Quote:
Originally Posted by FTS
Nick this is pretty impressive; it takes some of us years to move up those groups 
Competitive karting certainly is a huge help, but the driving styles are significantly different of course. I am sure the car feels like a pig, any car would compared to a kart. How was your driving style different, if actually it was?
I neer been to Road America, how did you like the track? How does 1:40 compare to others? I guess since you have been tailing most, it should compare well  |
Thanks FTS, appreciate the acknowledgement!
I liken the car's handling to a big school bus- it's a lot longer, you have to wait for the chassis to settle down, and the steering ratio is abysmal! Haha... The biggest difference in driving for me is waiting for the chassis to settle, and needing to shuffle steer to keep my hands in a comfortable place on the wheel (30=40 degrees from 3/9 positions) on many of the turns. I would be really happy if Porsche would introduce a rack ratio that had a 1.5 turn lock-to-lock and lower the power assist for better feel, but I think I would probably be the only one using it.
Road America is a blast. I've raced there in the karts too. We can get over 120mph in the single speed laydown TaGs (35hp) on the front straight and into 5 and Canada.
2.40.xx times are probably average for an experienced GT2 driver. I consciously gave up time on 7 of the 14 corners for not only my, but also the people's in front of me, safety. The closing speed I had on most of the cars I passed was so crazy that I was looking at least 1/2 down the straights, or as far as I could see, to set up for the pass out of the next corner. For example, the Carousel alone was probably worth about a 4 second differential, but I was also between gears- going into it in 4th, and the few times I accelerated through I was redlining before 2/3 way through. And I'll be damned if I'm going to try shifting in the Carousel my first time out in that car!
Now the problem for me is, I have a lot of straight line speed, but only average to below average cornering speed compared to the racecars, so going into the race group isn't really an option- I would be holding them up in the corners. After all, we are talking about a full weight street car with more factory options than you can shake a stick at vs. a stripped out cornering machine. So I think I'll probably end up in the Group 2, probably still far quicker than many but not causing any corner issues with others.