1st time in Spa-Francorchamps with the GT3
07-21-2015, 06:20 PM
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1st time in Spa-Francorchamps with the GT3
So, first time i went on the track with my GT3 - and i've never been racing in Spa-Francorchamps (Belgium) before. So a lot of new things in just one day 
On the way up on Thursday we passed another famous track
the day after we drove to the track quite early to register and get the car and ourselves ready to race; mounting the hook, check tire pressure and so on. track feeling came up in the air. We were almost alone on the parking and in the paddock - it was all quiet. but just a few mins later more cars showed up and the scenery came alive.
After some instructions about the track, how to drive safe and other stuff the first group went on the track. since the day was officially a safety driving event the stop watch stayed turned off. i followed some experienced guy to see the track, lines and breaking points. after a few laps i started to drive alone and increased speed in every lap. but still in a decent way...
at 12.00h engines were shut down and the drivers went eating. we've been in the main building with a perfect sight on Eau Rouge and the finishing straight. i used the time to make some pics from other participants cars. quite nice what showed up that day.
I've increased the speed after the break since i knew the track and car better. it was big fun the drive the GT3 on a track like Spa. Very fast and the up and downs.... :mrgreen: But i have to say that my Pirelli Zeros gave up pretty fast. I've had passenger laps in 991 GT3's and a 997 GT3 RS Mk2 with Michelin Cup 2 tires. a complete other world. way way more grip in every situation: later braking, higher speed in curves and no loss of grip after the stints. but on the other way: you don't want to get into rain with theese tires on the autobahn
During my last laps of the day my car gave up after "La Source". I've seen smoke coming out of the engine compartment... holy ****!!! checked where to stop and right after that i had the message "check coolant fluid".... wtf! oil pressure was still ok and i turned off the car. since i was close to the paddock the car was towed away very quickly. we had mechanics from Raeder Motorsport in the paddocks. one of the guys checked my car and meant that the cooling water hose was torn. and that's why i've lost all of my coolant fluid. we called a Porsche dealer nearby but they had no replacement parts on stock. so the guy from LLM Mecasport showed up and towed my car in his garage with a Quad
Since i could race all day long and it probably only had a broken hose and not engine i could enjoy the beers aftwarewards with the guys.
Enjoy the pics
On the way up on Thursday we passed another famous track
the day after we drove to the track quite early to register and get the car and ourselves ready to race; mounting the hook, check tire pressure and so on. track feeling came up in the air. We were almost alone on the parking and in the paddock - it was all quiet. but just a few mins later more cars showed up and the scenery came alive.
After some instructions about the track, how to drive safe and other stuff the first group went on the track. since the day was officially a safety driving event the stop watch stayed turned off. i followed some experienced guy to see the track, lines and breaking points. after a few laps i started to drive alone and increased speed in every lap. but still in a decent way...
at 12.00h engines were shut down and the drivers went eating. we've been in the main building with a perfect sight on Eau Rouge and the finishing straight. i used the time to make some pics from other participants cars. quite nice what showed up that day.
I've increased the speed after the break since i knew the track and car better. it was big fun the drive the GT3 on a track like Spa. Very fast and the up and downs.... :mrgreen: But i have to say that my Pirelli Zeros gave up pretty fast. I've had passenger laps in 991 GT3's and a 997 GT3 RS Mk2 with Michelin Cup 2 tires. a complete other world. way way more grip in every situation: later braking, higher speed in curves and no loss of grip after the stints. but on the other way: you don't want to get into rain with theese tires on the autobahn
During my last laps of the day my car gave up after "La Source". I've seen smoke coming out of the engine compartment... holy ****!!! checked where to stop and right after that i had the message "check coolant fluid".... wtf! oil pressure was still ok and i turned off the car. since i was close to the paddock the car was towed away very quickly. we had mechanics from Raeder Motorsport in the paddocks. one of the guys checked my car and meant that the cooling water hose was torn. and that's why i've lost all of my coolant fluid. we called a Porsche dealer nearby but they had no replacement parts on stock. so the guy from LLM Mecasport showed up and towed my car in his garage with a Quad
Since i could race all day long and it probably only had a broken hose and not engine i could enjoy the beers aftwarewards with the guys.
Enjoy the pics
07-21-2015, 07:37 PM
#3
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Nice write up and pics, looked like a great day! Spa is my dream track, I'd much rather a lap there than the 'ring but wouldn't pass up the chance to drive round either!
07-21-2015, 10:38 PM
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So great to see people DRIVING AND TRACKING their 974, 997, 996 cars.
07-21-2015, 10:48 PM
#6
RL Community Team
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Awesome.
Thank you for sharing.
Thank you for sharing.
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07-21-2015, 11:43 PM
#9
Three Wheelin'
07-22-2015, 02:08 AM
#10
Burning Brakes
cool pics and definitely a nice assortment of cars. thanks for sharing!
hope this is just another case of a coolant pipe popping and your engine is fine. reminds me that i need to schedule getting my coolant pipes pinned ASAP.
hope this is just another case of a coolant pipe popping and your engine is fine. reminds me that i need to schedule getting my coolant pipes pinned ASAP.
07-22-2015, 03:13 PM
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07-22-2015, 03:42 PM
#12
Great pics, thanks. I see the nose of a red 996 in one of them.. It's a very special Manthey built widebody GT3. 480 hp 3.9 engine and what not. I allmost bought it two years ago but.. 
It looks like you suffered a classic coolant line failure. Epoxy glue let go and hose coupling popped out
It looks like you suffered a classic coolant line failure. Epoxy glue let go and hose coupling popped out
07-22-2015, 04:01 PM
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yeah, a very nice car. sadly i have no pics with the whole car on it...but i've got me racing
07-23-2015, 12:11 PM
#15
Nice pictures, including some great cars!
Thank you for sharing.
Thank you for sharing.