991 at the track: Homestead Speedway

First post, I better make it worth it!

One day at the track with the new 991 S.

First impressions on the new 991: Track Experience

I was invited by PCNA and The Collection to a "VIP" event at the Miami Homestead Speedway this past thursday. One day of pure track events and Autocross behind the wheel of this great automobile. Porsche NA flew down 6 instructors from Porsche Driving School in Birmingham, Alabama to Homestead Speedway in Miami, for a 3 part day, that included Autocross, Track and technical Q/A about the new 991 model. I felt like the smart kid in class… answering every single question the guy asked to the audience!

We all know the first impressions and road test drives and accolades that the car provides but you don't get as many track oriented POVs

We had 2 cars dedicated to Autocross only and 8 cars for the Track. (some of then only had 23 miles!). The Autocross ones came with Porsche Dynamic Chassis Control. And it makes the whole car feel like a giant go kart. Turns were "neck snapping" quick and body roll was totally absent. The course was conservative with a long straight for acceleration and a series of twists to test your reflexes. We paired with an instructor as a co-pilot and went ahead 3 laps. Then it rained and we did 3 extra laps with an instructor sitting next to us giving us directions. The car really makes all this seems very easy. We weren't allowed to disable PSM; and with the rainy weather condition, I wouldn't touched that button either! Then, the instructors took the lead and let us go "shotgun" for a hot lap at AutoCross… OMG. I told my instructor… "so, this is how you do it?"

We had a short break and move on to the Track portion of the event. If you are familiar with Homestead Speedway, you know that you'll get a good mix of fast turns, twists and long banked straights were we could reach the top speed for that track…

Again, raining was the ruler of the day but that would've make us better drivers. The car handles so well, that you would forget it's raining or wet. Turns were flat and acceleration was splendid. The brakes never showed any fade and provided plenty of confidence. Again, we did 3 laps following a Pace car and we switched with our co-pilot. At the end, the instructor drove us for a HOT lap. Hot when wet. These guys are amazing!

To wrap this up, the car is more than capable on the track, yes, it has a lot of comfort items and it feels luxurious but I don't like to drive a car with metal floor pans, no insulation and just a sequential stick popping from the floor… console less!

If you want that, wait for the 991 GT3.

I hope you enjoy the read and I would like to take 34 words to thank Porsche North America, Porsche Driving School Instructors and The Collection Porsche for putting such a great event for us… mere mortals.

p.s. it was cool that they let us park right at the pits... only requirement: Porsches only! hilarious

Enjoy the pictures and thanks for a great forum,

Joel Pirela

Porsche_991_Track.mov - YouTube

Porsche_991_Autocross.mov - YouTube

 

Great post! Welcome!

 

Sequential stick? Dude I've been preaching about how Porsche should do that for years now. I'll believe it when I see it.

 

Very good post thanks

 

Thank you very much for sharing... I was looking forward for a feedback from the track. You sure are a lucky man.

Can't wait for the RS variants.

 

thanks for sharing, some of those photos are sweet



and this isnt a track