W8MM

I've often wondered how the Carrera GT came to be setup as it was, straight from the factory. In Bobby Rahal's words, "Those things oversteer like crazy!" Well, ... in the August 2015 issue of SportsCar, Randy's column (Pobst Position) talks about his one and only year as a Porsche contract factory driver.

He got the gig by being very fast in the Alex Job Racing GT3R in American Le Mans. He commonly outran the Porsche factory-supported team and he attributes that to an improved (for him) setup. He and AJR kept improving feel, balance, ease of modulation, and the like. The car became much easier to drive and the results showed it.

When he reported for duty in a factory-setup car, it felt like going back to the beginning of the AJR car project and not in a good way. Tendency to snap oversteer at turn-in, non-compliant suspension, excessive required brake pressure, etc. Very difficult to drive. Why?

Kiddie karts! All the rest of the racers on the team had all grown up in big time karting. Locked rear axles develop toss-and-catch oversteer technique to rotate a kart in corners. The younger drivers all thought that was normal and had figured out how to be fast with that kind of setup.

Randy writes, "... I was amazed at how Andrew (Carbonell) could go lightning fast with a setup that felt very loose and unstable to me." The race cars often oversteer dramatically, Why? They handle just like a racing kart. A Porsche rep told Randy, "Our young factory drivers drove it and said it was perfect."

So the secret of why I had to loosen the rear bar of my Carrera GT to full soft in order to make it less crazy has been revealed by Randy Pobst. Kart drivers!!!!


http://www.sportscarmag-digital.com/...gust_2015#pg20


"Moral of the story? If some youngster is outrunning you, blame the setup."

lsmkr01

Good find! I need to get behind the wheel of a CGT and finally see what everyone has been talking about. One of my favorite cars of all-time in looks and spec.