Camp4 sounds like a place you would send your kids to during the summer break. They'd resist, not want to go, say that Timmy is smelly and that they always get stuck with him in the same cabin every year. Eventually, they'd go and have a great time swimming in the lake and roasting marshmallows over a camp fire.
Camp4 is something like that except that it's reserved for adults who revel in driving fast on a frozen and snow-covered track, in Porsches. I once thought this to be a sin but I have since changed my mind. There is a saying in French that translates like so: "Only crazy people do not change their minds." I'm not crazy.
Think about it. Porsches are revered and recognized for their handling, braking and overall performance. If this is so on tarmac, why would it not transpose into less clement conditions? After all, Porsche was big in rallying in the '70s and '80s. My friends, I'm here to tell you that a Porsche can do it all, anywhere.
Some history
Camp4 started 16 years ago with 35 Porsche owners in Finland looking to have a good time with their expensive toys. These guys wanted to see what a Stuttgart-born super-car could do when the weather got ugly. Fast-forward to today and Porsche Camp4 now uses 150 of its own cars and caters to 1,500 enthusiasts interested in driving Porsches in snow and on ice. Incidentally, the Camp4 name coincides with Carrera 4, one of the 911's trims.
Currently, there are two schools going on at the same time, one located in Canada and the other in -- where else but -- Finland. This is the second year of Porsche Camp4 in Canada and they returned to Mecaglisse in Notre-Dame de la Merci, north of Montreal for the event.
Camp4
The Camp4 program consists of a series of driving schools, starting with the most basic street and performance winter driving skills. From there, those interested can graduate to Camp4S, which features more advanced driving exercises to highly evolved, high-performance track driving. The courses take place over two days. Time is split between the classroom and the track. Porsche does insist on giving the drivers as much wheel time as possible.
Before we left for the track, we were given a brief lecture on how driving physics are very different in wintery and icy conditions. Porsche reps explained the nature of the school, which obviously includes full driver training for people to drive in these circumstances. Explanations of forces excersized on tires are described as are the different types of studs used on the Nokian Hakka 7 tires. In this instance, each car rolls on 1.5 mm studs.
Along with driving tips, we were presented a crash-course on the cars themselves. Needless to say, the cars are tops in their respective classes technology-wise. The best bit was the explanation pertaining to Porsche's Stability Management or stability control. Known as PSM (off or on), the chief instructor had a different definition, which he blurted out to be "Please Switch Me off!" Gold.
Camp4 is something like that except that it's reserved for adults who revel in driving fast on a frozen and snow-covered track, in Porsches. I once thought this to be a sin but I have since changed my mind. There is a saying in French that translates like so: "Only crazy people do not change their minds." I'm not crazy.
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| Camp4 is something like that except that it's reserved for adults who revel in driving fast on a frozen and snow-covered track, in Porsches. (Photo: Porsche) |
Think about it. Porsches are revered and recognized for their handling, braking and overall performance. If this is so on tarmac, why would it not transpose into less clement conditions? After all, Porsche was big in rallying in the '70s and '80s. My friends, I'm here to tell you that a Porsche can do it all, anywhere.
Some history
Camp4 started 16 years ago with 35 Porsche owners in Finland looking to have a good time with their expensive toys. These guys wanted to see what a Stuttgart-born super-car could do when the weather got ugly. Fast-forward to today and Porsche Camp4 now uses 150 of its own cars and caters to 1,500 enthusiasts interested in driving Porsches in snow and on ice. Incidentally, the Camp4 name coincides with Carrera 4, one of the 911's trims.
Currently, there are two schools going on at the same time, one located in Canada and the other in -- where else but -- Finland. This is the second year of Porsche Camp4 in Canada and they returned to Mecaglisse in Notre-Dame de la Merci, north of Montreal for the event.
Camp4
The Camp4 program consists of a series of driving schools, starting with the most basic street and performance winter driving skills. From there, those interested can graduate to Camp4S, which features more advanced driving exercises to highly evolved, high-performance track driving. The courses take place over two days. Time is split between the classroom and the track. Porsche does insist on giving the drivers as much wheel time as possible.
Before we left for the track, we were given a brief lecture on how driving physics are very different in wintery and icy conditions. Porsche reps explained the nature of the school, which obviously includes full driver training for people to drive in these circumstances. Explanations of forces excersized on tires are described as are the different types of studs used on the Nokian Hakka 7 tires. In this instance, each car rolls on 1.5 mm studs.
Along with driving tips, we were presented a crash-course on the cars themselves. Needless to say, the cars are tops in their respective classes technology-wise. The best bit was the explanation pertaining to Porsche's Stability Management or stability control. Known as PSM (off or on), the chief instructor had a different definition, which he blurted out to be "Please Switch Me off!" Gold.