My 986 Trackday story
So I finally mustered the nerve to take my baby to the track.
I had been thinking about this ever since I got the car last november, but the mere thought of running it off the track and potentially tuning my beautiful, beautiful schnookie-lammakins into swiss cheese had a pretty sobering effect.
A friend of mine (who drives a perfectly balanced Alfa Romeo 156) had been telling me about these trackdays in the south of Sweden - just a good hour's drive and ferry-trip from where we live, north of Copenhagen, Denmark.
"People of all sorts meet up, have a cuppa, talk cars and have a blast", he told me. All I could think of was me "blasting" my poor Boxey into a wall - and opening the envelope from my insurance company stating "NO SIR, WE WILL NOT COVER THE DAMAGES ON YOUR SILLY LITTLE PORSCHE. NEXT TIME BUY A GOLF AND STAY ON THE STRETS LIKE EVERYONE ELSE!!".
My buddy went on, sharing beeeeautiful and wonderous stories of excentric men with exotic cars...and how they often let others take these cars for a spin...spin........spin.....in....in.......
OK, I needed an anti-paranoia pill...but since that wasn't available I called my insurance woman, and she actually told me, that my insurance WILL cover damages on the track as long as I don't RACE the car, but only do "practice driving". And she even put it in writing!
So now I'm starting to get both excited and scared at the same time.
I can finally try out my baby for real and REALLY test her limits! I was extatic!!
I can finally try out my baby for real and REALLY test her limits?????? I was petrified!
To be honest I had only been to a track on very few occasions - and those were in "regular" cars where only very few limits were tested.
I know you all look up to me, you all see me as your mentor, your mental guide....your guru and masculine rolemodel. Except of course Carlos...who likes the more feminine "men".
BUT! ...and this may come as a total and utter shock to most of you: I have not been driving professional raing for quite some time. In fact, I haven't done so in years. More accurately: Many years. Come to think ot it...I can't really recall ever having done so...and I'm not even sure I have a distant, vague memory of ever taking a sportscar on a track.
Some uncivilized and unrefined persons might choose to call someone like that "a rookie", "a noob" or even "a track virgin".
I choose the term "pre-certified disprofessional".
I contacted the company in charge of the event, and was told that I needed to cough up around 250$ and show up with a helmet.
Helmet??? What am I? A motorcyclist?
After a few careful arguments including the phrases "spinning", "banging your head into the side window" and "in the remote event of you flipping the car"..I was searching the web for a helmet retailer.
I swore I'd start out with some cheap scooter-helmet, since a real race helmet would be overkill for my needs.
Naturally I ended up spending a small fortune on a Peltor helmet...and since wearing a helmet without the rest of the gear looks plain silly, I simply HAD to get a suit, gloves and neck support. OK, so I stopped short of getting a HANS-system....but I have to admit I was pretty close to whooping out my plastic card and just get that darn thing. Hey! 1.000$ for a smooth looking piece of carbon fibre space age equipment is a bargain!
Especially when you're a rook..erm, pre-certified disprofessional.
And besides. Racing gear may not be the sexiest threads you can wear...but dang! I make this look good! But the again. If you have the body of a greek god, anything looks good on you. I once wore a suit made from pipecleaners and milkcartons...and I still oozed from masculine manliness and class.
Yes, I am unbelievable. I know you wanna hear more about my perfect physique, but I feel compelled to move on.
So the day arose.
Late in august where the danish summer weather can be anything but stabile I had a date with a swedish track.
In a moment of total and absolute parkinsonian whatthehellareyouthinkingitis I had invited my girlie to tag along.
I seem to have forgotten that we hadn't seen a lot of eachother the past weeks before the trackday - so naturally she grabbed the opportunity.
Not primarily because of the driving (figures), but - I have a sneaky feeling - because it might be an excellent opportunity for some "quality time".
Sadly she had forgotten that I would devote most of my attention that day to my mistress...The fair lady of Boxsterham.
But - whipped as I am - I have to admit it turned out to be a nice surprise that she joined. I mean...she was a pain in the butt and I had to put her in her place ever so often in from of the guys...that's a given...but apart from that it was nice. Theoretically.
So we got up tuesday morning at something like 05.15 AM to be able to catch the ferry at 7:00 in Elsinore. Yes, the town of Hamlet.
I truly hate getting up in the morning. I haven't been in the military (I was dismissed at the recruitment session for being too masculine and tough), and I'm pretty sure I'd suck at it.
But this was a beautiful, sunny day with temperatures of around 22 degrees - and as much as I hte getting up early: one thing early mornings definatelty have going for them: EMPTY ROADS!!!!!!!
Whoohoo! Starting the day with a 250 km/h ride on a completely empty freeway is just great....I have read somewhere.
Naturally I drove sensibly and kept my speed well under the legal limits. Of course. You never know what can happen on an empty freeway like that.
Sheep and elves might go to sleep on them.
We reached the ferry and met up with my buddy and a couple of his friends.
They had brought a Group N Alfa 156 (no engine or break mods allowed in that class, just chassis and tires) on the back of a trailer, and a reporter was there to do a story on my buddy and his trackday adventure.
Naturally the reporter asked me if I would allow him to photograph me and do a double page spread feature story on me in their new "hot, powerful, masculine and rich" section of the magazine. But I declined respectfully. I'm not really into all that worship - and eventually one might end up becoming conceited.
On the ferry. Off the ferry and next stop Ring Knutstorp.
Located in the beautiful and picturesque swedish countryside some 40 km southeast of the southern city of Helsingborg, the 1962-built Ring Knutstorp is 2.070 m long, and laid out in a pretty varied terrain.
At first glance it looks like a simple, easy-to-handle track. But as any experienced Knutstorp driver will tell you, this track definately is a lady you have to respect.
Easy corners followed by steep drops, and straightforward bends sequelled by unforgiving negative camber ditto.
Yes, this is defiantely the place to be for a rookie with a 200.000$ sportscar! Yikes!!
Sadly, girlie and me had thought there would be some kinda convenience store or kiosk at the track ----but they arent exactly open at 0800 hours.
Fortunately we were able to get a nice cup of black coffee-resembling tar served in a camper (trailer)...I had a feeling it wouldn't be pertinent asking for a latte macchiato at this particular juncture.
After a good half hour of short briefing I still tried to figure out if I was the only one who had brought a racing suit and gloves.
Didn't feel to keen on playing "spot the noob" at this time....but fortunately most people had the same silly idea I had, so I squeezed my perfectly sculpted body into the suit and put on the Nomex gloves. and then I wandered between the mobile toilet and the pitlane for another half hour...trying to figure out when the really fast cars would be off the track, so I wouldn't have to embarrass myself by getting lapped twice...on the same lap.
This wasnt a Porsche event at all. The guy arranging the trackday just happened to be an international Porsche instructor and he just happened to know the track very well indeed. So he took me for a SLOW spin to show me the layout. I reckon he went around with no more than 70-80 km/h at any give time, and still I was ready to lose my load.
One thing I took away from that trackday: I have absolutely NO belief and trust in others driving me on a track.
It's very irrational, I know, and I also know that I will miss out on a lot if neat tricks and tips by not experiencing great driving first hand...but how in the World anyone can take a Ringtaxi at the Nürburgring is beyond me.
I would completely soil myself and the cab within the first 500 metres.
Still, I managed to pick up some important pointers from the instructor...and after 8 more visits to the toilet and pacing back and forth a few hundred times I popped my sportscar track-cherry.
The first lap I was mostly focussed on NOT wrecking the car, which is probably the best way- bar none - to increase your chances of actually crashing by a factor of 2500.
But when I started to let go, relax and get into the rythm...I have to say: DAAAAAAAAAAAAAANG! This is more fun than I could imagine.
Of course I was getting taken by the Lotuses, Ferrari CS's, Ford GT, Group N Alfa and what have you, but I can honestly say that was the least important thing for me.
Just feeling the asphalt, the wind in my...helmet...hearing the engine screaming and knowing it's a scream of pure joy from my wee Boxey; "THANK YOU! I am where I belong!!! Thank you!".
And getting a payback that is beyond words.
I'm sure most sportscars are great on the track. I have only tried a few of the better ones on public roads, so I have no way of comparing - but my Boxey is amazingly well-balanced, easy driven and at the same time really, really fun to drive on the track. Much more fun than on the public road.
Driving this track (and perhaps driving ANY track) is primarily about metal focus and quite a bit less about technique.
I had a former pro racecar driver with me as co-pilot, giving me tips about the track, techniques and mental attitude - something I can truly recommend if you ever get the offer.
He told me where to place the car for a perfect line, and most importantly he made me realize that this car (and probably most cars) is capable of MUCH more that you think.
Doing 125 km/h and going towards what seems to be a narrow and sharp left curve with a negative camber and hearing the codriver firmly command me to "keep the throttle on an keep left..Push! Push!" was a pretty strange and scary experience. But once I realized that with the right techniques and knowing the details of the track can make you do things in the car that seem impossible, there was no turning back.
Next step is to keep your feet on the ground and remember the line between bold driving on the edge and kissing the concrete wall is one simple mistake of lifting your right foot at the wrong time.
Get scared or get cocky and you pay immediately.
Driving with this guy improved my laptimes significantly and also made each new lap seem less dramatic than the one before.
"Rythmic driving" also puts a lot less strain on your car, suspension, brakes and tires.
The Boxster S has brakes that handles going on a track beautifully. In fact it may be the only place you will ever need the braking power this car has.
I had faster cars going past me on the straights, but as soon as we got to the corners they would have to brake earlier than me and corner slower than the Boxey.
There were a lot of more powerful and straightline faster cars than mine on the track - and of course quite a few of these cars we also set up for the track, so they definately would kick my butt anyday. But the amazing thing about the Boxey is the combination of the right amount of power with the right amount of grip and perfectly balanced handling. Could the car handle more power? Absolutely. I remember Jim Flat6 stating that nothing happened when you floored a Boxster, and to some extent he is right. Coming out into the long straight on this track, I could definately have used 200 BHP more. It simply feels too "nice" and civilized there.
BUT unless you are an accomplished driver, it will take some time before you can handle and make the most of the 260BHP on the 986s - let alone 325+ BHP of the 911.
This car is not the reason I didn't go faster around the track. I was. And that also sets many of our discussions into perspective: I'm pretty sure a good driver could lap most tracks (except of course oval speedways) faster in my Boxey than an average everyday-driver in an F430, Gallardo, CGT and what have you.
Heck, I had a hard time even keeping up with my buddy in his Alfa 156 with very few mods, front engine, FW drive and 150 bhp!!
So before you spend $$$$ on those extra "cant live without em" 50 BHP, take lessons on a track.
I believe they are much better spent there.
Anyways:
After the ride the copilot flat out said: "That is probably among the best cars I have ever driven." and others response to the car was equally positive. I won't list all the clichés you already know so well, but you really appreciate hearing these things from pros, and not just your car salesman or the son of your neighbour.
My buddy kept telling me to "just switch off the PSM system" and have fun....but I kept using it on the critical places on the track.
(Yes, I know: "Tracking the car WITH PSM? You crazy? You a girlieman?". Nah - just worried about totalling a car whose limits I dont know very well.)
That is, until the very last run I made. "To hell with it. This car is so easy to drive - and besides; what can go wrong on this wide track?".
12 seconds after switching off the PSM, and going thru the Hairpin corner, I realised that even a Boxster has it's limits.
I spun the car thoroughly, stalling it and sitting facing the wrong direction just watching ALL the lights in the panel going berserk, flashing and lighting up.
Guess it will take a few weeks before I win my first championship
After 8-9 hours of driving, talking, eating, watching and talking some more we were homebound.
I noticed that my urge to drive fast on the public roads had disappeared, and so I eased home felling both exhausted, thrilled...and longing for a smoke
All I can tell you as conclusion is this:
If you haven't tried this, DO IT!!!!!
It is an absolute SHAME to own a Boxster and not track her. You will miss out on one of the best driving experiences you can have. Period.
Forget about tire- and brake wear. There is some, but it's minor and it's worth every penny. If you drive with rythm you wont wear the car down, and the regular Boscter S brakes are absolutely great. Ther was no fading and no overheated brakes at anytime, so just go ahead and have fun.
The car is actually buit for it.
It's not by any means a racecar, but it most definately is a sportscar.
I had been thinking about this ever since I got the car last november, but the mere thought of running it off the track and potentially tuning my beautiful, beautiful schnookie-lammakins into swiss cheese had a pretty sobering effect.
A friend of mine (who drives a perfectly balanced Alfa Romeo 156) had been telling me about these trackdays in the south of Sweden - just a good hour's drive and ferry-trip from where we live, north of Copenhagen, Denmark.
"People of all sorts meet up, have a cuppa, talk cars and have a blast", he told me. All I could think of was me "blasting" my poor Boxey into a wall - and opening the envelope from my insurance company stating "NO SIR, WE WILL NOT COVER THE DAMAGES ON YOUR SILLY LITTLE PORSCHE. NEXT TIME BUY A GOLF AND STAY ON THE STRETS LIKE EVERYONE ELSE!!".
My buddy went on, sharing beeeeautiful and wonderous stories of excentric men with exotic cars...and how they often let others take these cars for a spin...spin........spin.....in....in.......
OK, I needed an anti-paranoia pill...but since that wasn't available I called my insurance woman, and she actually told me, that my insurance WILL cover damages on the track as long as I don't RACE the car, but only do "practice driving". And she even put it in writing!
So now I'm starting to get both excited and scared at the same time.
I can finally try out my baby for real and REALLY test her limits! I was extatic!!
I can finally try out my baby for real and REALLY test her limits?????? I was petrified!
To be honest I had only been to a track on very few occasions - and those were in "regular" cars where only very few limits were tested.
I know you all look up to me, you all see me as your mentor, your mental guide....your guru and masculine rolemodel. Except of course Carlos...who likes the more feminine "men".
BUT! ...and this may come as a total and utter shock to most of you: I have not been driving professional raing for quite some time. In fact, I haven't done so in years. More accurately: Many years. Come to think ot it...I can't really recall ever having done so...and I'm not even sure I have a distant, vague memory of ever taking a sportscar on a track.
Some uncivilized and unrefined persons might choose to call someone like that "a rookie", "a noob" or even "a track virgin".
I choose the term "pre-certified disprofessional".
I contacted the company in charge of the event, and was told that I needed to cough up around 250$ and show up with a helmet.
Helmet??? What am I? A motorcyclist?
After a few careful arguments including the phrases "spinning", "banging your head into the side window" and "in the remote event of you flipping the car"..I was searching the web for a helmet retailer.
I swore I'd start out with some cheap scooter-helmet, since a real race helmet would be overkill for my needs.
Naturally I ended up spending a small fortune on a Peltor helmet...and since wearing a helmet without the rest of the gear looks plain silly, I simply HAD to get a suit, gloves and neck support. OK, so I stopped short of getting a HANS-system....but I have to admit I was pretty close to whooping out my plastic card and just get that darn thing. Hey! 1.000$ for a smooth looking piece of carbon fibre space age equipment is a bargain!
Especially when you're a rook..erm, pre-certified disprofessional.
And besides. Racing gear may not be the sexiest threads you can wear...but dang! I make this look good! But the again. If you have the body of a greek god, anything looks good on you. I once wore a suit made from pipecleaners and milkcartons...and I still oozed from masculine manliness and class.
Yes, I am unbelievable. I know you wanna hear more about my perfect physique, but I feel compelled to move on.
So the day arose.
Late in august where the danish summer weather can be anything but stabile I had a date with a swedish track.
In a moment of total and absolute parkinsonian whatthehellareyouthinkingitis I had invited my girlie to tag along.
I seem to have forgotten that we hadn't seen a lot of eachother the past weeks before the trackday - so naturally she grabbed the opportunity.
Not primarily because of the driving (figures), but - I have a sneaky feeling - because it might be an excellent opportunity for some "quality time".
Sadly she had forgotten that I would devote most of my attention that day to my mistress...The fair lady of Boxsterham.
But - whipped as I am - I have to admit it turned out to be a nice surprise that she joined. I mean...she was a pain in the butt and I had to put her in her place ever so often in from of the guys...that's a given...but apart from that it was nice. Theoretically.
So we got up tuesday morning at something like 05.15 AM to be able to catch the ferry at 7:00 in Elsinore. Yes, the town of Hamlet.
I truly hate getting up in the morning. I haven't been in the military (I was dismissed at the recruitment session for being too masculine and tough), and I'm pretty sure I'd suck at it.
But this was a beautiful, sunny day with temperatures of around 22 degrees - and as much as I hte getting up early: one thing early mornings definatelty have going for them: EMPTY ROADS!!!!!!!
Whoohoo! Starting the day with a 250 km/h ride on a completely empty freeway is just great....I have read somewhere.
Naturally I drove sensibly and kept my speed well under the legal limits. Of course. You never know what can happen on an empty freeway like that.
Sheep and elves might go to sleep on them.
We reached the ferry and met up with my buddy and a couple of his friends.
They had brought a Group N Alfa 156 (no engine or break mods allowed in that class, just chassis and tires) on the back of a trailer, and a reporter was there to do a story on my buddy and his trackday adventure.
Naturally the reporter asked me if I would allow him to photograph me and do a double page spread feature story on me in their new "hot, powerful, masculine and rich" section of the magazine. But I declined respectfully. I'm not really into all that worship - and eventually one might end up becoming conceited.
On the ferry. Off the ferry and next stop Ring Knutstorp.
Located in the beautiful and picturesque swedish countryside some 40 km southeast of the southern city of Helsingborg, the 1962-built Ring Knutstorp is 2.070 m long, and laid out in a pretty varied terrain.
At first glance it looks like a simple, easy-to-handle track. But as any experienced Knutstorp driver will tell you, this track definately is a lady you have to respect.
Easy corners followed by steep drops, and straightforward bends sequelled by unforgiving negative camber ditto.
Yes, this is defiantely the place to be for a rookie with a 200.000$ sportscar! Yikes!!
Sadly, girlie and me had thought there would be some kinda convenience store or kiosk at the track ----but they arent exactly open at 0800 hours.
Fortunately we were able to get a nice cup of black coffee-resembling tar served in a camper (trailer)...I had a feeling it wouldn't be pertinent asking for a latte macchiato at this particular juncture.
After a good half hour of short briefing I still tried to figure out if I was the only one who had brought a racing suit and gloves.
Didn't feel to keen on playing "spot the noob" at this time....but fortunately most people had the same silly idea I had, so I squeezed my perfectly sculpted body into the suit and put on the Nomex gloves. and then I wandered between the mobile toilet and the pitlane for another half hour...trying to figure out when the really fast cars would be off the track, so I wouldn't have to embarrass myself by getting lapped twice...on the same lap.
This wasnt a Porsche event at all. The guy arranging the trackday just happened to be an international Porsche instructor and he just happened to know the track very well indeed. So he took me for a SLOW spin to show me the layout. I reckon he went around with no more than 70-80 km/h at any give time, and still I was ready to lose my load.
One thing I took away from that trackday: I have absolutely NO belief and trust in others driving me on a track.
It's very irrational, I know, and I also know that I will miss out on a lot if neat tricks and tips by not experiencing great driving first hand...but how in the World anyone can take a Ringtaxi at the Nürburgring is beyond me.
I would completely soil myself and the cab within the first 500 metres.
Still, I managed to pick up some important pointers from the instructor...and after 8 more visits to the toilet and pacing back and forth a few hundred times I popped my sportscar track-cherry.
The first lap I was mostly focussed on NOT wrecking the car, which is probably the best way- bar none - to increase your chances of actually crashing by a factor of 2500.
But when I started to let go, relax and get into the rythm...I have to say: DAAAAAAAAAAAAAANG! This is more fun than I could imagine.
Of course I was getting taken by the Lotuses, Ferrari CS's, Ford GT, Group N Alfa and what have you, but I can honestly say that was the least important thing for me.
Just feeling the asphalt, the wind in my...helmet...hearing the engine screaming and knowing it's a scream of pure joy from my wee Boxey; "THANK YOU! I am where I belong!!! Thank you!".
And getting a payback that is beyond words.
I'm sure most sportscars are great on the track. I have only tried a few of the better ones on public roads, so I have no way of comparing - but my Boxey is amazingly well-balanced, easy driven and at the same time really, really fun to drive on the track. Much more fun than on the public road.
Driving this track (and perhaps driving ANY track) is primarily about metal focus and quite a bit less about technique.
I had a former pro racecar driver with me as co-pilot, giving me tips about the track, techniques and mental attitude - something I can truly recommend if you ever get the offer.
He told me where to place the car for a perfect line, and most importantly he made me realize that this car (and probably most cars) is capable of MUCH more that you think.
Doing 125 km/h and going towards what seems to be a narrow and sharp left curve with a negative camber and hearing the codriver firmly command me to "keep the throttle on an keep left..Push! Push!" was a pretty strange and scary experience. But once I realized that with the right techniques and knowing the details of the track can make you do things in the car that seem impossible, there was no turning back.
Next step is to keep your feet on the ground and remember the line between bold driving on the edge and kissing the concrete wall is one simple mistake of lifting your right foot at the wrong time.
Get scared or get cocky and you pay immediately.
Driving with this guy improved my laptimes significantly and also made each new lap seem less dramatic than the one before.
"Rythmic driving" also puts a lot less strain on your car, suspension, brakes and tires.
The Boxster S has brakes that handles going on a track beautifully. In fact it may be the only place you will ever need the braking power this car has.
I had faster cars going past me on the straights, but as soon as we got to the corners they would have to brake earlier than me and corner slower than the Boxey.
There were a lot of more powerful and straightline faster cars than mine on the track - and of course quite a few of these cars we also set up for the track, so they definately would kick my butt anyday. But the amazing thing about the Boxey is the combination of the right amount of power with the right amount of grip and perfectly balanced handling. Could the car handle more power? Absolutely. I remember Jim Flat6 stating that nothing happened when you floored a Boxster, and to some extent he is right. Coming out into the long straight on this track, I could definately have used 200 BHP more. It simply feels too "nice" and civilized there.
BUT unless you are an accomplished driver, it will take some time before you can handle and make the most of the 260BHP on the 986s - let alone 325+ BHP of the 911.
This car is not the reason I didn't go faster around the track. I was. And that also sets many of our discussions into perspective: I'm pretty sure a good driver could lap most tracks (except of course oval speedways) faster in my Boxey than an average everyday-driver in an F430, Gallardo, CGT and what have you.
Heck, I had a hard time even keeping up with my buddy in his Alfa 156 with very few mods, front engine, FW drive and 150 bhp!!
So before you spend $$$$ on those extra "cant live without em" 50 BHP, take lessons on a track.
I believe they are much better spent there.
Anyways:
After the ride the copilot flat out said: "That is probably among the best cars I have ever driven." and others response to the car was equally positive. I won't list all the clichés you already know so well, but you really appreciate hearing these things from pros, and not just your car salesman or the son of your neighbour.
My buddy kept telling me to "just switch off the PSM system" and have fun....but I kept using it on the critical places on the track.
(Yes, I know: "Tracking the car WITH PSM? You crazy? You a girlieman?". Nah - just worried about totalling a car whose limits I dont know very well.)
That is, until the very last run I made. "To hell with it. This car is so easy to drive - and besides; what can go wrong on this wide track?".
12 seconds after switching off the PSM, and going thru the Hairpin corner, I realised that even a Boxster has it's limits.
I spun the car thoroughly, stalling it and sitting facing the wrong direction just watching ALL the lights in the panel going berserk, flashing and lighting up.
Guess it will take a few weeks before I win my first championship
After 8-9 hours of driving, talking, eating, watching and talking some more we were homebound.
I noticed that my urge to drive fast on the public roads had disappeared, and so I eased home felling both exhausted, thrilled...and longing for a smoke
All I can tell you as conclusion is this:
If you haven't tried this, DO IT!!!!!
It is an absolute SHAME to own a Boxster and not track her. You will miss out on one of the best driving experiences you can have. Period.
Forget about tire- and brake wear. There is some, but it's minor and it's worth every penny. If you drive with rythm you wont wear the car down, and the regular Boscter S brakes are absolutely great. Ther was no fading and no overheated brakes at anytime, so just go ahead and have fun.
The car is actually buit for it.
It's not by any means a racecar, but it most definately is a sportscar.
