David in Chicago

There's been a lot of discussion lately about 993 RS's and RS-lookalikes.

This has me wondering: How successful was the 993 as a racing car? I'd be interested in hearing about all variants, but I'm mostly interested in the models which competed at the top levels of the sport (which I assume to mean the GT-2 version). And what cars did these 993s race with? Experts?

Regards to all.

David in Chicago

(get this, replying to my own thread, Ladies and Gentlemen !)

And while we're at it, who were the "big" drivers in the 993's racing heyday? I'd assume that the "superstars" of that time (Dalmas, Wollek-RIP) would've been racing prototypes, so who were the "GT-"class stars for Porsche?

Regards to all.

Greg Fishman

Mostly privateers from what I remember. Champion ran a 993GT2 with top notch talent, like Hans Stuck, Bill Adam, Derek Bell, I would say these guys were pretty "big stars".
http://www.championracing.net/Porsche_GT2/home/GT2.htm

Larry Schumacher also ran a GT2 and won an IMSA class championship with Andy Pilgrim (now a Corvette factory driver) and various other hotshoes.
Not to mention the cars that Kremer and Konrad ran.

There were also lots of 993RSR's that ran succesfully in IMSA. The 993 RSR was normally aspirated.

Do a google search on 993RSR and 993GT2 and you will get a ton of info.

Patentman

Is there somewhere on the web that someone can point me to to learn a little about car racing and in particular, what all the different types of races, cars and classes are and what they mean. To a novice, it is all quite confusing. I see all these notations in various posts, Panarama articles, etc - tons of GT cars classes (GT1, GT@, 3 etc.), IMSA, SCCA, LeMans, formula, etc.

For a daily driver person who just likes Porsches in general, I get really confused and lose interest in such articles while reading becuase they are talking a language using acronyms I am not familiar wtih. Also, its kind of neat to open Panorama and see photos of what look like 993s body style cars racing on a track, but you see the insides and these things in the pictures and they are appear nothing like the daily drivers most of us have - everything is racing this, racing that - engine, suspension, roll cage, seats, etc. They are so highly modifed. Is there a racing class of just regular showroom cars with no engine mods allowed?

Seeing the highly modified cars but with a 911 designation kind of reminds me of NASCAR in some ways in that the NASCAR cars are nothing at all like the cars you buy in a showroom - I see little point in, for example, equating a pontiac gand am from your neighborhood dealer with a NASCAR pontiac grand am - I suppose they keep the name on the car to sell more cars in the showroom. At least a Porsche in the showroom is a fairly high performance car right out of the box.

I recall a few years ago reading about someone who boght a new 996 in the showroom in Florida, drove it to Daytona, and raced it in the 24 hours of Daytona completely stock (except for maybe a roll cage and 5 point harness) and finished the race. Is there a class of racing where professional drivers drive cars that you can buy in a showroom? Just my ramblings - a link to a site that has a good executive summary explanation of the different types of car racing is what I need I guess.

Greg Fishman

Check out www.americanlemans.com This series runs under the ACO rules which also govern the Lemans 24hr race. This series has four classes. LMP900 (LeMans Prototypes 900kg), LMP675(675 kg), GTS (Ferrari 550, Corvette, Viper) and GT (Porsche 996GT3RS(R) and Ferrari 360GT).
IMO this is the premier series in the US for Porsches to run.

I can guarantee you no one raced a stock 996 at Daytona for 24hrs. I do believe there was a guy in the 90's that did that with a 993 though.

The other major series in the US is www.grand-am.com They are owned by the France (NASCAR) family and have developed a unique class of cars. Read about it within the site.


Oh, another thing. Look at a factory race car like they run in these two series and you will see that they are very similar to street cars in certain ways. Comparing them to NASCAR is not accurate at all. Some of the most modified cars you will see are in Porsche Club Racing, that is where you will also see some of the most stock cars.
Running a stock street car like a 911 on the same track at the same time as the Audi R8's would be crazy. Those Audi's are like F1 cars with fenders.
Best advice I can give is to actually go to a ALMS race that is near you. Lime Rock is on the schedule for next year that might work for you.

techno99

That was Nort Northam. I don't remember the year but if I remember correctly, it was a stock 993 and he finished 24th. I remember seeing the car at his shop afterword.

techno99

Just looked it up... he finished 26th in 1995.

Dan in Florida

Is there somewhere on the web that someone can point me to to learn a little about car racing and in particular, what all the different types of races, cars and classes are and what they mean. To a novice, it is all quite confusing.

Further to Greg's posting, go to pca.org and click on Club Racing. Terrific program.

Steve Weiner-Rennsport Systems

Hi David:

The 993 RSR and its turbocharged variant, the GT-2 were very successful in competition both here and in Europe.

These cars had very few vices and "Achille's Heels" compared to their competitors,... Not perfect, but fast enough and if properly prepared; very durable.

Paul Frere's book; "The 911 Story" has lots of good information.