Porsche 944 sp1 owners guide

Today was a nice day at BIR. The weather ended up in the 93s by the afternoon. The car was running well in the first two sessions. I got caught behind the spec cars in the second session pretty bad who were doing 3 minute laps so that was a pain and I couldn't get rid of them by heading in to the hot pit because all the cars are lined up there so it takes long enough to get through there that when you come out again the spec cars have lapped around again, duh My fastest during the first session was a 2:12 so it's two seconds quicker than before and this was in the first session so things are looking promising to get under 2:10 finally. Turns were more promising, in the 1G range and braking was better. Just need to do 5, 8/9 and 1/2 flat and do 10 right to get the times where I want them.

That all ended on the third session. My third lap out, the car pulled left in a major way in T10. I was thinking I don't believe it, another puncture in the same corner as June. Then I moved slowly in to the pit entrance and lifted my foot off the throttle and then the engine died. They towed me in to the pit area and then I popped the hood. The alternator belt had snapped and took off the power steering belt with it. The belt as it came apart grabbed the wire harness going to the radiator fans etc and pulled it in to the alternator which pretty much shredded it and cut maybe 5/6 of the wires. The local NAPA had the power steering belt but didn't have the 5PF 736mm belt for the alternator so I was shot. Lessons learned, protect that wiring harness from getting damaged like this again and have spare belts for next time. So, I thought day was over at lunch time. I phoned Tim the car builder and he was amazed the belt broke because it was new. But, what can you do. Learn for next time. Here is a link to some photos of the belt/wire harness carnage.

Gary Curtis then very nicely let me do a session in one of his spec racer cars and I'm grateful for that as the spec racer made my day. It was a 4 speed Renault engined one and it was a lot of fun. The car is very easy to drive, has lots of grip and feels very stable. I was initially worried about it but after a lap about 3/4 cars behind the instructor then they were holding me up. It's not easy to pass in these things. I ended up taking about two laps to get 8/9 right so I could overtake 2 cars in to T10. They raced me in to ten which was a pain though. Next, I took the next couple of cars down the main straight and drafted to get some speed to pass late in the straight. I was in front now so I started to play with the car and I never saw the other spec cars again pretty quickly. The car was confidence inspiring, it's easy to be braver in it than I am in the 944 spec. I ended up going flat through 1 and 2 in it and flat through 5 and 8/9 which is about as brave as I've gotten in Brainerd but the car was just so easy to drive. Heel and toeing was a piece of cake in it. The car had the red line marked on the tach at 5400rpm but I hit at least 6k through T1 and felt the car could use another gear. I wish I could have gone out again in the 944 because I learned a lot driving the spec racer and it did build my confidence. A weird sensation is the wind. There's a lot of wind at 130mph hitting your helmet and body. The helmet felt like it was getting sucked up at points also. Visor down is obviously a must, little stones etc from the car in front easily can hit you. The brakes are also odd, the pedal is very, very firm. There is little brake feel and you need to press really hard on it to get it to stop quickly. The amount of pedal travel for brakes seemed really small but again, you get used to it and it's not a problem. I wore my R3 in the car and had no trouble with it at all. Once you're moving then you forget about it.

So, overall, a good day. Gary and the BIR performance school put on a great event. The food was included at lunchtime along with drinks and they are genuinely nice guys. The instructors are pretty impressive. There is Gary, of course, the 2001 ALMS GTS champion. Herm Johnson was there who raced indy in the early 80s and finished 4th in the Indy 500. He was national champion in all the feeder formula series he entered on his way to Indy so the man can drive. He stopped racing Indy after crashing at 212mph but still races professionally. Chris Lake Smith was there who had raced in the UK and instructed at Brands Hatch. All very nice and obviously qualified. I did the Gary presentation in the morning and most of it was materiel I'd seen before but he gave pointers on various turns which turned out to be useful when I got faster in the spec racer he loaned me in the afternoon.

The repairs to the car look cheap, new belts 30 bucks and fix the wiring harness which is a pain but easy enough. 4 sessions today, not what I wanted but I was happy at the end of the day. Definitely heading back to Gary in mid September.