17 Oct 06
The first corner out of the pits is Redgate, which tightens up when you least expect it. I add a little pressure to the accelerator to see the result mid-corner and the tail obliges. Halton points out that smooth use of the gearbox, accelerator and steering wheel will ensure that you're the boss, not the car.
'Too fast into the corner and you'll be struggling with scrubbing off speed instead of applying it to help steer out.'
We wind our way through the Craner Curves downhill to what was the Old Hairpin and is now a lake. From Starkeys Bridge up to McLeans is a great run, which Halton suggests we will do in one hit from the Old Hairpin on the next lap. For now, I am aquaplaning into McLeans but regain control to power out and have a short, fast spurt to the next corner, Coppice.
The trouble with Coppice is that you think it's going to be a nice wide, sweeping right-hander and so aim into the corner: however, you realise as you arrive at the brow that it's actually a tight hairpin and you've got it all wrong. I come in too fast and have to turn in much quicker than I had anticipated, creating a nice drift out on to the kerb.
Had I approached a little slower, giving myself enough time to prepare for the angle of Coppice, I would have seen beyond the brow and gently nudged the wheel to the point where I would then straighten up for the long Dunlop Straight ahead. A little power out of the corner would also help the steering progression.
We're doing 120mph down the straight and instead of hooking off to the Melbourne Hairpin on the left, we brake hard - crucially, doing this only when the car is in a straight line - and head right and immediately left into the pit straight.
A little water has been displaced from the track now and the windscreen wipers can be turned off so Halton stays quiet while I lap again, this time faster and more confidently. By the end of the day, despite it pouring again, I am taking the Old Hairpin through to McLeans in one progressive hit. Compared to this morning, I now feel far more confident - and lapping quicker.
In the wrong hands, the 997 Turbo will reduce many drivers to nervous wrecks. But spend a few hours with Porsche's experts and you will learn to mot only maximise the car's potential but also, crucially, your own.
