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What is a DE Event? And how is this one at Harris Hill Road any different?
There are lots of descriptions of what a DE is. One description often used in Texas says "A DE event is a chance for you to drive your sports car at speed in the controlled environment of a race track setting".
Well some people undoubtedly to do want to do that, and they can, but maybe that's not really your idea of fun. For someone new to these kind of events, a DE may well seem like a big commitment, both in time as well as money. Even though you may have met people at a social event who couldn't stop talking about how much fun they had, they may well also have described things that you may have found alarming.
Drive at speed on a race track: why do we want to do that, and what sort of education do I want anyway? Let's discuss these questions.
I wasn't raised in Texas, so I never went through the kind of Driver Education programs offered at high schools. This kind of driver education is a step or two beyond your high school experience. You'll use your own car, so that won't feel strange. What you'll learn is how to most effectively drive your car round corners, and how to use it's excellent brakes. You'll learn to drive more smoothly, and you'll learn to interpret the subtle messages your car sends you when you don't drive smoothly.
What you won't be learning is how fast your car goes, or how to race people. You also probably won't be going any faster at Harris Hill Rd than you did driving down I-35 to get there.
You will be a safer and more competent street driver after your day at the track, and you'll have a greater margin of safety in any vehicle you drive. It's this margin of safety that we want to teach you about. Porsches are great cars, and they certainly feel safe to drive. However they are also quite fast, and they appear in the single vehicle accident statistics as often as any other make. we believe this is because the education about driving that most people get doesn't give them a good understanding of safety margins.
You may be a driver who wants to use up all the margins there are to go as fast as possible, or you may consider yourself a safe and cautious driver who likes to make those margins as large as possible. We teach both of those personality types, and in doing so we find that the no margin driver sometimes drives over the limit, and sometimes way under. Equally we often find the steady and cautious driver is frequently driving with much lower safety margins than they imagine, simply because they've never been educated in this kind of driving.
We use a race track because we want to teach you about corners, we want to teach you about different kinds of corners, and we want to give you a chance to practice the same corner several times without turning around, and we want you not to have to worry about traffic coming the other way. Put all these requirements together, and the ideal solution is to rent a race track for a day, or sometimes two.
Most of the Driver Education events are held over 2 days, and you probably do get a more complete learning experience over 2 days. However if you aren't sure this fun activity is for you, then a 2 day event has a lot of drawbacks.
On a 2 day event, the track will be in College Station, about 110 miles away from Austin, or in Cresson, about 190 miles away, or perhaps north of Ft worth, 240 miles away. So you'd need a hotel for at least 1 night, and more likely 2, as these events start early in the morning. So you need to manage all that time away from home, perhaps babysitters. And even if you've decided you'll try it, there's another hazard for the first timer. These events are really really popular, and naturally tend to give priority on entries to members of the hosting PCA region. So if you don't decide you'll get your entry in within the first week, you won't even get accepted.
With all this in mind, this event is ideal for someone in Hill Country region to give this sort of event a try. It's only one day, and it's within easy reach of the Hill Country area, and it starts an hour later than all those big events. So no hotels required, and much reduced scheduling issues for the family. And being half the length, it's also about half the price. It's been created to be that way for Hill country members, to give them a chance to spend a day improving their driving safety margins with their friends.
I suspect that many of you will have been on a driving tour, and may have seen driving that you thought could have been better. Some of you may even have been sitting beside a driver that you wish had been at a driving school like this. If that's the case, consider enrolling as a holiday gift; remember there is a $35 discount for 1 car shared among 2 drivers.
As a first timer, on the day of the event, you'll arrive and be assigned your own parking spot. (This is a little unusual, but parking space is very tight at this track). You'll go inside and register, taking in your car's inspection form, and then go out and put numbers on your car, and empty it of things that could make unexpected rattles. There will be a driver's meeting at about 8:30, and then you'll go to class along with the rest of the Green run group.
At the end of the class, you'll have a brief break and then you'll take your car to "grid" and wait there to meet your instructor. You won't need any helmet for this first session. Your instructor will drive your car for the first 3 laps (or the first 4 if you ask) and then you'll come back in and change places, and you'll drive the remainder of the first session.
What do I need to know before my first DE?
The DE Handbook contains information about the DE process and track requirements. Harris Hill Road is such a new track that it is not covered in this document. A supplement is being prepared and should be ready by January. Most of the advanced drivers will want to have read it, but as a beginner, the classroom and your instructor will tell you all you need to know. Read it if you like, but it's not easy bedtime reading.
All drivers must have a helmet meeting Snell SA or M2000 (or later) standards. At Harris Hill Road, we will have 6 loaner helmets available. If you borrow one of these, you may be sharing it with someone else.
Drivers cars must wear long pants of natural fibers and rubber soled, closed-toe shoes. A shirt of natural fibers is recommended.
All participants must have their vehicles technically inspected, within 2 weeks of the event. Failure to complete the technical inspection prior to the DE Event will probably mean that you will not be allowed to drive it on the track. You may be able to get it inspected that day, but you will miss much of your driving time and instruction. So please get the tech inspection done before the event. Roger Beasley Porsche in Austin will be giving free inspections for this event only, by appointment. You need not take your car to them; other shops are listed lower down. You must have a completed Technical Inspection Form to receive your registration package at the track.
The gates open at Harris Hill Road at 7:00 am on the day of the DE. There is a mandatory drivers' meeting at 8:30 am. If you are not present, you will not be allowed to drive until you have been briefed by the Chief Instructor and not before the lunch break. BE THERE!
Following the driver's meeting, track and classroom sessions will be according to the published schedule. No pets are allowed at the track. Your family is welcome, but you must use extra caution with your own and others' children in this high activity event.
Tech Inspection Stations
All DE participants must have their car inspected within 2 weeks prior to the event. Please take the Technical Inspection Form to your mechanic of choice. The following HCRPCA Sponsors have all agreed to do inspections. Regardless of who you use, please call and make an appointment ahead of time!
Places to get a Tech inspection
Additional Information and References
All about Helmets How I Prepared for My First DE - Jim Heimer, LSR Driving My First DE - Jim Heimer, LSR
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