Yuey Tan: Porsche Snow Force was loads of fun!
Porsche Carrera Cup driver, Yuey Tan has returned from a fantastic week in northern China at Porsche Snow Force.
“One of the most memorable weeks in my life!” commented PCCA race driver, Yuey Tan. “It was an absolutely pleasure to be in the snow with Porsche and I just want to thank Porsche China, Oliver Schwab and Arnd Stollmann once again for a great experience that I am sure none of us will ever forget.
During the Porsche Snow Force media wave, PCCA drivers Rodolfo Avila, Martin Ragginger, Earl Bamber and Yuey Tan were together taking part in the different activities that were on offer. The course started off with some basic techniques such as taking a car sideways, using the brake to get the rear end moving to induce a drift and snow karting which gave us a good feeling into the handling characteristics on such a different surface compared to everyday driving on tarmac.
From here, these techniques were put into play on small, medium and large circles giving us space to sustain controlled drifts, as well as having five different tracks for us to drive on, also having the chance to drive all Porsche road production models on the snow. The all new Porsche Macan Turbo was also released at the SnowForce event for the first time in China.
While on the snow, Porsche also employed a film team creating a documentary on the adventures of the PCCA drivers in various challenges and competitions including slaloms, races on snow, and a special new event created by chief instructor, Arnd Stollmann. “Loads and loads of fun!” commented Tan. “To be pitted in competitive conditions against one another was fantastic! Everyone is a competitor from first to last in the PCCA and the competitive nature of the drivers was out on display, though all understood it was all in good fun and it did not matter who won or loss! We are all saving it for the race season I think!”
“On day 1, Arnd made a new challenge for us that was pretty interesting,” continued Tan. “We had to learn a little bit about what co-drivers do in rally and make some notes about a track on snow in the afternoon. Then after dinner at 930pm, we returned to -20 degrees celcius in snowy conditions and using only our normal headlights, had to race each other for time in the dark! It was a heck of a lot of fun and a good challenge. Something about being in the middle of nowhere with some of the best drivers and the best cars in the world was pretty mystical. I enjoyed it a lot. Unfortu
nately Rodolfo and I were on one team and we lost. Though its all in good fun!” Another unique activity that was offered to the PCCA drivers was the chance to try control drifts on SnowForce’s largest circle area, allowing drivers to hold speeds of up to 140-150kph on a slide which had a lot of entertainment value for the drivers while on spiked tyres.
“This was a fantastic experience,” added Tan. “I didn’t manage to get the car up controlled drifting at 140kph, just below that but it was crazy nevertheless. It was also in a controlled and safe environment which made it a lot less nerve wrecking for me so there were no problems there. Just a great experience. Rodolfo (Avila) and I were laughing our heads off going sideways at such high speeds. Definitely a highlight!”
Tan now will be trading the cold snow for the hot conditions at the Sepang International Circuit, as he heads for pre-season testing for the PCCA 2014 season.
