Turning the track into a classroom
AMG school gives drivers lessons in high performance
Blasting up the Mario Andretti Straightaway at more than 220 kilometres an hour, pinned back in the seat by the ferocious nature of 500-plus horsepower fully unleashed, should not be the only reason to invest in an AMG Driving Academy class, but it is the most visceral.
However, along with this opportunity come consequences — every driving mistake and bad habit are exposed and scrutinized in detail. Still, the opportunity for those of varying talent to drive high-performance cars at high speed in a controlled environment supersedes the potential for humiliation.
Besides, under the careful guidance of the academy’s instructors, it’s impossible not to step up your game. They will help you improve braking and cornering techniques, car dynamics and managing balance and traction, making you a better, faster and safer driver. And, to get here, you will have to have completed the Mastering Performance Program.
According to the brochure, the objectives of the AMG program are to “take experienced drivers and improve their high-performance driving techniques and challenge them further with consistent practice, focused coaching and modern technologies that affect driving dynamics.” That’s a slightly dry synopsis for what turns out to be minimal classroom time but plenty of seat and time, with access to a fleet of Mercedes’ go-fast AMG cars — namely the SLS, SL 63, SLK 55, C 63 and E 63 variants. Said fleet of 12 AMGs is available to a maximum of 12 participants, ensuring many track laps — at either Canadian Tire Motorsport Park or Circuit Mont-Tremblant — and one-on-one instruction from any of the six instructors, each of whom has the expertise to raise the level of one’s formerly mediocre abilities.
The Canadian Tire track is a very technical, undulating, four-kilometre-long race track with large elevation changes and fast, blind corners. To neophytes, it can be terrifying; even to experienced hot shoes, it is formidable — especially Turn Two, a blind downhill double-apex corner.
But chief instructor Danny Kok and his crew break down Turn Two, and the rest of Mosport’s 10 corners, into manageable bites, and, with orange cones placed at the appropriate turn-in points and apexes, the intimidation factor is lessened as practice laps unfold.
Two C 63 AMG sedans are fitted with data recorders, which collect information such as braking, throttle and steering traces and overlay them in a track map as well as video. This information is collected and then compared with baselines provided by the instructors to help with overall driver improvement.
The results of my Day 1 data, after trying to follow Kok’s pace as well as keeping my level of vision up to hit the turn-in points and apexes, is not pretty. I’m slow. I’m also tentative with my braking — or sometimes too abrupt — and I jump on the throttle too quickly, not being smooth in my transition from brake to gas pedal.
“We tend to find the biggest mistake on the track is mid-corner speed,” says Kok, explaining that not carrying enough speed into the corner and then getting on the gas to compensate unloads the front tires and creates an understeer condition. The instructors encourage a smooth application of throttle and brake to keep the car balanced.
Kok uses his 30-year career as a race-car driver and instructor to further illustrate the point. During a race, braking one car length later into a turn than another driver might improve your lap time by a tenth of a second, he says. Getting through the corner one kilometre an hour faster can result in a one-second advantage.
Day 2 is when things start coming together. Paterson offers some tips on finding the apexes in the blind corners — “follow the walls” — as well as how to brake smoother. “You want to keep your heel on the floor and use your toes to slowly release the brake.”
I get more familiar with the track, learning to trust when to turn instead of reaching the turn-in points and then desperately searching for the apexes. Says Kok: “The cones are there to connect the dots, but, at some time, they become a hindrance. Start reading the track. Skid marks are where you shouldn’t be.”
Armed with all this newly acquired coaching, I go out again for another data acquisition session, feeling more relaxed (slightly) and less tentative. The 451-horsepower C 63 feels better under my control and things begin to click. The results show promise — my best lap time is five seconds faster than the day before. I’m 32 km/h faster through Turn Four. My top speed at the end of the Andretti Straightaway is 225.5 km/h.
The program culminates with a slalom competition and a fast lap with Kok behind the wheel of the fearsome 563-hp SLS (his time is about 18 seconds faster than mine). In all, it’s great fun at a great track taught by knowledgeable people.
And, though it took place at a track setting, the lessons learned can equally apply to the street. The cost of the twoday AMG Driving Program is far from cheap — $3,995 per person.