What are they racing?
Porsche GT3 cars are racing this weekend in Toronto in the the Ultra 94 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Michelin race series.
The Porsches being raced are Porsche GT3 Cup cars, which vary in a few ways from the street legal GT3 available. We spoke with Tony Ditto, Chief Mechanic of Alegra/Porsche Centre Oakville Motorsports’ team to learn how they differ.
Tony explained these GT3 Cup cars are super light. This race series being a spec series, the cars competing are all the same. They come from the Factory with a full roll cage and integrate a mix of carbon fiber, steel and aluminum.
As surprising as this may sound, these cars are powered by a less powerful engine than found in the GT3 street legal versions, down to 450 horsepower. These 3.8 litres engines rely on a good old multi-port injection system (MPI) but are blueprinted and designed to be bulletproof. The gearbox backing this engine is sequential and is controlled through pneumatic paddles by the steering wheel.
While all the cars are the same, teams are allowed to play with alignment adjustments, setting toe, camber and caster to their own specifications.
“Forget any sensation of comfort,” added Tony “as there is no rubber in the suspension. All bushings on these cars are solid in the name of performance… And like any race car, no leather or carpets inside, just a competition seat, a dash with instruments and a steering wheel complement the regulatory race safety equipment.”
Body-wise, the rear wing and under-bumper tray are different and the doors are carbon fibre and empty, but everything else is shared with the road-going version, down to the front bumper and aluminum hood.
“These cars are fast with the help of the incredible brakes and sticky Michelin tires,” adds Tony. “Huge brakes from Performance Friction offer incredible braking power and the huge tires offer grip levels hard to imagine. We are talking front tires as wide as regular rear ones, at 270 mm width aspect, and 310 mm wide rear tires.”
A full grid of fast Porsche GT3 Cup cars will be racing this weekend, with the first race set for 11:40 am Saturday, followed by a second race Sunday at 1:10 pm.
By Philippe Crowe
Date Posted: June 12, 2015