The start of Brainerd International Raceway‘s 2016 track season is officially in the books.  We attended PCA’s First Fling with the 7 Porsches we prepped during the winter months here at 311RS. As luck would have it, we were greeted with cool, dry track conditions which provided us with the perfect testbed to start the season.

Before digging into our complete coverage from the event, we’re excited to discuss the first Porsche 991 GT3 we’ve built. This car was reworked from the ground up here in Minneapolis, MN. The setup features a wide range of components from our technical partners and an updated version of our proven chassis setup.

Inside, the car is running a BBI Autosport bolt-in roll bar sitting behind the first set of 311RS-spec Recaro Profi XLs. We built these in collaboration with JPM Coachworks using only factory materials (think leather, stitching, alcantara, etc.) to produce the most factory-like aftermarket seats on the market.

For those who did not, or were not unable to order the factory lightweight bucket seats, these are a great option to preserve the factory look & feel of your Porsche while reducing weight and adding stability for the occupants. We are now accepting custom orders to match any Porsche interior specification. Please contact us between 8a-8p EST to discuss your options.

The exterior of the car runs with a similar formula; factory-like appearance with much improved performance. The wider 19″ center-lock BBS E88s we developed alongside BBS Motorsport  are right at home at this weekend’s track event. The car is running a track-focused chassis setup to take advantage of the 265/35/19 & 325/30/19 Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2s and the grip that comes with them.

It’s worth noting that our track-focused chassis setup is entirely usable on the street. The setup is focused on reducing lap times, but not to the extent of a track-specific alignment which would eat up tires. 

BIR’s long straights and tough braking zones are powerful tools while testing a braking system’s capability & overall efficiency.  Any shortcomings are exposed early in the process. This weekend would be our first test with Girodisc’s new two-piece front & rear brake rotors.

Their newly-released design improves the rotor’s efficiency and cooling capacity over stock. And because of their thickness, the working life of the rotor is significantly increased. Being this is the first test with these rotors, we installed a fresh set of OEM brake pads to give us a performance benchmark.

On track those brakes did not disappoint. The setup performed as intended and we were left with a solid pedal at the end of each 30 session. A great start to the evaluation of this GT3.

As for the rest of the setup? The car was hooked up out of the box. In order to establish a baseline setup for the car, we leaned heavily on the information gathered last season in the early stages of our 991 GT3 program. With that in hand, we then optimized the chassis setup to achieve our goal of maximizing the wider Michelins fitted to the car.

It all came together in a well-balanced, fun to drive package that was 2.3 seconds quicker than the fastest lap we ran all of 2015. The winter months brought us 19″ wheels, wider tires, and a more aggressive chassis setup. On a track like BIR, grip is king. And the wider Michelins proved their worth on the first 311RS-built Porsche 991 GT3. Mission accomplished.

Next up we’ll have complete coverage from this year’s PCA First Fling, including individual spotlights on each 311RS Porsche unit on hand.