GruppeM – 2004 Preview
This was the scene at Porsche cars GB Headquarters on March 28, as Kenny Chen presented his brand new Porsche 911 GT3-RSR for 2004.

Tim Sugden and Jonathan Cocker will have the pleasure of driving it throughout the season, in a campaign based around the resurgent ‘new’ British GT Championship.

Other events are planned, notably the Spa 24 Hours on July 31-August 1, and three other FIA GT rounds – Donington Park, Dubai and Zhuhai.

It’s been a fairly hectic month of March for the team, with tests planned at Estoril in Portugal, several at Donington Park and then the official British GT Test Day at Brands Hatch on March 24.

“We couldn’t get to Estoril,” explains Kenny Chen. “Heavy snow prevented us from getting there, so the truck was called back and we shook the car down at Donington Park instead.”

Of that first test, Phil Hindley commented that "We got in close on 100 laps, and had no problems at all. A typical Porsche customer car: just switch it on and go. Jonathan loved it, and took to it very well. It was noticeable that the level of professionalism that Tim applies to his racing rubs off on Jonathan.”

17 year old Jonathan Cocker hasn’t been ‘phased’ by the new RSR, not one bit. “It’s a really nice sequential gearbox, excellent brakes, lots of downforce and loads of mechanical grip.” Jonathan has been used to a Porsche Cup version of the 911, but this RSR is the very latest incarnation of Porsche’s GT version, and it’s going to be very, very quick.

Tim Sugden raced a similar version at Sebring in mid-March, and the ‘nuances’ of the set-up required for the RSR that he learned there are already paying dividends with the GruppeM car. At the British GT Test Day at Brands Hatch, he commented that “it is inherently very quick, and will be quick when we’ve sorted the mid-corner oversteer.”

Each team that has taken delivery of one of these fantastic RSRs has had to come to grips with how to get them set up just right: the GruppeM version should have that mid-corner oversteer sorted by the time the team takes to the track at Donington Park, for the first free practice session on April 3. It will be straight down to it on the Derbyshire track, the first of two races taking place late on Saturday afternoon.

How will the GruppeM fare with its new car and new pair of drivers, as it races for overall wins in the N-GT Class of the 2004 British GT Championship? Kenny Chen is too worldly-wise to make any predictions, but there’s an inner confidence about this team: now ‘all’ they have to do is go racing.
Follow the team’s progress throughout the season in GruppeM’s regular team reports here.