996 Archives

First off, cheers and thank you to all those who have played a role in making our 2019 season one to remember. Teamwork was the theme for 2019, it was all hands on deck as we took our 311RS Porsche team PCA Club Racing with a 2008 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup.

Please enjoy a look back at our 2019 season as seen through the lens of Minnesota’s-own Peter Lapinski.

Winter Testing

-Location: Roebling Road, Road Atlanta, Virginia International Raceway

Winter in MN meant we head south for track time – three tracks in four days. This trip saw the launch of our 997 GT3 Cup program and the first time our GT2RS saw the track on US soil.

Having been to Road Atlanta previously, Roebling Road and VIR provided us a taste of what else the south has to offer. VIR in particular was amazing with it’s natural layout and organic flow – our new favorite US track.

Rain or shine, we drove hard and had an amazing time with some of our best friends – cannot wait for the 2nd Annual in 2020!

Brainerd International Raceway

-Events: PCA First Fling, PCA Club Race, PCA Fall Fling

-PCA Club Race Results in GTC4: Qualified – 1st, Sprint Race 1 – 1st, Sprint Race 2 – 1st, Qualifying and Sprint Race GTC4 class records for Ryan Gates

Our home track. Nothing like it! The mile-long front straightaway at Brainerd International Raceway in MN is home to a few events each year for us. Beginning with First Fling in April, followed by the PCA Club Race in July and Fall Fling in October.

It was a pleasure to run our first PCA Club Race at home and with the support of the entire team – thank you all. We look forward to some of you joining in the Club Race for 2020!

Road America

-Events: PCA Cheese Fling, PCA Road America Challenge Club Race

-PCA Club Race Results in GTC4: Qualified – 1st, Sprint Race 1 – 1st, Sprint Race 2 – 2nd

Our other home track, Road America is just 5hrs from us and is typically the highlight(s) of our summers. This year we attended the PCA Road America Challenge for the first time – an event hosted by the Chicago-region PCA club and featured more than 180 Porsche Club Racers and 60 more HPDE drivers.

And a challenge it was, as we experienced our first on-track contact during the start of Sprint Race 2 into Turn 1. Ryan fought back from an off-track move to avoid cars in front to finish 2nd in GTC4 class – cheers to the GTC4 guys for the great battles out there and a well-deserved win for TJ Larson.

A special highlight from Road America in 2019 was the opportunity to run our 311RS-prepared GT2RS for a few private laps before the weekend. Leh Keen was on hand and had the track to himself running with a feature with Panorama. He took our GT2RS out and set a record laptime on his first lap. Thank you Leh!

Random

Peter paid us a few visits at 311RS HQ throughout the season. When we were not on track, we were here. Some interesting projects this season included exhaust and aero development of Porsche’s latest 911 GT2RS and production of the 311RS Porsche 993 CupSport.

While we are still working on the 993 CupSport, it is shaping up to make 2020 very special for us. Until then, cheers to 2019 and thank you once again to all those who have made it a year we will never forget.

Photos courtesy of Peter Lapinski

We have some in-car footage from our final track event of 2018 – Road America with MVP track days. Ryan drove Luis’ 996 GT3 for a session with him onboard. The car loves Road America. It is such a blast to drive.

Here is the video:

We’ve been preparing the car for Luis since he bought it in 2015. It’s progressed quite nicely with Luis focused on improving it’s performance for road and track use.

His GT3 is setup with components we’ve developed specifically for the 996 GT3 platform. Thing is a beast.

The highlights:
1) Suspension – 311RS-spec JRZ RS Pros, ERP arms & solid bushings
2) Wheels & tires – 311RS-spec BBS E88 18×9″ & 18×11.5″, Michelin Sport Cup 2s – 235 & 295
3) Brakes – Girodisc rotors with Pagid Yellows & stainless lines
4) Engine – Cup exhaust, BMC filters, IPD plenum, tune
5) Interior – Euro GT3 seats, Techquipment bar, removed airbags, sun visors, glove box, front console, & head unit.
6) Exterior – RS front bumper (not pictured, used older photos for the post), carbon hood, RS wing, RS mirrors

Photos & video courtesy of Ryan Gates/311RS, LLC.

Smokies GT is a not-for-profit group of Porsche GT car owners who get together annually in the beautiful Smoky Mountains for a weekend of driving. This year’s Smokies GT event was held April 21-22, and it would be the first time we’d attend but certainly not the last.

The event benefits the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and this year’s Spring meeting was a massive success – more than $120,000 was raised by the 85 Porsche GT owners on hand. What an accomplishment for a great cause.

Friday is spent at Atlanta Motorsports Park for an open track day. For us, it was the first time we’d been on track in 2017. We brought down 4 GT3s from Minneapolis – one 996, one 997, and two 991s.

As part of the fundraising effort, Leh Keen was on hand giving rides for charity. He’d be using our 991 GT3 for the rides, which was quite an honor for us, and quite a ride for the passenger we’d have to imagine. Together we raised $2,500 for the cause.

Saturday began with a drive to Heaven’s Landing – which is a gorgeous private air strip up in the Smoky mountains. We were there to run the cars flat out for 1/2 mile. Imagine the sound of 85 GT cars flat out for 1/2 mile. Quite nice huh?

There’s a more to the story, but for now we’ll let Peter’s photos do the talking. Thank you once again to the organizers of SmokiesGT for the incredible event. We’ll see you next year! And to Leh and his wife Eliza, the hospitality was much appreciated you two. See you soon.

Photos courtesy of Peter Lapinski.