Clubsport Archives

Before posting our season in review update, we were curious to see how our season in SRO GT Sports Club GT2 Class looked “by the numbers”. It was a season of firsts for the team, so we added up the numbers to find out how it all came to be.

Cars: 1 – 2019 Porche 911 GT2RS Clubsport #85/200
Tracks: 4 – VIR, Sonoma, Road America, COTA
Races: 8
Pole positions: 8 (100%)
Avg. gap to P2 – Qualifying: 1.49 sec
Wins: 8 (100%)
Avg. gap to P2 – Race: 31.63 sec
Laps led: 158/159 (99.4%)
Fastest laps: 8 (100%)
Points: 200 (100%)
Avg. race pace: 95.91mph / 154.35kph
Race mileage: 518.67 miles / 834.71 kilometers
On-track mileage: 2,152 miles / 3,463.31 kilometers
Pirelli tires used – 72 tires, split equally 36 front & 36 rear
Total race fuel used: 491 gallons / 1,858.64 liters
Brembo brake rotor & pad sets used: 2
Motul 300V 0W-40 oil changes: 6 / 51qts total
Pro-Tint windshield tear offs – 1 of 4
Miles driven to & from races: 9,352 miles / 15,050.59 kilometers
Hours on the road: 154 hours
States driven through: 24
GT2 Class Championships: 1 (100%)

Ride along with Ryan Gates as he and his father, Bruce Gates, spend the final session of 2020 lapping BIR together.

Ryan is driving the 311RS Motorsport Porsche 997.1 GT3 Cup and Bruce is driving the 311RS Motorsport Porsche 991 GT2RS Clubsport.

Neither car was running fresh tires so this was all about having fun together and enjoying the gorgeous fall weather at BIR. By the 4th lap you’ll see Bruce fly past down the front straight in the GT2RS Clubsport. You can almost feel the power.

-Drivers: Ryan Gates & Bruce Gates

-Cars: Porsche 997.1 GT3 Cup & Porsche 991 GT2RS Clubsport – both prepared by 311RS Motorsport

-Track: Brainerd International Raceway

-Fastest Lap: 1:35.3 (997.1 GT3 Cup)

July 13th, 2020 – 311RS Motorsport wins GT2 Class at the inaugural SRO GT Sports Club America race at Virginia International Raceway in the 311RS Motorsport Porsche 911 GT2RS Clubsport driven by Ryan Gates.

Link to series website – Gates sweeps SRO GT2 Class at VIR

We would like to thank the entire 311RS Motorsport team and Goldcrest Motorsports for all the hard work and preparation to make this weekend a reality. We should all be proud of the team’s near-flawless execution leading up to and during this race weekend at VIR.

In addition, we would like to thank Porsche Motorsport for the reliable GT2RS Clubsport platform and factory on-site support, SRO America for hosting a safe and fun event, and finally VIR for providing all of us a beautiful facility to race at.

More information to follow.

Photos: Peter Lapinski

July 6th, 2020: 311RS Motorsport enters the 2020 SRO GT Sports Club America Championship in GT2 class with the 311RS Porsche 911 GT2RS Clubsport. The first round of SRO GT Sports Club America takes place on July 9-12th, 2020 at Virginia International Raceway.

Statement from driver and 311RS Motorsport team owner, Ryan Gates: “Porsche created the 911 GT2RS Clubsport with SRO GT2 class in mind. It’s exciting to see Porsche 911 GT2s racing again and we are looking forward to running with SRO GT Sports Clubsport America; the first US-based series with a GT2 class.

We have been preparing for this moment since founding the company nine years ago. A special thank you to our Minneapolis-based team along with the folks from Goldcrest Motorsports for their support as we launch this campaign with the Porsche 911 GT2RS Clubsport in SRO.”

We will provide further information throughout the week leading up to the weekend. Thank you to all who have helped make this happen for us!

Download copy of press release here.

In cooperation with Brainerd International Raceway, we hosted a private test for our GT2RS Clubsport & 991.2 GT3 Cup. In addition, we invited a small group of our road car clients to join us for some much-needed high speed therapy.

Participants were limited to a total of 10 as part of our agreement with the track and the local county attorney. Strict social-distance guidelines were adhered to and we are happy to report, nearly four weeks since the event, each one of us who attended remain free of COVID-19 symptoms.

Peter Lapinski was on hand to capture the scenes of our first test for 2020. We thank him for being there as we rolled out our GT2RS Clubsport for the first time, a huge milestone for our team. Please enjoy the following selection images from Peter and accompanying notes from the team.

The line up included: GT2RS Clubsport, 991.2 GT3 Cup, GT2RS, 991.2 GT3RS (x2) 991.2 GT3, 997.1 GT3, and a 996.2 GT3 (did not run).

The sun was hitting the GT2RS Gold BBS wheels just right.

The 311RS Porsche 911 GT2RS Clubsport followed by the 311RS Porsche 911 GT3 Cup on track together for the first time.

Our partners at Goldcrest Motorsports sent Blake White up for the test. He helped us get up to speed and ensured the test went smoothly. Thank you Blake & Goldcrest!

The GT2RS Clubsport absolutely ate up the track. Even during shakedown, the car was running faster laps than we had ever ran around BIR. A beast, as they say.

With nothing more than fuel & distilled water (for the intercooler sprayer system), the GT2RS Clubsport ran like clockwork. Here we see Ryan giving the underside of the car an ocular pat down after a session in the car.

It was a treat running the GT2RS road car and the GT2RS Clubsport together on track. While the road car is quite a bit faster in a straight line (it is tuned by M-Engineering making over 700whp), the Clubsport handily walked away from it over the course of a lap.

Two different vantage points through T9 – a turn that requires much respect from the driver.

Elsewhere on track, Jeff was up to speed out of the box in his 991.2 GT3 Cup. He’s tested the car at Sebring & COTA already this season, so on familiar territory at BIR he was very quick.

We look forward to working with this driver and car as the season progresses. The 991.2 GT3 Cup provides us an opportunity to understand and develop with Porsche’s latest Cup car platform. This experience will pay dividends for years to come.

Dan was pushing his 311RS-prepared 991.2 GT3RS to new limits during the test. He is picking up speed, and quickly. We are looking forward to seeing his development this season.

Tom was on hand in his gorgeous 311RS-prepared 997.1 GT3 consistent as usual. It’s always a pleasure seeing this car run.

A new driver for 311RS, John, was testing out his new 311RS-prepared 991.2 GT3RS for the first time. Fresh from an initial chassis setup, he was quick to improve, lopping multiple seconds from his lap times each session.

He’s due back into 311RS HQ for further upgrades along with our track aero & chassis setup. We are looking forward to seeing this & driver car develop.

Brandon was up to speed right away in his 311RS-prepared 991.2 GT3. We’ve been working with him for a season now, his progression in both speed and feedback have been great to see.

He’s now equipped with our safety package (roll bar, harnesses, and HANS device) and faster than ever while also being safer than ever.

Bruce was pounding laps in his GT2RS road car in between sessions in his GT2RS Clubsport. Hearing his feedback in back to back sessions was awesome, suddenly that GT2RS road car felt very much like a road car in comparison.

That’s it for now. Lots learned, with even more yet to learn. Until next time, Fear The Cheese!

Photos courtesy of Peter Lapinski

Another factory Porsche race car joins the 311RS Motorsport program for 2020 – a Porsche 911 GT2RS Clubsport. Complimenting our 911 GT2RS road car, the 911 GT2RS Clubsport will provide a familiar platform for us to further develop our racing team in 2020.

The initial program has been curtailed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, however we look forward to racing the car with PCA Club Racing and perhaps SRO in the GT2 class.

Until then, the car is to receive a baseline chassis setup in collaboration with Goldcrest Motorsports. A few visual updates are planned in coordination with the rest of the 311RS Motorsport racing team.

We look forward to sharing the next chapter with you. In the meantime, please be safe and do your part to reduce the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

Photos courtesy of Peter Lapinski.