Porsche Made My Laguna Seca Dream Come TruePorsche (Porsche)My first memory of Laguna Seca Raceway came through the pixelated lens of Gran Turismo 2. The racing video game features a series of license tests, including one that requires conquering Laguna Seca's famous Corkscrew with a Dodge Viper GTS. It took my 9-year-old self days to master the daunting downhill chicane within the time limits, but I had the determination of the late Alex Zanardi and several liters of Mountain Dew to eventually help me succeed. I vividly remember that triumphant feeling, and ever since, I've dreamed of one day driving on that iconic racetrack.The Porsche Track ExperienceLucky for me, I have a job that often makes the dreams of a lifelong car nerd come true, most recently when Porsche invited auto journalists to its newly opened driving school held at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca near Monterey, California. Known as the Porsche Track Experience (PTX), the academy also operates near Birmingham, Alabama, as well as 11 locations in Europe, including Germany's Hockenheimring racetrack. That's where PTX—originally called Porsche Sport Driving School—was introduced in 1974 as a launchpad for the OG 911 Turbo.Porsche (Porsche)Porsche's first driving school was run by its engineers, but today's instructors are all current or former professional racing drivers, so they know a thing or two about what it takes to turn a fast lap. While I participated in a one-day program that normally costs $3500, Porsche offers several multi-day classes ranging from $6500 up to $20K, with the latter catering to advanced drivers and featuring cars on racing slicks. And with about 230 days of programs available every year, there's a good chance you can find the time to get into a 911 Carrera S, 718 Cayman GTS 4.0, or 911 GT3.AdvertisementAdvertisementI'm not a total noob when it comes to on-track driving, with my skill level landing somewhere at the beginning of the intermediate spectrum. Still, I appreciated the initial classroom session that covered basic racing principles, specifically the importance of balancing the car's weight when accelerating, braking, and cornering.My class was led by Nick Galante, an affable dude and professional racer who's also a two-time IMSA SportsCar champion. He's been a driving instructor since 2010, and I thought he shared a smart way to think about the relationship between steering and pedal inputs on the racetrack. To help mitigate oversteer and understeer and preserve the racing line, he said to pretend there's a string between the top of the steering wheel and your feet. When the wheel is at the 12 o'clock position, you can apply 100 percent pressure to the gas or brake pedal, but as you increase the steering angle, the imaginary string should remind you to decrease the pedal pressure in equal measure. Groundbreaking? Maybe not, but I found that pro tip useful when I finally strapped on my open-face helmet and climbed into the driver's seat of my red Porsche 911 Carrera S for several hours of instructor-led, lead-follow track sessions.Full disclaimer: I petitioned for seat time in the 911 GT3 training cars that are also available through the PTX program, but I was politely denied. The reason being there weren't enough cars for the whole class, and Porsche wanted us to experience the same car throughout the day's multiple on-track sessions to best evaluate our progress. I was admittedly bummed, but Porsche's bestselling 911 model proved to be an impressive consolation. After all, the rear-drive Carrera S is damn-near perfect, featuring a 473-hp twin-turbo 3.0-liter flat-six and an eight-speed PDK transmission that's infinitely quicker and more coordinated than my left foot and right hand will ever be.Porsche (Porsche)Conquering the CorkscrewThe original Laguna Seca Raceway was created as a safer alternative to the nearby Pebble Beach road races of the 1950s. Coincidentally, my favorite track held its first race on November 9, 1957—exactly 33 years before I was born. Along with hosting countless racing series throughout the years, Laguna Seca's layout has transformed from its initial 1.9-mile version to the current 2.2-mile circuit that consists of 11 corners, such as the double-apex Andretti hairpin (Turn 2), the not-so-straight uphill Rahal straight that connects Turn 6 and 7, and, of course, the legendary Corkscrew.AdvertisementAdvertisementDespite the countless hours I've spent lapping Laguna Seca in the digital world, the real-world sensations are obviously a completely different experience. After a couple of initial sessions that helped our group get familiar with the track's braking zones and turn-in points, we began to significantly pick up the pace, with Galante providing instruction in real time through a speaker mounted in the back seat.Speeding down the front straight, bits of rubber debris from the recent IMSA race ricocheted off my windshield, and I saw the 911's digital speedo surpass 120 mph as I passed under the Mission Foods bridge and climbed into the blind crest at Turn 1 that descends into the Andretti hairpin. The abrupt transition made the steering suddenly feel terrifyingly light as the car stood on its Pirelli-clad tiptoes. My belly briefly filled with butterflies before gravity interrupted the car's upward inertia, and that momentary feeling of weightlessness turned into a brief arm-wrestling match where I fought to keep the reloaded steering wheel straight as I charged into Turn 2's double-apex corner, searching for my mark to stand on the brake pedal without waiting too late and piling into the Porsche ahead of me. Thankfully, no paint was traded that afternoon. And by the later sessions, the elevation sensations and control inputs required to follow Laguna Seca's prescribed path became muscle memory—even on the racetrack's most intimidating section.Porsche (Porsche)If you're not familiar with Laguna Seca's Corkscrew, treat yourself to this YouTube video that shows the final lap of the 1996 IndyCar World Series, where Zanardi broke everyone's brains by dive-bombing past Bryan Herta on the rollercoaster-esque section to win the race and become Laguna lore. Known simply as "The Pass," it's arguably the most thrilling moment in the racetrack's storied history.While my experience conquering the Corkscrew was comparatively uneventful, it was personally rewarding nonetheless. Yet along with the growing excitement I felt leading up to that moment, my anxiety was also building, fueled by flashbacks of my childhood struggles in GT2's license test. But as soon as I exited Turn 6, accelerating at full throttle up the Rahal straight towards destiny, my fear faded, and I felt invigorated to finally live out those virtual trials in real life.AdvertisementAdvertisementCharging up the hill, I positioned the Porsche to straddle the curb on the left edge of the track as I approached the top. The Turn 7 exit cued my foot to transition to full braking before the berm that leads into the Corkscrew's mouth at Turn 8. Entering the hard left-hander is easy enough because you can aim for the outside curbing; the unsettling part is that you can't see the hard right-hander that immediately follows, since the 59-foot elevation drop happens in just 450 feet. To help orient students, there's an orange marker cone on the track's fence that told me where to point the car's nose before blindly plunging into Turn 8A and then following the racing line another 50 feet downward into Turn 9 (a.k.a. Rainey curve).Porsche (Porsche)While initially terrifying, the Corkscrew was continually exhilarating. It's unlike anything else I've ever experienced on or off a racetrack. I'd compare the sensation to a trust fall, only my confidence grew with every lap until I eventually reached a flow state. No doubt that was also a testament to Galante's excellent instruction and the Carrera S's unflappable poise. It wasn't until the final cool-down lap that I was fully able to soak in the moment. Not only did I get to drive a 911 at Laguna Seca, but a dream that was over 25 years in the making finally came true.➡️ Skip the lot. Let Car and Driver help you find your next car.Shop New Cars Shop Used CarsYou Might Also LikeGift Guide: Best Ride-On Electric Cars for KidsFuture Cars Worth Waiting For: 2025–2029
