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After many years of looking at P-cars and reading all great things, my wife told my one night just stop looking and go buy one. I was really shocked to hear that considering she was pregnant with twins but I guess hormones played in my favor... can't complain. GOT ONE.
Being used to drive a BMW at the track, I was told that driving rear engine car on the track car is a completely new game and I have to be very careful. Ton of oversteer, hard to control, weight transfer is different, trail braking is not really working well and so on.
Well, open track day opened up and I figured it would be a great time to explore the car and see what it is all about. I'll be honest ... I was looking at P-cars for many years but nothing was grabbing my attention except for a GT3 or GT3 RS. It just felt like GT3/RS is the right car and has everything I would want my car to have
Thunderhill 5 miles is somewhat new to me as I drove it only one time last year. It was fun but I was having a hard time to remember all these new turns
My best time on a stock BMW M4 was 3:49 running bypass configuration. So I was hoping to get same a close to the same time with a GT3 after hearing all the stories about how hard it is to drive.
This time we ran Cyclone configuration which is might be a slower or not ... don' t know. My first session was somewhat interesting. I was driving and waiting when the car will behave differently and when it will be hard to drive it. With a ton of traffic and cruising around the track I got 3:48 without even trying. I couldn't believe it ...
Second time out I was pushing it harder and still was waiting for the car to be somewhat unpredictable ... Came back and had 3:49 ... Got even more confused ... was trying harder, less traffic and the time not any better ...
After lunch I stopped thinking and started driving. I never felt so good driving around the track ... The car is phenomenal ... it does what you want it to do! I got so exited that ate dirt twice on the same turn just from carrying more speed and apexing early. Got that fixed and came back with 3:35 Yes, 14sec off my best time ... With less thinking and more driving it made a really fan experience driving fast around the track!
Unfortunately Harry's Lap Timer didn't record my 3:35 lap video for some reason (just the data) but I got 3:40 recorded. I'll post it later on.
One thing that was driving me nuts is the cabin pressure at the hight speed. It was so bad that my vision would get blurry from all the shakiness and it's hard to see clear
For now, I am going back to changing diapers and finishing up a harness bar for the next track day (whenever my wife lets me go again )
Does anyone know the reasoning for windows down in the US? Seems unsafe to potentially have your arm outside the car in case of accident? Not to talk about the added movement at high speed at a point by!
Does anyone know the reasoning for windows down in the US? Seems unsafe to potentially have your arm outside the car in case of accident? Not to talk about the added movement at high speed at a point by!
In case of the accident they want al the glass to be inside the doors.
Nice job, Aleks! For reference, my friend with a 997.2 GT3 on stickier Hoosier R6 tires runs the same time, so you're doing a good job. You're only going to get faster now.
In case of the accident they want al the glass to be inside the doors.
But yet no requirement to tape lights or mirrors? Funny at the same tracks, granted with different organizations, bikes are required to tape up all glass - mirrors, lights.
Aleks, did you run with your 4-ways or have you managed to change them out for something else? If you did use them how did they work at the track?? Txs.
Nice photos btw.
01-28-2015, 04:28 AM
First Porsche - First Track Day
Yes, 14sec off my best time ... With less thinking and more driving it made a really fan experience driving fast around the track! 
