It’s a sad fact that the majority of performance car owners don’t really have the skill to drive the cars as they were intended.

Any number of performance driving schools around the country have been established to help you avoid this pitfall, however, one of which is the Skip Barber High Performance Driving School.

Another is the new ST Octane Academy, which Ford is offering as a complimentary program for buyers of its Fiesta ST and Focus ST hot hatches. The program will be run by instructors from Ford Motor Company [NYSE:F] and Ford Racing and take place at Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah.

Participants will need to make their own way down to Salt Lake City where they will be given a tour of Ken Block’s race shop Hoonigan Racing and be invited to a dinner. The next day they head to Miller Motorsports Park and start the program. It includes a classroom session and behind-the-wheel lessons on car control, cornering, braking and vehicle dynamic techniques.

The afternoon session features more on-track driving including lead and follow exercises, instructor ride-alongs and hot laps with professional drivers. It also includes high-spirited precision driving exercises and challenges featuring a custom circuit. A bit of karting is done at the end to unwind.

The schedule for the ST Octane Academy program will be announced later this summer.

You may recognize the name from the television series Octane Academy, which features Ford racing stars Ken Block, Brian Deegan, Tanner Foust and Vaughn Gittin Jr. as well as amateur drivers competing for a chance at professional racing.

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