This past Saturday was my first Lime Rock event with the new car, and the second track day with it. Lime Rock is close to my heart because it's the first track I ever drove on, starting with a couple of Skip Barber schools about five years ago. For anyone who hasn't been, I highly recommend it--gorgeous setting in Northwestern Connecticut, tons of history, and a fun, technical layout with big elevation changes. This was also my first time with Metro NY PCA. Nice group of people, and a well-run event. The only downside was that we were sharing the day with the Lime Rock Drivers' Club, alternating track time, and each of our four sessions was limited to 20 minutes. Definitely felt too short.

As often happens since I only do 8-10 events a year, I felt like I didn't get into a groove until the third or fourth session. This was especially the case since I'm still getting used to the dynamics of the 991 vs. my prior car, a 2011 M3. Once things started to flow, it felt really, really good.

I ran in the white group, which was on track at the same time as the blue group. It was awkward at times, with a fairly large differential in experience and speeds among all the drivers. This was magnified by Lime Rock's short 1.5-mile distance, making it hard to separate yourself from other drivers. Trains formed pretty quickly, and I found myself pitting in fairly often to create space for clear track. It's a dilemma right now because I feel like I'm a bit too fast for intermediate, and yet not consistently fast enough at this point for advanced, at least with PCA. It seems like you need to run with a group that is doing your same pace so that you can keep the flow going--otherwise you find yourself having to shut it down too often and wait for point-bys, killing your rhythm. At the same time, I don't want to be that guy in advanced who is going too slowly and screwing up the flow for the big boys. It's like being an awkward teenager, still not quite a confident adult.

Anyway, the car did really well. Brakes strong and consistent. Flat cornering. Definitely felt the weight difference (500 lb) between this car and the M3 when doing the quick left-right transition from the Left-hander to Turn 4 leading onto No-name straight. This car feels so light and agile and quick to change direction. Interestingly, my data shows that my speeds at various marks along the track (low 130s prior to braking for T1, 104-105 prior to braking for the Uphill, 90s-100 on track-out at the bottom of the Downhill) were almost identical in the 911 and the M3, despite them being such very different cars. When I started to get into the groove at the end of the day, I was doing 1:03s, which is just a second off of my best time in the M3, so I have hopes of being able to drop a couple more seconds with time in this car.

Here are a couple of laps at the end of the day. Again, I apologize for the terrible video quality of the RaceKeeper bullet camera mounted on the roll bar. I have to find a solution for this.

 

sweet video!


ive been aching to bring my 991 to the track. this job takes away my time!


what data acq are you using?

 

Paradocs, looks like you were having a good time! Based mostly on the audio, I think you can get on throttle a bit earlier and hold it longer before braking. I am guessing without the data but it looked/sounded like you might be rolling slowly off the throttle and onto the brake. I bet there is at least a second if not two by committing to the throttle longer and transitioning to harder braking more quickly. Especially if there is some coasting between the throttle to brake transition.

Of course, it may have been late in the day and you were being kind to tired brakes before going home. Needless to say, do what is comfortable.

I just got an Aim SCHD and Solo DL from Peter. I'll post a couple of laps from my next DE later this summer. Always enjoy getting input from fellow 991 track goers.

 

RaceKeeper. Not quite as well-known as Traqmate or AiM, but it's very much plug-n-play once it's set up: it automatically syncs data with the video to create an overlay, so you don't have to do this processing manually. The mini bullet cams are not high-def, so the video quality is nowhere close to a GoPro, but it's acceptable. And I think they just introduced a new system with true HD cameras.

 

I am with you Paradocs
I'm actually getting a house up there to do both the club and LRP drives, so maybe I would be able to drive non-stop.

I'm still breaking in my 991 and hope to get it on-track soon.

I'm from NYC and was so enamored with Litchfield county when I did a Skip Barber HP class there that we are buying a weekend spot in Bridgeport.
I belong to both metro NY PCA as well as BMW so I hope to bump into you on track.

 

Thanks for the analysis. I'll work on that next time out. As I'm getting used to this new car, it will be fun and interesting to find areas where I'm leaving time on the table. I tend to error on the side of braking a bit early when first learning a new car or track, and then gradually brake later and later until I get it just right. I just read an interesting piece, though, where it was suggested that it is better to brake earlier and more gradually, thereby setting yourself up for a quicker return to throttle into the turn, rather than threshold braking at the very last second coming into the corner (the last-second, deep braking being reserved for inside passing maneuvers coming into the turn). I'll try to experiment with that as well.

Interested to hear about and see your AiM setup. My RaceKeeper worked well with my M3 via the OBD-II connection, but it's not pulling much data from the car's ECU now that I have it in my 991. It probably requires a hardwired CAN bus connection to the ECU now, which I'm reluctant to do given warranty issues.

 

It's gorgeous up there. I love driving those last few snaky miles up to the track along the Housatonic River. Windows down, sounds of the car and the water, sweet smells of nature. Doesn't get much better.