This is a video taken with the CMS Lap Timer of David Donner’s run up the Mountain in the Palatov D4 PPS. Before starting the run we already knew that the top two qualifiers in our class (Dayraut and Dallenbach) were out of the race so we decided to focus on finishing and a class win rather than setting the absolute fastest time. David did an awesome job and took the Unlimited class victory with a 10:04.652. Notice the significant amount of debris on the road surface which made his task that much more chalenging..
We are also at a big power disadvantage in the class by running a normally aspirated engine – all our competitors are forced induction and anywhere between 2x and 5x our power output at the top. Our top speed for the run is 117 mph vs 140+ for some of the others. It does show off the superior capabilities or our chassis in the corners.
Now we know what we need to do to go after the overall record next year,even against what will undoubtedly be faster competition. In the meantime, this is satisfying proof that our concept of a light weight AWD car has great potential and is worth developing further.