Slipstream - December 2018

was told this would be an opportunity to find out how my
car performs on a track, including some special exercises
involving high-speed maneuvers. Get me some coffee, and
bring it on!
We arrived in Cresson a little before 8:30, registered,
and got prepped by some sharp young men from Park
Place Porsche. Although numbers weren’t required for this
group of beginners, my husband insisted that I wear my
newly assigned 528 in black on my white Cayenne. I could
have spent that $30 on wine for after the Clinic, but he
wanted me to look the part for my first event.
At about 9:30, and for the next hour and a half, we
put our cars through their paces: full acceleration followed
by full stop several times on each of two laps. I had no
idea how well Blanche could come to a controlled stop!
Instructor Rick seemed to be having as much fun as I
was. From there, we moved on to the next segment to
see how many cones we could hit in the slalom. I’m still
apologizing to Robin Howard for taking down so many of
her “children.” The final morning exercise was the Mosh
Pit, known to those at the event as the Skid Pad, showing
us how small changes in the accelerator pedal translate
to big changes in the turning radius. Instructor Tom was
great about teaching through my eccentricities. After a
handful of circles in both directions, we paused for lunch
and to let some other groups out on the track.
After lunch, we had another hour and a half scheduled,
including braking to a full stop with the electronic
emergency brake, high-speed lane changes, and the final,
ultimate session: putting together all that we’d learned
through the day in a Lead/Follow group. Several groups of
four or five of us got behind an instructor for lots of laps
around the track, by ourselves, no instructor in the car
and at speeds that let you feel how the car really handled.
Instructor Peter started the afternoon but couldn’t eject
himself from the passenger seat fast enough. It’s possible
he was unnerved by Bête the stuffed Bat hanging from the
rear seat grab handle.
Instructor John closed out the day with a steady hand
and solid advice. Classroom time throughout the day, led
by Instructor Mark Schnoerr, did a great job of augmenting
our on-track activities.
I knew I’d had a good time when I started talking to
a couple of girlfriends the next day about joining me in
Cresson in the future.
Thanks for the introduction. - Lisa Mitchell
We got a lot of feedback on ways to improve the Car
Control Clinic, incorporate elements, work more closely
with the dealers, and take advantage of this low-risk
stepping stone approach to bringing new participants into
our organization while teaching essential Car Control
Skills they can use every day regardless of their DE
aspirations.
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