Porsche Motorsports Weekly Event Notes: Monday, April 2, 2018
This Week.
• Porsche and Pikes Peak Announce Cayman Clubsport Class for 96th Race to the Clouds
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Event Story Lines.
Porsche and Pikes Peak Announce Cayman Clubsport Class for 96th Race to the Clouds.
Porsche Motorsport North America (PMNA) in conjunction with Porsche Cars North America (PCNA) and the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb Organization (PPIHC) announce the creation of a new class for the world-famous Broadmoor Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. The class, the first official one-make Porsche category in the 96-year history of the “Race to the Clouds”, is exclusive to the Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport. Eight “invitation-only” entries will contest for the Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport Pikes Peak Hill Climb Trophy by Yokohama, June 24, on the legendary Colorado Springs, Colorado course.
Running in the Time Attack Division, three variants of the mid-engine Porsche Cayman GT4 are eligible: the Clubsport, the IMSA GS class-spec Clubsport and the international GT4-specifaction Clubsport MR. All cars within the class will utilize Yokohama’s ADVAN A052 tire. Yokohama is a longtime partner of PMNA. Mobil 1, official lubricants supplier to Porsche Motorsport, is also supplying product to the class. Porsche Design will partner with PCNA and PMNA to support the inaugural event.
The first Pikes Peak Hill Climb was run in 1916 on a full gravel and dirt circuit carved up to the Mountain’s summit. By 2012, the full 12.42-mile, 156-turn circuit was asphalted up to the 14,115-foot pinnacle. The race itself starts at the seven-mile marker giving competitors a 4,725-foot elevation change during their timed run.
Porsche factory Romain Dumas (France) will be a special guest of Porsche for the weekend. Dumas will be assisting in the new class in addition to attempting his fourth – third consecutive – win at Pikes Peak. The defending champion will challenge for outright victory as well as attempt to set a new track record with an all-electric racecar produced by Porsche parent company Volkswagen. Dumas’ previous wins came in 2014, 2016 and 2017.
While never a Porsche factory driver, Long Beach, California-native Jeff Zwart is renowned for his prowess on the rally scene, particularly his mastery of the legendary Pikes Peak International Hill Climb where he has won eight times (1994-’98, 2002, 2010, 2015), all in Porsche 911s. Zwart's presence in the Porsche world, as both a driver and as a producer of some of the marque’s most iconic commercials, as well as his place in Pikes Peak lore, made him a natural conduit to bring the Cayman GT4 Clubsport class to “America’s Mountain” in 2018. Now that the class is confirmed, the eight-time Pikes Peak Champion assumes the role of driving coach for the eight invitational participants to race at the early summer event. Zwart will be available before and during the event for all Porsche Cayman GT4 teams and drivers.
Porsche Motorsport North America will have race support on site for the entire week of testing, practice, qualifying and the race (June 24). Yokohama will provide tire technical support throughout the week dedicated to the Time Attack Division’s Pikes Peak Cup.
The Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport is the race variant of the popular road-going Cayman GT4. Sharing over 80 percent of its components with the street car, the mid-mounted flat-six-powered machine debuted in 2016 winning its first North American championship, the IMSA Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge (CTSCC) GS class, with Bodymotion Racing. In 2017, the car was homologated into official GT4-specification and, with the required updates as well as performance modifications, took on the moniker of Cayman GT4 Clubsport MR. After which it won a second GS class title in CTSCC with RS1. In addition, the car took victories in the Pirelli World Challenge GTS class with Flying Lizard Motorsports. RS1 returned to victory lane at the IMSA season-opening four-hour race at Daytona International Speedway winning overall with Spencer Pumpelly and 2017 class drivers champion Dillon Machavern. The Porsche Motorsport-produced car also competes in one-make class in Porsche Pirelli GT3 Cup Trophy USA sanctioned events.
Dr. Daniel Armbruster, president/CEO, Porsche Motorsport North America.
“The first race win of any kind for Porsche came in 1948 at a hill climb shortly after the Porsche No. 1 rolled out of the small shop in Gmünd, Austria. Many of our victories since have come at hill climbs with some of our greatest drivers like Vic Elford and Romain Dumas. So, it is only natural that we participate in the greatest of American hill climbs, and possibly the most famous in the world, Pikes Peak. Jeff Zwart, who has eight wins here with Porsche, and Romain, who is the defending winner, were instrumental in helping this effort come to reality. We worked closely with the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb Organization and our current and prospective racers to create a category that should highlight their skills and the Cayman GT4 Clubsport. It is our goal, in cooperation with the PPIHC, to build this class in the coming years.”
Jeff Zwart, Porsche Motorsport Consultant, Eight-Time Pikes Peak Class Winner.
“I have been combining two of my passions, Porsche and Pikes Peak, for almost two-decades and I am glad that we found a way to bring the experience to others. Eight people will have a chance to add their name to the list of Pikes Peak winners and that is no small accomplishment. I am proud of my role with this effort and I believe this is the first of what will become a large and intensely competitive class in years to come.”