[NO LIFT]

Reminds me of this article from AutoWeek by Paul Gentilozzi:

Ready for the rocking chair?
You can drive a Porsche 911 GT3 Cup like it was a Trans-Am racer, but you won't win that way
BY PAUL GENTILOZZI
HOCKENHEIM PRO-AM
• Professional fast guy Paul Gentilozzi tests the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup race car
Here's the deal. You're flat on the gas down the pit straight at Hockenheim, approaching 150 mph. When you get to the "2" marker before the Nordkurve, hard on the brakes, you downshift from fifth through second. You feel the front end hunting while the ABS selects the best loading as you turn toward the apex, then you roll off the brake to the throttle and upshift to third just as you cross the outside curbing at the exit. That's how we do it, isn't it?
If you're driving a 2001 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup using that technique-a technique I've used for 20 years in sedan racing in the United States-you're going to be near the back of the Porsche Pirelli Supercup field. How do I know this? I've been there.
When I went to Indianapolis last year to do the Porsche Pirelli Supercup race during the Formula One weekend, there was no coaching of any kind. Like Al Unser Jr., Mario Andretti and all of the other Porsche neophytes participating, I drove like I knew how. But after five laps around Hockenheim with former World Rally champion Walter Roehrl it became painfully evident that the required technique for Supercup driving is much different from what I'm accustomed to.


Paul Gentilozzi strapped in to the GT3.
The Porsche 911 GT3 Cup is a real race car, but it's a race car with the engine behind the transaxle. Its polar moment and weight bias don't match the 50-50 norm we're accustomed to in Trans-Am; moreover, it changes all intuitive driving techniques for front- or mid-engine race cars. The 911 GT3 Cup requires a special finesse that starts when you pick that brake point at the end of a straightaway. Being the last guy to brake for the corner makes you the first victim. The rear weight bias inherent in all 911-type Porsches becomes an enemy.
I noticed Walter was two car-lengths earlier with his braking than I had been during my reconnaissance lap, but four car-lengths earlier on his throttle application. The key to driving the 911 GT3 quickly is initiating acceleration as early as possible after brake application. Think of it as a rocking chair. If you lean too far forward, the weight is on the front of the legs and you have very little control or balance if you leaned the chair laterally. If you just roll a little bit back in the rocking motion, you have the weight centered. Lateral balance and stability are much better.
We can't do anything about the rear weight prejudice in the 911. Early throttle application means longitudinal acceleration to help propel the car forward without the inertia at the back of the car trying to pass the front in a lateral sweep.
For you Porsche owners who have hustled your cars around the streets or a racetrack, this probably seems basic. Yet to the uninitiated, it's a 100-watt bulb shedding light on the dark mystery of driving Porsches fast. Once adapted to the style, you can really enjoy the 911 GT3. With Walter's driving lesson, and a little mental discipline, I almost forgot where the engine was. The 911 GT3 Cup became a well-balanced, pleasurable race car.
I drove the car hard on the brakes and the gas, using all of the engine, and it never faltered or complained. Heck, they even let real journalists drive it. If they couldn't break it, it must be bulletproof.