New 2008 996 GT3 cup is here, so the 2004 was sold in early 2007. Here is MORE INFO on the 2004 car.
Taking the checkered flag for a lap at Lime Rock, 6/00
Here is a simple index to some of the pages and stories I have put together. Click on the title of the race when enabled for a story with pictures :
DRIVING EVENTS :
PCA club race, Lime Rock with 911RS and GT3 cup, April 24-25, 2009
Ran the old car in the Enduro only, qualified well and was running 3rd overall when
an axle oil seal leak ended the day. Broke the track record in the GT3 cup
in the first session and won the sprint race overall. Ran with Duane in his 996 GT3 cup
in the Enduro, we finished 2nd in GTC3 and 4th overall.
PCA club race Road Atlanta, GA. 2008 GT3 cup, Mar 27-29, 2009
Skipped the first two wet days, won the Sunday sprint and finished second
in the enduro.
PCA club race Sebring, FL. 2008 GT3 cup, Feb 6-8, 2009
Finished about the same as last year but got into
the 2:11s in qualifying.
PCA race, New Jersey Motorports Park, Lightning course, '08 GT3 cup, Sep 12-14, 2008
My previous race here in the old car helped a lot, I was the fastest car in
every session and my first session time was never beaten. Retired in the 1st sprint
race due to slight contact. Won the 2nd sprint race. Spun into the grass after a restart in the
enduro in Duane's GTC3 car, then retired after a few laps, sorry about that!!!
Some pictures.
SCCA Regional race, New Jersey Motorports Park, Lightning course, '73 911, Aug 23-24, 2008
My first time at this brand new track, got my old car ready after sitting a
year and it ran great! Ran "SPO" class in a mixed group of fast sports cars
and sedans, from ITS to GT1. Qualified 4th overall, finished 1st overall.
Here are a few pictures.
PCA club race Virginia International Raceway. 2008 GT3 cup, Aug 8-10, 2008
My first time at this track. Qualified and finished 1st in GTC4 in both sprint races.
Qualified 1st for the enduro but a late pit stop after leading overall during
full course yellows put us way down and we finished 2nd.
PCA club race MOSPORT, Canada. 2008 GT3 cup, Aug 1-3, 2008
Another new track for me. Qualified and finished 4th in GTC4 in both sprint races.
Qualified 2nd and 4th overall for the enduro but decided to spend Sunday
in Toronto with my family.
Grand-Am pro race, Lime Rock, Koni GS class 997, May 23-26, 2008
I co-drove with Dirk Werner (!) in the BGB/Farnbacher-Loles 911. I qualified
the car 6th out of 35 cars, click on the line above for the story.
PCA club race Mid Ohio. 2008 GT3 cup, May 17-18, 2008
Qualified 1st in GTC4, 4th overall for sprint race, got very wet, finished 2nd/5th.
Qualified on the pole overall for the enduro, also turned wet so I
came in after a spin.
PCA club race Road Atlanta, GA. 2008 GT3 cup, Mar 28-30, 2008
Qualified 2nd in GTC4, 3rd overall for sprint race, did not race.
Qualified on the pole overall for the enduro, finished 1st GTC4, 3rd overall.
Here is a shot of the Enduro start.
PCA club race Sebring, FL. 2008 GT3 cup, Feb 8-10, 2008
First race in the new car, still feeling out the car in the
sprint, finished 3rd in GTC4 4th overall in the Enduro.
Grand-Am pro race, Lime Rock, Koni GS class 997, May 25-26, 2007
Co-drove Mike Bavaro's Bodymotion 911 with Shane Lewis.
Shane qualified 2nd out of 36 cars, were moved to last due to exceeding max
revs. I got in at 18th place, moved up to 16th.
Here are some pictures for now until I can do a writeup
pictures
PCA club race, Lime Rock with 911RS, April 27-28, 2007
Qualified 2nd out of 15 E cars, led several laps, finished 2nd.
Fastest race lap of any stock car.
PCA club race Atlanta GA with 911RS, Mar 30-31, 2007
Qualified 3rd out of over 20 E cars, led several laps,
finished 2nd, winner was under weight so got the win.
Then found illegal for ignition box and moved to GT4S. Later found legal
and win was returned.
PCA club race Sebring, FL with 911RS, Feb 9-11, 2007
Qualified 3rd out of about 30 E cars, got up to the lead in the
race then had an incident.
SCCA NARRC runoffs regional race with 911RS, Oct 21, 2006
Ran my little old 911 with some BIG FAST V8 cars including an 81 year old
who won the race overall in his Vette (PLN's last race?).
I ran alone in GT2 and finished 13th overall out of 32 cars.
Results (Grp 5)
Busch East series Lime Rock HRG race with 911RS, Sept 30 2006
Qualified 2nd out of 37 cars (can you say TRAFFIC?), finished
3rd with a nice 1:00.8 lap in the old machine.
Rolex Vintage Festival, 911RS, Lime Rock, Sept 4, 2006
Finished 8th (fastest production car), close racing
with Paul Resnick and Prescott Kelly's 911s.
SCCA Lime Rock HRG race with 911RS, Aug 18, 2006
Qualified and finished 3rd out of about 30 cars.
PCA club race, Watkins Glen, June 10, 2006
Qualified 2nd out of 18 GT3 cup cars, finished 3rd.
Enduro was running 3rd overall after an hour when a tire
blew.
PCA club race, Lime Rock, April 29, 2006
Qualified and finished 2nd in class and 5th overall in sprint
race. Enduro started dead last due to timing problem, finished
third overall.
PCA club race, Road Atlanta, Mar31, 2006
Qualified 2nd out of 22 GT3 cups, finished 5th.
PCA club race, Sebring, FL Feb 10-11 2006
1st time to this tricky track, Qualified 9th out of 33 GT3cups, finished 6th.
SCCA Runoffs, Mid Ohio, way too many days in October 2005
Qualified 6th and finished 6th in GT2, will post info when I can.
Pocono SCCA National race, August 7, 2005 (combined story with below)
Qualified 2nd and won GT2, breaking my GT2 lap record.
Pocono SCCA National race, August 6, 2005
Qualified on the pole and won GT2, setting a new GT2 lap record.
Lime Rock SCCA National race, July 22-23, 2005
Qualified on the pole and won GT2
Watkins Glen SCCA National race, July 9-10, 2005
Qualified 2nd, won the race in GT2 class.
Lime Rock SCCA National race, June 10-11, 2005
Qualified on the pole and won the race in GT2 class.
Lime Rock Pro-am races, May 30, 2005
RS damaged, OK with the GT3 cup!
IMSA Mid Ohio GT3 Challenge race, May 21-22 2005
Qualified 15th out of 28 cars, finished 14th
in our rain race.
Mid Ohio PCA Club Race, May 14-15 2005
Finished 6th of 18 cup cars, no damage!!!
Lime Rock PCA Club Race, April 30 2005 - won fun race
Road Atlanta IMSA GT3 cup, April 16-17 2005
Road Atlanta PCA club race, April 2-3 2005
PCA Club Race, Carolina Motorsports Park, 11/04.
Was running well in D class, crankshaft broke in fun race.
Sad flight home.
PCA Zone1 Autrocross : 1st in M3, 2nd overall. Picture of My car with slicks and Dave's FTD winning car.
Lime Rock PCA Club Race 18-SEP-04 2nd place
Lime Rock Fall Vintage Festival race, Sept 6,2004
Qualified 4th behind Bobby Rahal and Robert Machinis' Chevrons
and a Ferrari 512S. Despite a hard charge from Andy Sanborn,
I was able to hold this position. Here are the
results,
I think my fastest race lap ever at Lime Rock (under 1:01)
Lime Rock SCCA Historic Series race, Aug 7,2004
Thanks to Musante Motorsports for a quick engine rebuild,
were able to qualify 4th, and finish 2nd in this HUGE
group of over 40 vintage cars. Got fastest race lap
but could not pass Rock Rookie's similar 911RS. Here are the
results and
a picture of Laurie and Andy Sanborn
following me.
Watkins Glen PCA club race, June 12 2004
Missed a shift (again!) Bending 3 valves. Raced anyway!
Qualified 3rd, finished 2nd. Ran race laps faster than
previous E class lap record but could not catch Oliver.
Here are the
results of our group. In the practice, Oliver and Ron Savenor had a
fight in turn 1 just ahead of me, Ron lost (flipped over several times).
Here are some pictures.
Mid Ohio PCA Club Race 8-MAY-04 WIN!!!!
Carolinas region PCA Club Race 8-NOV-03 WIN!!!!
Lime Rock Fall Vintage Festival 30-AUG-03
SCCA Vintage series Lime Rock Race, 8/8-9/2003
Qualified on the pole, won the race. Here are the
results and a picture
of the race start ahead of some hungry
Mustangs..
SCCA Vintage series Beaverun Race, 8/2-3/2003, Beaver County, PA.
PCA Beaverun Club Race, 7/26-27/2003, Beaver County, PA.
SCCA Vintage series Pocono Races, 5/17 and 18/2003
Here is a cool
video with Audio of the 1st lap by the Volvo's team.
Came in 3rd overall, second in class in both races. Here are the
Saturday results and
Sunday results.
PCA club race, Lime Rock Park, 5/2-3/2003
Qualified 2nd, finished 3rd though I passed for position
in this race more than ever, due to getting hung up in
heavy traffic. Here are the
results
PCA Zone-1 Autocross, 10/5-6/2002, Springfield, MA. Another FTD??
Lime Rock Park VINTAGE FESTIVAL Sept 2, 2002.
Some craziness in New Hampshire, July 2002.
Lime Rock PCA Club Race 3-4 May, 2002
FCSCC autocross, results of 10/28/01, my only autocross of 2001! Didn't do too badly in a Honda S2000
Lime Rock PCA Club Race 4-5 May, 2001 (with tech info on rear Charlie Bar installation)
Summit Point PCA race, 7-Oct-2000
PCA Zone-1 autocross, Sept 2000
HSR Vintage Fall Festival at Lime Rock, Sept 1-4/2000
PCA club race at Watkins Glen 4-6 August, 2000 (not a nice writeup)
Lime Rock SCCA Historic Races June and July-00
Pocono PCA Club race 4-June-00
Lime Rock PCA Club Race 20-May-00
Open practice At Lime Rock : 2-May-2000
The Dodge Vintage Festival at Lime Rock, 9/99
The SVRA Vintage Grand Prix at Watkins Glen. 9/99.
Porsche Parade Autocross and Club race, Mont Tremblant, Canada, 8/99
SCCA Volvo Historic Series race at Lime Rock , 7/99
Pocono Porsche Club of America Club Race, 6/99
Lime Rock Park Porsche Club of America Club Race, 5/99
Watkins Glen Brian Redman 50/50 anniversary race, 8/98
About the Driver/Owner/Mechanic/etc
Mike has been autocrossing and driving on the track since 1980, and bought his first Porsche (a 914/1.7) after a similar 914 beat his AMC Javelin SST "Mark Donohue" 390 at a college autocross. After graduating from Rensselaer where he was the president of the Sports car club and autocrossing champion in his 914, he bought his first 911 in '84. In 2001 he sold this 1972 911S Targa in which he had won two SCCA Solo-II national championships ('85 and '90) and two Porsche Parades (Boston and Lake Placid). A Porsche fan in the midwest saw the 911S on this web site and made an offer that I could not refuse. Of course within five years the value of the car soared... Here is a results sheet from the 1990 SCCA nationals , check the bottom of the page and see someone who went on to win LeMans and Daytona.
After years of searching for a track car, Mike finally located his green '73 911"RS" in 1998 and has been racing and working on it nonstop ever since. After spending months in late 2004 searching the world for a late model Porsche 911 GT3 cup car, he found one in his home town of Danbury CT at Farnbacher-Loles' new shop at the Danbury Airport. Mike got it just in time for the PCA and IMSA races in Atlanta in April 2005. It was sold to a racer in the Northwest in early 2007. Then a new GT3 cup finally arrived in late 2007. Mike is a member of the CVR region of PCA and also participates with other Zone-1 regions. "Analog" Mike is (was!) a software engineer but now manufactures and deals in guitar effects full time and races on weekends. Also a father and avid tennis player, he apparently needs no sleep.
Mike's Race Cars :
Originally a Sepia brown (ugh) California '73 911T with sunroof, this 80,000 mile coupe is now an authentic '73 911RS in all but serial number. The body conversion and paint were done by Jim Newton's Auto Associates of Canton (CT) and the mechanicals by Dan Jacobs (CT), all with the help of Don Stickles. Don decided to build his own dream car - something streetable but perfect for the track. Mike obtained the car in early 1998 and decided to trade the updated 3.2 engine for a 2.7RS. This 2.7RS was built by Auto Associates from the original 2.4S engine that Mike sold 10 years earlier, from his '72 911S targa!. Mike made many other modifications for a serious, safe, dedicated race car which could be run in many racing and autocross series. Mike installed the necessary safety features (race seat, fuel cell, extended roll cage, fire system, etc) and set the car up for ultimate track performance. The car has over 210 HP and weighs from 2200 to 2400 depending on the class entered. 1/4 mile times of 13.2 were run and the car should hit the rev limiter in top gear at about 150MPH if given a long enough straight. The engine has since been rebuilt a few times and after the last rebuild, ran very strong on the long straights at Sebring and Road Atlanta in 2007.
The 911 (997) Carrera GT3 Cup cars are designed to run at SUPERCUP Formula 1 events all over the world. They are also competitive in many series like Grand-Am Rolex GT, Speed World Challenge, and many other series around the world. The 2008 GT3 cup is a slight upgrade to the 2005-2007 997 GT3 cup, with a 6 speed manual sequential transmission, 3.6 water cooled engine making about 420HP, redline is 8400 RPM and it weighs about 2550 pounds. The rear decklid and wing, doors, and rear bumper are carbon fiber. Brakes are racing non-ABS with driver adjustable front/rear balance. Factory roll cage, fire system, and air jacks. Non-adjustable SACHS shock absorbers. Center lock BBS wheels. Here is more info on the 2008 GT3 cup.
The racing series :
PCA Club Racing - A series sanctioned by the Porsche Club of America designed to be fun, safe, and competitive; racing with good sportsmanship, honesty, and a sense of fair play. Mike runs the green car in stock class F as a 2.7RS touring, against 944 Turbo S, 964 Carrera 2s, 944/968 Firehawk cars, and "prepared" 3.2 Carreras. The GT3 cup runs in GTC4 with other 997 GT3 cup cars.
The green car also runs in SCCA Historic racing - a fun series of races sanctioned by the Sports Car Club Of America for middle-aged sports cars and sedans up to 1973, which are not prepared to currect SCCA club racing class specs. Mike runs in Class 4 with similar types of cars. The GT3 cup car can run in SCCA GT1 where it is hopeless against 700HP Trans-am Corvettes, or maybe in BP against other world challenge GT type cars, but on DOT tires which is no fun on a factory race car.
Vintage Racing - Mike is an SVRA member and also races with HSR and other vintage clubs. Vintage racing is about preserving and enjoying historic cars while displaying them in their natural state - high speed competition! As with PCA, racing incidents are to be avoided as they are not tolerated, but racing is still very competitive. Mike likes to keep his car looking good and hates doing bodywork!
Autocross - Mike runs with the PCA in CVR regional events, Zone-1, and National events, in Modified class. SCCA events such as National Tours are also entered, in F Prepared, and local FCSCC autocrosses are entered when possible. Mike is among the fastest Porsches in the country on the autocross course, winning FTD at the Michelin Challenge at the Mont Tremblant Porsche Parade and FTD at the competitive Zone-1 autocross in 1999, 2000, and 2002. Not sure if the GT3 cup car will work in an autocross, as there is not much steering lock available for such tight turns.
SPONSORS :
Damon Josz at Series 900 in Sunapee NH has done some excellent paint and bodywork on the '73 911. Call Damon at 603/863-0090 or email him at series900@nhvt.net for more information on his excellent body and fabrication work.
PUTNAM SELF STORAGE
Mike needed room for his '72 911S and all his spare tires/wheels/parts, and found the perfect solution, just down the hill from his Condo and garage. Putnam Self Storage , on Great Pasture road in Danbury near the Bethel line, is a new facility with all paved areas, and the perfect size units. Putnam will be sponsoring Mike for the SCCA Historic Series races. Call 203/791-1594 if you need storage.
Rennlist is the biggest and best Porsche site on the internet.
Armourfend : a protective film is applied to the nose and rear flares on my car to prevent paint chips and allow easy cleaning of the ugly black tire marks and bugs from racing.
GRECO TIRE AND AUTO CENTER is right here in Danbury, CT. They do my wheel mounting and balancing, and keep my soft, EXPENSIVE fuchs wheels in great shape. They also keep my tow vehicle (Touareg or Durango) and street cars running when I don't have time or expertise for certain repairs and maintenance.
OTHER LINKS :
It's strange having a street car that's faster than my 911RS but it sure is a lot more comfortable! I bought myself a toy when I had a few dollars left over after my engine rebuild, an awesome '95 M3 with all the goodies. Sold it in late 2004 so I would not have to store it another winter. In 2007 I finally replaced it with something more muscular.
Torque vs Horsepower - which do you want? Read this article for clarification.
Here are some graphs I have put together of several 911 engines' torque curves.
Here is the PCA Connecticut Valley Region's web site.
The Early 911S Registry has some great info on these early 911s and an interesting tech article on the weights of the cars and various parts to change to decrease the weight.
Contact mike at
