Very cool, what is PCA and where does one do this?
As mentioned above, PCA is Porsche Club of America. It is organized into multiple regions, and my region (Potomac) is very active and holds multiple events throughout the year.
HPDC is a 1-day introduction to driving on a race track (but not racing, which is different). We hold two HPDC sessions every year, one in the spring and one in the fall. I am one of the instructors, and also got drafted into being a tech inspector yesterday -- the tech inspection is to make sure the cars can be safely driven on a race track.
HPDCs are an introduction to our High Performance Driving Education (HPDE) program, which are 2-3 day events at different race tracks around the mid-Atlantic area; and are usually held once per month, from late March through early November. HPDEs are to learn to drive as fast as (safely) possible on race tracks, but are not racing -- competitive timing is prohibited, as well as non-cooperative passing (i.e., all passes require point-bys, and only in designated areas).
Drivers at HPDEs are sorted into five run groups, based on experience. Green and Blue (novice and beginner) group drivers are always paired up with instructors, until they reach the point where they can be promoted to the White (intermediate) run group. The White group is the first solo group, and we strongly encourage drivers in this group to take an instructor out for at least one session every weekend. The Black and Red run groups are for our most-experienced drivers, and are where most of our instructors "live" -- these groups are primarily sorted by speed, with the fastest cars & drivers in Red.
