O.K. – here is my report about the virgin laps with the GT3 in the Green Hell.
As you can imagine I was very excited when the big moment finally came.
Trip to the ‘Ring
Checked the ‘Ring webcam Sunday morning: cloudy, but dry – still quite low temps around 5°C. And the best: almost no traffic.
Packed the ‘Ring survival kit (helmet, gloves, “Ballerinas”) and off we (Mrs & Mr. PJ) went to the Eifel.
After 70 minutes we arrived at the half empty parking lot (rare sight) at the gateway to driver’s heaven. Once again I have been impressed by the fuel efficiency of the GT3. The trip from my place to the Green Hell is a mix of restricted Autobahn (1/3), derestricted Autobahn (1/3) and country roads (1/3). On the derestricted stretch of Autobahn I was mostly at cruising speed (200-220 km/h), only occasionally pushing it up to 290 km/h. Average fuel consumption was slightly above 13 L/100 km.
But who cares about fuel efficiency if your thoughts are already at Hatzenbach, Flugplatz, Schwedenkreuz, Fuchsröhre….
On the track - almost Despite the few traffic on the track there was a long queue at the ticket office – it took me 40 minutes (average speed: 10 m/hr) to get my annual ticket (# 112).
They have installed new boom gates, but there is no improvement from a user’s POV. I can’t get it why they don’t install some proximity readers (similar to the French péage barriers) not requiring the pilots strapped into their six-point harnesses to perform some artistic tricks while trying to hold the transponder against the reader. The height of the reader is suitable for SUVs, not for sportcars. 
Also you have to take extra-care of your rims, as you have to get very close to the ridiculous kerbstones in order to reach the reader.
O.K. – enough of the rant, take a deep breath and focus on the upcoming 20.8 km.
The beast in the Green Hell No practice since 28 December, new car, cold Pirellis – take it easy and enjoy a slow information lap. The weather gods decided to support this idea – just after the first couple of hundred meters the wet stuff was falling from the sky at Hohenrain chicane.
Fortunately it was only very light rain and the track dried off later in the afternoon.
Needless to say that I didn’t dare to switch off the TC (though I used the more tolerant set-up in sports mode). The yellow light flashed up only once (ironically not in a corner, but in the fast straight uphill section at Quiddelbacher Höhe).
How’s the driving experience compared to the 987 S ?
As I clocked only 1,000 km on public roads so far I was very curious what would happen during a more spirited drive (yet light years apart from the car’s limits): would the beast bite or behave like a pussycat 
Well, I can give only half of an answer, as I didn’t try to really push during my virgin laps with the GT3 (would have been very silly, especially when considering the low temps and a partial damp track).
At BoxsterS speed (which is in my case approximately 95% of the Sportauto laptime) it’s a walk in the park with the GT3 – never would have expected how well tempered the GT3 is (may be totally different at the limit – I’ll find out later 
…). Of course we’re talking 85% of the cars capabilities only (read: slow), but still….
It was funny to observe those race-prepped Ring-tools going the same speed while I was (relatively speaking) just cruising around. These guys were really fighting with their cars – I easily could have lighted a cigar.
Of course overtaking manoeuvres are so much easier in the GT3 (the prestige factor also helps a bit).
The traction out of the corners is another world – unbelievable.
The strange thing is that it didn’t really feel that fast at the corner exits – I always needed a quick view into the rear view mirror to make me believe how much car lengths I actually gained versus a “chaser”.
The better torque (compared to the 987S) allows to use a higher gear in a lot of sections which helps to stabilise the car.
The feedback from the suspension and the steering is excellent of course, but it could be a bit sharper in the corners IMHO (I’m sure some Manthey magic can fix this).
Though my wife was complaining that the car is not so friendly to the stomach when flying over the jump hills. From a driver’s POV I very much prefer the GT3’s feeling at the jump hills over the Boxster – it’s a bit harsher, but the car feels solid as a castle.
Once again I have to praise the GT2-seats – no butt fatigue at all after some 300 km NoS on two days.
The Pirellis are very nice for a GT3 newbie – they provide good grip even on a slightly damp track and they indicate the limit well before you risk brown spots in your trouser.
I didn’t feel too comfortable with the brakes on the first day (guess, the Pagid Yellow didn’t get up to the proper temperature during the cruising laps on the damp track), the faster I went (on the second day in the dry) the better they worked.
Learning curve items:
Ø I still have not enough feeling at corner entry 
– though once I reached the apex, everything is perfect
Ø Have to get more accustomed to the gearbox (works smooth, but the brain sometimes plays tricks after the 350 laps in the Boxster with slightly different ergonomics) – same goes for heel-toe.
All I can state as a (very preliminary) conclusion so far: the GT3 is a giant adventure for every pistonhead loving the track. Nordschleife is the place where this sportscar jewel really belongs 
Anecdotal stuff: I was astonished to spot some policecars (5series) with helmet armed cops lapping the ‘Ring. Obviously they enjoyed some special drivers training. It was funny how they caused a procession at Breidscheid (speed limit 90-70-50) with nobody daring to overtake them until behind Ex-Mühle.
A nice guy from London, who offered me a pax-lap in his 996 GT3 was not so patient when the police cars showed up in front of us at quite low speed: “What the f…ck”….then he made good use of the flashlight 
The guy was staying in the same hotel than us. During breakfast he commenced a discussion about tyre pressures. His girlfriend stared at him in disbelief: how can you bother this German couple with so boring stuff like tyre pressure at the breakfast table. O.K. sweetheart - I’ll explain to you now how important tyre pressure is.
I guess the wives of us P-car nuts and track junkies sometimes have a hard time
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public roads: Porsche 987 S Seal/Cocoa, toll road
: Porsche 997 GT3 Arctic/Black
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