Mike in CA

Be sure to catch the article on the 2014 Parade Autocross competition ("Changing of the Guard") by Pete Von Behrens (Petevb) in the September Panorama. If you've read Pete's posts here in the forum, you know to expect a really interesting and well written piece, and the story of his participation with the winning car at Parade is well worth the read.

To bring it more on topic, those of you with a new GT3 coming who might not otherwise be considering tracking the car, should try a little "cone bashing". As Pete suggests in the article, "there's no better, quicker, or more accessible way to discover how your Porsche handles at the limit".

Anyway, it's at least fun to read about. Nice job Pete.

ipse dixit

Yup. Great read.

SamFromTX

I always wanted to try autocross, just can't handle the loooong down times. Looking forward to good reading.

Mike in CA

Depending on the size of the field it doesn't feel like there's a huge amount of down time. At our events we'll get maybe 8 runs in each session. By the time you get out of your car, check tire pressures and temps, make adjustments, and think about how you will attack the course on the next run you're about ready to line up and go again. And when your group isn't running, you're working the course, timing, grid, what have you.

For hard core trackers, there's obviously no where near as much actual track time. It is pretty intense though, and the competitive aspect adds something too if you want to go that way. OTOH, it also offers a fun way for more casual runners to explore their cars in a way that can't be done on the street. Not for everyone, maybe, but it has it's appeal.

silverrules

Good suggestion Mike. Will try it out with the PCA folks.

frayed

Pete's a great feller. Always well balanced commentary with a deep knowledge of Porsche history and tech.

Petevb

Thanks guys, glad you enjoyed it.

It was certainly interesting ripping in Steve's stripped 3.8 Cayman- mentally I was thinking ahead to the upcoming GT4, which I have a deposit down for. I'm sure Steve's car will have higher power to weight but less optimized suspension, so it's not an ideal proxy.

That said I must admit that I'm rethinking taking the GT4. I'm certain it will be great, but if you like to get the tail sliding around I'm not sure there is any substitute for a 911. We'll see.

By the way, from my very limited experience from the passenger's seat of the 991 GT3, I suspect it will make a great autocross car. The improvement in low speed agility vs previous GTs is so impressive- as soon as people start getting sticky tires on it I see it dominating PCA autocross grids regardless of what shows up. I suspect it's that good, but we'll see if some of you guys prove me right or not.

Dr.Bill

Yes, great article.
Particularly for us Cayman owners.