Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/699072
July / August 2016 44 T hose who know me, know I have a passion for motorsports, both as a spectator and as a participant. To satisfy my passion as a participant, I typically run in three to four High Performance Driver Education (HPDE) events per year. I do this for two reasons; one, it helps keep your driving skills sharp, (driving a car is not like riding a bicycle, performance driving skills drop off from lack of practice), and two, it's a good excuse to keep your car mechani - cally sound. Prepping a car for a HPDE event involves servicing the brakes, engine, suspen- sion, and drivetrain to make sure the car is ca- pable of sustained performance far exceeding the demands of street driving. For the past few years, I've attended HPDE events with my younger brother Terry, who owns a 2008 Cayman S in the striking color of Signal Green. Terry's Porsche has roughly 25 horsepower more than mine and benefits from 20 years of Porsche's technical advanc - es compared to my car, a 1988 944 Turbo S. This includes driver aids like the Sport Chrono Package and Porsche Active Suspension Man- agement (PASM), so if Terry is faster than me, I have an excuse. :-) Last year Terry and I did our first HPDE at Circuit of the Americas (COTA), the Formula One track set on 1,500 acres in the rolling hills just south of Austin, Texas, is such an amazing place we decided to go back again this year. One benefit of participating in a HPDE is you get to drive on some of the most storied race tracks in the U.S., (e.g. Laguna Seca, Road America, Watkins Glen). What motorsports fan wouldn't enjoy that? COTA a 20-turn, counterclockwise circuit takes advantage of the naturally undu - lating landscape, including an intimidating 133-foot hill at Turn 1. It is the only purpose- built facility in the United States designed to host the premier motorsports championships in the world, including Formula One, MotoGP, the FIA World Endurance Championship and the Tudor United SportsCar Championship. This year my wife, Hiromi, and sister, Lori, decided to join Terry and me on our trip to Austin. It is always good to have company on a cross-country excursion and so much the better when it is family. Lori and Hiromi planned to spend their days doing local sight-seeing while Terry and I got our track fix. First, I had to get my car ready though. Making sure your car is prepped well in ad - vance for a track event is a key to success. Es- GUEST COLUMN David Lessmann Two Brothers ONE BIG ADVENTURE