OK, here are a few shots of my 1995 Porsche 968. The car has been prepped for PCA Club Racing. Many thanks to Karl Poeltl of Racer's Edge in Knoxville, Tennessee. Karl did the lion's share of the development for the suspension, and he has helped keep the car competitive with a few tweaks here and there. For the past few years I have been racing this car Lime Rock Park, Watkins Glen International, Mosport, and NHIS. The goal is to start adding new tracks to the list over time, if possible.
Here's a shot of the Team Northeast paddock area at Mosport last summer (2005). From left to right we have (2) perfectly prepared 944 S2s belonging to James and Case Marshall, respectively, Steve Boris' 944 Turbo, Andy Jenks' 911 Carrera, and my 968. Team Northeast is an informal group that gets together at these Club Race events - we help each other out in the pits, but it's every man for himself on the track - we are all in the same class.
The picture below shows how relaxing it can be, chill'in between sessions. That's Case Marshall's foot waggling around. Case was pretty invested in re-attaching Andy's steering column to the dash - pretty important for precise handling. On the other hand, if anyone could drive a 911 with a detached steering column, that would be Andy.
Turn 5b at Mosport, in 2003 - entering the long back straight. (A little wheel lift never hurt anyone). Better nail this second gear turn - it's worth an extra 5 mph at the braking point for Turn 8, a distant, long right hand sweeper. The car hits about 132 mph (indicated) at the end of the straight.
This shot was taken in the pits at Mosport in 2004. Racing has lots of 'hurry up an wait' happening, but I have to say that, of all the clubs I have worked with, PCA is the most efficient and organized. Let's just assume I was smiling under the helmet (I was).
That's me at Lime Rock Park in 2003 look'in goofy - I had just gotten the car back from Racer's Edge and had no idea what I was in for - Karl had really tweaked it and it was like driving an entirely new (race) car. I hadn't been on a track for 6 months and had some serious catching up to do.
Mosport Turn 10 onto the front straight. The left tires are usually a little soft for this turn because you just completed a wickedly fast right-hand sweeper (Turn 8) that heats 'em up.
Mosport Turn 5a >>> Believe me, the car is fully loaded in this combination of heavy braking and a compression. You try to get it pointed so you can create the widest possible radius when the track flattens between 5a and 5b. It's possible to carry a lot of speed through 5a to the turn-in of 5b, but it's wasted if you are scrambling for control in 5b - that's where the critical back straight begins. Slow in fast out, they say.
Mosport Turn 2 >> Those who know this turn understand. It's a religious experience when you get it right, and the devil's work when you don't. It's a downhill, double-apex left hander over a blind crest. Oh, and there's a nice little dip in the track after the first apex. Just for fun. Hats off to the track designer.
Mosport Turn 8 >> Putting along behind the pace car (complete with paintball splatters) in the 'Fun Race' working on practice starts. The 911 is Andy Jenks, a fast and consistent F Stock player. The 944 Turbo with the nice blue/yellow/white graphics is Steve Boris, another fast guy in our class.
Here's a good shot of Mosport Turn 2 showing just how sideways you get at speed. The other 968 (#186) is into this turn pretty hot. I had just passed him and the #38 car back in Turn 1.
The picture below was taken at Turn 5B at Mosport during the 2004 PCA Club Race. The 968's new 'livery' is courtesy of fellow Team Northeast racer Steve Boris at planitcreative.com. I'm not sure the car is faster with the green and orange vinyl stripes, but it sure is more visible ! This shot was taken just after passing the green 911 (a class below the 968, but wicked fast and well driven). You can see that even though we have a 13/13 rule, there's plenty of close racing.
I'll have more later. >JM