GT3RS adventures part 2 2010 (997.2 RS)

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I had settled down with my 997.1RS ( previous adventure already posted),. When the announcement came for the 997.2RS. I had missed Euro delivery on the earlier car, but secured it for the 7.2.

This was at a very handy time as it coincided with the Nürburgring 24 hour race which I had never attended. The downside was that the track was closed for a week before the race and not open for a couple of say after, so I planned to do some touring with the car beforehand and only turn up in Nürburg a couple of days before the race.

In building the space for this car is included folding LWBs, (sadly no longer available), front lift (this was a big problem with the 7.1 when the front splitter continually scraped) and one unusual item. I was not a fan of the thin Porsche steering wheel rims, and asked my rep if there was a way to get a thicker rim. Surprisingly, there was an obscure option available.

Arriving at Stuttgart I went through the usual factory tour/lunch/museum visit and then picked up the car. It had 1.6km on the odometer.

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decided on a fairly long road trip to run it in, stopover in Berlin, a favourite city and then into Prague. I spent over a week on the road, and then headed for Nürburg. The 24 is a huge party with people everywhere but I had booked my usual hotel which was owned by Sabine Schmitz’s mother and has a legendary restaurant called the Pistenklause. Just about every racing driver you have every heard of has signed the walls

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Before the race I contacted an old friend, (Hans-Joachim Stuck who was driving for Audi) and he got me an all access permission to walk the live pits. For Porsche this was going be a big race as the very first hybrid car was entered; they also wanted to demonstrate the 7.2 RS which was unmodified apart from wheels and tires and necessary safety equipment; it was in an identical colour to mine and was to be driven by Walter Röhrl, Chris Harris and Paul Simon as I recall. Unfortunately Walter hurt his back and was there but didn’t to drive. I asked him about the 7.2 which he had driven and he felt that tire choices made a big difference on this version.

The buzz before the race was huge, everyone wandering around the pits and lots of attention for the Porsche entries.

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Qualifying was next. Hans was impressed when his team mate qualified the Audi well and gave a ceremonial bow when he came in.

Before the start there was a huge melee of people hundreds on the track. Sabine had entered her car but it would have mechanical difficulties and retire.]

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The hybrid went into the lead and would hold it for most of the race. Overnight and into dawn I wandered up and down the pits to see the cars come in an out, staying well out of the way.

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Hans also had mechanical difficulties but eventually the car got back on track; he got hit by a spinning VW and retired. I was talking to him next day in the Audi hospitality tent before the race ended and asked if he could give me drive around the track in my car and he agreed to do so. However, he was nowhere to be found after the race and it turned out that he had had an undiagnosed head injury from his accident and would be in hospital for several weeks.

Shortly before the end of the race, the Porsche hybrid suddenly came to stop on the other side of the track. It would warn out to be a transmission failure and we watch the endless trip back to the pits on a flatbed through al the little villages.

The 7.2RS finished 13th which was a great performance against full race cars. Porsche was delighted with this, Andreas Preuninger was all smiles as was Harris, I Had a few beers with him after the race in the Pistenklause.. Very good guy.\\

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I asked Porsche is they could hold the car after the race so I could get some photos with my car and they agreed to do so. The amount of damage on the their car was just amazing and shows how rough the 24 can be.

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I did later see a 996RS at the track, still a bucket list car for me…

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I tried for a couple of days around the Rhine and waited for the track to reopen. The weather had deteriorated a lot but I got a couple of good days;

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I went over to see Sabine at her place. And she had yet another 7.2 RS in the same colour as well as the race car and her helicopter ( she was a qualified pilot).

I asked her if she would drive my car and she said “not until I have my mechanic look at it; there is a problem with the centre lock wheels and someone had a bad crash here when a wheel came off”.

I had heard nothing about this, but the car passed inspection, and we went for a few laps.
I have know a fair number of professional drivers and I am always impressed how rarely they ever have to make a correction ( compared to myself for instance). Exactly the same line into the same corner lap after lap.

WhenI got back to Canada later I would ask my dealer if there was a recall for the centre locks and he said no. Months later there was a major recall and the hubs were all replaced.

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My last day the weather was awful but I decided to take a few laps. The rack is very slippery in parts in heavy rain and I decided to call it a day. A Carrera GT came up behind my very fast and shot past me. I was impressed with the skill. However, later I saw it come in on a flatbed, one wheel crushed underneath it, though it looked fine from my side.



Returning the car to the warehouse I said goodbye to. It When it came back to Canada it my its stablemate and I kept them both with some other cars for a few years. My problem was garage space and when the 991RS was announced I had to make a decision. The 7.2 was abater car than the 7.1 with a huge improvement in downforce, but the 7.1 was my first Porsche GT car and I simply could not part with it, so the 7.2 was sold. I regret that I sold it and decided I would not sell any GT cars from that point on,. But that each would have adventures.

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