First day on the track with my Cayman S

[saeyedoc]

Attended an event at Harris Hill Road yesterday, sponsered by PCA and the local dealership. Not really a DE, more of an "intro to track". As a guest of the dealership, there was no charge at all, only $40 for the PCA slots, including lunch.
Harris Hill Road is a 1.8 mile, 11 turn private track about 45 minutes from my house.
We started out with a few "parade laps", was surprised at the speed we did those in, started wondering what was coming next.
We were then divided into groups depending on experience level for some follow the leader laps. I was in the novice group and luckily got positioned right behind the leader, who was an experienced driver in a base Carrera.
Drove in sport+ mode with PASM in sport. Mostly in 2nd and 3rd gear, rarely got into 4th on the one fairly long straight.
I was surprised that they had no one in the passenger seat with us, considering my complete lack of experience. Did fairly well, but struggled at first being unsure of the limits of the car.
These follow the leader sessions were broken up by some solo sessions for those that had experience. After a few more sessions, the lead guy in my group had some coolant problems and sat out the last session. I was able to get him to ride with me in another group and that was very fun. It was great having him there, because at that point, the cars I was following were not driving the proper lines. Really got to push it some with him there. Got up to maybe 90 on the uphill straight. He said I was doing really well. I could have easily passed those ahead of me in a Spyder and another Cayman S, but passing was not aloud in the follow the leader groups.
The PDK worked beautifully, the instructor even commented on how well if was performing. Sport + holds each gear to redline and will downshift whenever possible. There is a tight turn at the end of the long straight and I would brake hard until I heard it downshift into 2nd, perfect for the tight corner.
Really enjoyed exploring the upper RPM's and excellent handling of my car. Would like to do more of a real DE and learn some things. I can see how this can get to be really addicting.

[johanness]

Very addicting, I agree. I figured I was doing quite well my first time out; that is until my instructor got behind my wheel (with me in the passenger seat) and almost made me crap my drawers.
Their assistance (in car) is invaluable