In a new 2023 Porsche 911 GT3 RS, professional race car driver Dimitri Dimakos set a new production car track record at Road America.
Dimakos, a veteran of the Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup North America, lapped the four mile, 14 turn road course in a time of two-minutes, 13.8 seconds. Conditions were near perfect, with an air temperature hovering around 75 degrees and a track temperature just above 90 degrees Fahrenheit. The lap on the freshly paved classic American race course in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin bettered the previous record (2:15.1). The previous lap, set by David Donohue in a 2019 Porsche 911 GT2 RS in April, 2019, was improved upon by nearly two seconds. The feat is especially remarkable considering the huge horsepower difference between the 700-hp prior record holder, and the 518-hp 911 GT3 RS.
“The biggest thing is not necessarily the lap time, it is the ease at which the car can achieve that lap time and the confidence it inspires in the driver,” Dimakos said. “The car can be driven by someone who is a novice or intermediate level driver and still be very fast and comfortable to drive. The braking is nearly identical to what we run in the 911 GT3 Cup car. I was braking at exactly the same spot. No wiggling at all. The car stopped exactly straight, turned-in great.”
The sophisticated active aerodynamics and new Motorsport-based 4.0 liter, naturally aspirated, flat-six engine of the current generation 911 GT3 RS also made it over 4.5 seconds quicker than the 2019 Porsche 911 GT3 RS at the same track. The privately owned production-spec road car – which had been delivered to the owner just weeks before – was aligned for the track by an authorized Porsche Center and fitted with optional, road-legal Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R N0 high performance road tires size 275/35 ZR 20 front and 335/30 ZR 21 rear, which are specifically developed and homologated for the 911 GT3 RS.
The official lap time was logged by onboard VBOX equipment and validated by Goldcrest Motorsports.
