German Carrera Cup 2003

[Liz]

Last night the Speed Channel ran the entire Porsche Super Cup series as a New Years Eve treat. Since we are publising an interview with Mike Rockenfeller on Sunday and I knew he had done quite well in that series, I tuned in to watch. It's very clear that that young man knows his way to the front! With the exception of Monza which even he agrees ought to be forgotten sooner rather than later, he looked very competitive and professional among the more experienced drivers in the field. I was especially impressed at his following orders in Silverstone despite the clear evidence he could have beaten the race winner if he'd imitated another man of the same first name -- but by doing that he would have interfered with the man's championship bid; instead he chose to be a sportsman and come in 2nd. And good for him, although he was not pleased with "merely" taking 2nd place!

I was pleased to see Zonta in one race, although I have the feeling that nobody believed his explanation for taking out a big chunk of the field ... and I was a bit surprised that Maasen and Capello didn't do better in their role as "Guest Drivers". Surely the Cup cars aren't that much different from the regular Porsche? Or are they?

[Karl Kling]

I think the Porsche Cup cars is basically a street GT3 without the interior trim and with a full rollcage fitted. There are carbon fibre body panels as well to make it lighter. The engine has the same power output of 381 bhp as the road car but has some minor tweaks to cope with the racing. The most striking difference to the road car is the RS style rear wing.
The cars even have ABS brakes to make them easier to drive for guest drivers, maybe Maassen wasn't used to that...

[Ex Racer]

"...and I was a bit surprised that Maasen and Capello didn't do better in their role as "Guest Drivers"."

After the 2000 Supercup races at Indy, I overheard that guest driver Randy Pobst was told not to interfere with the points contenders and not to finish higher than 5th in either race. So he finished 5th in both. Maybe Maassen was told the same. Capello, OTOH, probably isn't accustomed to a rear-engine car.

[Liz]

Well that makes sense, given that Rockenfeller was told the same thing. Seems an odd idea to have drivers in the race that are told where to finish though. Except in F1.

[Rob29]

Bit baffled why this thread is headed 'German Carrera Cup 2003' but is discussing only the International Supercup that supports F1?

[Liz]

It was a mistake -- I am unfamiliar with the two series and picked the wrong title.

If a moderator could fix it, please?

[Fogelhund]

Liz - I can't really comment if the Porsche Supercup cars that compete in Grand-Am have additional modifications over the actual Supercup cars, but do take a look at the time differences at the Daytona Tests.

http://grandamerican.vfx.com/Rolex/G...erican_800.asp

1:56.0 vs. 2:00.0.... not a hugely significant difference.

[Fogelhund]

Darn anti edit function.. that should be 1:55.5 as the best GT time, which still isn't a huge amount faster then the SGS Cup time.

Doh, no wonder, didn't realize cars were on the track and I'm quoting from a live session.

[Liz]

What does SGS stand for, BTW?

[Fogelhund]

Super Grand Sport

[Liz]

Thank you -- I don't know what that means either, but then again, neither do they ...