FP COMMUNIQUE 002
Top 7 Performance Driving Handbooks
By Gianpaolo Pietri
We get asked this question all the time: How good of a driver do I need to be to come on one of your rallyes?
Maybe you haven’t had much time behind the wheel of a Porsche or any sports car. And even less time on the track. You are not alone. I still question my performance driving skills all the time, and I’ve been doing this for more than 20 years. I also reread my favorite high performance driving books.
Truth is, anyone of any skill level can join our road adventures. The point is not to be a great driver going in, but to be a better driver coming out.
Take one of our valued guests, Nadja, for example. When she first joined our 2023 Tyrolean Rhapsody adventure, she had a little trouble keeping up. A few days in, she was right there waving at me every time I looked in my rearview. By the time we got to the Passo di Giau in the Dolomite Alps of Italy, I was disappearing in her rearview. It was one of the most impressive leaps I’ve witnessed.
Having a basic understanding of the fundamentals is a good idea in any endeavor. Driving is as much science as it is art, and certain techniques might as well be carved in stone because they work 100% of the time.
I can already see the water levels rising in my inbox. “The best way to become a better driver is to put rubber to asphalt”, they’ll say. Well, yes, and if you come with us, there’ll be plenty of opportunities for that. But reading one, or two, or all of these guides will build your confidence and strengthen your mindset for when the time comes to hit those hairpins.
Here are Fratelli Pietri’s top 7 recommended high performance driving handbooks (links are affiliates). These books offer a cornucopia of insights to strengthen your performance driving IQ before hitting the road with us. They may not turn you into the next Ayrton Senna, but they are more than enough to help you squeeze every ounce of your next Fratelli Pietri road adventure.
”Driving is as much science as it is art, and certain techniques might as well be carved in stone because they work 100% of the time.”
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1. Porsche High Performance Driving Handbook
It’s been more than a decade since the first Porsche High Performance Driving Handbook set the standard for getting the most out of a Porsche. If driving techniques haven’t changed since then, technology definitely has. This book, by the world’s foremost expert, takes new technology into account and gives readers the latest information on how to drive a Porsche to the limit.
Once upon a time, the Can Am and Trans Am race series changed their rules because Vic Elford and his Porsches were winning too often. Here Quick Vic shares his insights into ride control systems, new tire compounds, and Tiptronic and Direct-Shift Gearbox transmissions, all of which have transformed the experience–and the challenge–of driving a Porsche.
2. Sports Car and Competition Driving
Paul Frere – Le Mans winner, Grand Prix driver, and Road & Track magazine’s European editor – has prepared a new edition of his classic, Sports Car and Competition Driving. In his revised edition, Frere builds on the strengths of the original by explaining how to meet the new challenges posed by radical new developments in automotive technology.
What separates Frere’s book from other driving texts is his unique blend of theory and practice, based on a career as a racer and trained engineer. You’ll find memorable observations on how to go faster combined with sophisticated discussions of the physics that govern a car. With 78 photographs and illustrations, Sports Car and Competition Driving is required reading for all those interested in racing or in becoming a more masterful road driver.”
3. Speed Secrets: Professional Driving Techniques
Shave lap times or find a faster line through your favorite set of S-curves with professional race driver Ross Bentley. In Speed Secrets, he shows you the quickest line from apex to apex! With tips and commentary from current race drivers, Bentley covers the vital techniques of speed. From visualizing lines to interpreting tire temps, his aim is to put you in front of the pack. Moreover, it includes practice techniques, chassis set-up, and working with your pit chief.
4. The Lost Art of High-Performance Driving: How to Get the Most Out of Your Modern Performance Car
Ross Bentley explains how you can train yourself to become a true performance driver. In this performance driving handbook, you will learn exactly how to become an even better performance-oriented driver. Whether it’s to enjoy a twisty mountain highway, to take that secret back-road route to work, or participate in a track day event, you will learn best practices for an exciting yet safe day on the road.
5. Inner Speed Secrets: Mental Strategies to Maximize Your Racing Performance
Maximize your driving ability with tips from the experts! Based on performance seminars conducted by the authors, this informative guide helps you consistently perform at your highest level. Chapters discuss: The Driver – The Ultimate Management System; Inner Race Driving; Skills and Techniques; and Strategies.
6. Going Faster! Mastering the Art of Race Driving
Going Faster! reveals the collective racing wisdom Skip Barber Racing School instructors have accumulated over the past 25 years. It is the perfect resource for drivers from novice to expert. The fundamentals of fast driving are revealed in this definitive how-to book for racers. You will also find the competition-proven methods of instructors and professional drivers that will give you the know-how to work up the track and stay at the front. This racing reference reveals the secrets of mastering car control, reducing lap times. It takes the reader inside the world of racing. This book is about how the best drivers in the fastest, most sophisticated race cars use advanced race driving techniques-the difference between competence and brilliance.
7. Drive to Win: The Essential Guide to Race Driving
Take pole position to learn the ground rules, techniques and procedures of driving perception and evaluation. Racing professional Carroll Smith delivers current state-of-the-art techniques for working with your crew to develop and set up your car to competitively practice the art of driving.