Mike Piera's Porsche Racing Pages

Mike Piera's Porsche racing pages.

New GT3 cup car

My new 2004 GT3 cup car, sorry so busy working, not much time for updates yet!

Last update Lime Rock Pro-am race, memorial day 2005

Taking the checkered @ Lime Rock

Taking the checkered flag for a lap at Lime Rock, 6/00

About the Driver/Owner/Mechanic/etc

Mike has been autocrossing and driving on the track since 1980, and bought his first Porsche (a 914/1.7) after a similar 914 beat his AMC Javelin "Mark Donohue" 390 at a college autocross. After graduating from Rensselaer where he was the president of the Sports car club and autocrossing champion in his 914, he bought his first 911. He recently sold this 1972 911S Targa in which he won two SCCA Solo-II national championships ('85 and '90) and two Porsche Parades (Boston and Lake Placid). A Porsche fan in the midwest saw my 911S on this web site and made an offer that I could not refuse.

After years of searching for a track car, Mike finally located his green '73 911"RS" in 1998 and has been racing and working on it nonstop ever since. After spending months in late 2004 searching the world for a late model Porsche 911 GT3 cup car, he found one in his home town of Danbury CT at Farnbacher-Loles' new shop at the Danbury Airport. Mike got it just in time for the PCA and IMSA races in Atlanta in April 2005. Mike is a member of the CVR region of PCA and also participates with other Zone-1 regions. "Analog" Mike is (was!) a software engineer but now manufactures and deals in guitar effects full time and races on weekends. Also a father and avid tennis player, he apparently needs no sleep.

Mike's Race Cars :

Originally a Sepia brown (ugh) California '73 911T with sunroof, this 80,000 mile coupe is now an authentic '73 911RS in all but serial number. The body conversion and paint were done by Jim Newton's Auto Associates of Canton (CT) and the mechanicals by Dan Jacobs (CT), all with the help of Don Stickles. Don decided to build his own dream car - something streetable but perfect for the track. Mike obtained the car in early 1998 and decided to swap the 3.2 engine for a 2.7RS (which was built by Auto Associates from the original 2.4S engine that Mike sold 10 years ago from his '72 911S targa!). Mike made many other modifications for a serious, safe, dedicated race car which could be run in many racing and autocross series. Mike installed the necessary safety features (race seat, fuel cell, extended roll cage, etc) and set the car up for ultimate track performance. The car has over 210 HP and weighs from 2200 to 2400 depending on the class entered. 1/4 mile times of 13.2 were run and the car should hit the rev limiter in top gear at about 150MPH if given a long enough straight.

The 911 GT3 Carrera Cup, or supercup, was raced in 2004 by Dominik Farnbacher. Dominik is the son of Horst Farnbacher who runs the racing team. It is the brother car of the one Wolf Henzler used to win something like 10 of the 12 supercup races, which are run at the Formula 1 events all over the world. Dominik did quite well too, with a podium finish in one of the first races and only had one accident, at Indy. The 2004 GT3 cup is the same as the 2005 996 GT3 cup, with a 6 speed manual transmission, 3.6 water cooled engine makes about 400HP, redline is 8000 RPM and it weighs about 2550 pounds. Rear decklid and wing, doors, and rear bumper are carbon fiber. Brakes are racing ABS. Factory roll cage, fire system, and air jacks. Double adjustable SACHS shock absorbers. Center lock BBS wheels. The price from Porsche was about $130K, with good used ones going for about the same as new as they could not make enough cars for the demand. The GT3 cup can run in PCA class GTC3 which is only for GT3 cup cars, IMSA GT3 cup, and SCCA GT2 class.

The racing series :

PCA Club Racing - A series sanctioned by the Porsche Club of America designed to be fun, safe, and competitive; racing with good sportsmanship, honesty, and a sense of fair play. Mike runs the green car in stock class E as a 2.7RS touring, against 944 Turbo S, 964 Carrera 2s, 944/968 Firehawk cars, and "prepared" 3.2 Carreras. The Silver car runs in GTC3 with other spec GT3 cars.

The green car also runs in SCCA Historic racing - a fun series of races sanctioned by the Sports Car Club Of America for middle-aged sports cars and sedans up to 1973, which are not prepared to currect SCCA club racing class specs. Mike runs in Class 4 with similar types of cars. The silver car runs in SCCA GT2, against cars like Nissan Zs, Toyotas, Sunbeam Tigers, etc.

Vintage Racing - Mike is an SVRA member and also races with HSR and other vintage clubs. Vintage racing is about preserving and enjoying historic cars while displaying them in their natural state - high speed competition! As with PCA, racing incidents are to be avoided as they are not tolerated, but racing is still very competitive. Mike likes to keep his car looking good and hates doing bodywork!

Autocross - Mike runs with the PCA in CVR regional events, Zone-1, and National events, in Modified class. SCCA events such as National Tours are also entered, in F Prepared, and local FCSCC autocrosses are entered when possible. Mike is among the fastest Porsches in the country on the autocross course, winning FTD at the Michelin Challenge at the Mont Tremblant Porsche Parade and FTD at the competitive Zone-1 autocross in 1999, 2000, and 2002. Not sure if the silver car will work in an autocross, as there is not much steering lock available for such tight turns.

SPONSORS :

Series 900

Damon Josz at Series 900 in Sunapee NH repaired my damage after the crash in the summer of 2002. You can see the before and after pictures. Call Damon at 603/863-0090 or email him at series900@nhvt.net for more information on his excellent body and fabrication work.

PUTNAM SELF STORAGE

Mike needed room for his '72 911S and all his spare tires/wheels/parts, and found the perfect solution, just down the hill from his Condo and garage. Putnam Self Storage, on Great Pasture road in Danbury near the Bethel line, is a brand new facility with all paved areas, and the perfect size units. Putnam will be sponsoring Mike for the SCCA Historic Series races. Call 203/791-1594 if you need storage.

RENNLIST.ORG

Rennlist is the biggest and best Porsche site on the internet.

Armourfend : a protective film is applied to the nose and rear flares on my car to prevent paint chips and allow easy cleaning of the ugly black tire marks and bugs from racing.

GRECO TIRE AND AUTO CENTER is right here in Danbury, CT. They do my wheel mounting and balancing, and keep my soft, EXPENSIVE fuchs wheels in great shape. They also keep my tow vehicle (Touareg or Durango) and street cars running when I don't have time or expertise for certain repairs and maintenance.

Here is a simple index to some of the pages and stories I have put together :

DRIVING EVENTS :

Lime Rock Pro-am races, May 30, 2005
Qualified the '73 RS 6th (not running right), made it up to 2nd then had an incedent, more damage.
Qualified the GT3 3rd and held on for 3rd place in the GT race.

Mid Ohio GT3 Challenge race, May 21-22 2005
Qualified 15th out of 28 cars, finished 13th or so in our rain race.

Mid Ohio PCA Club Race, May 14-15 2005
Qualified 5th out of 18 cup cars, finished 6th due to missed 2-3 shifts coming out of the keyhole :-(
Practiced in the wet Saturday, no damage!!!

Lime Rock PCA Club Race, April 30 2005 - won fun race

Road Atlanta IMSA GT3 cup, April 16-17 2005

Road Atlanta PCA club race, April 2-3 2005

PCA Club Race, Carolina Motorsports Park, 11/04.
Was running well in D class, crankshaft broke in fun race. Sad flight home.

PCA Zone1 Autrocross : 1st in M3, 2nd overall. Picture of My car with slicks and Dave's FTD winning car.

Lime Rock PCA Club Race 18-SEP-04 2nd place

Lime Rock Fall Vintage Festival race, Sept 6,2004
Qualified 4th behind Bobby Rahal and Robert Machinis' Chevrons and a Ferrari 512S. Despite a hard charge from Andy Sanborn, I was able to hold this position. Here are the results, I think my fastest race lap ever at Lime Rock (under 1:01)

Lime Rock SCCA Historic Series race, Aug 7,2004
Thanks to Musante Motorsports for a quick engine rebuild, were able to qualify 4th, and finish 2nd in this HUGE group of over 40 vintage cars. Got fastest race lap but could not pass Rock Rookie's similar 911RS. Here are the results

Watkins Glen PCA club race, June 12 2004
Missed a shift (again!) Bending 3 valves. Raced anyway! Qualified 3rd, finished 2nd. Ran race laps faster than previous E class lap record but could not catch Oliver. Here are the results of our group. In the practice, Oliver and Ron Savenor had a fight in turn 1 just ahead of me, Ron lost (flipped over several times). Here are some pictures.

Mid Ohio PCA Club Race 8-MAY-04 WIN!!!!

Carolinas region PCA Club Race 8-NOV-03 WIN!!!!

Lime Rock Fall Vintage Festival 30-AUG-03

SCCA Vintage series Lime Rock Race, 8/8-9/2003
Qualified on the pole, won the race. Here are the results

SCCA Vintage series Beaverun Race, 8/2-3/2003, Beaver County, PA.

PCA Beaverun Club Race, 7/26-27/2003, Beaver County, PA.

SCCA Vintage series Pocono Races, 5/17 and 18/2003
Here is a cool video with Audio of the 1st lap by the Volvo's team.
Came in 3rd overall, second in class in both races. Here are the Saturday results and Sunday results.

PCA club race, Lime Rock Park, 5/2-3/2003
Qualified 2nd, finished 3rd though I passed for position in this race more than ever, due to getting hung up in heavy traffic. Here are the results

PCA Zone-1 Autocross, 10/5-6/2002, Springfield, MA. Another FTD??

Lime Rock Park VINTAGE FESTIVAL Sept 2, 2002.

Some craziness in New Hampshire, July 2002.

Another catastrophy at Watkins Glen PCA Club Race June, 2002

Lime Rock PCA Club Race 3-4 May, 2002

FCSCC autocross, results of 10/28/01, my only autocross of 2001! Didn't do too badly in a Honda S2000

Lime Rock PCA Club Race 4-5 May, 2001 (with tech info on rear Charlie Bar installation)

Summit Point PCA race, 7-Oct-2000

PCA Zone-1 autocross, Sept 2000

HSR Vintage Fall Festival at Lime Rock, Sept 1-4/2000

PCA club race at Watkins Glen 4-6 August, 2000 (not a nice writeup)

Lime Rock SCCA Historic Races June and July-00