Tim
He he he glad to see that my post might have changed your mind about the 996R vs track bike!! ;-)
I have been through that loop and I was even bidding at those crash/repairable auctions in Canway Island (check
www.hbc.co.uk) but never got anything out of there. In the end I bought a cheap 748 that I was planning to turn up into a track bike... what a mistake!!
It is actually much better value getting yourself an ex-race bike. Those go quite cheap and you don't have the hassle of changing the whole fairing & lights, etc... and trading over a month on Ebay! It's all done for you and racers generally have maintained the bike well (regular oil / belt change, etc...).
I got mine for £4000. It is a 916 with Brembo GP Master Cyl, fully floating brembo cast iron discs (well now these have been changed for PFMs), techtronic quickshifter, full track body work, 50mm half system, 1 set of wets on wheels (virtually new).
Check with 998Addict he was selling his as well for a bit more money but with more extras too.
Only problems with the 916 I got was, set of Rennsports needed changing, wiring loom is quite dodgy (many thanks to Nelly to sort that out), cambelts needed changing, valve clearance is quite off and will need to be arranged. But I would have had the same issues with any other bike.
It is a bad time for you to buy such bike though because it is the middle of the season. If you can wait a little I might actually sell mine for a 996 later in the year since the team I know might be selling their 996.
If you go ahead with buying one, let me know too as I have been through that loop and have now some contacts with some race tuners that could help you out.
Cheers
philippe