Porsche 962 - Winner?
In this article, I attempt to answer the question; Is the Porsche 962 one of the best selections for our GT1/Group C class? The answer is yes. Is it the best selection? Sorry, I cannot answer that question.
I have not been happy with the performance of my Porsche 962 in recent competitions at Electron Raceway. The car was nearly .2 seconds per lap slower than the class record holder (a Jaguar XJR12 built and driven by James Wendel). Believe me, I am not anti-Porsche 962. Below is an image of my current ride and extra bodies.
I decided it was time for a 962 makeover. Two major modifications were made.
- New side pans were fabricated out of 1 inch wide, .062 inch thick brass. The old configuration included side pans that were only .75 inches wide
- Hawk 7 motor replaced the Falcon 7 power plant
Results are quite promising as the car is as fast and handles as well as my Jaguar XJ220. The XJ220 is within a whisker of the GT1/Group C fast lap record. I intend to run the Porsche 962 in the next race at Electron Raceway (most likely on 11/19/15). Ill keep you posted on the results.
Backstory
The True Scale GT1/Group C class is a mainstay at Electron Raceway. The class is also run at our sister track in Roseburg, STR. The cars feature Scholer chassis and either Falcon 7 or Hawk 7 motors. Racers are constantly looking for an edge in this class and significant improvements in lap times have been made over the years.
Over the past several months, I have published articles about various GT1/Group C bodies and have opined about which one(s) might be the most competitive. I also published an article entitled the Tale of The Tape which included specifications for various Group C and GT1 bodies (We allow the Enzo to run in this class because it is a cheap alternative and has about the same wheelbase and track as some GT1 and Group C cars). Below is a copy of the specifications table and associated notes for reference.
Actual best lap times posted in the table cannot be seen as a ranking of bodies because each car may be powered by a unique motor, each has a slightly different set of front and side pans and each may have been tested with sets of tires that were different sizes (smaller size tires yield faster results).
Notes 1: The front wheel well height of the Porsche 962 is not sufficient to position full size front wheels at the outermost part of the bodywork. Wheels must be tucked under. This makes the effective front track less than 3.25 inches.
Note 2: Although the Toyota GT- One shows a height of 1.63, the roof slopes down quickly
Note 3: Best Lap Times were recorded at Electron Raceway during an actual event. Each body was mounted on its own chassis with its own motor, so relative times are dependent on these factors as well as driving ability. The comparisons are a useful guide, they are not at all perfect.
Note 4: Porsche 962 fast lap was achieved with a Falcon 7 motor. Most competitors use Hawk 7 motors which tend to be about .1 second per lap faster.
Note 5: It appears that my Porsche 911 GT1 Evo rear wheel openings have been hogged out a bit to accommodate the full size ProTrack wheels. This would be unnecessary for our current GT1 class because we allow full size wheels to be cut down to 1 inch in diameter.
For more about our GT1 class, see the Electron Raceway Forum and take a look at the Classes sub forum. See this LINK. Then check out GT1 or any other class shown.
