MotorWeek heads to Northern Quebec to learn how to control (and drift) Porsche 911s and 718 Caymans in the snow.
Not all driving schools were created to teach people how to go fast on a track and set low lap times. Some teach students how to handle a vehicle off-road and get it over natural obstacles without scraping a fender or snapping an axle. Others instruct participants on how to fling a car around like a movie stunt driver. As you’ll see in the video above, MotorWeek recently attended Porsche Camp4 in Northern Quebec, where contributor Zach Maskell learned how to drive rear- and all-wheel-drive 911s and 718 Caymans with studded tires on the snow with precision.
During the two-day, $4,000+ course, Maskell learned the importance of his positioning within the car. He needed a slight bend in the knee whenever he had a pedal floored and his wrists touching the wheel so that his hands were close enough to turn it quickly.
Once Maskell turned off the electronic nannies that would get in the way of his training, he completed a variety of driving exercises, including donuts and a slalom course. The latter taught him the value of braking to increase traction at the front wheels, which allowed him to then steer the car where he wanted it to go. In the Carrera 4S, Maskell only had to straighten the wheel and add power to get out of a curve. Its rear-wheel-drive cousin made him dial in a bunch of countersteer…then wait.
Maskell’s most important lesson? Oddly enough, it was a lesson we here at Teamspeed learned last year while driving the new Discovery up Vermont’s Mt. Equinox during a Land Rover Experience: left-foot braking. After all, driving on ice is a dance and dancing requires both feet – whether they’re in snow boots or not.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
