Over the past Memorial Day weekend, I had the privilege of attending a
driver's education event at Road America, a 4-mile track located near
Elkhart Lake in Wisconsin, USA.  I was able to get in to the event thanks
to Lee Lichtenstein who had faxed me a copy of the application not long
after registration opened for the event.

The track itself is located in a very pretty area of the country and I
have to admit that as the WWW site for Road America claims, the food is
good.  The WWW site, www.roadamerica.com, has a decent map of the track
(no descriptions of the elevation changes), so I will not describe the
course in this message.

The experience was awesome!  The event consisted of a mandatory meeting
for all novice drivers and first timers at Road America on Friday the 28th
of May and two days of 30 minute driving sessions on Saturday and Sunday.
There was a total of 8 track sessions for groups 1, 2 and 3, except for
the rookie group 4 which had 7 track sessions.  Some pictures of the event
are displayed at http://noc.starnet.net/~menelaos/ra99.html.

A total of four Rennlisters met at the Wisconsin-Illinois border on Friday
afternoon.  This group included John and Vivian Chung w/ a 1995 993,
Charles Willis w/ a 1988 928S4 and Lee towing his 1993 968.  After we all
chatted for a bit we caravaned our way to Elkhart Lake.  Lee led the
pack, his CB handle being TOW CAR, I stayed at the end, my CB handle being
ZEUS. (Lee felt that the alternate handle I mentioned of GREEK BOY was 
a bad idea given all the lonely truckers... ;-) )

After the registration and technical inspection were complete, Lee and I 
dropped off our cars at the track's paddock
area.  We also set up a Rennlist area there w/ signs and everything.
Later on that evening, I got to meet Vic Elford (yes, the Vic Elford) who
was there as a classroom instructor from the Skip Barber school along w/
Duck Waddle during the first timers' meeting.

Friday was also the first day that I witnessed the Lee phenomenon. We are
talking about the Man.  He knew just about everyone from the Chicago
region (and then some).  He also got a kiss from just about every PCA
woman in the room.

Saturday started w/ a driver's meeting by the Start/Finish line.  For the
rookie group a classroom session followed, instructed by the Skip Barber
guys.  It was a good session, a good deal of it having to do w/ how to
effectively brake.  I thought I was employing the braking technique they
were talking about, but later on that day I found out that was not the
case.

At about 10:30, the rookie group camped out by corner 5 for observation of
the other groups that were driving.  For me, it was cool to watch the
other cars run, but it really did not tell me much about corner 5.  I
could hear the engines revving and the drivers downshifting, but did not
realize what was going on until I drove through the corner.

At 11:30, it was time for the first of the rookie group track sessions.
For this first session, Lee, who was my instructor for the weekend, drove
my car to show me the way around the track.  I had to force myself to
relax more than once, the track is much more intense than Gateway
International Raceway, which is the only other track I have been to for a
DE event.

After lunch, the event co-ordinators had set up a touring session.  For
half an hour, the drivers or their spouses could drive the car on the
course, up to 60mph, as long as they had a helmet on.  I drove the whole
30 minutes and I have to say it helped me a lot to drive the course at a
slow pace.  I think it was a great idea and I hope to see it at more DE
events.  Should Adrienne come to a DE, I think she would enjoy seeing the
track from the driver's or even passenger's seat.

For the second rookie group session, I got behind the steering wheel and
quickly realized how much more I needed to develop my driving skills.
Smoothness did not seem to be an issue.  However, I was not braking
effectively (too early and not hard enough) and turning in way too early.
The DE I attended at Gateway International last August really did not
prepare me for the amount of braking necessary for this course.  Plus,
self-preservation instincts were apparently kicking in as I really wanted
to drive the car back home and not have to tow it home.  Going in to turn
5 and seeing the gravel pit was one place that scared me.  Thus, I was
spending too much time braking and going slow before the turn in. Progress
was slow and the overall pace even slower.  I think there were only a
couple of cars that did not pass me.

The third session was a repeat of the 2nd session.  Still not braking
properly and turning in too early.  I was totally frustrated and worried
that by then Lee was totally dissapointed w/ his student, though he did
not show any signs of that.

After freshening up at the hotel, we four Rennlisters had an excellent
evening w/ a great meal and conversation at a nearby town called St. Anna.
The reservation was under the name ...Rennlister!  We stayed out pretty
late, given how early the drivers meetings were held but hey, we have to
party hard!

That night I did not dream about the track and the corners like I expected
I would.  However, I did wake up trying to intensely focus on memorizing
and dissecting the track, the gear required for each turn, brake points,
etc.  By the time I was getting in the car for the first session of the
day I could visualize the turns much better.

Still, things were slow in coming together.  I started turning into the
corners appropriately for a late apex more consistently and started
getting a better feel of braking correctly.  I never mastered braking at
the appropriate point for the whole weekend, but at least the newly
developed skill allowed me to drive a bit faster.  Before this weekend,
when people were talking about the amazing brakes of the 944, it felt like
they were talking about a different car.  I finally got to experience what
it was like to feel that the nose of the car is about to start digging in
the pavement and yet the car was completely controllable.  A great
feeling.

At the end of the second session Lee suggested that I drove the 3rd
session on my own. However, I did not feel comfortable going solo yet.

During Lee's next session (he was in group 2) I took a ride in his 968. He
he he, it was fun to watch the windshield wipers lift off as Lee was
heading towards turns 1, 5 and 12.  The only bad part about the ride was
that the fumes of brakes, tires, clutch and fuel made me nauseous.  I
really enjoyed the ride though and definitely learned from it.

After the ride w/ Lee, we decided to check his front brakes.  Good thing
we did, there was hardly anything but the backing plates left on the pads
(the pads now make a great conversation item in my cubicle).  I tried to
help Lee as much as I could w/ replacing the pads, bleeding the brakes and
re-installing the wheels.  In the middle of this, John presented each one
of us in the group with an "ice pop".  That was perfect for the occasion
as the weater was pretty hot.  Lee also gave me a hand in bleeding the
brakes on my car, to make sure everything was fine.  We also visually
inspected John's and Charles' brakes.

And I should open a parenthesis here.  The feeling of camaraderie the
whole weekend was amazing.  I mean, I had never met Lee or the other guys
in person before, but it almost felt like we had known each other for a
long time.  We tried to help each other as much as we could and it looked
like that is what everyone else was doing, also.  It seemed like a very
tightly-knit community.  I appreciate that aspect of the weekend a lot.

Later on, Lee and I got in the 951 again for what was my most memorable DE
session ever.  For some reason everything felt right.  The braking was a
lot better (though still not deep enough), the line was a lot better and
overall smoothness I thought was pretty good.  At some point, out of the
corner of my eye for the first time I saw Lee holding on to the door's
armrest.  Thankfully, it was not because he was scared, it was just that
the stock seat belts were doing a poor job of keeping him in the seat.  I
will definitely need some safety harnesses if I am to continue attending
these events.  Even the worn-out SP8000 were providing enough grip to toss
us around the car on certain places of the track.

I have some very neat memories from this session of coming out of turn 7,
shifting to 4th gear and the turbo kicking in w/ the car accelerating
wildly towards the brake point of turn 8.  Also cool was negotiating the
carousel reasonably well so that I was going at least 80-90mph before the
Kink, allowing me to power out of the Kink and blast towards turn 12.
Brake hard after the 2nd marker and shift to 3rd gear, turn and accelerate
like a bat out of hell to 13, upshift to 4th, let the car go wide after
13, keep on accelerating to 14 with the car pointed straight to the
turn-in marker cone, brake, downshift to 3rd and blast up the hill towards
the finish line.  When I was driving well, I could really put the power of
the 951 to good use.  Passing a 914 w/ a third of my car's horsepower felt
like stealing money from a small child, spanking an 80's or later Carrera
is a different story.  A total blast. I used up at least a quarter of a
tank of fuel over a 30 minute session.

BTW, there is a bump close to the crest of the hill going towards the
finish line on the right side of the course.  Thus, I would have to either
outaccelerate the cars behind me or let them pass as appropriate before I
got to that point so that I could be on the left side of the track.
Otherwise, the bump would make the top of my helmet hit the sunroof.  Not
very pleasant.  Just a tip if you visit Road America.

Both Lee and I had to refuel before the next session (the tank was almost
full when I arrived at Road America). I could not believe the car did not
come apart given the beating it had received.  And yet, I guess that is
why it is called a Porsche.  As Lee said, "They just keep on ticking".

For the last (4th) session of the day I got the magic "sticker" and drove
solo.  This session consisted of both groups 3 and 4 running together. For
a minute I was apprehensive about this, but my pace was adequately fast
that this was not a problem.  The session was going well until a Boxster
went tail first into a concrete guard rail after turn 8. The hand motions
of the corner workers confused me and I thought the session was over (cool
down lap).  It really was my fault, they did not have a red flag out, I
should have known better.  This broke my pace and it was not until half a
lap later that I realized that the session was not over.  Well, now I had
to work myself past a number of cars that had passed me when I slowed
down.  I have to admit there is a thrill in working hard and passing the
car in front of me, but some times I was not that much faster, I just had
a different pace than the car in front of me on different parts of the
course.  Plus, I had to concentrate and not let the thrill of the chase
spoil my line or methodology.  Even w/ the field in front of me partially
full it was still a good ride though and I was sad when I saw the
checkered flag signalling the end of the session.  Oh, well, I guess I
will have to attend more DEs this year!

With the weekend now behind me, I still have a big grin on my face.  A
friend who saw me that evening made the comment that I looked as if I was
walking on air.  A whole lot of things went really well:

The set of Dunlop SP8000s w/ the wear bars showing that I used did very
well.  I did not cord the tires and the stickiness was more than adequate
for my driving skills.

The car did really well also, rewarding me every time I was driving it
well w/ newfound speed.  It is sad that as Charles Willis pointed out we
will only get to see this side of these cars under track conditions.
There is no way I could possibly drive the car at this level on the
street. Driving fast in a straight line w/ a few turns here and there
simply seems boring in comparison.

But what was most memorable was the feeling of accomplishment and
camaraderie.  Accomplishment because I was particularly frustrated during
the first day, the learning curve seemed pretty steep.  Camaraderie
because here I was w/ people I had never met before and yet it felt almost
like an extended family.

I feel particularly indebted to Lee for his instruction and help
throughout the weekend.  His role was pivotal to the success of this
weekend.

So, that is it.  Should you get the opportunity to drive this track, do
it, you will not be disappointed.

Menelaos N. Karamichalis	mnk@verio.net	www.starnet.net/~menelaos/
Zone 10, St. Louis Region PCA member		Diamantblau 1987 951

PS.  Do not ever EVER take the Kink w/ an early apex.  The one time I did
that I was going relatively slow, so it was not a big deal.  Yet, I could
easily see how at greater speeds one would be guarranteed to add their
car's color to the collection of colors on the nearby concrete wall.