A Novice at Yas Marina
The driving season in the Emirates starts around mid-October, when the temperatures finally start to sink below 40c, and I was at last on the E11 heading down towards Abu Dhabi's Yas Island for my first 'Driving Experience" with my local Porsche Club. I wasn't sure what to expect, as there wasn't much traffic on the Facebook page, but at least I'd a new buddy to meet – a Dane called Rasmus in his blue 997.2 C2S. We met at the distinctive Yas Viceroy – the hotel that's covered in lights in the middle of the Yas Marina Circuit – and we rolled around to the support pits gate entrance in good time.
Within minutes, the 911s, Turbos, GTs and Caymans were lining up like pretty much every car club meeting you've ever been to, with everybody attaching GoPros to every possible surface, introducing themselves, peering at tyres and brakes and bucket seats... It was still a blast to line up next to a GT3 (which rolled up on Omani plates); the driver of the GT4 climbed out and asked about break in periods: he'd just taken delivery and had rocked up at a trackday with 700km on the odo. The instant consensus was to drive it like your hair's on fire. These guys were proper enthusiasts. Cool.
Once registration opened, we spent some time checking in, admiring the girls legs, signing papers, collecting official lanyards, bracelets, getting stickered up and such. As my first time with the Club, I was a Novice. I had Group K stickers front and back. At the driver's briefing the Chairman (an 18 yea veteran) explained to us that we'd have two sessions, with each group led by an instructor in a lead car, and that we'd rotate within the groups such that we would each have turns directly behind the lead car to learn the lines. The track cones were carefully explained, especially the yellow turn in and green apex cones. Turned out these were pretty helpful. Yas Marina is a big track, and you don't want to miss the corner! In addition, the second instructor would move between cars and provide some one-to-one tuition.
There was also a sharp word about discipline: we needed to follow the line, stay tight, stay together, and just learn the racing line. We were in the Novice class for a good reason. Yas Marina is a big wide track, and we were running on the full 5.4km GP track under floodlights so it is pretty intimidating: the first time out you really don't know which way the track is going. Some of the corners were hidden behind walls, some were open and fully sighted and most kerbs were pretty flat.
It is a massive thrill to line up in the pits and wait for your group to roll onto the track: the lead car shot off and showed us the lines. My instructor – a nice Englishman called George – seemed really happy with my lines and really encouraged me to ride some kerbs, and use all the track (it's OK if you keep your inside wheels on the track); I found that really helpful to carry some speed. I ran in Sports mode, PASM on hard, and in the first session I let the PDK do the work, and just focused on steering, accelerating and braking: in the second, I drove in manual mode with the paddles, and soon learned that the using the PDK adds another level of interaction (and opportunities for mistakes!). If you keep revs over 4000rpm, the engine doesn't bog. And it never gets old to change up at 7500rpm.
There were a lot of cars on the track, with some groups running slower than others: once we got some open track, the speeds soon picked up and we were doing over 160kmh between corners and over 200kmh on the straights (although the main straight had a chicane for added giggles). The one thing that I missed was a helmet: not only does the Club not require the novices to wear a helmet, they didn't allow it. Maybe the helmets would add too much confidence?
The second session was a huge blast, once I stopped being surprised about which way the track went, quick enough to carry some read speed, use the gears, to go full throttle out of the hairpin right up to the redline, to get out of shape on one particular negative cambered corner (there's always one corner that you just can't get right, isn't there?). Things got hot – not only the cabin but also the tyres and brakes. I was soaked in sweat. The old P Zeros got a bit greasy in the second half of the session (as an aside, when I took them off a couple of days later, I found that they'd 'chunked' a bit in that some chunky bits had gone missing...).
I'd been afraid that the Club was full of 'rich boys with their daddie's cars" [as it had been described to me by some Emirati] but it was full of really down to earth guys, from all over (Europe, Asia, America, Middle East), all enthusiasts, all drivers, and all prepared to really use their cars: many were modified and fully stickered up. We had Carrera's, GT3s and RSs and such, all being used in anger – and some of them really sounding like the Porsche Cup cars at the Dubai 24 hours. This was the Club's 56th event and it showed: it was properly organised, disciplined and fun, and despite the cost (a not insignificant USD 300), it was a blast. And next time, I'll be in the Club class, we'll run a bit quicker, and I can wear the helmet that I already bought.
:grin: 8) :lol:
:wink:
uh: :bye: