I snapped this picture of a 911 Cup Car chasing down a BMW E30 a few years back at Laguna Seca during an SCCA/PCA race weekend. I’ve actually posted a few photos from this day; it was very prolific for me frame-wise. I also walked all over the place at Laguna Seca, which is no easy task thanks to its hills.
Picture Details:
- Car(s): 991 Porsche 911 Cup Car, E30 BMW 3-Series
- Location: Laguna Seca, Monterey, CA
- Photog: Peter Nelson (IG + Twitter: @16vPete)
- Camera: Canon 6D Mk2, Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM Lens
This shot is of the downhill exit from the world-famous Corkscrew during a warm-up or qualifying session. There’s no way these cars would normally be on track with each other during a race, even with separate classes. The 991 911 GT3 Cup Car in the background is a 450-plus horsepower, purpose-built-from-the-factory monster. The Spec E30 is a purpose-built race car, too, but after a presumably long purpose as a street-driven, everyday Bimmer. The Porsche is a knife-edge, precision racing instrument, whereas the E30 is a rear-wheel drive (and rear-end-happy) momentum car.
Both of these cars, for how incredibly different they are, are probably immensely fun on any track, especially Laguna Seca. The variety of corners, some of which are quite technical, the changes in elevation, and the fun straightaways -both would be so fun to wring out.
Though there are some stark handling, grip, and power differences between the two. I’m sure the E30 driver during this moment was thinking “oh shit, cup car coming up real fast!” while the cup car driver was thinking “ugh get out of my way slow Spec E30!”
Here’s the image in 1080p:
