Who is the only British racing driver to achieve an overall victory in the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb – one of America’s largest and oldest races, dating back to 1916? And did you know that he only achieved the feat in 2019?
Robin Shute (who lives in Los Angeles but is somewhat ironically from the famous Norfolk dish) is not a household name, but he deserves greater recognition for his unique feat, especially as he will attempt to double his total this Sunday when the 99th annual “Race to the Clouds” hits Colorado’s famous mountain road.
Shute missed the 2020 race, but now his TSC Motorsport team is back with his Wolf GB08 TSC-LT, an Unlimited class sports racer. It features a major aerodynamic overhaul that includes, as the name suggests, a tail extension. This promises 50% more support compared to its winning version in 2019.
Overall victory is in Shute’s sights again, but he also has his eye on the record-breaking 8 minutes 37.230 seconds on the rear-wheel drive, more than 30 seconds ahead of his victory time from yesterday. is two years old. But that beefed up aero package, combined with the 550bhp of a 2.1-liter Honda K-series engine developed by Mountune, leaves Shute confident he will set a new mark someday.
The absolute record time is also an astonishing 7min 57.148sec, established in 2018 by Romain Dumas at the wheel of Volkswagen’s ID R electric prototype.
A mountain to climb
Mario Andretti, Bobby Unser, Robby Unser, Walter Röhrl, Michèle Mouton and Ari Vatanen are just a few of the illustrious names on the list of winners that Shute joined in 2019.
The movie Climb Dance which captured the famous Vatanen race in a Peugeot 405 T16 in 1988 enshrined the legend of Pikes Peak, at the time when the mountain road was free. Over the years, sections have been cleaned up with asphalt, and since 2011, the course has been completely paved. But at 12.42 miles long, with 156 turns, a climb of 4,720 feet, and an exhilarating finish elevation of 14,115 feet, it’s still a stretch to connect the word “common sense” to Pikes Peak.
Unfortunately, it is still so deadly. The celebrations for Shute’s victory in 2019 were dampened by the death of four-time winner Carlin Dunne, who fell from his Ducati motorcycle a quarter-mile from the finish as he chased a new two-wheeled record.
Shute says he’s a “big fan” of the event and confirms that a winning race at Pikes Peak feels “bonkers”. “It’s pretty abstract to me, really,” he muses. “I knew I had the courage to win, but the reality has not yet penetrated. I’m going to win a few more and see how it goes then… ”
The RWD benchmark is its ultimate ambition. “I will continue to go back until I set a new record on the mountain,” he said. “It won’t happen in one big leap; we will steadily reduce it year after year.
More about this article: Read More
Source: www.autocar.co.uk
This notice was published: 2021-06-23 23:01:25
