Porsche Carrera Cup Italia: the story from the cockpit of the 911 GT3 Cup – Sports Cars
Content
Porsche Carrera Cup Italia: the story from the cockpit of the 911 GT3 Cup – Sports Cars
We took part in the Porsche Carrera Cup in Vallelunga in car no. 70, celebrating the 70th anniversary of Porsche.
I arrive around half past nine on Friday morning. Everything 'Vallelunga Racecourse It's always hot, even in September. The sun is reflected on the car bodies, and the only idea of freshness is the smell of wet asphalt drying out after yesterday's thunderstorm. My Porsche GT3 Cup number seventy waiting for me under tent Tthis is water tennis... He is beautiful in blue, white and red, and his livery is dedicated to his seventieth birthday Porsche.
The free workout starts at 14,30, but the hours run like minutes. I start trying on the suit, seat, belts, all the necessary adjustments. I make myself comfortable. I know the track, I have already raced there, I tried the car (several laps in Imola), so today I shouldn't have big surprises. But even if I'm just a guest, I definitely want to succeed, and I need help in this. Fabrizio Gollin, a pilot with exceptional experience and very good trainer. An empathic person who is able to convey calmness and direct all concentration in the right direction. He suffered and rejoiced with me, as if it were the World Cup final, as if he was with me in the car. But before I start talking about my racing weekend, let me introduce you to a young girl. № 70.
CLEAN
La Porsche GT3 Cup No. 70 belongs to the category Silver goblet, therefore, he does not claim for the first place. The reason is simple: it comes from the Porsche GT3 991 Mk1, so it is equipped with a 6-liter 3.8-cylinder engine instead of the 4.0-liter one found in new cars. In practice: approx. 2-2,5 seconds per lap compared to cars that compete for the absolute. For reliability reasons, the 911 GT3's cup engine is less powerful and has a lower rev limiter than the road version. IN flat Six della GT3 Cup so it produces 460 CV at 7.500 weights / min (versus 475 hp at 8.500 rpm), but considering that the weight is hardly 1.200 kg (almost 230 kg less than the road version), it still rides much, much stronger. The cup retains a rather natural driving position, far from the "formula" one of the versions. GT3R and RSR... Inside, it is clearly devoid of everything, behind it appears a wing the size of a football field, and "below" remains the same road car suspension scheme (McPherson in front and multi-link in the rear), but with the ability to adjust the camber, nose, height and angle of attack. THE 18 inch wheels (20 '' road fit) fit tires 27/65 Michelin front and 31/71 rear.
Il sequential gearbox racing, huge steel rims (the system also has 11-speed adjustable ABS) round out the package. Let's start the engines.
PORSCH MOTORSPORT
Dry, unprincipled, threatening: sound from a flat six at low revs - a spectacle when opening the throttle moving... Even if those thousands of corners are overlooked, the lengthening of a 3,8-liter race car is chilling. IN second noise penetrating the interior it's from broadcast... The hiss of the racing gearbox and the clatter of the differential are so loud they almost drown out the sound of the engine; with each climb, the gearbox appears to be shifting from one gear to another.
I'm getting closer to my hour free tests (there is only one session) and I try to gradually increase the speed by pressing more and more, circle by circle. There Porsche GT3 Cup very similar to road version: big and heavy ass is calling traction out of corners is huge... You can hit the accelerator hard even in first and second gears without worry, at least as long as the tire is fresh. In fast corners, the Cup provides even more safety than a road car: the rear wing is so large that you can pull out the throttle in fifth gear before the famous "bend" Velleunga and get very minimal load transfer, while the large trunk remains glued to the ground.
Paradoxically, this turn is much scarier with a 200 hp car. with low downforce. The nose of the race car is more firmly on the ground, but still light, so the approach to driving does not change. Should try to slow down "deep" straight into the turn, trying to keep the front loaded. Once you get to the rope, you will have to steer a lot, turn a turn and free the car as soon as possible by straightening the steering wheel and depressing the right pedal. This all happens very quickly and the real challenge of Cup driving lies in push the boundaries even higher... Speed up earlier, turn around with more speed, brake late, very late. L 'ABS adjustable in 11 positions, where the eleventh is the nearest "OFF": you have to press the brake pedal so hard, but the ease with which you deliver large chunks of speed is shocking. It can crash to death, but the GT3 remains stable and balanced even in the toughest climbs.
An hour of free practice has passed: I'm in one tenth of the first of the Silver machines, 3,5 seconds behind the first of 4.0 cars. I can be satisfied.
WORK AND METHOD
La data collection this is important for the pilot. Assimilation of information, sensations, understanding what needs to be improved, learning: all this in motorsport is almost more important than being able to step on the gas pedal. Fabrizio Gollin and Bruno (tracker with a capital letter) I have format and remote control during the weekend. Telemetry tells me that I'm still leaning towards some front-wheel drive trajectory, but otherwise we're there. When you're one tenth behind the first half, it's a matter of detail, but the details to fix are the most important, and often the most difficult.
Collect all мощность, whole concentration after three circles: this qualification... Three tries, after which the new tire loses this advantage and the good time does not come out anymore. It's not a lot of physical effort (not compared to free training or competition), but mental.
La rubber in races it is key out of everything. At the first stage of preparation for qualification, you need to warm it up well, trying not to damage the carcass. Accelerate and brake sharply so that the disc warms the rim and the rim warms the tire. Serve lightly on the steering wheel as you drive to warm up the mixture causing the polymers to “rub”. It's fun.
I'm leaving. Buonino is the first circle, also the second. The new tire reduces the time by about one second per lap, so I shoot 1,37,06 and 1,37,03. I have a rhythm, I'm hot, I try to drive the circle to the limit. The new tire allows me to choke with even more force, so I end up driving a little badly, with some risks, but the stopwatch gives me the reason: 1,37,00. they first in class, 2,5 seconds from the best time 4.0!
TRAVEL LIGHTS OFF
But one pole this is not a victory (although for me a little yes). Every racing weekend Porsche Carrera Cup It provides for two races, and 4 hours after qualification - the first.
To be honest, I have never been so calm before a race. There Machine I like her, she is my friend. Vallelunga this, of course, is not my favorite track, but now I also feel some closeness with her. I am serene. The times are good, I am in shape, and the sun is shining on my forehead.
Let's warm up the tires and we agree on starting grid... If there is something that I am not good at, it is the start: I have a bad release of the clutch, and in class 3.8 I am overtaken by the second; but in front of me (the last 4.0 car) it starts even worse, so after turning I put it behind me.
The first five or six laps we do in three: I have more rhythm than what's in front of me, but I can't find a point where to convey it. And the one behind me has a bigger engine (25 hp and 200 cc more is a lot), but when braking I always manage to hold him back, even if his attacks start to annoy me.
At about the middle of the race (which is 25 minutes plus the lap), I decide that it's time to attack more decisively... I try to drive a few meters, and I succeed, but for this I put too much load on the rear wheels, which begin to irrevocably lose traction. After two circles of oversteer and corner corrections dei Chimini I dump the throttle too early and too fast (telemetry later will mark me with 70% hits 9 meters earlier). Result? Turn around like a fool... The car starts, I lose position, I manage to turn it on again and drive away. Curse. Nevertheless, I manage to overcome one in front of me and overtake it, and I finish second among the three cars in the Silver Cup. I like it? A lot, but there is a lot of bitterness in the mouth. I'm used to a tire that lasts the rest of the race, but with 460 hp. I had to be more careful and softer with my right leg.
On Sunday, I wake up agitated, but not overly anxious. Race at noon and my coach Fabrizio reminds me that things will be much easier today. This is the scene I have already seen and the effort I have already made. This time I start better, but start second (start in order of arrival of the first race). I start in pursuit of the first (always the 3,8-liter class, of course), but I try to ride more smoothly... The circles go, but the distance between me and the first remains the same. Every time I try to force, the car warns me that there are no more tires, and I think that for him the same is in front of me. I handle rubber better, but I can't stand it like that Today I again crossed the line second.
THIS IS A RACE
"The beauty of racing is that anything can happen." Yes, I always say that, and it's true. But beauty also moves faster than everyone else. But perhaps the claim of winning a car never seen before is a little optimistic; even if after pole position and the fastest lap (both in race one and in race two) I was a little hopeful. But with a cool head today I understand that It was an exceptional racing weekend. An immersive, intense experience. It's every race weekend but there 911 GT3 Cup No. 70 exudes a special aura, full of history, traditions, but above all this object of pure pleasure. The roaring engine, the snappy transmission, the endless traction, the braking that makes your eyeball capillaries quiver - it's pure joy. IN Porsche Carrera Cupthen is a championship that will make you feel the taste of real motorsport. During these three days I met the guys from Scholarship programyoung and hungry for speed. Everything is serious, purposeful, like real professionals. Ambitious guys with a solid foot. I was very fortunate to have been accompanied by people with monstrous experience (Bruno and Fabrizio) who helped me get the most out of the car, but also from myself. Because, after all, cars are great, but without people, they're not going anywhere.
