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2011 Mt. Washington Climb to the Clouds boasts impressive field of drivers and vehicles

Jeff Glucker — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 08:28:00 EST

After a 10-year hiatus, the Mt. Washington Climb to the Clouds is set to make a return in 2011. If you're a fan of hill-climb events, make sure to mark your calendar for June 22nd through the 26th because that's when a field of 75 competitors will make their runs up the 7.6-mile Mt. Washington Auto Road.

In 2010, Travis Pastrana brought attention to the Auto Road courtesy of his blazing ascent of the twisting trail. That run was 20 seconds faster than the official record held by Frank Sprongl. Pastrana's run, however, was not an official record attempt... but it's a different story for the folks making the trip in June.

The field includes current record-holder Frank Sprongl, a host of Pikes Peak veterans and Mike Ryan, driving one very fast Gulf-livered Freightliner truck (see above). Besides that super-fast semi, a wide variety of machines will be on hand thanks to the range of racing classes that the Climb to the Clouds is offering. Modern Mitsubishi Evolitions and Subaru Imprezas will be sharing paddock space with vintage racers from the 1930s through the 1950s.

New Hampshire's Mt. Washington is set to play host to an exciting series of runs laid down by a skilled set of drivers. One name, however, is notably absent from the list of entries. Mr. Pastrana is apparently too busy with NASCAR. That's a shame, because we really wanted to see Sprongl and Pastrana duke it out for bragging rights on the Auto Road. Check out the official press release after the break.

[Source: Vermont Sports Car]

Continue reading 2011 Mt. Washington Climb to the Clouds boasts impressive field of drivers and vehicles

2011 Mt. Washington Climb to the Clouds boasts impressive field of drivers and vehicles originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 22 Apr 2011 08:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mt. Washington's 2011 Climb to the Clouds announces classes, opens registration

Jeff Glucker — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 11:38:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports

In September 2010, Travis Pastrana turned our attention to the Mt. Washington Auto Road. While it wasn't an official crack at Frank Sprongl's record six minute and 41.99 second blast, Pastrana climbed Mt. Washington in six minutes and 20.47 seconds with his rally-prepped 2011 Subaru Impreza WRX STI. The purpose of the run was to evaluate the course for the upcoming 2011 Climb to the Clouds event. The evaluation run was a success and race organizers have announced the classes and opened up registration for the hill climb competition.

The first Climb to the Clouds was run in 1904 but the event went dormant in 2000. Now, after a ten-year hiatus, it's back and the 2011 run will mark the Mt. Washington Auto Road's 150th anniversary. The 7.6-mile route begins at 1,527 feet and then climbs to 6,288 feet above sea level. Our Editor in Chief was able to "blast" through the 100+ turns in about 25 minutes.

For the 2011 Climb to the Clouds, organizers have created five classes: Open, Rally, Hillclimb, Vintage and Electric. The Vintage Class is an invitation-only category for vehicles from 1961 and older. The Electric Class is for full EVs only - no hybrids allowed. The Rally and Hillclimb classes are broken out according to the standard of Rally America and the New England Hillclimb Association respectively. Finally, the Open Class is just what it sounds like but places restrictions on engine size based on the wheels driving the vehicle and whether it's naturally aspirated or turbocharged.

The Mt. Washington hill climb competition scheduled to take place June 22nd through the 26th and organizers hope to host a field of 70 cars. With any luck, someone, will be able to arrange for Sprongl and Pastrana to duke it out on the Auto Road.

[Source: Climb to the Clouds]

Continue reading Mt. Washington's 2011 Climb to the Clouds announces classes, opens registration

Mt. Washington's 2011 Climb to the Clouds announces classes, opens registration originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 22 Jan 2011 11:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Frank Sprongl weighs in on Travis Pastrana's Mt. Washington Auto Road record

Jeff Glucker — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 14:58:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Audi, Subaru

Frank Sprongl in his 1983 Audi Quattro

Frank Sprongl would like to chat with Travis Pastrana. You see, we recently reported that Mr. Pastrana established a new record for driving up the Mt. Washington Auto Road. Travis' time of six minutes and 20.47 seconds in a rally-prepped Subaru WRX STI bested the previous time laid down by Sprongl. In 1998, Frank Sprongl and his 1983 Audi Quattro S2 attacked the Auto Road and set an official record time of six minutes and 41.99 seconds. Technology has advanced quite a bit in the 27 years since Sprongl's Audi Quattro was new, as well as the 12 years since he set the record.

"It's unofficial to begin with... it's basically just a test day and he did it with a co-driver and pace notes," states Sprongl. He adds, "The course has 76 turns and I ran it with no co-driver or notes, I memorized every turn." He further notes that the Auto Road had longer gravel sections when he made his official run. It has since received more paving. In Frank Sprongl's opinion, this run is simply Red Bull and Travis performing a stunt for advertising. He does say that he believes Travis put in an amazing effort and it was certainly an excellent run... but was it official or not?

Continue reading...

[Image: Mount Washington Auto Road]

Continue reading Frank Sprongl weighs in on Travis Pastrana's Mt. Washington Auto Road record

Frank Sprongl weighs in on Travis Pastrana's Mt. Washington Auto Road record originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 17 Sep 2010 14:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Travis Pastrana smashes 12-year-old Mt. Washington Auto Road record

Jeff Glucker — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 09:28:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Performance, Hatchback, Subaru, Off-Road, Racing

Travis Pastrana sets Mt. Washington Auto Road record - Click above for high-res image gallery

Just the other day we mentioned that Travis Pastrana was spotted on Mt. Washington. We were curious if he was going to try and take on the Auto Road. Well, he didn't just "take it on" - he went after the 1998 record set by Frank Sprongl. The time set back then was a blistering six minutes and 41.99 seconds.

Pastrana beat it by 20 seconds.

Driving a rally-prepped 2011 Subaru Impreza WRX STI, Pastrana attacked the 7.6-mile long course and slid across the line in six minutes and 20.47 seconds, also beating our own Editor-in-Chief's time by some 19 minutes. The Mt. Washington Auto Road is 149 years old, features over 100 turns, a one-mile unpaved section and the road climbs from a base of 1,527 feet up to the summit, 6,288 feet above sea level. The average gradient for this road is 11.6 percent.

The project is being called the Red Bull Speed Chasers and it seems Pastrana and his crew did just that. The Subaru was prepared by his Vermont Sportscar team and it's clearly an extremely quick machine. Pastrana, along with officials from the Mt. Washington Auto Road, used this run to evaluate the conditions of the route ahead of the 2011 Climb to the Clouds. The event is scheduled to run June 22-26 in 2011 and marks the first time in 10 years it will take place. It also coincides with the 150-year anniversary for the road itself.

Pastrana was quoted as saying:

"This is an amazing road, it's just so much fun, it's extremely challenging, there is no room for error and the scenery is epic. The Mt. Washington Auto Road has some amazing history to it."

General Manager of the Auto Road, Howie Wemyss added:

"Travis' run was incredibly thrilling on a number of fronts... It's amazing that he was able to drive that car to the summit in 6:20, and all the more so when you realize that he and his co-driver had just seen the Auto Road for the first time the day before, and the top quarter-mile was in thick fog! Our racing heritage here at the Auto Road runs deep, having started in 1904 and now Travis is part of that heritage as the fastest person to the summit by automobile."

Congratulations are in order to Travis Pastrana and his Red Bull team. Do we spray him down with an energy drink or a bottle of champagne?

Gallery: Travis Pastrana breaks Mt. Washington Auto Road record

Continue reading Travis Pastrana smashes 12-year-old Mt. Washington Auto Road record

Travis Pastrana smashes 12-year-old Mt. Washington Auto Road record originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 10 Sep 2010 09:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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