Kwerks.......thats a great video. I'm surprised that the 997 didn't do better.

 

Based on lap times he should have. I think his priorities were to show how close Z and CaymanS battle is more than outright 997 PDK superiority. Plus if you ask me the man driving the 997 was not being aggressive with the brakes. Now put a 996TT on the field with good diverter valves and watch them get lapped.

 

I didn't notice any left foot braking with the PDK. Is that a higher driver skill level?

 

Higher level? I don't know if we can call it higher level of driving since its not proven to be but its a technique drivers have employed to reduce input gas lag from the engine. Since traditional braking is done with the same foot as the one that feeds the gas you must remove gas input to introduce the brakes. This creates a moment of potential momentum loss when re-introducing gas and also time lost in transition...how much time? fraction of a tenth? This technique came out of spec karting to find a way to gain back time from these actions but i'v never seen real supporting data that this is THE WAY to drive in GT cars. This topic gets really complicated because we need real telemetry to explain the techniques / goal and there is a counter argument to it which is really good...and it comes down to timing and now guys have ECU's programed for left foot braking and so on... so its actually very insane when competition is introduced. Racing improves the breed...no doubt.

Anyway to get back on track to this specific situation i don't think left foot braking would have been needed but rather a more experienced / aggressive driver. Porsche's from factory don't like trail braking too much and personally i havn't spent much time in a 997c2 to tell you about its potential but from the TA times the 997 was over a second quicker per lap and you only need to be 1/2s quicker per lap to pass the car ahead. Again its just all personal assumptions. If Gan-San was driving and he could not pass I would not question it. He's raced Porsche's on nurbergring nordschlief 24hr many times and is a master with any machine.


Here is more info.
Karts, many open wheelers, and some modern road cars (cars that are mounted with automatic transmission or semi-automatic transmission which is the Formula One style gear box), have no foot-operated clutch, and so allow the driver to use their left foot to brake.
One common race situation that requires left-foot braking is when a racer is cornering under power. If the driver doesn't want to lift off the throttle, potentially causing trailing-throttle oversteer, left-foot braking can induce a mild oversteer situation, and help the car "tuck," or turn-in better. Mild left-foot braking can also help reduce understeer.[2]
In rallying left-foot braking is very beneficial, especially to front-wheel drive vehicles.[3][4] It is closely related to the handbrake turn, but involves locking the rear wheels using the foot brake (retarding actually, to reduce traction, rarely fully locking - best considered a misapplication), which is set up to apply a significant pressure bias to the rear brakes. The vehicle is balanced using engine power by use of the accelerator pedal, operated by the right foot. The left foot is thus brought into play to operate the brake. It is not as necessary to use this technique with Rear-wheel drive and All wheel drive rally vehicles because they can be easily turned rapidly by using excess power to the wheels and the use of opposite lock steering, however the technique is still beneficial when the driver needs to decelerate and slide at the same time. In rear wheel drive, left foot braking can be used when the car is at opposite lock and about to spin. Using throttle and brake will lock the front tires but not the rears, thus giving the rears more traction and bringing the front end around.
Swedish rally legends Erik Carlsson and Stig Blomqvist are considered to be the inventors of left-foot braking, developing it while driving for the SAAB works team in the 1960s and '70s.
When left foot braking is used to apply the brake and the throttle at the same time it is very hard on the car, causing extra wear on the transmission and brakes in particular.[5]
This technique should not be confused with heel-and-toe, which is another driving technique.

video and details

 

Wow....Kwerks...I'm thinking you should be changing your handle from kwerks to "Master Yoda"!

Is that your writting or cut and paste?

 

lol After the part of "more info" thats from wiki. I'm def not yoda. If you want yoda then call penske motorsport for suspension help and forget about this left foot braking stuff.

 

I get my *** kicked by 996 turbos all the time on the track, can't say the same for caymans. They just don't have the power or the breaks. If they came with the turbo engine theyd be some real killers.

 

Just getting back to basics on this thread...I had a CS (06) and put a cross suspension, chip, intake and exhaust on it. I guess it was about 320-330 and alot of fun to drive. Now I have an X50...more isolated and more substantial. Where the CS was light and alive, the 996 is heavy and powerful...not as much fun though. Wish I could have both but the 996 is alot of car, and my choice.