Teamspeed.com - Carrera GT at SPA with Supersports !

I have just got back from 2 great days at spa with the Carrera gt and the new Michelin Supersports tyres. I thought id share this with you guys interested in these new tyres. I got to the new hotel de la source in the evening with some friends ( 997gt3.2 , 2x 997 gt3rs.2 and a 997gt2 dms tuned ) had a nice meal and off to bed.

Next day after signing on I started on track in the cgt. The car has a slight geo set up ( but no shims etc ) , rs29 pads , race brake fluid , standard length droplinks ( not the +10mm items previously fitted ) and the Supersports. Other than that my dragon is as he left the factory ( egg ? ).

The conditions were cool and dry but we were warned off the slippery curbs. This did not fill me with confidence to say the least. I spent the sighting laps hanging back so I could push slightly faster into the corners , hang back again and repeat the process again and again. The tyres ( surprisingly ) had gone up in temperature so I set them to road psi -2 ( 30 psi as a benchmark ).

http://i404.photobucket.com/albums/p...g?t=1301354892

The first session went pretty well and I used it to get my confidence up. I noticed again how much sharper the car felt at the front than my track prepared 993 rsr and 997 gt3rs. The power was enough ( obviously ) to completely overwhelm the tyres until warm but seemed much better than the ps2's straight off the bat.

By now the track was completely dry and the motorsport Gods had decreed there would even be sun and warmth , this time of year at spa ? Fantastic ! I was picking up the pace now , on a cool down lap a friend in a highly tuned and track prepped 997GT2 came up behind me. Foolishly ( or so I thought at the time ) I decided to try and get a lap out of him. I pushed faster than I had dared all day and was able to stay in front on him. We seemed about equal on straight line speed but I had he edge in corner speed. This gave me great hope as I was not really on the power ( no way near ) as early or as hard as I could have been ( this is only day 3 on track in this car and day 1 with the car not up at Cayenne height ). To say I got a wee boost out of this is perhaps an understatement.

http://i404.photobucket.com/albums/p...g?t=1301354159

After lunch at the cafe I was able to push harder and harder. I did notice the tyres were wearing around the edges a little . Interestingly , talking to a friend of mine who had just got off the phone to a Michelin tech he said we should be running Michelin's at road pressures PLUS 4 psi . I was a little dubious of this but did it anyway.

Now I concentrate a lot harder in the CGT than in any other car I'm fortunate enough to drive but I found that this way the tyres lasted enough for a decent paced warm up lap and what I wanted to do ( 5 or so attack laps and 2 complete cool down laps ). The tyres are very predictable and break away very progressively. The ultimate grip is great , far , far better than the standard tyre. Stable under braking , and with average to high road noise ( but still quieter than the standard tyres ). Seems a great tyre for road and track. I suspect not ultimately as grippy as a cup but not that far off and vastly superior in the wet.

By now my confidence was up and I was sliding the CGT out of la source and the old bus stop corners quite confidently . I was able to run against a club racer in a Ferrari 599 GTO which you will be happy to hear the CGT completely and utterly annihilated ( I really dislike that bloated barge that Ferrari dares name with the hallowed GTO initials ). In fact as my confidence grew I had a few tussles with a couple of 458 challenge cars ( obviously I didn't last very long but it took a lot more to get past the CGT than they would like to admit ). In fact one of the drivers came over expecting to see the CGT on slicks ! I'm convinced on slicks the CGT would have been able to really , surprise even more people ...

http://i404.photobucket.com/albums/p...g?t=1301354161

http://i404.photobucket.com/albums/p...g?t=1301354161

Day 2 went much the same as day 1. Just with more confidence , corner speeds and sliding about. I took several friends out for passenger laps . Some felt sick , some horrified but strangely nearly all were surprised at how fast and capable the car was. I wonder why that is ? Odd.

The CGT was chasing down radicals , GT3's , GT2's all sorts . In fact Im convinced no road car was able to get by over both days once I got up to confidence/speed. There is a long way to go , this relationship will go on for years ! I had 2 odd problems . Both these were with me and not the car . Firstly I was struggling with shifting gears with the wrong hand and oddly enough a couple of corners ( namely eau rouge and blanchimont 2 looked different than I remembered sitting on the left ( I'm used to sitting on the right ). I was never able to get to grips with these corners at all unfortunately ( ironically both are usually among my favourites ) but the car was still so fast . I was hitting about 170mph at the Kemel straight ( with more possible if I had got Eau Rouge right ) and around 131mph at the curbs immediately after Pouhon ( fyi both speeds were seen by passengers and are speedo figures not gps or data based ). Unfortunately I only have 1 video a passenger was able to get a " fun " lap( ill post you tube link tomorrow ) and no data or times to share.

http://i404.photobucket.com/albums/p...g?t=1301354164

But in conclusion its safe to say the Carrera Gt now has tyres available for it far more worthy of its might than the standard rubber. I still have so much more to learn regarding this awesome car. As all the new supercars become so easy to drive fast ( impressive in its own way , granted ) I feel so privileged to have the opportunity to drive something like the Carrera GT ( in its way the last survivor of an extinct race of might supercars ) at its natural battleground. How about a TeamSpeed euro trackday?

you tube video :
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=.../0/s3v4axoBqoI

http://i404.photobucket.com/albums/p...g?t=1301354730