Qualifying updates at the bottom of the story

Three regulars from the IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge by Yokohama are competing in the Porsche Carrera World Cup Saturday at the Nürburgring in Germany: Melanie Snow, who usually campaigns the #56 Snow Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Car, Perry Bortolotti, whose #84 SpeedMerchants-Fiorano Racing entry competes in both the US series and the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada and Muscle Milk Team Cytosport’s #6, Mark Bullitt. Following are some tidbits from the trio’s experiences at the ‘Ring.

Does this car come with a coffee maker?

Snow arrived early at Nürburgring to take advantage of the touristenfahrten, or public drive-arounds of the racetrack. Behind the wheel of a rental Mercedes for several solid laps of the track, Snow noticed a strange symbol on the dashboard. “After about 4 laps a steaming coffee cup display shows up on the dash. I took the manual to the front desk of the hotel and asked them to translate. It means the car had been swerving and the driver needs a break!!”

 It is, after all, the Nürburgring

Snow also noted the public’s enthusiasm while running their personal cars on the racetrack over the weekend. “It’s pretty crazy – anyone with a driver’s license can run the track. We saw lots of accidents Saturday! We went through a section in pouring down rain, and then two turns later we were on a dry track, so there was a lot going on. We saw motorcyclists down after a crash, car body parts scattered on the track and even a husband and wife fighting trackside after destroying their Lotus!”

You say potato

Ottawa’s Bortolotti discovered early on that some familiar things are perhaps not so familiar when you’re in another country. “I have to remember that it’s not a pace car it’s an “intervention car.” Being a crazy North American, I mistakenly called it a safety car during the two day classroom session. This local guy was on me pretty quickly, saying “this is not North America, it’s not a safety car, it’s an Intervention Car!”

Early reactions from Snow

“There’s been a lot of rain, but you just have to go with the flow. I've still haven't got to take a dry lap, all my laps have been in the wet.  But I’ve got the patches on my suit, all my gear passed tech, I fit in the seat perfectly and am ready to hit the track, so I hope all goes well in the first session.

“But I have to say - my cheeks hurt from smiling so much! I’ve had a constant smile on my face, this track is just unbelievable.”

Porsche Motorsport North America President Jens Walther on Melanie Snow

“We thought it would be ideal for Melanie Snow, a mom and race car driving instructor, to represent Porsche at this unique race.  As a former IMSA GT3 Gold Cup and ALMS GTC co-champion, she is certainly qualified as a driver - and as a successful career woman and mom, she can relate to our current and potential 911 customers. Porsche Motorsports North America would also like to encourage women who are up-and-coming in the motorsports world to consider the IMSA GT3 Challenge as a stepping stone to build their career, and Melanie is certainly a shining example of success in a Porsche 911 GT3 Cup.”

Bortolotti talks about the first practice session

“Everything happens so much faster here than at any other track – in a rental car, you have time to think about what’s coming up, but when you’re going at what feels like mach speed in a race car, it’s just so much quicker. You’re always second guessing yourself because there’s no margin for error here. It’s a super narrow, tight track at super high speeds. You just can’t afford to make a mistake. The problem is, there are so many blind corners and you’re not sure if you’re turning left or right. Your reaction is to lift, but every time you do that, it adds up to seconds, especially in the long straights. At the end of the back straight, there’s a left hand corner that you take at 280 kilometers per hour, which is about 174 miles per hour – but you can’t see it, it’s a blind left hander. And there are about four ‘jumps’ - bumps on the track where the car is in the air, four times a lap.

“It’s a really steep learning curve, so despite the fact that we’re off the times we thought we’d be at now, just to conquer this track at those speeds and to know that there’s so much more is a great challenge. It really is the ultimate challenge for a race car driver.”

German Mark Bullitt ran his first race on the Nordschleife, so he has the luxury of experience at “the green hell.” Here he talks about the Nürburgring and what he expects on Saturday.

“I love this track as it is the most beautiful and challenging track there is, period. It is a very fast track with a lot of elevation changes and blind, flowing turns. There are even some jumps for us to enjoy! To be really fast here you need a lot of courage. The weather might also be a big factor. It could be starting to rain and you could be stuck driving a long way to the pits on slicks.”

“It will be interesting to see the ‘Nordschleifen’ experts competing against the Carrera Cup pros. The different Porsches ranging from the earlier models to the newer ones will also be something of interest.

“I think the cars will be bumper to bumper for most of the laps and it will be a very close race at the front. Lapping cars shouldn’t be an issue with such a long track and should make for some really good racing. Staying clean at the start and then pushing as hard as I can will be the plan. The race may be about 60 minutes but it will be a sprint race from start to finish. With the Porsche Carrera World Cup race taking place only hours before the 24 hour race and with 200 000 people expected this race will have its own feel to it. It will be an amazing experience and I can’t wait for it to start.”

Update:

Mark Bullitt (car #204) starting 55th in Category 1 (Platinum Cup) at 9

Melanie Snow (car #810) starting 78th in Category 1 / 84th overall

Perry Bortolotti (car #806) starting 9th in Category 2 / 89th overall

Melanie Snow qualifying update

“It started hailing as we were getting ready to go out on the track. The crew all took cover and I’m sitting in the car just waiting it out! I didn’t want a wet track mainly because of the visibility – in the rain, there’s just no visibility.

"I did one lap on rain tires then came in for slicks - we have an engineer with our team who was watching the monitors, so he had me wait in the pit lane for a few minutes. He was telling me “the cars will dry the track.” There were a few spots where I had to worry about it, but other than that, I just got on it. They call your first lap your “information lap” because it could be raining up at the top of the course and I wouldn’t know it. But my “information lap” was faster than my laps yesterday.  And sure enough, I was able to do the rest of the session on slick tires and went faster and faster each lap. The weather in different parts of the track is just crazy.

"But there’s so much time to find – there are so many blind turns that you have to know when to go flat and when not, and to have the courage to do it. I’m still learning all that. But I feel a lot more comfortable today that I did yesterday."

The Porsche Employee Pit Crew

"My crew from Porsche Cars North America has been so fun – we’ve been hanging out with them and getting to know everyone, so it’s been the best experience. They’ve been around the whole time – they’ll clean the car, take pictures, upload data. It’s been great!"

Bortolotti weighs in on qualifying

"We started off qualifying on rain tires today and had to come in after one lap of the Nordschleife as it was dry, ironically - it rains all the time here! I felt a lot more comfortable in the car today considering yesterday was my first time in the race car. After some more review of data and video tonight I will hopefully have the entire 70 plus corners memorized along with the brake, turn in and acceleration points. This track and the event is arguably the epitome of motorsport racing in the world – so to be a part of this with Porsche is truly a dream come true."

The six-lap Porsche Carrera World Cup will take the green flag at 11:30am CEST (5:30am EDT / 2:30am PDT), just before the ADAC Zurich 24 Hours of Nürburgring.

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