About this event
Driver Skills Overview:
Driver Skills is a one-day clinic on the fundamentals of performance driving hosted by the Pacific Northwest Region of the Porsche Club of America. Appropriate for novices and experienced drivers alike, Driver Skills will make you a safer, more competent driver. Working 1:1 with our Porsche, Audi and BMW club instructors, students rotate in small groups through the following educational segments:
- Ground school (classroom)
- Slalom
- Wet skidpad
- Threshold braking and accident avoidance
- Figure-8
- Autocross
Driver Skills runs from 7:50am (gates open at 7) to 3:30pm, followed by an optional segment which runs to 6pm or dark, whichever comes first.
None of the segments involve timing or competition. Instead, you work 1:1 with our instructors at a pace appropriate for your experience and comfort level. Together, the segments improve your ability to look ahead, place the car precisely, control weight transfer, steer with the throttle, and brake effectively. Run groups are small, which means that wait time between runs is minimal. At the end of the primary sessions, students are encouraged to apply the lessons of the day in an optional segment on a large maneuvering course.
Many see this as great prep or skill growth for our Driver Education, or Autocross events. This course also qualifies you for Driver Education (track driving) events with the local Audi and BMW clubs.
The Driver Skills participation fee is $170, including a lunch. ($100 for qualified teen drivers). Limited helmet rentals are available for $30, with the fee waived for those participants under 21 years of age. Continue to the next page for more information.
Event requirements
Driver Skills Requirements:
- Cancelations and refunds: Please read and understand this policy before registering! No credits or refunds will be given if you cancel with less than one week's notice. With a week or more notice, we are happy to provide you a full refund.
- Car club membership: No car club membership is required for Driver Skills - all are welcome. However, if an event is full and running a waitlist, preference is given to PCA and Audi club members if spots become available.
- Porsche ownership: You do not need to own a Porsche to participate, nor do you need to bring a Porsche to the event. All makes and models are welcome, and most Driver Skills events include a wide variety of different cars.
- Insurance: You are responsible for your own insurance. Please check with your insurance carrier before registering if you are unsure of your coverage at Driver Skills. Note that Driver Skills is an educational car control clinic, not a high speed driver education or lapping event.
- Age and driver's license restrictions: You must be at least 16 years old and in possession of an unrestricted driver's license at the time of the event. For participants under 18 years old, the participant and his/her parents must sign additional waivers and the participant must attend with at least one parent or legal guardian. The additional waivers are available for download here: Waiver 1 (link); Waiver 2 (link). The parent or legal guardian is not required to participate, although we encourage families to participate together. Two drivers can share a vehicle and that option is often used for parent child pairs.
- Helmets: All participants are required to wear helmets. Permitted helmets are rated Snell-2010 or better (e.g. Snell-2010, Snell-2015, Snell-2020) Your helmet must have the manufacture certification tag to be acceptable. Either automobile (e.g. Snell SA-2020) or motorcycle (e.g. Snell M-2020) or karting (e.g. Snell K-2020) helmets are acceptable. These are the only allowable helmets.. A limited number of rental helmets that meet the club's specifications are available for $30. The helmet rental fee is waived for participants under 21 years of age. Fine print can be found in the minimum standards document at https://www.pca.org/autocross.
- Vehicle safety inspection: Instructors will perform a basic safety inspection on-site at the event. No professional technical inspection is required prior to the event. Details of the on-site inspection are available in the Inspection Checklist (link). The most common failure items are: loose battery, under inflated tires, and unsecured objects in the passenger compartment or trunk.
- Registering for others or for groups: Each participant must be registered for the event under his/her own name and pay the participation fee, even if sharing a car. MotorsportReg.com supports registering additional family members after registering yourself - follow the directions to "Register Someone Else" on the next page. Up to two participants may share a car, but again - we must have a registration record and payment for each individual. When two drivers share a car each driver will get as much drive time as if each had their own car. No more than two drivers can share a car.
- Additional information: See our club website at http://www.pnwr.org/driverskills
