Racer - October SRT

ALMS PC

GTC, which will see its Porsche

911 Cup cars move over to the
renamed GT Daytona (Rolex GT)
class in the 2014 TUDOR United
SportsCar Championship, has
followed the Pro-Am form of the
PC class (ABOVE) and, like its
prototype counterpart, is
exceptionally popular among
entrants. Most Pro-Am classes
have a fairly defined budget,
and GTC has settled into the

$1.1-$1.5 million range for a season, with the reported median at $1.2 million. The final parallel to PC comes in the ability for teams running the cars to make a profit.

Given the draw of the Porsche
name and the proven abilities of
the 911 Cup platform, there’s no
shortage of gentlemen drivers
lining up to drive in the class.

The GT Daytona-specific Porsche 911 GT America, which was announced for the 2014

USCC season, would be the logical replacement for the current GTC cars. An example costs $269,000, with an additional $30,000 bill for shipping over from Germany.

What started life as a stop-gap
series created by the ALMS to
pad its diminished prototype car
count has become the most
heavily subscribed P-car category
the series has to offer. With the full
allotment of new chassis having
been exhausted, spending the
$350,000 necessary to score a
fresh ORECA FLM09 will start a
12-week build and delivery
process, and with used PCs trading
hands for $250k, they’ve become
a popular choice for team owners
who can make a decent living
renting seats to Pro-Am drivers.
In 2013, the PC class came
with a median budget of $1.5
million – a fraction of what the top
P1, P2 and Daytona Prototypes
burn. It’s also well below an annual
ALMS GT and Rolex GT budget.
New Chevy V8 crate motors cost
just $29,000, engine rebuilds are
S15,000 and, with its robust
design, the FLM09 is a prime
choice for those looking to drive
safe, affordable prototypes. Even
with another $0.5m needed for
USCC’s added race hours, PC
should continue to prosper.
Porsche sells its 2013 911 GT3

RSR, the most popular customer car in the ALMS GT category, for

$469,000, and with another $30k for shipping from Germany, a tidy $499,000 is required to take one home. If money’s no object, Ferrari’s F458 Italia is also available to customers…for a cool $800,000.

Annual budgets for a privateer
Porsche team fall in the $4 million
range, and with the extra hours of
racing coming with USCC in

2014, that is projected to grow to $7 million. On the factory front in 2013, rumors of $7 million per car have made the rounds, but that number reflects the operating costs for a season without all of the R&D dollars and build resources.