Porsche 944 Challenge

[Mtaubitz]

Hi guys

I've just joined these forums and posted in the welcome thread, and thought I'll post here also.

I've been racing in the Victorian based 944 Challenge series since 2013, and loved (almost!) every minute of it. There is no other series that offers such great lap speed, bang for buck, close competitive racing in Australia - the cars are very reliable, and the cost of racing is very cheap when compared to Sports Cars etc.  I got into the series as a way to have some competitive racing - the difference between a oproper race and a track day is night and day, and there's been no bigger adrenaline rush than gridding up for a race.. Not to mention, it avoids getting track damage / stone chips etc to a beautiful road going Porsche!

We have had a number of drivers who have gone on from 944's to race in other series and experience some great success - including Richard Muscat, who won the series in 2012, then won the GT3 Challenge in 2013, won Australian GT in 2014, competed in Carrera Cup in 2015 and is now racing in the V8 Development series, Hamish Hardeman who is racing in the GT3 Challenge series and won the last round at Winton this weekend, Dylan O'Keeffe who is competing in Carrera Cup this year, Brenton Grove running in Formula 4 and won the first race this year, as well as many others who have moved onto GT3 racing such as Ivan Klasan, John Morriss, Brian Finn, Danny Stutterd, Doug Smith and many more I haven't remembered!

For those unsure what it is about, here's a link to a quick promo video, which is also on the 944 Challenge Website - http://944challenge.com/ There are lots of race reports, photos and lots more on there also. 

 

 

The cars are using the standard N/A 2.5 litre 4 cylinder 944 engine with either a Motec or Wolf specification ECU. The cars are stripped down of all unnecessary components not required for racing, front panelwork is replaced with fiberglass reproduction of the later model 'Turbo' style bodywork, which gets the cars to their minimum 1100kg race weight, including driver. We run Yokohama Advan A050 Control tyres, stock brake calipers with control pads from 'race brakes'

If anyone is interested in knowing more, or would like to come and watch some races, would be great to chat to or see you at the races!  

Cheers!

Mark

 

 

[MFX]

Looks like a lot of fun.

[edgy]

Thanks for sharing, I'd love to give this a crack one day! 

[TINGY]

Thanks for sharing, I'd love to give this a crack one day! 

Me too it's just a pity it's only in VIC, cheap way to get some thrills.

Actually I'm interested to know what are the most common things to break on these under the extra stress of racing, how do the drive shafts hold up?

[BJM]

Ok so know I want a 944 (even more) & I want to move it Vic. 

[TINGY]

Ok so know I want a 944 (even more) & I want to move it Vic. 

Oh, look out

[Mtaubitz]

Cheers guys - most fun I've ever had is racing these cars! They are relatively cheap to compete - I only used one set of tyres all year last year, and managed to sneak into 6th outright in the points for the year. I figured it's not worth throwing money at things like tyres while you learn how to get the most out of it! This year have decided to freshen up the engine (first time it's been touched in over 2 years) and splurge one 2 sets for the year to aim for some better results!

There's a couple of things that get modified, such as front suspension components for strength, most cars have standard fuel rail replaced to an aluminium one. 

Me too it's just a pity it's only in VIC, cheap way to get some thrills.

Actually I'm interested to know what are the most common things to break on these under the extra stress of racing, how do the drive shafts hold up?

They are generally pretty reliable, if you have a sorted car and it is not neglected, regularly change oil and check things over regularly. Gearbox issues have occurred for a couple drivers, though it obviously depends on the driving style - those shifting more aggressively / harder / faster might be more prone to failures. 

I've never had issues with driveshafts, and haven't heard of anyone else really who has either (Apart from dropping one shaft off during a test day which must have worked itself loose slowly... just filled up with gearbox oil and attached the driveshaft again and we were back out for the next seesion!) 

 

Ok so know I want a 944 (even more) & I want to move it Vic. 

It's not the craziest thought... we have one member who joined this year who is based in WA, another based in Sydney, and a third where the family and car is based in Sydney, with the young driver currently in QLD. The chap in WA leaves his car here and flies over for the races, and the guys in Sydney bring the cars down for the races. There are a couple of teams such as Jocaro and Hi Torque Performance who look after, maintain and house the cars if required also. Someone who wants to do an 'arrive and drive' scenario - it's certainly an option!

There are also a couple of hire cars available which are able to be leased by the round, or for doing an OLT to get your CAMS licence, or who want a 'toe in the water' experience before committing to buying their own car... including the 2013 championship winning (dominating) car which is parked and available for lease per round!

Cheers!

Mark