There are so many beautiful short films out there from the Porsche racing professional's point of view — pieces from Jeff Zwart and the Drive Channel come to mind — but I couldn't find anything out there that told the story of the aspiring weekend track warrior. We decided to create a documentary film to really shine a light on what PCA "driver's education," or DE, is all about, from the perspective of the amateur, gentleman racer.
When I got my first Porsche, I had no idea that there was this opportunity to take these wonderful cars and stretch their legs, in a safe and controlled manner — to really drive them as they were meant to be driven and learn their dynamics. My friends in the PCA opened my eyes to track driving — getting seat time, car preparation, race craft and so on. After my first event, I was hopelessly hooked and began down the "slippery slope" of track driving.
I discussed the concept with Monty Milburn, director of OMS Photo of Cincinnati, and we partnered to produce and shoot the film in March 2012. We shot over a live DE weekend in Millville, N.J., at New Jersey Motorsports Park's Thunderbolt and Lightning circuits. All of the driving footage is real and took place during the on-track stints. The crew at NJMP were very gracious and accommodating, giving the crew full access to the facilities. They even permitted us to take a Sprinter van around Thunderbolt for the GT3 tracking shots.
The balance of the footage was shot at GT Performance Inc in Edgewood, Md., where my car is prepped and maintained. Igor from GTP has been not only my mechanic, but also driving coach, as seen in the film. The other DE participants really got a kick out of the process and seeing their own cars on film. I know there are at least a dozen guys/gals that asked me for a link to the finished piece — so here you go, enjoy!