Just got back from tracquest at Watkins glen. For those that don’t know, tracquest is similar to PCA driving events with three caveats. Caveat #1-there are a more diverse cars to run with-4 ferrari challenge cars, three cups, RS, Aston vanquish, Ferrari 575, gt3’s ect
Caveat #2-you get ten times the amount of track time then any other event (less cars and much better format) Caveat #3-great bunch of people, great instruction, and Todd Serota is really always eager to help people drive better and faster.


I went up with a a friend who just purchased a 575 maranello paddle shift and Mark from Formula Motorsports. For those who don’t know Mark (racerx on this board) he is one of the most knowledgeable guys regarding Porsche anywhere. He has raced professionally and serviced Porsches for over thirty years, past president of PCA, formerly worked for Porche in Europe and USA ect. Mark did all the suspension work on my old turbo and really got the got dialed in properly. As for the gt3, I went with a simple tequipment roll bar, gt3 seats, and the stroth seatbelts. ***if you are getting the stroth belts-make sure you get a 2 inch lap belt and not three. Three is the biggest pain in the *** to pull close. . Also there are two versions of the belts depending how you want the belts to be mounted-permanent or removalable. if you need instruction or anything porsche related-Mark is the guy!

Anyway it was my first day two days on the track with the gt3 and all I can say is amazing. With the help of Brian from Performance outfitters, we played around with the sway bars-I left the rear on two from soft in the back-I also played with the rear spoiler and added the rear spoiler adapter to change 4 degrees. I’m not sure if I could tell the effect but it was fun trying.

As for the Ferrari 575-great sound, heavy obviously for the track. The paddle shift was fun but I wonder if you are suppose to take your foot of the gas when you blip the paddle. If you don’t you get a noticeable jerk forward.

Gt3-compared with the 996 stage 3 turbo-The gt3 is clearly the track winner, more fun to drive, better breaking abilities, and better turning ect. But hey there is always a moment on the track that you miss the all wheel drive-yesterday in the rain. And there is always time to miss the 540HP of the 996-when you screw up a corner and have to wait for the gt3 to wind up. Great day, great friends and just an overall great driving weekend.

michael

 

i agree with michael, i run with tracquest at all its west coast events. expensive but best instructions and food. todd serotta is a great guy too.

 

todd with the yellow gt2, big banner that says tracquest on the window, right?

when is the next west coast event?

 

http://www.tracquest.com/

 

Glad to hear about Mark. Did not know he was that involved with P cars.

Ok, correction..

Mark is AracerX

RacerX is our buddy Jeff from Michigan

 

what events have more track time-i doubt it

 

PCA Advanced Driver Days/Open Track.

 

tracquest's next event is sears point. don't remember the date.

i track with 20+ clubs, other than private clubs where i once logged 350 trackmiles in one day, i have not had a club that give you more time than tracquest on a consistent basis. todd's events are drivers education, you WILL have instructors, most are well qualified. PCA, CCA, UL, NASA, driving concept, audi club, club z, subies, trackmaster, speed venture, hooked on driving, track nuts, corvette, viper club etc, none has comparable tracktimes. oh, open tracking doesn't count. there are lots of open tracking, but in my opinion, open tracking for beginners are very dangerous. without proper training from qualified instructors, you will not learn very fast.

i am speaking only for DE's in calif., i have very little exp in other locals.

 

mikesmith, i assume you are an experienced track driver. then of course, seat time is most valuable. however, IMHO, for beginners, track time without instruction is useless.

 

mikesmith, come to think of it, i used up close to $30k just tracking this year. as you know more and more 6speeders are into track driving, i think we will all appreciate if you can let us in on where to find these inexpensive and lots of track time events. please give us a hint. i sure would like to save some money ;-) so i can replace my gt3 with a stradale or a cup car. thanks for your help.

 

open track days are not more track time. There are often to many people on the track and until the second day. If the difference is two hundred and I can count on Todd at tracquest then by all means I am there. Also, the people are great, the food is as good as possible (area depending). As for pastires, coffee, soda-I think its a nice touch and keeps people hydrated. I also like the fact that novices can go out with instructors and see what a car can do. Todd also has a track talk for beginners as well as a course orientation. Besides, he has some great track days that he does every year.

 

mwilens, do you track your GT3 stock? do you run r compounds? i have a c2 with moton on r compound with 2.5 camber all around. it really outhandles my stock GT3. i am thinking about putting moton or jrz on my gt3....

 

yes yes track the gt3

 

i've been playing around with the sway bars and ran pilot sport cups last week. I agree that the moton would be better but my reason for staying with the stock suspension is for clubsport racing. I also enjoy running with other guys that have the same setup. I think it makes the point of having the gt3 a bit more fun.

 

I agree with Michael on the amount of time first day Vs second. We had HUGE track time. To compliment Michael, he is a good driver/quick at picking up improvements!
I think that all drivers who want to improve significantly should install a dedicated cam setup with rudimentary data logging on the screen.
I believe once a driver attains a certain degree of proficiency, reviewing his own driving (alone in car) with some capacity of data alongside, invevitably offers him confidence, coordination, ablility to overview mistakes, hence corrections. In addition, someone, such as myself, can review and reaquaint recent driving experiences with that particular person, thereby offering additional helpful advice on issues such as habits, anatomic/ ergonomic anomolies, etc.
Anyway, a camera doesn't pat you on the back if you're a screwup.
BTW-I do NOT believe that having a lap timer in your face every lap helps a driver, on the contrary, it has the unpleasant ability to create off-road excursions.
Todd's event was great/track was great/guys were great: everyone got along well. havefuntakechancesdriveporsche-MARK