Porsche bests its old record
The Porsche 911 GT3 RS has just set a new production car lap record at famed circuit Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Porsche upped the ante on its own Road America production car track record. A lap in the Type-992 Porsche 911 GT3 RS bettered the established record set in a 2018 Porsche 911 GT2 RS. The record-shattering lap was set by Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup North America veteran Dimitri Dimakos on the freshly paved “Nürburgring Nordschleife of North America”.
Dimakos, a seasoned competitor in the Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup North America, achieved an impressive feat by completing a lap on the four-mile, 14-turn road course in a remarkable time of two minutes and 13.8 seconds. The weather conditions were nearly flawless, with an air temperature of approximately 75 degrees Fahrenheit and a track temperature just above 90 degrees Fahrenheit. This outstanding performance surpassed the previous record of 2 minutes and 15.1 seconds, which was set by David Donohue in April 2019 using a 2019 Porsche 911 GT2 RS.
What makes Dimakos’ achievement even more extraordinary is the substantial disparity in horsepower between the previous record holder, a vehicle boasting 700 horsepower, and the 911 GT3 RS that Dimakos drove, which has 518 horsepower (911 GT3 RS: Fuel consumption* combined (WLTP) 13.4 l/100 km, CO₂ emissions* combined (WLTP) 305 g/km). Dimakos managed to improve upon Donohue’s lap time by nearly two seconds despite the lower horsepower of the 911 GT3 RS, highlighting the driver’s exceptional skill and the remarkable performance of the vehicle on the freshly paved classic American race course in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin.
Higher confidence level
“The biggest thing is not necessarily the lap time, it is the ease at which the car can achieve that lap time and the confidence it inspires in the driver,” Dimakos said. “The car can be driven by someone who is a novice or intermediate level driver and still be very fast and comfortable to drive. The braking is nearly identical to what we run in the 911 GT3 Cup car. I was braking at exactly the same spot. No wiggling at all. The car stopped exactly straight, turned-in great.”
Improved Aero
Thanks to its advanced active aerodynamics and the newly introduced Motorsport-derived 4.0-liter naturally aspirated flat-six engine, the latest iteration of the 911 GT3 RS showcased a remarkable performance improvement of over 4.5 seconds compared to the 2019 Porsche 911 GT3 RS on the same track. This exceptional achievement was made possible by a privately owned production-spec road car, freshly delivered to its owner only a few weeks prior. The vehicle underwent meticulous track preparation by an authorized Porsche Center and was equipped with optional, road-legal Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 high-performance tires in sizes 275/35 ZR 20 for the front and 335/30 ZR 21 for the rear. These tires, specially designed and approved for the 911 GT3 RS, contributed significantly to its outstanding on-road performance.
The official lap time was logged by onboard VBOX equipment and validated by Goldcrest Motorsports.
Original story HERE.
