fleadh

Car still available. I'm moving in about 2 months and would like to sell it before then. If you're interested, get in touch with me and let's make a deal... :-)

Edit: forgot to add, you could run this car in the Pirelli Cup races in the exhibition class without any modifications (besides getting a set of Pirelli tires).

-mike

fleadh

Lowered price to $70k. Would like to sell the car before I move.

Lots of driving/racing time left this season!

-mike

fleadh

Here's an update on the car and to answer some common questions I've been getting.

I'm planning to run/race it at the NASA/PRC event at Thunderhill on August 13-14th (since my 997 Cup is down while the engine is being refreshed). If you're interested in the car and *don't* want me to run it or if you want to meet up there to check it out, let me know. Also, if you are interested in buying the car, I'll throw in the entire weekend arrive & drive support from Jerry Woods Enterprises as well as spend the weekend coaching to help you get up to speed in it quickly.

And answers to some questions I've received from people that weren't in the original post--

Difference between normal 996 Cup and this 996 World Challenge Cup:
* more power. way more power.
* recommended engine refresh interval is 50 hours, but you can go longer. WC engine refresh is about the same cost and same interval as the 997 Cup. you can also have them put the engine back to a 'normal' 996 Cup spec at refresh time if you'd like.. but i think you'd be crazy.
* wider front wheels and fenders w/ RSR uprights. makes for an extremely balanced (eg: you can actually dial out all the understeer in the car) and incredibly grippy car.
* lower and stiffer than a normal 996 Cup. To give you an idea, the rear springs on the car are 1800lbs.


Difference between normal 997 Cup and this 996 World Challenge Cup:
* 996 WC is much easier to drive with its power assisted brakes and ABS.
* 996 WC has the normal H-pattern transmission, not a sequential.
* 996 WC has a more aggressive clutch so it's harder to drive around the paddock than a factory 997 Cup.
* 996 WC weighs less.
* 996 WC has no side windows (uses a window net) so it's less problematic to run with most track day and racing clubs.
* 996 WC would run in STO class w/ SCCA where as the 997 Cup would run in GT1 (after you cut up the carbon fiber doors to remove the windows).

This 996 WC car was the first rear-engined car I'd ever driven, street or track. It was also the most balanced race car I've ever driven. Don't be afraid if you haven't driven a 911 before. It's really easy to get around the track, and like the other Cups, once you start *really* pushing the car it steps up to another level of awesomeness!

I'm looking at doing the entire Grand Am season next year so I need to move this car soon.... or I'm going to sell the 997 Cup instead and keep this as a local practice/club racing car. :-)

-mike

fleadh

Car ran great this weekend w/ NASA/PRC at Thunderhill. Finished P2 on Saturday after an epic battle with Masuo and P1 on Sunday after holding off a well driven 2011 Cup. It was really hot, but we still managed a 1:51 on sunday (over the top).

We had some slight rubbing of the tires in the rear (Michelins) so we jacked up the rear ride height and massaged the fenders a little. JWE will have the car over the next week or 2 and will clean up the fenders a bit more and put the ride height back to the correct level.

I don't have any plans to run this car again as the 09 Cup should be back on track in the next week or 2. If you're interested in the car, let me know. If it doesn't sell by winter I'll probably ship it back east and run it in some club events to learn the tracks.

-mike

FFaust

Bump, cause I want to see what happens here.

There's probably one in my future, but just not yet. Sounds like a great buy though. Good luck, if you're still selling.

fleadh

Car is still available and in great condition-- ready to race or run track days.

Trying to get my garage cleared out in prep for next season so if you're interested in the car let me know and we can make a deal.

-mike

SSTHO

Sounds like what I should be looking for. I just need to figure out my situation and get smarter about everything "Cup".

tcsracing1

This would be the perfect stepping stone for a Cup.

you could beat on this thing until the 991 CUP comes along for consideration.

You just need a shop to move the car around or buy a truck and little trailex trailer.

SSTHO

Mike - are the outfits looking after your car turnkey solutions? (i.e. store the car / parts / maintenance / crew at the track / transport). Would be great to keep the car maintained by the same guys who know the car best.

Is it easy to add a passenger seat? I would certainly opt for coaching for the new car and also new tracks I have never driven first hand.

Would be ideal for me to fly down and just arrive and drive.

Turn3 Autosport

Passenger seat is an easy mod into a cup car, and coaching is a great idea!

Cheers

mooty

yes, the shop mike uses will do everything. i'll let mike chime in soon. this is one hell of a fast 6 cup

fleadh

Ya, I always have full arrive & drive support when I take the Cup(s) out to the track (either race weekends or test days). I've worked on cars before, but I knew when I made the decision to move to the full race Cup cars that I wanted people who knew what they were doing helping me. I didn't want to waste my time figuring out how to make the car work or how to set it up, and was lucky enough to get pointed to the rite people by some friends when I decided to go racing.

Jerry Woods Enterprises helps me for the larger races doing car maintenance, inspections, setup, transportation, race support, crew, etc. They also handle getting most of the parts and interacting with everyone else to make sure the car is in tip-top shape at all times. JWE also helps with driver coaching. Another friend of mine who's a Porsche mechanic at a local dealership and has many years of support Cup cars helps me at the smaller local races and test days, out of another friends single car trailer.

My first car race (ever) was in March of this year and in September I won the Gold class IMSA GT3 Challenge race at Laguna Seca (with Jerry Woods Enterprises doing all the arrive & drive stuff). This wouldn't have been possible if I didn't surround myself with people who knew what they were doing (and having JvO as my driving coach hasn't hurt either......). I'd still be trying to figure out the best way to setup the car and drive it instead of focusing on simply being a better driver. Granted, this isn't what everyone wants to do.. but for me, when I decided I was going racing, I wasn't doing it to simply drive around.

The arrive & drive support isn't cheap, but when you add up the total costs for a race weekend in a Cup car it's not really that bad. Eyeballing the numbers it works out to be around 10% of the cost of the weekend (even less of the cost on a big race weekend). Again, it's not for everyone, but if you want to focus on driving it's the way to go.

Adding a passenger seat to any of the Cup cars is really easy. I haven't driven one with a passenger seat yet, but I know when I got the 996 and then the 997 a few weeks later, they recommended I put one in for the first few track days so they could help me get up to speed.. but I didn't have the patience for that and drove it for the first time a week after I bought it at a SCCA club race.

In a perfect world I'd say buy a Cup and get the arrive & drive support from the people you're buying it from (or whoever was maintaining it). Fly down for a couple weekends and get up to speed with the car and the team. Once you're comfortable you can decide if you want to leave the car away from home, or if you want to find a local shop to help you run/race the car. The Porsche racing community seems very tight nit and I'm sure shops don't have a problem recommending other shops in your area for support. Hell, JWE was setting me up with shops on the east coast a few months ago when I was planning to send the 996 out there to run PCA club events and learn the tracks in prep for running Grand Am next season. :-)

Anyway, sorry for the long winded response but it sounds like you were in about the same position as me late last year and just wanted to fill you in on what I've picked up this year. Good luck!

-mike

ps: if you want to talk with Rich @ JWE about Cups in general, racing, or details on my 996 let me know and I'll send you over his contact info.. or just get the phone number from http://jerrywoods.com/, ask for Rich and tell him Mike Hedlund sent you.

it's nice just showing up to the track and having everything ready:

Surfbum

[QUOTEMy first car race (ever) was in March of this year and in September I won the Gold class IMSA GT3 Challenge race at Laguna Seca ][/QUOTE
Dude, you got skills!!!!

mikymu

Yes, he does. Have you seen Mike blip the throttle with his toes?

Surfbum

To be honest I was so blown away I went to the shop the next day and tried it while the car was parked.
I have sprained my ankle so many times I have a hard time rolling it over some time, I was amazed how easy it was to blip the throttle the other way, I just am not sure how confident I would feel on brake pressure with the middle of my foot.

Mike, I hope to meet you in a month up in Vegas, the two rovals and the back straight looks like it is going to be quite a butt pucker!!