Ian Harris

I always enjoy a visit to see the chaps at Ashgood Porsche. They have a great selection of cars, are well priced and offer a good deal when Px’ing your correct Porsche. I was going past their premises, so stopped in to have a look around, and a very clean 997.2 GT3 RS with only 13,000 miles and superb condition caught my eye.

I had previously owned a LHD 997.1 GT3 RS in Viper green with fairly high miles and a Middle Eastern import, it’s fair to say it wasn’t the nicest example! I really struggled with the way it drove and didn’t bond with it at all, so was very dubious of getting into another 997 GT3.

The Ashgood guys let me take their latest GT3 for a drive and it felt very special as soon as I sat in the car, it was raw, stiff and difficult to drive. Once the car was warmed up and I was getting used to the drive it all started to really come alive. The mechanical gear change has to be executed with precision, trail breaking is key to getting the nose down in the corners, and there is no auto blip so heel and toe is also advised when it comes to downshifting.

When I had my previous Gen1 997 RS I would say I was your average track day driver, who could get around a track pretty quickly. With no driving training I was the same as everyone else, brake in a straight line, turn and power on… With racing the Caterham Academy series I have had a lot of driver training, really learning about the balance of a car, weight distribution, trail braking, heel and toe and so forth; this has really helped me with my racing, but I’m also finding I’m getting more pleasure from driving my Porsches – especially when it is as demanding and rewarding as a 997.2 GT3 RS! The question is, do I sell my 991.2 GT3 to buy a car eight years older and more expensive?