Open Road Racing Our Porsche 928

For a group of very lucky people, several times a year, a public highway is closed for the day and they do just that...pedal to the metal excitement for 90+ miles!

Marc and I started racing our '88 Porsche 928 5 speed in 1994. We participated in several driver's ed track events and time trials throughout Northern California with such groups as NASA, Touring Car Club and others. We were looking for an event where we could compete as a team and decided to give open road racing a try. With a driver/navigator team, you select a target average speed and the team that comes closest to the target speed wins that class. There is also a division called "Unlimited", where the goal is to be the fastest car, period. At our first three events, we entered the 150 mph class, and with Marc driving and me manning the stopwatches and course notes we placed in the top three every time. Then Marc made a big mistake - he gave up his driver's seat at the next race!

Entered in the 135 mph class, I was excited and nervous at the same time about driving at such high speeds!

With some new modifications to the engine, we had more power than before, and it was actually a comfortable drive, keeping the top speed around 160 mph (our "tech" speed - maximum allowable speed with our safety gear). Marc's navigation proved to be far better than mine as we cruised to a first place finish, averaging 135.012 mph!

Open road races are held several times a year on the highways of Nevada and Texas. The road is closed for the day and competitors leave the starting line one-at-a-time, at intervals of approximately one minute. The fastest cars start first to lessen the chance of any overtaking or passing. I can count on one hand the number of times we have passed another car!

More than just a fun thing to do together with our 928, these events proved to be the best testing ground for DEVEK products, providing extreme condition durability testing and performance data that could not be obtained any other way. Products that seem to work well at normal speeds and suspension loads often show weakness at higher speeds.

Numerous suspension modifications have been made to make high speed handling safe and predictable. Improved coilover suspension, front sway bar, pinned rear Weissach arm, and more have been developed over the course of our racing activities.

A good example is when we were first investigating competitive suspension kits and used a progressive spring on the front and moved the old front springs to the rear. Once underway, we entered the first high speed sweeper and felt the 928 undergo an unusual roll transition with a springy rear end. We realized that progressive front springs made for unpredictable "roll" when the 928’s cornering loads increased beyond normal around town/highway driving. Also, rear to front spring ratio was grossly out of proportion. A quick discussion with a few suspension experts, modified front and rear spring rates, and a switch to a standard non-progressive spring eliminated the problems. We have been using that setup on all our DEVEK coilover kits with great success.

Aerodynamic modifications are also necessary to improve stability and reduce the coefficient of drag at speeds over 170 mph. The 928 gets some special tape treatment, with the entire front end of the car being masked over. Side mirrors are removed, and a special front air dam installed to prevent air from going underneath the car. We also employ ground effects to minimize drag and maximize downforce.

As we became more & more comfortable with open road racing, the obvious desire to go faster & faster developed as well. Our 928’s engine went from 5.0 liters to 6.0 liters, then to its current 6.5 liters of displacement, producing 500 hp and 580 lb-ft or torque at the crank. The most amazing feature of our "928 test mule" is that its engine now has over 38,000 miles, has exceeded 200 mph over half a dozen times, and is driven every day!

The highest class of Open Road Racing is the Unlimited Class, which is generally reserved for full race cars, some with top speeds in excess of 240 mph! In order for us to compete at that level, we had to make some major modifications to our 928, which we completed in time for the inaugural Big Bend Open Road Race in Ft. Stockton Texas in July, 1998. The addition of a full roll cage, onboard fire system and competition fuel cell allowed us to enter this class for the first time. An added benefit of the Big Bend Open Road Race is that it was a two-way "down & back" race, and we were able to switch driver/navigator between stages. With a finish-line radar speed of 205 miles per hour, we took second place in the highly regarded Unlimited division, competing against many pure-bred race cars! Not only were we the fastest street legal entrant and the fastest car ever to drive to and from any event, but we posted the fastest finish line radar speed of the event - not too bad for a street car!

This is one aspect of these events that we are particularly proud of - we have driven our car to and from every event. We don’t even own a trailer. With over 140,000 miles on the chassis, we love the fact that we have a car comfortable enough to drive 3,000 miles round trip and post speeds well over 200 mph at these events!

We are excited every time a new 928 owner comes out for an open road race and would like to see more 928 participants in future events. Someone needs to keep those pesky Mustangs, Corvettes and Vipers in line!

If you would like to find out more about open road racing or preparing your 928 for other racing events, please give us a call at DEVEK (650-592-5287) or contact Classic Auto Racing Society (619-440-6043).

Be Safe & Be Fast, in that order, please!