Warning: Some profanity in the footage above
Regardless of how much experience a racing driver has, some cars are so sharp-edged they require a sometimes painful period of adjustment. Despite being quite handy behind the wheel of a supercharged S2000 and now an A90 Supra, former formula racer Jackie Ding initially struggles with the 991 GT3 RS at Toronto Motorsports Park. However, he’s a flexible driver who can tailor his style to suit whatever he’s in, and in this series of dramatic laps, we can see he quickly adapts to the demands of one of the sharper 911s around.
A justifiably tentative outlap shows us just how the GT3 RS will let go abruptly and continue to rotate. Cold Michelin Cup 2 tires and a little more pendulum effect at work nearly rotate Ding off the track within a few corners. Quick hands honed from years in formula cars keep him pointed the right way, but it’s an indication of the edgy nature of such a focused car. Ding’s aggressive style gets the car regularly out of shape, but he soon learns he can’t quite take liberties with it like he can with his Honda.
Unlike his S2000, the GT3 RS doesn’t like to be floated sideways through the middle of the corner as much, and he needs to tread carefully. As he describes it, “such a fine line to try and balance on.” A few corners later, he shows just how unforgiving the car is if hustled over the wrong curb (2:27), and soon he’s pointed in the wrong direction. You can’t accuse him of lacking chutzpah, though.
By attacking the curb at a shallower angle and softening his throttle input, he’s able to get the stiffly sprung GT3 RS to rotate perfectly within just a few laps.
After softening some of his inputs, using delicate maintenance throttle over the curbs, and catapulting out of the corner with a little less wheelspin, he whittles his time down to a scarcely believable 1:15.1. For reference, that’s four seconds faster than he could muster in his tuned S2000 wearing Advan A052 tires, which is lighter and arguably better suited to such a tight, technical track. Just take into consideration his lack of experience of the car, and the achievement is all the more impressive. Not only does this demonstrate the GT3 RS one of the most capable track toys around, but Ding’s ability to change his inputs in short time is just as impressive, if not more so.
