944Cup

Racers: With just 5 days before the late entry fee takes effect, there is till time to join this record setting field of 944's for the first round of racing for the MidAtlantic Chapter.

Spectators Welcome:You don't need to have a front engine Porsche race car to enjoy a 944 Cup event. With over 30 race prepped 944's lining up on the grid, any 944 enthusiast will be treated to a show not seen since the years of the Rothman Porsche Challenge in Canada back in the 1980's.

Rothman cars were sold to competitors straight from the dealer and specially tuned at the factory. They were equipped with sealed stock engines and Pirelli P700 tires with just 5 mm of tread. That Canadian series was set at 30— the number of 944s available for the Challenge. There were seven races in this first year of a series that would last half a decade. The 944 Cup field for VIR brings back all the excitment of the original Rothman series and offers a mix of both normally aspirated and turbo versions of the 2 separate Rothman's Challenge contests.

And if your interested in learning more about the latest for tuning your street 944, this is the place to see the how these cars have been development during the last 7 years of Cup racing. Find out how to to get the most out of one of the finest handling Porsches ever made. The paddock offers invaulable data on shock and spring combinations along with the best alignment settings. Or maybe you looking for ways to maximize your cars braking. Come out and check out the cars and talk to the drivers. You'll have a blast

Register: http://www.nasaproracing.com/n...d=700

Race entries to date: http://44cup.zeroforum.com/zerothread?id=2532



Hope to see ya there.

J Silverman

My friend Bob is racing with 944 cup for the first time next weekend. I wish my car was finished so I could be there too. Have fun!!

944Cup

Jason:

You have almost 2 weeks to get that car ready for VIR. That should be plenty of time.

michel944

When the canadian Rothmans Cup 944's were racing in 1986-1987 I was racing in the Formula Ford championship at many of the same venues...I liked watching them, what a show ! At the same time my father also owned an 85.5 944 so I've had a close relationship with these cars for a long time !

J Silverman

Except that I need to have a roll cage installed, and dont have the $$$ to pay for it. Stan @ RPM just ate up that budget trying to track down an electrical problem, but now the car is at least running well. My target now is to be ready for July @ VIR.

comatb

Jason, sorry to hear of the delay. Just come out and meet everybody and have a first had look at the various preps of the cars. Some beers might also be available. I'll plan on bringing some from Canada. No, not the usual Molson's or Labatt's. There will be 7 cars from Canada in Cup at VIR. See you there.

J Silverman

Hi Bill... I live about 4 hours from VIR so Im not sure that Ill be going down as a spectator. Not that I dont want to, but with gas prices on the rise and having a truck for a DD its not exactly a cheap trip anymore. I will be out at Summit for hyperfest though. I really wanted to have my comp license for hyperfest, but the cards just didnt fall in my favor. If youve never driven at VIR youre in for a treat!!

comatb

Jason, I have never been to VIR and I'm really looking forward to it as everyone say's that you need BIG B.....ll's. If we don't see you there look us up at Hyperfest as we are planning to go.

944Cup

Didnt know you used Stan for working on your 944. He's not cheap, but I wouldnt take my car anywhere else.

May have a rental car available for VIR if u have an interest.

First I've come across someone who actually was at a Rothman's race. Very cool. Anymore details you can think of, would love to hear. When I read about the Rothman's series, hard for me to listen to racers of other grocery getter models (and other talk forums) bad mouth 944's with proclaimations like " .......The 944 was never designed for track duty.....".


In recognition of the contribution of Canada and the history of 944 racing, beginning in 2008, the 944 Cup established a championship for Canadian 944 racers with a new perpetual trophy called the 944 Canada Cup. The trophy will go to the driver residing in Canada who accumulates the most 944 Cup points during the season. The winner gets his name on the trophy and gets to keep the trophy for a year then passes it along to the next winner. The trophy is being sponsored by MantisSport of Canada. The 2008 944 Canada Cup by MantisSport will be determined by the best 10 races during the year to include any Regional points race in any of the 7 Cup Chapters and the 3 races at Nationals.

J Silverman

Will do!! Watch out for turn 10, its the hariest part of the track.
I made the mistake of going somewhere else when RPM was all booked up. Never again. Stan speaks very highly of you and 944 cup so when I decided to start pursuing my race license, I already knew I wanted to race in the 944 cup. The rental woudl be nice but would once again kill my budget for getting my car finished, so July it is!! Thanks for the offer though!!

VaSteve

Anyone interested in the Cup and need a car to start building from, please talk to me or see my signature.

Thanks
Steve

michel944

Well, for a start let's talk about a stellar lineup in the Rothmans 944 Cup : Richard Spenard (teammate of Gilles Villeneuve in Formula Atlantic), Scott Goodyear (closest finish in Indy 500 with Al Unser Jr.), Scott Maxwell (GT, Le Mans 24hrs, Grand Am Daytona Prototype), Bill Adam (of endurance fame - Le Mans, Daytona 24, IMSA), Paul Tracy (who's this guy...), Claude Bourbonnais (Formula 2000, Atlantic, Indy Lights, CART), Ludwig Heimrath Sr. and Jr. (endurance, GT) plus a bunch of less known but nonetheless very experienced drivers....Cars were sold ready to race by Porsche for $30,000 cdn dollars and ran on Pirelli shaved tires. Mechanically they were pretty much stock and engine was sealed. Some suspension upgrades and a straight pipe exhaust for the racing sounds !! Of course all the safety equipment was there too. Fantastic, close racing was on the menu at every race, wow !

What's funny is that at the same time there was the Players GM Series going on with Camaro Z-28's and Firebird T/A's and although these cars were between 1 and 1.5 second faster 0-60 mph than the 944, on most circuits they were all inside a few tenths of each other on a fast lap !!! The Porsche brakes and handling vs the GM cars acceleration and torque = same lap times !

Things changed after 2 years with the 944 NA, in 1988 the series switched to the 944 Turbo with their tuned engines (275 hp - 165 mph), Pirelli Corsa slick tires and they were flying !!!! Like 5-6 seconds faster per lap than the original 944. In fact with this setup the Turbo's were doing just about the same lap times we were doing with our Formula Fords...I remember one race at Mont-Tremblant in 1988, we were waiting with our Formual Fords on the false grid while the Rothmans Turbo Cup were finishing their race. Jacques Villeneuve (Gilles's brother) who has been a Formula Atlantic and a Can Am champion was a guest driver in the Rothmans Cup and he drove a hell of a race to finish first, a couple lenghts in front of the regulars !!! But now the budget was more like $100,000 dollars a year...so the grids got more and more thinner and 1990 was the last season if I don't suffer brain fade....

So sad I couldn't afford to race in this series...The 944 NA were $30,000 + expenses, spares, maintenance ... close to $50,000 in 1986 money...So I went the Formula Ford avenue with a $7000, 10 years old Crossle 32F in which I won the Quebec Region class B championship and became Quebec Region road racing rookie of the year ! All was not lost...

944Cup

Wow!!! That's a fantastic insight into the Rothman's series. This is the type of info that just gets lost with time. I have even struggled with finding info on the series on the internet. Thank you very much. Will share with our other Cup racers.

mtccl

When exactly will the 944 be running.

The bad thing about VIR (if the event isn't DP Rolex they provide limited info) and these type events is you go in a Saturday expecting to see 994's and you see Hondas and the 944's run on Sunday or vice versa.

Thanks

Cris Brady

You can find the event schedules here -> http://www.nasaracing.net/VIR_Mar_08/event.htm

1 race on Sat and 1 race on Sun.