I think I saw that down the Auckland Port on Wednesday John?

 

Great car Paul. Congrats. Love the buckets and the red belts. Bet your garage will look pretty cool with two silver Pcars parked up. Be interesting to see which pair of keys you pick up each day.

 

Awesome Paul, well done.
I was lucky to have custody of MJH's 996.1 GT3 for a few days, including a drive to and from Taupo. I thorughly enjoyed it, and felt it was a more involved and rewarding car to drive compared with the 997 GT3 and GT3 RS's I have driven.
You often hear you should never met your heros, in this case the 996.1 GT3 exceeded my expectations.
Hope you enjoy you 996.2 GT3, it looks an awesome car.

 

It's an interesting observation. My 993 is now closest to my old 6.1 GT3 in terms of driving experience on the road. It will be interesting to get your thoughts Paul as your 993 is similar now to mine in terms of suspension. The only area I felt the 6.1 GT3 had really moved the game on over the 993RS in 2005 when I had both was the engine. The additional power (60 BHP), torque bump and 800rpm redline was a big step on the power plant front. In all other areas it felt more modern, sharper but less intimate. I've never driven a MK2 but this has been the common thread from my observation of all the GT3s built since 1999. Each has given more power but removed more intimacy right up to the current generation which are basically all out super cars....

 

Much envy Paul. Well done and congrats. It looks a beauty. Thanks for keeping the seat warm in my next Pcar

 

John - interesting to hear how you find the Gymkhana today in the Cayman R...

 

once you get an idea in your head it kinda knaws away
no doubt you will enjoy this one Paul

 

Will certainly be interesting to hear from those that are there - it's full on WET! Clive's C4S might even struggle.

 

Two P Cars, well done Paul.

 

It's sodden alright. The key to getting good times is perfecting the 180. I'm nowhere near getting that right, running mid pack. In the back of my mind I know I should use the handbrake but I don't want to enrich CCS which is what Dean warned me I would do last year if
I tried it. An ok day on the skid pan, but if didn't need to be out at HD for some Honda business I would have stayed in bed.

 

I'm still jealous of those out there driving today - have fun.

A big difference is being able to use both sides of the road. Here's one of the Targa Bambina Tour special stages, the first one of day 3:

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2r27uh_911-turbo-rally-ss-16-wiltsdown-nz-targa-bambina-tour-2015_auto
and a little overseas example of how things can sometimes go wrong:

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1daugi_ferrari-enzo-in-the-water-in-2011-targa-rally-newfoundland_auto

 

Thanks for the positive comments on the GT3 guys.

It will be interesting to see which set of keys I go for (we all know Macca's answer....993 who??).

Talking about the 993 - it was nice to see Macca's car on the Targa. I found myself admiring it often amongst the more modern stuff. They are pretty cars, maybe not as pretty as an early 911 (or 964), but they do look good.

I think it will come down to the set up of the GT3. At the moment it is totally stock and OK on the road. If I were to lower 15mm, dial in some neg camber and have the car bouncing and tram-linng along the road, the 993 will get quite a bit of use, if the GT3 stays stock as it is now, and is 'wife friendly' - the choice will be the the water pumper..........

That extra 1400 RPM redline is an extra 1400 smiles and feel good things in side that we all get when we drive these cars.......

Once I get the GT3 tyres and geo sorted - I will let a few of you take it for a spin. I think I hold the record for driving everyone else's cars, so need to do a bit of pay back........

 

Agree. The differences between Targa Tour and spirited back road drives are (all IMO of course):
Upsides of TT
1 Safety. Nothing coming the other way or jumping out in front of you
2 Thrill! Of using the whole road and taking the best line on blind right hand corners
3 Not breaking any laws
4 Comaradarie of having driver plus codriver working together
5 plenty of time to talk **** with other like minded people
6 Fun!!

Downsides.
1 Organised event with lots of waiting time
2 Rules
3 Event fines - aye walter! :-(
4 Expensive entry fees
5 $10k insurance excess
6 Insurance premium for the event
7 getting held up by slower drivers (I'm guilty of this too) and not allowed to pass
8 emergency services close by
9 Helmets on

However, all set aside is is a rare and awesome blast and would be even more fun with more RSG members doing it with us.

Pros and cons of spirited b-road drives:
Pros:
1 Choose the time
2 Choose the route
3 Regularity
4 Comaraderie
5 Fun
6 Full insurance
7 No entry fee

Cons:
1 Danger (from other traffic)
2 lack of emergency help nearby
3 Helmets not permitted
4 Risk of serious charges or even going to jail in the rare but possible event of a serious road accident/death. (eg taking out a cyclist)
5 Being dobbed in by *555 callers who think you are driving dangerously (like they would know but this seems to stick in the eye of the law)
6 Risk of traffic offences, loss of licence etc if accidentally over speeding

All IMO of course.

PS. Macca and I have talked about upping our safety care for spirited drives with pre run safety briefings, discussing safety protocols, and insisting on carrying basic safety equipment, first aid, etc to take safety more seriously.

(Geez, this started as a note and turned into an epistle - ha)

 

^^^ The biggest pro of a b-road drive is you save $5K.

Macca talking H&S??? He has been in NZ for too long.........I thought he was anti Political Correctness??

 

JMc going hard...............