The Porsche Track Experience

In a recent post, I wrote about attending Porsche Sports Car Together Day 2019, held at Fuji Speedway on Saturday, June 15, and Sunday, June 16. While I was there, I also took part in the Porsche Track Experience on the morning of the 15th.

The Porsche Track Experience is a safety and sports driving program for Porsche owners. Held every year, it gives participants the chance to sharpen their car-control skills and deepen their understanding of what makes a Porsche special.

There are several programs for different experience levels. I decided to bring our Panamera Turbo to “Warm Up Light+,” the most basic program, designed to teach the fundamentals of sports driving.

My husband, who has taken the program many times, had been telling me for years:

“Mina, you absolutely have to do it! You really should go!”

But taking part meant finding someone to look after the kids and making a three-day, two-night trip that included arriving at Fuji Speedway the day before. I was interested, but never quite motivated enough to make all those arrangements. Then this special session was scheduled to coincide with the event, so I decided to take the opportunity and give it a try.

The Warm Up Light+ program I took is a special half-day version of the regular “Warm Up” course. The curriculum included a sports driving basics lecture, wet skid-pad circle driving, ABS braking, and a parade lap.

Apparently, the Porsche Track Experience is so popular that places can fill up and a waitlist can form almost as soon as registration opens. I applied online right after bookings opened at noon on April 25 and was lucky enough to secure a place.

The information pack sent to us in advance included reminders such as:

・All parts on the participating car must be genuine Porsche parts
・Tires must be Porsche-approved tires with an N rating
・Tires must have sufficient tread and be free of damage or punctures, and the brake pads must have enough life remaining (A maintenance inspection equivalent to a six-month check at a Porsche dealership is recommended)
・Driving gloves must be worn on the day

In other words, the exercises were designed to push the cars close to their limits.

As luck would have it, one of our Panamera’s tires had been punctured about a month before the event. When the dealer repaired it, they topped up the oil and checked the remaining tread, too. We went over the car’s inspection items ourselves before deciding it was ready to take part.

The Day of Warm Up Light+

Then came June 15. The weather was, unfortunately, pouring rain—or, honestly, I’d expected it to rain all along! The event was listed as going ahead rain or shine, but I wondered whether it could really run in conditions like these. Still, we set off for the venue early that morning.

After arriving, we headed to registration. I handed over the waiver and vehicle maintenance checklist and received my number for the day, then took my assigned seat. My husband and daughters were there as guests, so they were able to wait with me at a table set up behind the participants.

Once I sat down, the person next to me turned and asked:

“Are you Mina, by any chance?”

“Yes!” I replied, and we introduced ourselves. It turned out to be one of my Twitter followers, someone I’d chatted with regularly!

What a coincidence to end up sitting next to each other! My husband joined us, and we had a great conversation. It was lovely to hear that this blog had inspired them to buy a Porsche—and that they’d brought their Macan S to the event.

That made me so happy.

Before long, it was time to begin. First, the instructors were introduced. I was amazed by the lineup: racing drivers with experience competing and winning at races around the world, including Le Mans, as well as former PCCJ (Porsche Carrera Cup Japan) drivers.

Next, Chief Instructor Tetsuya Tanaka began the sports driving basics lecture. “It’s pouring today, but you’re lucky—we almost never get the chance to experience full-force Porsche braking in heavy rain!” he told us.

Now that he mentioned it, he had a point. Maybe being a rain magnet had worked in my favor for once!

He went on to explain the correct driving position. It was much closer to the steering wheel than I’d imagined. Hold the steering wheel at the nine-and-three positions and adjust the seat so your elbows and knees are bent at roughly 90 degrees. Otherwise, if you need to make a sudden turn, your arms could straighten out and make it difficult to steer effectively.

Then came an explanation of ABS. Chief Instructor Tanaka asked the group, “Can anyone explain ABS?” One participant gave a perfect answer. Impressive…

ABS stands for Anti-lock Braking System. It prevents the tires from locking during emergency braking, allowing you to continue steering. If the tires lock up, turning the steering wheel may have no effect, and the car could keep going straight—potentially leading to a serious accident.

With ABS, the tires are less likely to lock, so you can still steer and make some use of the car’s ability to turn to avoid danger. I’d heard the term ABS countless times, but never really understood how it worked. It was a great lesson.

After taking a group photo indoors because of the rain, we headed for our cars. At last, it was time to get started!

Wet Skid-Pad Circle Driving

My husband and daughters got in the car with me. I placed the radio we’d been given in the door pocket, put my number on the car from inside, and lined up to wait for instructions.

Then we heard an instructor over the radio:

“Okay, we’re going to check the radios now. I’ll test them one car at a time. Can you hear me? Okay, can you hear me?”

The instructor kept asking, “Can you hear me?” and I started to wonder, “Wait, are we supposed to answer?”

“Yes! Loud and clear! (￣ー￣)!”

I called out, and my husband burst out laughing:

“No, no! They just explained that they can’t hear us through the radios!”

Oh, right… (-_-) I hadn’t been listening at all.

We were then split into two groups and sent to different stations. Our group started with wet skid-pad circle driving. Normally, the pad is watered down for the exercise, but with rain pouring down, there was no need for that!

In the full-day program, participants first experience the difference between driving circles with PSM switched on, when the car won’t spin, and with PSM switched off, when it will. But in Warm Up Light+, we went straight to circle driving with PSM switched off.

We were told to press and hold the PSM button to switch it off, select Sport Plus mode, shift into manual mode, and drive around the circle in first gear (From what I’ve seen on other people’s blogs, many seem to do this exercise in second gear, but we started in first).

When you first start circling, the tires have plenty of grip, so there’s no problem. But as you press the accelerator and build speed, the car gradually begins to understeer. Lift off the accelerator at that point, and the car spins.

It was hard to picture what that would feel like just from the explanation. Luckily, I was one of the last in line, so I got to learn by watching everyone else. It was also really helpful to listen to the instructor’s directions and advice over the radio while watching their runs.

Then it was my turn. Just before I set off, Chief Instructor Tanaka advised me, “In the Panamera, first gear might not be the right choice, so let’s try it in first gear to start with. Also, the Panamera Turbo is all-wheel drive, so it may be harder to spin.” I began in first gear.

“Go whichever way you like, clockwise or counterclockwise. Okay, start turning, and adjust the steering angle. Once you’ve found the right angle, gradually press the accelerator and build up speed.”

The instructor talked me through it. I tried to follow the directions.

“Okay, pick up the speed a little more—more!”

I pressed the accelerator further.

“You’ve still got grip—there’s plenty left! Keep building speed!”

I was doing as I’d been told, but the accelerator was already flat to the floor.

“Come on, a little more speed—press the accelerator further!”

“Instructor! I’m already flat out. Nothing’s happening when I press any harder! (ﾟдﾟ)!” I said inside the car, but of course there was no way they could hear me. My first attempt ended there.

I opened the window and said, “Sorry, I was in first gear and already had the accelerator all the way down. I couldn’t go any faster…” The instructor replied, “I see, sorry about that. Let’s try second gear next!” I shifted into second, found my steering angle, and slowly pressed the accelerator to build speed.

“You’ve still got grip—pick up the speed a bit more.”

The centrifugal force was already intense, and I was terrified of going any faster. But I trusted the Panamera and worked up the courage to accelerate.

“That’s good—the grip is starting to fade, and you’re getting some understeer. Keep going!”

At that point, I had no idea what the car was doing or what was happening. It felt like being on a high-speed merry-go-round that had turned into a thrill ride. Then the instructor said:

“Okay! Now ease off the accelerator whenever you’re ready!”

I followed the instruction and lifted off. The Panamera went whoooosh into a spin and came to a stop.

…That… was terrifying…

“There we go—the Panamera spun, too! Nice work! Head back to the line and wait for your next turn.”

I was so shaken and relieved that I moved the car back in a daze (laughs). By the way, apparently, if you straighten the steering wheel as you lift off the accelerator, you won’t get a proper spin.

Here’s what it looked like as a GIF (my husband made these):

Then it was time for another round. Everyone seemed to have overcome their nerves and started to get the hang of it. Their improvement was incredible. Soon it was my turn again. I felt like I’d figured out the basics on my first attempt, so I accelerated in second gear and lifted off. The car spun—but…

“That spin was caused by too much power, so it wasn’t quite what this exercise is designed to teach. Let’s try again. Build speed gradually. If you accelerate suddenly, the power can make the car spin.”

Ah, I see… That made sense. I followed the advice and managed to get it right, and the circle-driving exercise came to a successful end.

I’d been clenching my teeth so hard that my jaw was exhausted. But I also got to experience just how capable the Panamera Turbo is—it took that much to make it spin. You don’t often get to keep circling with the accelerator pinned in second gear on a rainy day… What an experience.

Next page → Experiencing full acceleration and full braking in the Panamera Turbo—and taking it out on the circuit!