Total Car Control: Road masterclass

It’s where you’ll do most of your driving, so mastering the art of car control on the public road will prove beneficial every day, as Editor Lee Sibley discovers…

Photography by Alisdair Cusick

The open road: there’s more than 262,000 miles of it in the UK alone, connecting communities, delivering efficient travel and, most importantly for the likes of you and I, providing a platform in which to enjoy a Porsche 911.

If you think about it, the open road is a needle that threads your life together. Your first journey as a newborn will very likely have taken you along one, for example, while asphalt will likely have led you to your first date, your wedding, or the ground of your favourite sports team. Then there are the more hedonistic experiences such as road trips or early morning drives, with hairpin bends, heavenly elevations and sweeping cambers all providing memorable moments for a petrolhead in a sports car.

Yet the public road is also full of dangers, and that same stretch of tarmac which can give you the greatest moment of your life could also be the scene of your demise. Not something you’ll like reading here, granted, but it’s a fact nevertheless.

Moving swiftly but safely is key, and certain skills are required to achieve this – which is why I’ve enrolled in a two-part Total Control Masterclass with performance driving coach, Ivan Thompsett, of Total Car Control. You may remember part one in last issue took us to Millbrook Proving Ground where, under Ivan’s tutelage, I gained a better understanding of the 911’s unique dynamics and how to use these to get the best out of Porsche’s iconic sports car. Day two of the course sees us head out on to the public road to apply these skills where it matters most: the real world.