Notes on each circuit

SUGO

My home circuit, with the most videos. The record spans the change from the old surface to the new one.

• Order of the corners: the Esses → High Point → Rainbow → back straight → Umanose → the SP corner → the final corner
• From Umanose through the SP corner, the final corner and Turn 1 is the section where the power difference shows most. The 993 GT2 and the 964 RS are overwhelmingly far apart here
• The final corner is 3rd in the 964 RS, 4th in the six-speed 993 GT2 and 993 RSCS
• In the wet the friction on the kerbs is abnormally low. I drive so as to stay almost entirely off them
• After the new surface I could control deliberate oversteer even on the PS Cup (on the old surface I spun often)
• Surface friction is at the highest level even for Japan. Tyres wear heavily

Fuji Speedway (new circuit)

• First run September 2005. A completely different circuit from the old one, and the second half feels close to Motegi
• Oversteer comes easily in the second half. With the anti-roll bar soft you cannot use the throttle and end up in 2nd a lot. At F4/5 you can use 3rd
• The chicane should be entered in 1st (my own analysis at the time)
• For the 100R, whether to go from the far outside or take the same line as the NSX stayed an open question
• The straights are long. 1:53s for a 993 RSR class car, 1:59s for a 993 GT2, 2:01.7 for the 964 RS

Fuji Speedway (old circuit)

• The permanent venue for the ADVANCE track days. Mixed running with other 964 RS, NSX, R32/R33 GT-R and RX-7
• Around 1996–97 you often saw cars fitted with a 993 RSCS wing being passed by a 964 RS on the straight

Suzuka

• The rebuild changed the new chicane and the corner after Gyaku-bank. I could not see the entry line for the corner after Gyaku-bank and struggled, and the run down to Degner became slower than before. A section that used to be flat in 4th no longer takes throttle
• 130R is the classic example of a wing working in a high-speed corner
• The time at the Porsche Parade (before the rebuild) was 2:31 in the 993 GT2 CS
• No comparison of 17 and 18 inch has been done. It is possible 18 inch is quicker

Nürburgring Nordschleife

• The high-speed section after passing the bridge in the town of Adenau is the highlight. This is where the stability of the 996 GT3 and the acceleration of the 993 Bi-Turbo stand out
• At KESSELCHEN you meet tour buses. A lap in a tour bus takes about 40 minutes
• For the 964 RS, 18 inch gives more high-speed stability and is far easier to drive than 17 inch
• Total running is something like 30–50 hours (one description says about 100 hours). But for the line you should consult the specialist books, and these videos are no use as a reference — that is the caveat I have carried since the time

Nürburgring GP

• Practice running for the four-hour on the circuit before its refurbishment. There is a corner around 1:25–1:30 that is flat in 4th, and the advantage of cars on 18 inch shows clearly
• The final corner accelerates out of 2nd, the same as Fuji Speedway and Suzuka

Paul Ricard

From 1970 to 2001 this circuit had four configurations coexisting.

It branches off part-way along the home straight and rejoins early on the back straight. The circuit used in the 964 RS footage (No.4) is confirmed as the Short Grand Prix Circuit (3.812km).

• The straights are absurdly long (longer than Fuji Speedway). The circuit is almost all reverse camber (flat) and you can drift as much as you like. The run-off is distant, so you almost never make contact
• It sits high up, so the engine revs well (in fact it is a plateau of just over 400m, so “high altitude” is a slight exaggeration)
• Asked what the best circuit in the world is, I would probably say this one. For beauty, Mugello

Circuit Européen Pau-Arnos

Driven at a club event. No footage survives. Opened in 1986, about 30km north-east of Pau. The current full course is 3.038km.

The layout has been changed twice (1986–2007 → 2008–2017 → 2018–). The 1990s version no longer exists. The answer to “has this one been rebuilt too” was “yes, and twice”.

Misano

When I drove it in 1996 the official name was Autodromo Santamonica. It ran anti-clockwise then, and the layout differs from today’s, after the 2007 rebuild.

• An orthodox layout. The run-off is as wide as Paul Ricard’s, but the grass is uneven
• Low friction and flat — it has the character of the European circuits in full

Others

• Hockenheimring — the short circuit was used for Porsche AG’s driving school. It was also a venue for one-make races by model (Lupo, Ford, Beetle, BMW 318 and so on)
• Mugello — a very beautiful circuit. The food is good too
• Monza — 3 October 1998 was wet. A free practice session at a GTP race
• A1-Ring — driven in a standard 993 GT2. The tyre squeal was memorable
• Twin Ring Motegi — I am not very fond of the second half
• Honjo Circuit — a severe layout where you use 1st. The right gears in a 996 or a Boxster have not been tested