Round 2, Oran Park
March 2001
Trackside at the practice day before a race weekend is being part of
a unique ‘club’. Who’s there?
Who’s missing? What’s different about the cars?
Friday morning at
Oran Park. The 928 is already in its bay while all around the
GT3’s and RSCS’s are being unloaded.
Along the line of garages a 944 Turbo is being prepared for the
first practice session. A massive flat spot is
found on the 928’s left front tyre. The
weekend will have to be run on an old set of tyres.
That means l - 2 seconds a lap slower straight off.
The practice sessions are uneventful. We get some
of the understeer out of the car and bed in the new front brakes. This
takes most of both sessions. My braking is also inconsistent, with a brake
pedal that needs priming (ie. An early dab) in order to come on strong.
The old tyres aren’t nearly as slippery as I’d expected.
The understeer is pretty much gone. The big 928
now oversteers when power is fed in too early coming onto the main
straight and at the left-hander before the ‘flip-flop’. Fastest lap
time - 01.21.01 - about 2.5 seconds slower than the Class B front
runners.
Saturday 17th. 1st
Qualifying.
Clouds sweep over Oran Park. The rain begins and the
track is deemed officially “wet”. There is a hectic 15
minutes in the Porsche garages as everybody goes for the wets.
Qualifying is delayed for 10 minutes. Everyone is looking to the sky. The rain stops and there
is silence over the whole circuit. This lasts for an
eternity. Then most people opt for
slicks again. More hectic wheel-changing as qualifying begins. The track
is still wet in places.
The equation now reads:
1500kg Porsche 928 GT + tyres from last century + wet track = terrified
driver!
It shows on the
timesheets. It could have been worse though. Several cars are towed
back to the pits with significant damage. They don’t run again all
weekend! The sun comes out for
the second session. Times are pretty much as expected. Speed down the
main straight gets to over 6000 rpm in 4th. The 10 minute warm-up
is just that, then a 3 hour wait until Race 1!
Race 1.
I get a
good start, wedged between GT3s and a 911 RSCS. Its easy to see 928s are
much more stable throughout the corner before the bridge . If you find
your car oversteering prematurely, simply straighten the wheel and
you’ll be facing the bridge anyhow!
Following RSs and RSCSs
convinced me rear-engine cars work overtime here. The status quo lasts a
few laps until I clip a kerb at the left-hander at the end of the main
straight. The steering wheel is clearly out of alignment, with my
confidence dented as well. Places are lost as I try
to make corners. A disappointing finish.
Race 2.
Was an
uninspiring drive on my part. Dropped the clutch too roughly at the
start, cooking the poor old rear tyres. Lost at least a couple of spots.
Managed to scramble past a few cars early on, courtesy of 928s straight
line speed. Held this to the end.
Seeing GT3s in the
rear-view mirror made waking at 5am worthwhile.
It may have been temporary but still a buzz.
Tarek
Bisher
1990 Porsche 928 GT No. 56
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