RMRPCA Track Talk: A Day in the Life of a Porsche Club Instructor

Editor’s Note: Dave Stribling, General Manager of Porsche Denver West, is also the Lead Chief Driving Instructor for Rocky Mountain Region Porsche Club of America. He wrote the article below for their monthly newsletter, HighGear.

There are few things in life that require the same level of trust as being a PCA driving instructor. Think about it—pilots have co-pilots, doctors have years of medical history on their patients, but a Porsche Club instructor? We strap into the passenger seat of an unknown car, with an unknown driver, on a race track, and hope that today isn’t the day we test the durability of the crash barriers.

Welcome to the Passenger Seat

The moment you slide into a student’s car, the experience begins. Your new driver is a complete mystery—will they be smooth and cautious, or will they treat Turn 1 like an audition for a Fast & Furious reboot? The stress levels can be high for both parties. The student is nervous about impressing their instructor; the instructor is nervous about making it to dinner.

Every first session follows the same pattern:

1. The Initial Assessment – Within the first half-lap, an instructor knows what kind of day it’s going to be. Smooth throttle application? Good. White knuckles on the steering wheel? Uh-oh. Brake lights flickering mid-corner? It’s going to be a long session.
2. The Communication Factor – Every student processes information differently. Some respond to gentle coaching: “Let’s try a little less braking next time.” Others need a more direct approach: “STOP STABBING THE BRAKES.” It’s all about adapting your style to the driver in the left seat.
3. The “Oh No” Moment – There’s always at least one per weekend. That heart-stopping second when a student misses a braking point, gets a little too enthusiastic with the throttle, or thinks “the line” is a suggestion. It’s in these moments that instructors develop their poker faces—or their ability to grab the door handle in record time.

Common New Driver Errors

Over the years, a pattern of rookie mistakes emerges. If you’re a beginner, take note—your instructor has seen these before:

• Over-braking – Many new drivers treat the brake pedal like a survival tool. Hard on, hard off, sometimes for no reason at all.
• Late Inputs – Steering and braking decisions made a second too late lead to messy lines and panicked corrections.
• Throttle Hesitation – The fear of acceleration mid-corner leaves the car unsettled and the instructor whispering, “Trust the car, trust the car…”
• Ignoring Track-Out Space – Students love hugging the inside of a turn, convinced that the car will somehow fall off the track if they use all of it.

The Student Who Scares His Instructor

Every instructor has a story. The student who thought “brake zones” were optional. The one who asked, mid-session, “What does the apex do?” The overconfident driver who quickly learned that talent and traction aren’t the same thing.

One of my personal favorites: A driver in a brand-new GT3 was convinced he had mastered trail braking—except his version of it involved full-throttle downshifts into a corner with all the precision of a sledgehammer. As we exited Turn 4, he turned to me and said, “This is way easier in Gran Turismo.”

Ah, yes. The fine art of sim-racing confidence meeting real-world physics.

The Rewarding Moments

For all the wild rides, stress-induced sighs, and last-second corrections, there’s nothing better than watching a student finally get it. That moment when their hands relax, the car flows through the turns, and the confidence clicks into place. It’s what keeps us coming back—well, that and the occasional lunch break where we get to tell war stories with fellow instructors.

So next time you see an instructor at the track, just know—we’re here because we love it. We thrive on sharing the Porsche experience, helping drivers improve, and, most importantly, surviving every ride-along to tell the tale.

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