|
 Nothing goes together like open road
racing and a Porsche 928.
Made as the ultimate cruiser, there are very few opportunities for 928 owners to
(legally) drive their car like they would on the autobahn. Late last year, during a trip
to Germany, Marc had the "pleasure" of being overtaken by a 928 GTS
travelling in
excess of 160 mph. It reminded him of how the 928 was meant to be driven.
For a group of very lucky people, several times a year, a public highway is closed for
the day and they do just that…pedal to the metal excitement for 90+ miles!
Marc and I started racing our ’88 Porsche 928 5 speed in 1994. We participated in
several driver’s ed. track events and time trials throughout Northern California with
such groups as NASA, Touring Car Club and others. We were looking for an event where we
could compete as a team and decided to give open road racing a try. With a
driver/navigator team, you select a target average speed and the team that comes closest
to the target speed wins that class. There is also a division called
"Unlimited", where the goal is to be the fastest car, period. At our first three
events, we entered the 150mph class, and with Marc driving and me manning the stopwatches
and course notes we placed in the top three every time. Then Marc made a big mistake
– he gave up his driver’s seat at the next race!
Entered in the 135mph class, I was excited and nervous at the same time about driving
at such high speeds! With some new modifications to the engine, we had more power than
before, and it was actually a comfortable drive, keeping the top speed around 160mph (our
"tech" speed – maximum allowable speed with our safety gear). Marc’s
navigation proved to be far better than mine as we cruised to a first place finish,
averaging 135.012 mph!
Open road races are held several times a year on the highways of Nevada and Texas. The
road is closed for the day and competitors leave the starting line one-at-a-time, at
intervals of approximately one minute. The fastest cars start first to lessen the chance
of any overtaking or passing. I can count on one hand the number of times we have passed
another car!
More than just a fun thing to do together with our 928, these events proved to be the
best testing ground for DEVEK products,
providing extreme condition durability testing and performance data that could not be
obtained any other way. Products that seem to work well at normal speeds and suspension
loads often show weakness at higher speeds. Numerous suspension modifications have been
made to make high-speed handling safe and predictable. Improved coilover suspension, front
sway bar, pinned rear Weissach arm, and more have been developed over the course of our
racing activities. |
