Driving the Boxster GTS

For about four years, I couldn’t really drive the 981 Boxster GTS (MT) properly. But since around this summer, I finally got the hang of it. Although I don’t drive it often, I no longer stall or think, “What gear am I even in right now?!” Somehow, I’ve managed to get to a point where I can drive it reasonably well.

And just last weekend, since my mother-in-law could watch the kids for a bit, we hopped into the Boxster and decided to head to the Royu Driveway as a couple. Then my husband said,

You’ve gotten pretty comfortable driving the Boxster, so why not practice driving while consciously thinking about your racing line today? If you can drive smoothly and fast, driving the Boxster will be even more fun.

So we decided to skip stopping at the lookout for now and spent some time practicing driving on the roads of Royu.

As they say, ‘outside-inside-outside’: when entering a curve, try to approach the clipping point(the spot closest to the inside of the curve) from as wide an outside line as possible. Then, on the curve’s exit, aim for as straight a line outward as you can to accelerate properly.

Following this advice, I tried it out, but honestly, I had no idea where the clipping point even was (-_-)

I kept grumbling things like, “The curve is way longer than I thought!” and “I can’t see ahead, so I have no clue!” while driving, when my husband said,

When you exit a curve, you need to move more straight out to the outside. There’s no point in following the curve forever, right? If you don’t, your exit will be super slow.

and also,

You’re turning the wheel too late. That’s why your movements are jerky. Instead of turning after entering the curve, start turning smoothly before you get in.

Hearing this from him, I gradually got more confused while driving, so we pulled over to review everything again.

(What are we even doing as a couple… lol)

After the explanation, I gathered myself and started driving again, but when I glanced in the rearview mirror, a Toyota 86 was rapidly closing in on us…!!

Oh no, this is really bad (ﾟдﾟ)!!

Seeing me completely flustered and losing my composure, my husband said,

No, no, they’re not tailgating you that much, just keep driving normally lol

But even so, the big image of the 86 in the mirror was distracting. Performance-wise, I’m sure the Boxster GTS is faster, but well… the driver’s skill is another story.

Anyway, I managed to signal and let them pass safely.

Driving with Care for the Car

That incident really wore me out, so next, I let my husband drive so I could watch how he takes the course.

Feeling the Boxster’s performance under his driving, his driving was definitely much smoother. The curves didn’t produce any weird G-forces, so even riding shotgun was comfortable. Also, watching objectively from the passenger seat, I could clearly see his racing line, so I switched back to driving afterward.

I was able to take curves more smoothly than before, but I still made plenty of mistakes in choosing the right line depending on the road… My husband advised me,

Even professional drivers say it’s best to look two corners ahead. Don’t just focus on the curve right in front of you; whether the next one is another curve or a straight affects your line choice, right?
Also, Mina, you’ve always said, “I don’t want to drive fast, so I don’t need to think about racing lines” and stubbornly refused to practice on Gran Turismo, but that’s actually great basic training for racing lines.
In the end, if you want to drive the car smoothly and comfortably, you should pick the shortest line and try to avoid unnecessary G-forces.
The car’s behavior becomes smoother, and as a result, you can drive faster. There are no sudden moves, so it’s safer and gentler on the tires and the car itself.
That’s why having this kind of awareness is really important.

I see… (-_-)

The more I learn about cars, the deeper it gets. After we got home, I remembered, “The Porsche Track Experience (PTE) in Wakayama is coming up soon.” So I checked the participation guide that arrived by mail and saw this:

F-Full Throttle Challenge…!!!

Right, they said it’s held at the old airport site with a long straight… I wonder if I can really handle driving the Boxster there. I’m pretty nervous, but I’ll do my best!