PCA First Fling at BIR

Posted on Monday, April 27th, 2015

How do you improve one of the world’s best sports cars? And who are we to think we can? We did the only thing we know how to do – take it to the track.

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The first opportunity to get the 991 GT3 on track was for PCA’s First Fling at Brainerd International Raceway earlier this year.

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We had four 991 GT3s on hand to learn from, two of which are directly related to the program.

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In addition to the 991 GT3s, we also had Luis, our resident Porsche encyclopedia, and his 996 GT3 on hand. Luis spent the winter getting his car dialed in and prepped for a season at the track.

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Last but not least, I (Ryan) had my 1987 930 up at the track for some exercise. The Turbo is better suited for spirited road use at this age, however that didn’t stop me from a session or two on track to stretch it’s legs before summer.

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Back to the task at hand, the goal for the weekend was to learn as much as we could about the new 991 GT3 and establish a baseline for the car. Tire pressures are key to fine tuning the car, especially in this showroom stock stage.

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We started out too high, in the mid-to-high 30s, but quickly settled into the high 20s to low 30s. We found the ideal place to be is 29-31psi up front and 32-33psi in the rear.

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The chilly Minnesota early-April weather made for happy motoring. Tires were wearing nicely and the engines were breathing easy. The only ones suffering were us drivers.

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By midday on Saturday we got our first taste of sun.

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The warmer temps meant more grip which lead to more confidence. Braking harder, later. We started to see lap times coming down immediately.

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Luis seemed to be enjoying his newfound setup and was looking good. Here he’s exiting turn 10 with a smooth line.

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Jeff started to attack as we dialed in his tire pressures.

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Seeing as though things were running smoothly, I took a session after lunch to have some fun in the 930.

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This was the first time I had the car on track, let alone with it’s new chassis and wheel/tire setup. So after a few warmup laps it was time to pit and check where things were coming in.

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Bryan Hise from JRZ Suspension was on hand for the weekend to assist us in learning about the new 991 GT3 chassis. He is also an expert tire pressure monitor, so naturally I asked him to monitor the 930’s pressures while focused on driving.

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We shared a few words and it was back to driving.

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Lap times are key to learning whether or not your moving in the right direction. In this case, the 930 started out at 2:01 on my first lap and ended the session with a 1:55. Nothing to write home about, but a nice improvement and we were happy considering our intent with the car. It was handling and braking amazingly. Nice and crisp, just how I like it.

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It was a pleasure driving this nearly-30 year old car on track. In stark contrast to the 991 GT3, the 930 is a brute and requires the drive to muscle it around. What an experience.

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I finished off the day with more sessions in the 991 GT3. With the tires now fully scrubbed in and pressures in check, I pushed the car harder and harder to see what the car had to offer in stock form.

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In a surprise to absolutely no one, the car is chock full of potential out of the box. Even with a factory alignment, the car posted sub-1:45 laps and did it lap after lap without so much as breaking a sweat. This with just over 1,000mi, mind you.

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A moment of reflection after our first day with the 991 GT3 on track. The Evo Xs we’ve worked with and developed since 2008 are amazingly capable in their own right. But the GT3, it’s on a different level. We’re all excited to be making the transition to Porsche with such a capable platform.