

THE RACING GEAR: Manthey Racing supplies individuals with racing gear in the event that they want it together with the helmet, HANS gadget, firesuit, gloves, boots, balaclava, in ear headphones, and so forth. I introduced all of my very own tools as did many however not the entire individuals.

SUPPORT FROM YOUR DEDICATED MECHANIC: My devoted mechanic, Patrick, was superior. Not solely did he guarantee my racecar was working in tiptop form, however he helped me strap into the automobile in order that the harness was very tight and correctly positioned over the HANS gadget (if the shoulder harness straps usually are not correctly positioned, the HANS won’t work and defend you) in addition to helped to attach my helmet communication programs to the automobile's radio. He additionally assisted with entry and exit, eradicating the steering wheel and placing it again on.

THE RISK LEVEL: Driving race automobiles on monitor will not be with out danger. Particularly at one of many world's hardest tracks like Spa with its frequent rain, frequent crashes, its infamous and its thrilling Eau Rouge/Radillion nook complicated, the place a number of drivers within the junior method classes have perished within the final 5 years.

Throughout these two days, Spa lived as much as its thrilling however tough repute. Throughout our ten stints – the place we shared the monitor with many different racecars not taking part in our Grasp Racecar course – there have been eight offs/crashes, resulting in eight pink flags. Not all have been Manthey Racing automobiles. To my data, at the very least two of the various Manthey Racing Porsche GT3 Cup automobiles have been broken too extensively to place again on monitor (by the identical participant). One other participant had a minor off and received caught within the gravel. One other teacher's automobile went into the wall (not at excessive pace on the Brussels nook) because of the obvious failure of an ABS sensor or laptop, the place the pc controlling the ABS system thought the rear ABS was turned off when it truth it was set to setting ABS 7 (about 70 p.c on) so when the teacher hit the brakes exhausting as you do approaching Brussels, the rear brakes locked, spinning the automobile round. Exterior our group, one of many racers not driving a Manthey racecar crashed a 991 GT3 Cup automobile at excessive pace into the wall at Eau Rouge and flipped over a number of instances, ensuing within the ambulance being known as.

As for me, I had no offs, spins or crashes. I had a number of moments the place my rear finish began to oversteer (probably the most severe one at Eau Rouge at very excessive pace the place I entered the nook complicated a bit too late) however I used to be all the time in a position to appropriate it by coming off the fuel, steering in the identical path because the rear finish was going after which getting again on the fuel when the rear finish had regained traction.

GROUP MEALS AND GIFTING: Porsche provided very nice hospitality and catering for the occasion in a devoted very giant tent, supplying a really high-end, breakfast, lunch and dinner the place individuals of this program and the various different Manthey packages in addition to instructors, might eat, speak and mingle. On the finish of this program, every participant within the Grasp Racecar course acquired a model new set of Puma nomex hearth resistant tops and bottoms, a balaclava and gloves in addition to a mannequin of the primary 930 Turbo. A pleasant contact.

ONE NEGATIVE ABOUT THE PROGRAM: There was just one factor I didn’t like about this system – which was shared by different program individuals. Porsche Monitor Experiences/Manthey Racing did NOT lease out the monitor solely, which was not disclosed to us previous to coming. Certainly, to my shock, on the finish of the primary day of the course, dozens of race trailers laden with 992 GT3 Cup race automobiles from race groups throughout Europe confirmed up within the paddock. They have been there for the primary ever 12 hour 992 GT3 Cup Automobile endurance race, which is being held as I write this on Saturday, September 7. And naturally, this meant that over TWENTY FIVE GT3 Cup racecars pushed by professional and am drivers have been out in power on the second day of our course testing on the monitor throughout our periods. This meant that they have been always overtaking us. Because of this, not one of many course individuals I spoke to (together with me) was in a position to get in a single clear lap on the second lap with out getting blue flagged or advised by our instructors to decelerate and transfer over to let the racers move. Furthermore, even once we indicated with the flip sign that we have been transferring to 1 aspect of the monitor, the racers would typically overtake us on that aspect anyway.

I don't blame the racers. They have been there to push their automobiles, get knowledge and prepare for at this time's race. To me, this was Manthey's/Porsche Monitor Experiences' fault for not renting the monitor on an unique foundation.

Sharing the monitor with dozens of quicker race automobiles was not protected for both the race automobiles or us due to the large delta in expertise and pace between the racers and a few of the Manthey/Porsche Monitor Experiences individuals. And it considerably pissed off the aim of the course on the second day as I couldn’t get in a single clear lap (I used to be driving a slower automobile than the 992 GT3 Cup Automobile and I lack that stage of racing expertise) or think about my approach on the second day. As an alternative, a lot of my consideration on monitor on the second day was devoted to site visitors administration and always pulling to the aspect and slowing down. Completely unacceptable. Among the different individuals additionally complained as did I and a few ceased their involvement and stopped driving on monitor for both security or the truth that they may not get a clear lap and have been always pulling to the aspect and slowing down as ordered to by their instructors.

After I complained to Manthey administration, they assured me that this could not be repeated once I return in a month to Purple Bull Ring for 4 extra days of instruction (completely different programs). Don't get me mistaken – I nonetheless liked the course however this actually diminished the standard of the expertise on the second day and was terribly disappointing. I’ve many monitor days on the AMG Driving Academy at COTA and Lime Rock Park and so they all the time rented COTA and Lime Rock solely. However the AMG Driving Academy within the USA doesn’t provide any racecar driving/ instruction experiences to my data. Similar with Porsche within the US.

To me, there was no excuse for them not having solely rented the monitor. That they had a large variety of individuals within the quite a few avenue automobile programs and packages happening and being carried out on the identical time – like GT Trackday and Grasp GT3RS – far outnumbering the race automobile individuals. They drove the monitor on the street automobile periods. And Manthey/Porsche had loads of race automobile individuals as they have been working the GT Trackday Racecar program (the place you may lease from them or drive your personal Porsche racecar on monitor) along with the Grasp Racecar program.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED: Regardless of the one destructive above, this was a unbelievable program and I extremely suggest it. I look ahead to rejoining Manthey Racing and Porsche Monitor Experiences and my GT Trackday Racecar and my Grasp GT3RS programs at Purple Bull Ring in October.