Pupils were visited by New Zealand driver Chris West, former Finnish champion Pasi Hagstrom, and French driver Michele Mouton.
The drivers spoke to pupils about rally experiences and the safe defensive driving styles needed on public roads, Hagstrom said.
He won all events in the Finnish Championship in 1999 (driving a Toyota Corolla) and later tested works Subarus.
He now develops Group N cars with former world rally champion Tommi Makinen. He will drive a 911 Porsche in the classics section of the Otago Rally this weekend.
Although he describes the car as "very fast," - the 3.2 litre car develops more than 300hp - it is rear-engined and can shift weight quickly.
As a result, traction loss is less predictable and tyre wear is high.
"The Escorts help you go fast much more easily", he said.
On some stages the team puts two spare wheels under the car's bonnet to "anchor" the front wheels.
Mouton is widely regarded as one of the most successful women motorsport competitors of all time.
She previously competed in New Zealand in a works Audi Quattro during world championship events in 1982 and 1983.
"You could get good rhythm on South Island roads in the Quattro which was a car I loved. It was fantastic. From what I've seen of the roads for this rally are like those in Finland."
She jokes about being a retired driver who "is just doing it for fun", but says she and Italian co-driver Fabrizia Pons were looking forward to seeing how their classic RS1800 Ford Escort will perform as the roads sweep back to a hard base.
The 1982 World Rally Championship runner-up, Mouton was the first woman to win a round in the World Rally Championship (in Sanremo in 1981) and, in 1985, became the first woman to win the gruelling Pikes Peak International Hillclimb.
West was 2004 New Zealand national champion and has won Rally of Otago three times.
