LAPS INC.

Has anyone heard how things are going down in Sebring? Any updates? Something, anything?

jrgordonsenior

bump bump.....

9six4

No results, but great weather and a lot of Cup cars.

Eric in Chicago

Just off the phone with Mike Faems,
Just got a little info on the F race, K. Potel took over all win after a couple of GT5's got black flagged. A couple of the Eurosport stock cars also had issues (E cars I think). Mike made top 10 in class, Inglot a little higher up. Sorry no details
Did hear Glen Gatlin was moving his 997 Cup around pretty good, but no results to post.

Bull

So, the top 10 came back to the BT, is what you are saying?

MJR911

This is all from top of my head... sitting in Chateau after long day. Ruiz won D with a 2.27.9, Dimarco 2nd. Reading (Dad) running 3rd after driver error. Qualified 6th. Bill M, almost had same fate as you in D in t1... but all ok! We'll go to battle tomorrow in enduro. Wilzoch won c in 993 RSCS (supercup?) and O'Keffe in 2nd. 3rd was 993TT then a gaggle of 996s. Piera had a small scuff after running in the front of E.. lots of attrition.

Group 4, all cup cars, was FUN to watch. Policastro and Orbitz car duked it out in front of Glen G. Race ended with a 997 cup doing barrel roll in hairpin, driver ok.

Not many bad accidents, at least a hell of a lot less than past years in my unscientific estimation. F was blown away by Karl P... word is Hupher went home after mechanical testing Thurs.

92 996 and 997 cup cars, amazing. I've been here the last 6 straight years, and every one just gets bigger and bigger. wait to see sick cup car picture in Pano and ?? of all cars on front straight.

One thing is true, weather kicks *** this year! Best of luck to all competitors tomorrow.

MJR
#65 D USA cup

jrgordonsenior

I just heard from the secretary of a So Cal racer that had his brand new 997 cup kicked out of class after qualifying 12th. The scruts said he had the wrong shocks which is amazing since they're factory. There just has to be more to this story. He tested the car for the first time last weekend at our race in Las Vegas and the whole purpose of the trip across country was to get some seat time in his new cup for the IMSA race next month. Changing shocks wouldn't benefit that purpose at all.
As I stated above there just has to be more to this story. Developing.....

dug911

The story as I am getting is that PCA is DQing Cup cars with two way cannister type shocks from GTC4. Apparently, they were going to reclassify them as GTA cars but the 8 or so cars affected decided to trailer their cars instead.

Sounds a little weird to me too. (One) PCA should be more flexible with the real world situation ie IMSA allows two way adjustables and (two) the car owners should just run GTA under protest and still get a fun weekend out of it.

38D

Is Ernie not running? I should have come and brought the turbo!

Good luck tomorrow. You co-driving the enduro I assume?


Protesting by leaving when its just an amateur race doesn't really make any sense to me. Were these shocks delivered from the factory that way?

dug911

These guys have upgraded their shocks as permitted by IMSA. Most if not all these cars are getting ready for the IMSA race next month at Sebring.

They are just using the PCA race as a test and tune. IMSA's own test and tune days were under subscribed due to a high cost factor.

If I were any of these cars I would have let them classify me as Double A Fuel Dragster just so long as I got the track time.

carreracup21

Glad everything turned out ok on the T1 deal. Sounds like a lot of fun. What kind of car is Ruiz driving now in D ? He used to run that yellow GT3 in B right ?
Colin you should have definetely taken the turbo. Smoke em if you got em !!

jrgordonsenior

As conveyed to me by a team manager in Sebring:

Their shocks were stock 2-way Sachs as delivered from Porsche Motorsports. Eric Bloss, Special Projects Manager, for Porsche Motorsports was there and verified the shocks as factory stock. The lead scrut still wouldn't let them run in class. He offered them a slower run group which they all apparently declined. They thought it would be completely unsafe since they were much faster and hadn't previously run with that group.

I keep hoping there's more to the story to justify the scruts decision. My friend sent his transporter and crew across country for this weekend and to be DQ'd for factory equipment just sounds incredulous. If the story is accuracte as reported, then that scrut did a misservice to PCA and their respective credentials should be reviewed....

Geoffrey

There has to be more to the story, PCA scruts, especially at Sebring, are seasoned scruts with cooler heads. They may have made a decision that the IMSA GT3 Cup cars were delivered with an upgraded suspension from the normal 997 GT3 and considered it non stock, or series spcific configuration similar to world challenge cars. If they considered the double adjustable shocks as an upgrade modification, according to the PCA rulebook, this would have bumped the cars to GTA, a class with potentially faster cars, not slower ones. So, there must be more to the story...

jrgordonsenior

I hope so too as it just sounds dumb and dumber....

GTA cars would run in the same group as GTC 3 or 4, so offering them a slower run group truly sounds almost comical. Would they have had to start DFL and can you imagine how those drivers would feel about the intruders
blazing by them from the rear. All Cups from 03' on have Sachs double adjutable shocks with remote resovoirs.

Agreed there just has to be more to the story....

RSRRacer

Due to run group size, GTC3 and 4 were allowed to have a run group to themselves. GTA was put with the GT1-3 cars. So moving to GTA was going to put them in a different run group altogether.

But I cant believe a scrut would disallow GTC4 status if PMNA said the part was stock.