Porsche Club of South Australia – The Motorsport Program!
Welcome to the PCSA Motorsport Program page.
It is said that many drivers will never understand the true capabilities of their car. It takes an abundance of knowledge, a safe environment and time practicing to truly understand what your car can do.
Porsche produce some of the most capable sports cars available anywhere in the world. These cars are designed and built through many years of research and development, proven and honed on the race track. So strong is their motorsport heritage that there is hardly an event anywhere in the world that they haven’t won at one time or another, or multiple times in a row for that matter. They go to this effort to design and develop the cars this way so that you, the owner, can experience and appreciate that you have a vehicle which is purpose built for you to enjoy in a way most cars are not capable of.
It therefore follows that those who buy these cars and leave them in the garage, only to be driven on Sundays at the speed limit and never taking a corner at more than “pedestrian speed”, will never truly really understand the marvel of engineering and the enjoyment that their Porsche is capable of adding into their lives.
The PCSA is proud to offer the following motorsport options for people who want to explore what their car can do in a SAFE, CONTROLLED MANNER, LEGALLY! Activities range from low speed, low skill demand through to high speed track work and are all run to help you understand your car and DEVELOP YOUR SKILLS AT YOUR OWN PACE, while providing a supporting, fun, social environment and a challenging day out. So come and join us, find that missing challenge in your life, have some fun and experience what you always knew was there, but weren’t quite sure where to start in your endeavour to explore it. We run 3 primary disciplines and 12 events annually: 3 x Motorkhana, 6 x Super Sprints and 3 x Hill Climbs, plus the club organise other activities such as special road rally events as part of the Adelaide Motorsport Festival etc.
MOTORKHANA: Your first chance for some free learning and experience in low speed car handling!
What’s in it for you?
- The first stage in learning vehicle control. You will learn how to control low speed understeer through trail braking, weight transfer, smooth throttle application and precise car control etc through chatting with other members, watching others and having a go yourself. These are essential skills that can be transferred to everyday driving and may assist you in avoiding issues on the road by gaining a better understanding of your car and gaining skills and experience in controlling the vehicle. Like Tai Chi, if you have dreamed of doing a sprint or a hill climb one day but are not sure where to start, it’s best to start learning car control at low speed and Motorkhana makes a great introduction.
- Of all of the motorsport events, this is the one with the least wear and tear on your car.
- Speeds are low! Maximum is around 60kph and an average speed of around 20kph, so there is minimal risk.
- It’s run on the skid pan, so there is loads of room!
- Run at your own pace! There is no need to be competitive, come and have a try and build confidence, driving skills and experience at the same time.
- Have a Macan or a Cayenne? No problem! You don’t need a race car to do this and you’ll have a great time learning and understanding your car.
- You can have an observer/passenger as long as they are over 14 years of age! It’s that safe! This is your opportunity to get your spouse, kids or friends involved and share the excitement, or jump in another member’s car and watch what they do from the passenger seat! Observers are welcome! ITS ONLY $85 TO ENTER. Yes, you could learn something and enhance your skills, have a load of fun and a great social day out for less than it would cost you to go out to lunch!
- Above all, it’s a fun, social day out! It’s common to hear the laughter above the roar of the engines. Part of the fun is remembering the patterns. Here is a hint as to how challenging it can be: It is commonly referred to as the Alzheimer’s test. J
- It’s important to remember that you also achieve club points to go towards annual Motorkhana and Motorsport Club Championship Trophies. Once you feel you’ve mastered it you can focus a little harder and compete on a more serious level.
How do you get involved?
- You will need a roadworthy car. That’s it. No helmet, no extinguishers, just you and a car with decent tyres that is roadworthy.
- You will need a PCSA membership or associate membership and an annual cams L2S license which can be acquired through the cams website. Enter the event through the Cams website. https://www.cams.com.au/
- Need help? – Using the CAMS website can be quite complex the first time you use it. Speak to any PCSA committee member or The Motorsport Sub Committee if you need assistance. Details of key people are at the end of this page.
- Additional Resources: Click this link to find maps of the patterns and a demonstration video.
SUPER SPRINTS: Let’s pick the speed up a little, safely and one step at a time, on a track that is wide and gives you some room!
For those that haven’t been before, this is not door to door racing, it is however, a chance to live the dream of being on track at a speed that YOU feel comfortable with. A word of warning though, once you’ve done it once, you’ll want to do it again, and again, and again. It’s a lot of fun and a great challenge!
So what can you expect?
First Timers and those that have been before and feel they need further training and assistance:
Firstly, for familiarisation, you will be taken around the track in a similar car to your own with an experienced track driver – that will be your “allocated buddy” for the day and is the person that will help you progress through the day and introduce you to the many members there. Your buddy will show you the driving line on track, the brake marker boards, the turn in points and apexes and demonstrate at a reduced speed how the track flows, ie how you set up for each corner and how to use the brake marker boards for reference. Towards the end of the session they will push it a little quicker so you get a feel, but not at “race pace”.
Vehicles are grouped per lap time blocks and you will be allocated a spot within your group that reflects your expected lap times, and then readjusted as per results following the 2 practice sessions.
The name of the game here is safety through familiarity. The format following your “driver track orientation” session will be 2 x 5 lap practice sessions and 3 x 5 lap sprint sessions – This includes an out lap, 3 x timed laps and a cool down lap . Subject to time, there may be an additional 6 lapper at the end of the day that you can join as well if you are up to it. These are expensive cars and our collective aim is to avoid any risk and keep everyone safe.
What will you need?
- Your PCSA club membership card
- A L2S or above CAMS License
- An approved helmet
- Wrist to ankle to neck cotton clothing or a racing suit.
- Closed shoes
- A mounted fire extinguisher (Porsche seat bolt mounted bracket is the norm, available from Porsche Centre Adelaide and any of the Porsche Specialist workshops around town – we encourage you to see one of our club sponsors as through their involvement with the club they will have a clear understanding of what is needed.
- Tow and Battery Stickers (Available from Autosport)
Regular Sprint Competitors:
- This will be the standard track day format for PCSA Club championship points.
- Associates Members in non-Porsche cars run with regular members grouped by times dependant on track experience. You will need to bring your PCSA Associate Membership cards and L2S license with you and meet the above requirements as well.
Invitation Class: Cars Under 1:18 not running for club championship points.
- Practice session plus 2 x 6 timed lap sessions will run as a separate group. This group is for those that don’t want to compete in the club points system, have Cup Cars, Race Cars, Time Attack Cars and Supercars that need the extra track time to get their brakes and tyres hot, test and play with set up. It’s basically fast car practice time.
PCSA Social Members:
- Come out and have a look, get a feel for what is going on and listen to those engines hit red line! It’s a great day out and there are some truly impressive cars to be seen going through their paces. Better than a static car show, this is the equivalent of your free ticket to a live episode of “Top Gear”.
- Above all, it’s a great, fun, challenging day at the track for everyone.
Additional resources:
- Here is a link to the maps of the four configurations of The Bend and Mallala circuits and demonstration laps at Mallala and The Bend International layout. (coming soon)
- Here is a link to our club sponsor’s page to help prepare your car. (coming soon)
REGULARITY – The aim of the game is consistency.
Similar to Super Sprints but with the added challenge of nominating a time and attempting to stick to that time as close as possible. After the first 2 practice sessions you get a feel from the times you set as to how you are tracking on the day and then nominate a time to stick to. The secret is to pick a time that is easily repeatable - some take it easier, some more advanced drivers set their fastest time and take half a second off it in case they improve through the day.
Points are taken away per lap for each 1/10th you are over or under your time… 1/10th quicker and you lose 2 points, 1/10th slower and you lose 1. The person that has lost the least amount of points wins the day.
Rain, wind, fuel loads, daily variation of track temperatures and other elements that affect traction and accuracy/repeatability/consistency of acceleration and braking on track make this an extremely challenging version of track competition.
So what would you nominate? 80% of your fastest practice time? Your fastest time minus half a second? 8 seconds off your fastest time because you think it’s going to rain? The choice is yours and you can choose to run at 100% or as slow as you like…. Therein lies the challenge.
HILL CLIMBS: Now bring all that knowledge together and really test yourself!
Combining the fast sweeping sections and elevation changes of a sprint race track, the low speed cornering and manoeuvring of motorkhana and a drag race style launch, the hill climb is run at Collingrove Hill Climb. The track is 685 metres long and climbs, dips, twists and climbs again to an elevation 70 metres above where you started. The track is 3 metres wide and there is minimal room each side of the car – and in some areas no run off at all. It is all about getting a good launch, carrying speed and maintaining accuracy.
It’s a thinker’s game…. Unlike track work where we refine our approach through “gold fish in a bowl” repetition, Hill climbing is about doing your run, thinking about what you could have done better, coming up with a plan on where to be faster or smoother, picking the brains of those around you that know more than you do, changing your plan again and having another go…. It’s a real challenge!
It’s very easy to drive slowly, it’s very easy to have a go, it’s very hard to knock the seconds off as you improve, however, like Super Sprints, Motorkhana and Regularity, it’s all at a pace you feel comfortable with - YOUR OWN PACE.
- Car Preparation: exactly the same as Super Sprint
- What will you need: See Super Sprint Requirements
- How do you enter: Through the CAMS website.
- Additional Resources: Click through to a map of the Collingrove Hillclimb track and a demonstration video. (coming soon)
Want to plan your year’s motorsport activities? Click through to see the PCSA Club Motorsport Calendar for the year.
If you have any questions or need assistance or advice please call one of the following Porsche Club Committee members:
Vic Moore: 0412 700 194
Darien Herreen: 0427 348 490
Mark Coupe: 0423 251 881
John Fricke: 0434 272 707
Peter Panopoulos: 0428 501 602
There are no events scheduled.