Ohh man what an experience 964's & Cup cars!! - Long
04-18-2004, 07:10 AM
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Ohh man what an experience 964's & Cup cars!! - Long
Last weekend I was so very fortunate to participate in Porsche Middle East driver training event at the new Dubai Autodrome. The day started out with about 40 cars from Oman arriving at the track in Dubai to be greeted by 5 instructors all with much racing experience. After a small briefing and some safety training we were split into 5 groups and headed out onto the track. As we were the first cars onto this new track much construction was still being carried out around us. This construction work did little to dampen our spirits as we were lead through a series of exercises involving acceleration, under steering, braking, slalom and eventually a fully fledged assault on the track.
I must admit I have a new found respect for my little 964, it performed flawlessly during the whole day in ambient temperatures that must have been close to 40 Celsius all day long. I was amazed at what this car can actually do and never realized just how good Porsches brakes are even for a 14 year old car.
As a novice I did learn a number of things on the day that you might find interesting/ funny...
1.Sit closer to the steering wheel and hold it properly (3 & 9 o’clock)!
2.Use the brakes as they were designed and don’t drag them up to braking point.
3.If you are going too fast into the corner and you missed the braking point you’ve got problems! Don’t lift!
4.Being smooth in an underpowered car sure is faster than being rough in a car with loads of power.
5.A 1990 C4 will 4 wheel slide under power!
6.Under steer has its advantages but I am sure glad I spent all the money on thicker sway bars and Bilstein suspension….thanks Rennlist.
7.The rev limiter does work in my car.
8. The corner apex is very elusive when the guide cones are removed!
At the end of the training session I discovered that I had won a prize to do 2 laps as a passenger in a Carrera Cup car imported from Germany especially for this event. My chauffer for this little trip was a Porsche Carrera Cup development driver named Martin. So I jumped in, buckled up and away we went....and my God did we go!!!
The whole experience of the cabin heat, noise, smell, G-Forces, the sound of squealing ceramic brakes, the bucking of the car in corners at over 160kmhr and the chirping of hot slicks was simply the most amazing experience I have ever had. My respect for the Porsches and Porsche brakes I mentioned earlier quadrupled as we were braking from 260 kmhr to 80 in under 50 meters. Martin would slide the rear of the car into the corners point the front where he wanted it to go and floor it. All the time he was looking so relaxed but he was working so hard, his arms & legs constantly battling the car, selecting gears and correcting movement. Looked so easy!
I got out of the car after 11kms with a huge grin on my face thinking of how I could do that again....hmm my brother races Carrera Cup in Australia seems I need to visit!
Back into the 964 and reality….enjoy.
Pic # 1 - Coming into the pit for the final time....Cup car waiting!
I must admit I have a new found respect for my little 964, it performed flawlessly during the whole day in ambient temperatures that must have been close to 40 Celsius all day long. I was amazed at what this car can actually do and never realized just how good Porsches brakes are even for a 14 year old car.
As a novice I did learn a number of things on the day that you might find interesting/ funny...
1.Sit closer to the steering wheel and hold it properly (3 & 9 o’clock)!
2.Use the brakes as they were designed and don’t drag them up to braking point.
3.If you are going too fast into the corner and you missed the braking point you’ve got problems! Don’t lift!
4.Being smooth in an underpowered car sure is faster than being rough in a car with loads of power.
5.A 1990 C4 will 4 wheel slide under power!
6.Under steer has its advantages but I am sure glad I spent all the money on thicker sway bars and Bilstein suspension….thanks Rennlist.
7.The rev limiter does work in my car.
8. The corner apex is very elusive when the guide cones are removed!
At the end of the training session I discovered that I had won a prize to do 2 laps as a passenger in a Carrera Cup car imported from Germany especially for this event. My chauffer for this little trip was a Porsche Carrera Cup development driver named Martin. So I jumped in, buckled up and away we went....and my God did we go!!!
The whole experience of the cabin heat, noise, smell, G-Forces, the sound of squealing ceramic brakes, the bucking of the car in corners at over 160kmhr and the chirping of hot slicks was simply the most amazing experience I have ever had. My respect for the Porsches and Porsche brakes I mentioned earlier quadrupled as we were braking from 260 kmhr to 80 in under 50 meters. Martin would slide the rear of the car into the corners point the front where he wanted it to go and floor it. All the time he was looking so relaxed but he was working so hard, his arms & legs constantly battling the car, selecting gears and correcting movement. Looked so easy!
I got out of the car after 11kms with a huge grin on my face thinking of how I could do that again....hmm my brother races Carrera Cup in Australia seems I need to visit!
Back into the 964 and reality….enjoy.
Pic # 1 - Coming into the pit for the final time....Cup car waiting!
04-18-2004, 06:33 PM
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Thanks for the report and photos Youcef. Sounds like you had a great adventure especially the ride in the Cupcar. I've wondered how our air cooled cars would hold up in the Middle East desert climate.