Gulson Canberra prize win was better than money

That’s how Craig Homann of Gulson Canberra described winning first prize in the Porsche Cars Australia 'Service Excellence Awards 2011 for Service Consultants’. 

And the prize he enjoyed so much? Spending a day blasting around a race track in a Porsche GT3.

“The prize was the chance to complete the Porsche Sports Driving School Master - Level 4 at Brisbane raceway, including flights and accommodation,” Homann said.

“Yes, it was better than winning money. The experience costs $3500 for a normal customer; and if I was given money I wouldn't have spent it on the GT3 day -- and would never have known what I was missing out on. An experience like that is priceless.”

Homann said the Sports Driving School Master training was intense. “Performance training comprises of a variety of exercises, with concentrated driving components, in particular driving a racing line at high speeds and the resulting load-changing reactions, aimed at further improving your command of the vehicle,” he said.

“One of the main components is circuit lapping, which is given further attention during the course. Here you have an opportunity to put your knowledge to the test over the entire circuit.

“Porsche has a team of expert drivers as instructors, including Luke Youlden – who I drove with on the day - Alex Davison, Mark Adderton, Jonathon Webb, Andy McElrea, Scott Jacob, Warren Luff, Ian Dyk, Daniel Pappas and Fabian Coulthard. The instructor monitors your driving on the racetrack from the lead vehicle before assessing your progress, prior to your own solo lapping. You have to complete this training level before you can take part in the Master course.

“The Master level course uses the high performance 911 GT3 and is designed to take your skills to the next level. The car is the closest vehicle to a real race car available from the showroom floor. It features a race developed, 3.6 litre, 305kW (415bhp) engine, 8400 rpm rev limit, six-speed manual gearbox and adjustable dampers, rollbars and spoiler.

"Race developed suspension tuning, bespoke Michelin Pilot Sport Cup tyres and great down force from the aero package (wing and front spoiler) mean greatly enhanced grip levels. The more grip the car generates, the harder it is to drive close to the limit. The lines and technique must, therefore, be very precise.

“Satellite tracking is used to record the exact position of the car on the racetrack. This information, downloaded to a laptop, is overlaid and adjusted against the data set by the instructor. This is the most sophisticated tool available to improve the lines through the corners.

"The cars are equipped with lightweight seats and a roll cage and are monitored by Porsche instructors and engineers. One-on-one instruction is followed up by solo runs with radio communication. Given the level of complexity, technology and individual tuition, the course is limited to eight participants. A ‘must’ if you have an eye on the GT3 Cup program.”

Homann says he had his eye on the prize from the start of the Service Excellence Awards, although he was not fast off the line when the competition opened.

“The competition ran for five months, from the start of June until the end of October.  After a slow start in June, I managed to take the lead in my group and hold on to it until the end of the competition,” he said. 

“The competition divided the Porsche Centres throughout Australia into two groups, each of which would compete for the prize, with five scoring criteria: Service Reminder Penetration; Service Customer Mobility; Warranty Extension Penetration; Customer Satisfaction; and Training - learning path completion.”