Donnington -- Will the Vipers show their true colours?

[M3L Viper]

Hello everyone. Sorry that my Nederlands is not good enough to converse on-line. Hope everyone enjoyed yesterday's first Belcar Original race for 2007. The racing was good but unfortunately a couple of errors kept the GS Motorsport Viper off the podium. Donnington will hopefully be a better track for us and we should see a real advantage over the 997's. The C06 certainly remains a challenge...but its a long season.

[Mark]

Originally Posted by M3L Viper

Hello everyone. Sorry that my Nederlands is not good enough to converse on-line.

Hello welcome to our forum. Can we reply in Dutch?

For a first outing I think that de GS Motorsport Viper did very well. Like you said before, it's a long season and I'm quite sure that Kumpen / Longin won't have another easy victory like yesterday. The other teams will gain a lot of momentum when the season continues. For a lot of teams, cars and drivers it wasn't more than an extended roll-out.

A question to you, in another thread on this forum people speak about the "roll"of the new GT3 cars. The cars are a little bit loose in their dampers / springs. What gathered my attention is that the cars became almost airborne when they passed on the top of the tunnel (between cornerpost 13 & 14). Some cars made some strange movements after passing that point on the circuit. Something I didn't notice in the seasons before. When I compare that to the Silhouettes in the BTCS, exactly the same story. Those silhouettes follow the nature of the track, the GT3 cars have their own opinion of that part of the track

Am I right that those GT3 cars are quite tricky to drive if we compare that to the former GT1 and GT2 cars?

[M3L Viper]

I can only compare the 996GT3 Cup car with the GT3 Viper at Zolder...and with the old versus new chicane. Last year in the Porsche we would pull 5th at the top of the tunnel and hold through to the braking zone flat. There was lots of mechanical grip. With the Viper and the new chicane, its fourth over the hill but still flat to the braking point. While the Viper feels light at the top, the aerodynamics provide enough downforce to keep your right foot in through the left hander into Villeneuve. Running the Viper hard and tight is challenging but gives better lap times when you get it right.

[Neo-242]

Very cool to have you on the forum
I have a cockpit shot of one of the GT3 Vipers, so I assume the GS Viper is similar, and I was wondering, does that Defrost button really do what it's supposed to do? Do you touch the radio or display buttons at all during a race?

[M3L Viper]

Great to be on the forum -- Google Translate helps alot! Our dash is identical to the photo. Haven't tried the Defrost yet but sure it works. The only switches we use are Dash Up/Down, Alarm Reset, Aux 1 & 3 on/off for fuel pumps if we have starvation problems. Ignition, Battery and Radio are always on.

[Neo-242]

Thanks for the feedback! Just one more question... (I sound like Columbo here ) : where do you use the "reset alarm" button for? And where do the alarms appear? Text messages on the display?

[Mark]

Originally Posted by M3L Viper

...and with the old versus new chicane. Last year in the Porsche we would pull 5th at the top of the tunnel and hold through to the braking zone flat. There was lots of mechanical grip. .

Actually, I was talking about this spot on the circuit:

http://www.endurance-fans.de/galleri...serialNumber=2

On top of the main-entrance of Circuit Zolder. But it doesn't change much to your earlier reply. The nature of both parts of the track look quite the same to me. So yes, the GT3's are trickier to drive but faster than the "old cups" when they are driven on the right way.

[M3L Viper]

Originally Posted by Neo-242

Thanks for the feedback! Just one more question... (I sound like Columbo here ) : where do you use the "reset alarm" button for? And where do the alarms appear? Text messages on the display?

Alarms appear on the dash display. Most common is ABS Alarm which goes off if car rolls backwards (like after a spin). You toggle the reset switch to cancel the alarm.

[M3L Viper]

Originally Posted by Mark

Actually, I was talking about this spot on the circuit:

http://www.endurance-fans.de/galleri...serialNumber=2

On top of the main-entrance of Circuit Zolder. But it doesn't change much to your earlier reply. The nature of both parts of the track look quite the same to me. So yes, the GT3's are trickier to drive but faster than the "old cups" when they are driven on the right way.

Ahh yes, the "Woods" -- I know this particular part of the track all too well having come upon a Formula Renault blind off the line and being lucky to only take off a rear quarter on the FR with the Viper. For this particular area, important you settle the car before the curbing on the left side as the car goes light here and rear moves around alot.