Photo: John Dagys
GMG Racing has been getting up to speed with the new Type-992 Porsche 911 GT3 R, which the team is running for the first time this weekend at Road America.
Jeroen Bleekemolen and Kyle Washington have reprised their driving roles from last month’s CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa when the California-based team joined forces with Car Collection Motorsport to get a first taste of the new-for-2023 GT3 platform.
While an early accident at Spa led to limited running in the Belgian endurance classic, the Dutchman has been helping put Washington’s brand-new car into the window this weekend in its first-ever mileage.
“We haven’t had a test [with Kyle’s new car],” Bleekemolen explained. “It would have been nice to really explore the car and see where the setup should be.
“But still, the team has a lot of experience. We have some good people that have experience with the car, so in that respect, we should be alright.”
Washington added: “There’s a lot of work to do. But we have Jeroen here, who is helping sort it out. He’s an ace.
“We’re having fun and it’s getting faster. We made a lot of changes yesterday.”
Bleekemolen, who sampled both the new and previous-gen Type-991.2 Porsche in Thursday’s test sessions, noted a significant difference between the two platforms.
Washington is set to drive both cars over the course of the weekend, with the Bronze-rated driver entering his Type-991.2 Porsche in the pair of GT America powered by AWS rounds in addition to the two Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS races alongside Bleekemolen.
“It feels quite different,” Bleekemolen said. “I drove both of them yesterday and for sure in a lot of areas, it just feels a little different.
“The gearing is different for here as well. Some corners you can take in different gears but also just the feeling, even the way you sit in the car is a bit different.
“It makes quite a bit of a transition.
“And with the different gearing and the functions in the cockpit are a bit different as well, and the BoP is different too.
“So there’s a lot of factors in there. For sure, if you could have the same amount of track time with the same car, it’s better.
“But at the same time, it’s also good to just make laps and get more experience.”
Bleekemolen believes the team’s toe-in-the-water experience at Spa will ultimately help pay dividends with the car.
“I think it was a good plan from James [Sofronas, team principal] to bring some of his crew over [to Spa] so they could learn and see how Car Collection was working on the car and how things worked,” he said.
“It only helps getting up to speed quicker.”
Washington, meanwhile, said he’s excited to continue making gains with the car over the course of the weekend.
“I’m kind of taking this as a fresh car,” he said. “I feel confident with Jeroen sorting it out with me. I couldn’t ask for anyone better there.
“It’s getting faster and more stable. There’s a lot of tweaks to do.
“It’s a brand-new addition. There’s not a ton of setup data other than what you get from Porsche, which is great.
“But everything has its individual feel.”
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August 19, 2023 at 12:05AM
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GMG Getting Up to Speed With Type-992 Porsche – Sportscar365 - Sportscar365
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