Porsche Media Driving Academy 2018 - Also Known As Whipping Journalists Ass Into Circuit-Driving Capable Shape!

But driving well is just part of the picture we learnt. Driver health and fitness is just as important for proper on track stamina, and strength. A sports doctor who routinely works with some of the world’s best A-lister drivers was at hand to show us a few techniques used to strengthen certain areas of the body. One of the key places of emphasis is the neck, as drivers will need to handle the many different directional G-forces (inclusive of the weight of the helmet) when lapping. And keeping the neck muscles strong, also helps reduce the effects of whiplash injury if the unthinkable happens. Exercise aside, the diets of drivers is also an important factor, as the foods they eat have a direct effect on health.

But all of this training can get lost in the blur of focusing on different turns and looking out for where to set the car up for the best line. For some of us, our egos do get a better of us, while we try to ‘stick’ to the behind of the car in-front of us, only to hear a crackle over the radio from the instructor reminding us to drive safely.

As we punch the cars hard through the track at speeds easily past 200Km/h, we can see why such discipline is needed, as braking distances increase, and if the car in-front of you loses it a little, which can happen quite easily with such high centrifugal forces going on, you leave that driver enough room for correction.

Additionally we are also not allowed to knock off all the Porsche safety systems on the car, which not only helps us keep the car on the track, but makes us look good doing so. Many of us are truly road car drivers, and we do test your day-to-day road car as a living, so it is easy to see why we could have easily planted the cars into a tyre wall if the wrong thing is done. Even with the safety nets in-place I also fumbled a little in a GT3, and got an earful from the instructor over the radio. Better to get an earful than a face full of red and white tyres!

Aik Leong is a former Singapore Carpark Race Legend, and I had the privilege to sit shotgun with him.
Here we are getting caught red-handed doing something we should'nt be doing on the track and were radio-reprimanded!

Our take home from these sessions is that being a real race driver is very tough work. Away from all the glitz and glam, are countless hours of disciplined working out, monitoring of diet, and then there are the cars; where the smallest change on them could mean a half-second difference per lap. And speaking about laps, we only got three laps at a time, our unconditioned bodies wouldn’t be able to take on multiple laps around a track.

At the end of the training, and certifications aside, we must admit that we all have come out better drivers, more aware of what really is happening when the car we drive twitches in a certain way, and are simply able to react better.

Photos provided by Porsche

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