Drivers Education

Driver Education DETAILS

Participating in a High Performance Drivers Education track event will take you as far as you want to go with your car. We offer the tracks, the instructors and the experience to show you how to get more from yourself and your Porsche. You’ll be on a dedicated race track, with no passing or unpredictable situations. You’ll have an experienced Porsche driver as your personal instructor, helping you develop your skills at YOUR pace. In one weekend, you’ll grow to appreciate the remarkable handling ability of your car and you’ll control it as never before.

What is a DE and what do I need?

Ever want to experience a race track? HPDE events are great for learning what you and your car can do when you push the limits, something that you can not do on the street safely. HPDE events are geared towards the average sports car owner who may only drive their car on the street. You don’t need a fancy suspension, big horsepower car, or a full blown race car to participate either! So, lets take some time to talk about what it takes to get you and your car out to one of these well run events.

First, what does an HPDE event consist of? For the beginner, you will be paired with an instructor who will guide you through the weekend. You will have a mixture of classroom learning, in addition to the on track driving with your instructor sitting in the passenger seat. You will be out there in a group of similar skilled drivers, so no need to worry about getting run over by a fast, advanced level driver! It will be a busy weekend of learning, but KCRPCA promises your face will hurt from smiling as you are accelerating through a turn and down a straightaway. As you advance through the intermediate to advanced level, time will be focused more on the driving aspect with your instructor one on one vs. having a mixture of classroom/driving duties. Typical events will give you 4-5 driving sessions a day (plus classroom), somewhere between 20-30 minutes each.

To Participate You’ll Need

Race Car: Ok, maybe just your street car!
Helmet: Most important item. Your helmet will need to have a rating of SA2015 or SA2020. KCRPCA typically has a very small amount of loaner helmets, so it is preferred to purchase your own before hand, or make arrangements with the driving chairs to see if they have one you can borrow. Helmets are typically good for 10 years before becoming outdated.
Clothing: Long sleeved shirt and pants to wear while driving, in addition to CLOSED toe shoes. NO sandals, etc.
Seating: Typically participants will bring a chair, maybe a small cooler with water (important to stay hydrated!), Maybe some snacks etc. There is always an hour at lunch, where you can grab a sandwich from the concession stand or the local Subway if you desire.
Tools & Extras: Always a good idea to have a tire pressure gauge in addition to a torque wrench for your lug nuts handy. With that being said, typically these things can be found from a fellow participant if needed. Maybe bring along an extra quart of oil or two as well.

Your Car Will Need

For the car, you will need to have a Tech Form completed saying that your car is “fit” for duty. This form will be provided by the KCRPCA Club Racing Chair. Follow the instructions outlined in the email you will receive after registering for the event. The Tech Form will contain items like the following (we’ll only hit a few of the major items, keep in mind there are more to check):

Tech Inspection: Operational status of the car: Do brake lights, taillights, wipers, seat belts, etc. work?
Tires: You don’t need any fancy race tires to participate, but a high performance street tire is a good idea (typically how a Porsche comes from the factory), and there needs to be adequate tread depth to provide maximum grip.
Brakes: Your brakes MUST be in good shape with plenty of life remaining. We highly recommend you ask your local shop about this, if you are not familiar with brake pad thicknesses. We will show you going into a corner that your Porsche can stop on a dime and give you 8 cents change, so you will use up some brake pads!
Fresh Brake Fluid: We can’t stress a high temp brake fluid enough. As you heat your brakes up on a race track, you can boil a cheap fluid quickly, which will result in a very soft brake pedal and inability to slow the car properly. The fluid should be flushed within a month or so of the event. We recommend fluids like Castrol SRF, ATE Super Gold, or Motul amongst others. These fluids have a boiling point of well over 500 degrees and will suit you well. They are also suitable for street use.
Engine general mechanical status: We don’t want engines that are leaking oil, bad suspension bushings, torn axle boots, etc. to ruin your weekend!

The mechanical condition of your car is very important. Make sure to get all these things checked out well in advance of the event (a few weeks), so that if you need to have something addressed, there will be ample time to get your car up to snuff, so you don’t miss your event. Also, it isn’t any fun breaking down at the track and ending your weekend early from something that could have been prevented before hand!

Getting Weekend Track Insurance might be something to consider. While we are all out there to learn and have a good time, anytime you push the limits of a car and driver, bad things can happen. While these things are VERY VERY rare, it is never fun to see bent sheet metal and broken car parts as the result of an incident. There are companies out there that can provide you weekend track insurance for your car for a piece of mind (most standard auto companies do not insure on track incidents). Lockton Insurance here in KC is the best there is. https://locktonmotorsports.com Feel free to give them a shout and see what they can do to make your weekend low stress in that regard. They are true car enthusiasts and fellow racers and will likely be out participating in the event.