Beat existing record by something like 15 seconds. 7 Minutes 57 seconds to make the climb!
Beat existing record by something like 15 seconds. 7 Minutes 57 seconds to make the climb!
I was just looking this minute for a live feed of the event, it's pay only tho.
awesome news
iirc, they were 13 seconds under the record in qualifying
Sponsors have just now posted a video detailing the car and the record run on YouTube. I search something like VW record Pikes Peak run. It's about a 10 minute long video and only 300 people have thus far seen it.!
Found this video but it's background only not todays race footage
I want to see it and the 919 EVO battle for fastest lap at the Ring. The world needs this.
In reply to captdownshift :
Toyota needs to be in your ring race ......
are we going to have one lap or best of 5 laps ?
How did they manage to build in high NOx emissions from an electric car? 
fasted58 said:
iirc, they were 13 seconds under the record in qualifying
I don't think qualifying runs the entire course, just a portion of it.
Pike's Peak is the ideal race for an electric. Altitude, short length, lots of corners to deploy massive torque - it's actually surprising it's taken this long to beat the ICE cars. I hate to see Sebastien's record go down, but I'm glad it was Dumas that did it. No matter what your car is, beating Loeb is not easy.
captdownshift said:I want to see it and the 919 EVO battle for fastest lap at the Ring. The world needs this.
Or make it the fastest five laps 
The coolest thing for me on the 919 Evo is the fact that it's an endurance racer underneath. I wonder how far the VW can go at race pace?
In reply to fasted58 :
Oops. I spoke too soon
There's some clips of the VW from today
Can't wait to see the entire run!
Qualifying used to be startline to Glen Cove, essentially half the course, not sure if they still do this the same, I stopped going after the course was paved. 7:57 is amazing, and as Keith said, Loeb is tough for anyone to beat, in anything. The weather gods must have been smiling this year, I've seen 90 degrees and sun at the start and a blizzard at the top, at the same time! For anyone who has driven tht road, consider that this time is an AVERAGE of about 95 mph!
In reply to fasted58 :
Thanks for posting that, fast. I'm a computer illiterate. Can you give me a brief primmer on how to post a YouTube video here? Tyi.
In reply to Ovid_and_Flem :
Copy the URL (as in: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8pHoTDKrLA) and paste in Insert Media Embed block. Click OK.
It's fast. But now that the course is fully paved, and electrics have a significant advantage over ICEs, it seems like a video game or something. It's like driver skill is less critical, and it's only a matter of time until somebody programs a better time from a car.
In reply to STM317 :
The risk versus reward in finding tenths of a second and changing weather still makes it very much a driver's race. The power delivery advantage of all electric motors versus ICE is going to take over every form of motorsports in the next 10-15 years, unless i3 are still going for more than $2033 at that point.
I guarantee that it requires a HELL of a driver to pilot any car up that course in 8 minutes. That said, I remember back around 1993, or whenever it was that President Clinton ordered full civilian access to GPS, a friend of mine and I were standing around at the corner called Double Cut during practice and joking about the ultimate Peak car. We figured that it would use full GPS to control fully active suspension and active aero for maximum handling and downforce everywhere on the course, even an automatic pilot with GPS. We ruled out a fan car since the course was still dirt. Of course, Audi has now run a driverless car at speed up the course using GPS, and all of the rest could now be done. At the time the electric record was around 15 minutes, so we didn't consider that because the batteries would be too heavy. Shows how technology can catch up to the wildest ideas.
A really fast run up the Peak is a truly awesome thing to behold. There is a big straight between Elk Park and the turn below Double Cut that curves to the right with a huge dropoff to the right ( the inside of the curve). I remember one year an open wheel driver named Gary Lee Kanawyer (who won overall that year) would come through that fast, sweeping bend with the inside front wheel hanging out in space - every run, practice and in the race! This with 700 hp on dirt. The TV coverage that year had lots of in-car footage of Gary's winning run, including hanging the wheel over the edge - and he never lifted. Amazing stuff.
STM317 said:It's fast. But now that the course is fully paved, and electrics have a significant advantage over ICEs, it seems like a video game or something. It's like driver skill is less critical, and it's only a matter of time until somebody programs a better time from a car.
Loeb beat the predicted best possible time on his run by 3 seconds or something like that. Pavement requires no less skill, just different skill. ICE vs electric really doesn't matter for the driver skill either.
In reply to Knurled. :
They’ve solved two problems with one car:
Knurled. said:How did they manage to build in high NOx emissions from an electric car?
Tire smoke. Lots and lots of tire smoke.
Pretty amazing. Going to wait till morning to watch the video though.
captdownshift said:The power delivery advantage of all electric motors versus ICE is going to take over every form of motorsports in the next 10-15 years,
This is the absolute truth. Seeing Tesla driveteains being chopped into different cars is showing that we're at the beginning of the age of proper electric hot rodding. I'm looking forward to electric mod class autocross cars myself.
californiamilleghia said:In reply to captdownshift :
Toyota needs to be in your ring race ......
are we going to have one lap or best of 5 laps ?
Think of the regenerative braking possibilities on the way down!
Did they cheat?
Keith Tanner said:STM317 said:It's fast. But now that the course is fully paved, and electrics have a significant advantage over ICEs, it seems like a video game or something. It's like driver skill is less critical, and it's only a matter of time until somebody programs a better time from a car.
Loeb beat the predicted best possible time on his run by 3 seconds or something like that. Pavement requires no less skill, just different skill. ICE vs electric really doesn't matter for the driver skill either.
No disrespect to the driver at all. It takes a ton more skill and guts than I possess to complete a run like that. I'm certain he had a blast doing it too.
But from a spectators POV, the things that make motorsports interesting are the many variables that add drama and must be overcome. By fully paving the course, they reduced the number of variables at work. When you run on a single, smooth surface tire design and selection is a whole lot easier, your drivers skillset can be less diverse or well rounded, and your decision about tuning your suspension and aero is much simpler.
Going to electrics will further reduce the number of variables that have to be overcome. There's no loss of power at altitude, there should be fewer mechanical failures, there's ideal torque all the time. There's really not even much noise to add drama or flare for spectators.
When you remove all of these challenges and variables it becomes less interesting. Just like watching Toyota compete against nobody at LeMans is a lot less interesting for spectators.
I was there. This thing was a sight to see.
It was followed by a turbo car that was driven by Simone Faggioli. He took second and now holds 3rd overall.
The section I was standing in provided a nice contrast of these two cars. The VW was here and home with only a siren to warn you. The Norma was spitting and popping up the hill. At first, I thought it was broken but realized that it must have used some version of anti-lag. The gas car had a much higher speed through picnic at 148 vs 136 for the VW.
Anyway, I had a great time and recommend it to others.
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