Incredible! No other word will describe our experience with you and your staff! -One Day Participant

With the exception of the birth of my two girls, it was the most enjoyable intense day I have ever spent. -Hansen Machine Shop

Yesterday was the scariest, most intimidating, exciting, exhilarating, empowering, and just plain FUN day of my life and I can't wait to do it again. Just all the information and morning driving skills exercises were worth the full day's price and then I got all the afternoon of high performance driving for free! -One Day Participant

You handled us with grace and style, and yet you were firm when needed. - Associate Producer MTV Road Rules

Thank you! Great Job! They loved it - Hanauer Motor Racing

Thanks for helping me take my racing career all the way from the one day performance driving school with you all the way to Daytona and professional racing. -Professional race car driver

Thanks for another great program. Consistently you guys do it right! -Assistant General Manager MCL Motor Cars Vancouver B.C.

I could not be happier with the way things turned out. All the Seattle Club members went away gleaming. I think you have a rather large group of certified "track junkies" on your hands." -President Seattle Audi Club

A student took a couple of our club schools and started coming out to our lapping days. He talked about taking his car into turn 2 and being a little nervous every time. Well, then he took a one-day school of yours, and by the end of the day he was going through turn 2 at 85 mph with tons of confidence. You took him to the next level with his skills and confidence. That's the story I tell people about the difference between a club school and your school"-Local Driving Club Officer

Regarding the past few days, I feel like I’m twice the driver I was just a week ago! And that’s no BS. I was pretty bummed about the rain yesterday but, today, when I felt the car sliding I knew exactly what to do—it was second nature. I never lost control of my car once today even though I drove it harder than I ever have before while exploring new limits at the same time. While I’m sure I would have had more fun yesterday had the weather cooperated, I learned more as a result of the rain. This is good because I’m serious about driving and learning is more important than having fun—much more. -Member BMW & Porsche Club

ProFormance definitely beat the competition I took hands down. I never got this kind of one-on-one personal attention, even when I paid close to twice the price for the "big name."- BMW Club officer

Your school was by far the most valuable executive training session I've taken part in. -One Day Participant

The Weissach Track Day was once again a fantastic success. We would like to extend our sincere appreciation and congratulations for a job well done. The event has become extremely popular with our clients undoubtedly due to your personal dedication and hard work.-Weissach Performance Vancouver B.C.

You have affected all of our lives in a very positive manner. - CRISTA

I've attended a few other racing schools...Russell, Skip Barber, the I-90 express lanes during rush hour...all of which are great, but I believe I enjoy my experience at SIR in your Neons as much or more than any other, as far as sheer driving pleasure, helpful instruction & good sportsmanship.  -One Day Participant

Never thought I could have so much fun in the rain! The wet makes you slow down and really focus on your line, speed control, proper braking/shifting, etc. Also, your instructors added to the learning experience and made by first time behind my new "wheels" much more enjoyable.- Porsche Enthusiast

Your program was the perfect balance of in-class instruction, car control exercises, and in-car instruction. Additionally we appreciate ProFormance's emphasis on safety and professionalism. -One Day Participant

Day at the Track
By David Schirmer

I finally did it. I took a one-day class at the Proformance Driving School. Now I wonder what took me so long. To be honest, there were a couple of reasons that I didn't just jump right in and do it. I was a bit intimidated to be out on a racetrack going as fast as I dared which may not be as fast as everyone else dared. I was also worried about taking my 26-year-old 308 out and giving it a serious workout. It turns out those worries were completely unfounded.

The one day performance driving class is designed to give a driver a taste of driving on the track. In doing this, they give you lessons that make you a better day to day driver. There is a mix of classroom sessions and on the track driving exercises. The time is well balanced so you don't get worn out from class or driving. The morning is mainly classroom and specific exercises on the track. The class gives an overview of what you are trying to achieve in the track exercises.
The class is really interesting in that a lot of the information seems pretty basic. But when you get real life examples and then apply it to a specific exercise, you find that it really makes sense. You start out saying to yourself, "Well…duh…" and you end up applying it to your driving. This, I have found, has improved my daily driving in ways I never imagined. Don Kitch, the director of the school, runs the classroom sessions. He has a great teaching style that calls on his experience as a race driver and also uses his daily driving experiences to create a very informative session. He also leads the group that isn't on the track in observing the other drivers during their lapping sessions. As he said, "We get to go watch the other guys screw up." He must have busted a gut watching me trying to negotiate 3A and 3B.

The exercises are various scenarios based on understanding the dynamics of a car in motion. There was a slalom course, a braking exercise, and a collision avoidance maneuver. The slalom and collision avoidance maneuver both had points where you had to make a sudden decision. An instructor would indicate that you had to skip a cone in the slalom by raising a flag. In the collision avoidance scenario, one of the instructors would point which way you had to turn to avoid a line of cones. In my mind, they always signaled at the last possible moment. The valuable lesson I learned is that my reaction to sudden situations is pretty lousy. I jerk the wheel, lift off the throttle and pretty much do everything wrong. I tried to smooth this out during my numerous runs, but Michael Schumacher I am not.

After the exercises, we started into the track-driving portion of the day. We took two slow laps with an instructor driving our car. They pointed out the proper line and showed us various visual indicators to help us set up for turns correctly. We had been taught in the classroom what we were trying to achieve in going through a turn. We learned about braking, the turn in point, the apex and the exit. Now we were seeing it all come together. This was really the fun part.
We then spent all afternoon alternating groups 1 and 2 lapping and observing. An instructor was with you in the car the whole time. My instructor was fantastic, always giving me enough information but never overloading me. Then, he would add on knowledge as I started to get the hang of particular sections. It is really great having someone who knows what they are talking about, critiquing your driving.

The first run for each group was class participants only. Then, just to make things interesting the lapping also included people who had already taken the school and were just out lapping on their own. There were strict places where passing was allowed, controlled by the instructors. As a matter of fact, the instructors even adjusted the rear view mirror so they could see what was behind. It is kind of weird to glance up at the rearview mirror and have it turned completely the wrong way. I got used to it and was able to concentrate on the track and what was in front of me. It was really, really fun. As you get going, you gain confidence. Each turn is a puzzle that requires you to set the car up correctly and execute the turn correctly. A lot of the turns depend on what you did in the previous turn. The toughest turns for me were 3A and 3B. I spent all afternoon trying to adequately negotiate my way through. Talk about variations on a theme. Only toward the end of the day did I start to see what I was supposed to do. Even then, it was still pretty messy.

I have to say that the day ended too soon. My skills were definitely improved. I also was impressed with how well the 308 behaved on the track. It ran and handled great. I never really pushed it to the point that I scared myself, but even when I went up a notch; the car had plenty more notches to go. It's not the fastest thing on earth, but it seems to know exactly how to behave through a turn. For me, that was the fun part. Also, the car held up to the rigors of the track quite well. The tires looked a bit used and there was a good pile of brake dust everywhere, but other than that, all the vital signs were right on.

I would have to say that my day at the track was well worth it. I got to explore the performance of my car without the fear of tickets and civilian traffic. I learned how to improve my driving. And I spent the day at the track with some other nice folks and their nice cars all enjoying the same experience. I would highly recommend taking this class with your fine Italian automobile.