At this point, you’ve probably heard that the new 2022 Porsche 911 GT3 just set a brilliant Nürburgring lap time: 6: 55.2, faster than the Porsche 918 Spyder’s time around the legendary track (if you use the old ‘Ring timing’) method). We had the chance to talk to the man who set the lap in less than seven minutes, the Porsche factory manager (and the Nürburgring bait) Lars Kern, to find out exactly what went into the record lap.
“I drove the car from Weissach to the Nürburgring for the first time and immediately felt on the Autobahn how responsive the front axle is,” says Kern. Road & Track. “And to be honest, I was worried about the back that could follow. When we got there [at the Nürburing], we took the car on regular Michelin Cup 2 tires, standard room, standard tone, everything standard, and it sounded crazy, but the rear always followed. ‘It fits Kern’s preference for a stable rear end, and in the test, he says he was immediately confident with the car.
Porsche
Porsche has introduced significant suspensions to the new generation GT3. While every other 911 road car used McPherson front suspension, the new GT3 has dual support legs, a setup that, according to Porsche, increases steering accuracy and stability in cornering. With the switch to the larger 992 platform, the track width has grown by 1.9 inches compared to the last GT3. And of course, the GT3 comes standard with aggressive Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires, with even tougher Cup 2 Rs optional (which carried the car for the shot).
Kern says the sum total of these changes is a car that feels very planted, especially with the engaging. “I think it’s going to be especially beneficial for customers on the day,” he says. “It’s got a little lost on the old 911 driving style, where you really have to look after the front, think about what you’re doing. Now you can just do it in the brake zone, in the corner floor, and be really rude and aggressive. . “
Kern got the chance to test the new GT3 a bit during Industry Pool, the closed Nürburgring racing sessions where car manufacturers test prototypes and engineers mule. But he and Porsche factory driver Jörg Bergmeister needed a little more practice before feeling comfortable for the lap. The previous evening they had brought the GT3s to the Touristenfahrten, the legendary open-lapping sessions where just about anyone can take their car to run the ‘Ring’. “When you arrive at Touristenfahrten with two professional drivers and two prototypes, everyone will be like ‘what’s going on here?’ But it was not to get a lap time, “says Kern.” It just got a feel for the car. “
The next day, before attempting their official shot, Bergmeister and Kern agreed to a maximum of three rounds each, and the drivers did not want their competitive nature to lead them to risky decisions. Their lap times were close, but Kern finished the fastest with a 6: 59.927 run from the full lane. Using the old shot-time methodology, which shortened the shot length by finishing the run a few hundred yards from the starting line, Kern’s shot was a 6: 55.2.
Of course, much of the new GT3’s’ improvement over time comes down to the optional Cup 2 R tires. But by saying Kerns will replace the tires on the old GT3, you will not get close to improving the 17 seconds per lap at the new car. Even on the less aggressive Cup 2s, Kern estimates that the new GT3 should be “at least” seven or eight seconds faster than the old GT3, although Porsche did not measure the official lap times on the standard equipment tires. He also pointed out that the Cup 2 Rs are not one lap either – the GT3 was able to run two consecutive laps from behind seven minutes on the same set of tires with little performance loss.
This new GT3 generates much less power than the old one, maximum about 824 pounds, which is not far from what the old GT3 RS made. “The aero balance was just perfect. You have a slight understeer in big turns, because you do not want to slip at 137 km / h, but the car is still agile in medium speeds … the aero balance is more on the nose and it gives you the engagement you need to get lap time out of the car, “says Kern.” I just got there and was like, ‘Oh fuck, that’s good.’
This sums up the GT3 as a whole. Kern says it was excellent right out of the box. He had no notes for the development team, and the car made it easy to break Porsche’s previous shot records. “The car was just perfect as we were driving the first time, so it was up to us to adapt and drive as fast as possible,” says Kern.
Ever the race professor, Kern thinks there’s a little more time in the new GT3, but he had a slightly tight moment to get out of the second Carousel, and he did not want to take big risks to get a few tithes here not to shave and there. ‘I’m not Kevin Estre,’ he says laughing, referring to the razor ‘Ring shot his colleague ran in the last generation GT3 RS in 2018.
According to Kern, everyone at Porsche is delighted with the new 503-hp GT3’s lap time. Now he wants to see what the new generation 911 can do with even more oomph. “It may require more horsepower, the whole chassis feels like it could take more, so I think we need to put pressure on Porsche to build a GT2 RS,” he says.
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