autoevolution
 

Aston Martin Enters Pikes Peak Hill Climb With a Three-Time Winner on Board

Aston Martin will compete for the first time in the Pikes Peak Hill Climb, and it will be with the driver who was the 2022 overall winner behind the wheel. The three-time King of The Mountain, Robin Shute, will run the Vantage GT3 up the historic hill climb race in Colorado.
Aston Martin Vantage GT3 8 photos
Photo: Venture Engineering
Aston Martin Vantage GT3Aston Martin Vantage GT3Aston Martin Vantage GT3Aston Martin Vantage GT3Aston Martin Vantage GT3Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT3Robin Shute
We are writing about a full-British crew, as Robin Shute is the first from his country to score a win in the Race to the Clouds, and he has accomplished that feat three times already.

Unlike other hill climb events, the race at Pikes Peak allows no practice runs at other times outside the official race week. Initially, drivers get to test their cars on select sections of the hill climb, and the full course is only accessible to them once.

The Pikes Peak Hill Climb consists of 156 turns over a 12.42-mile course that needs to be memorized to perfection by any racer who dreams of going up that mountain.

Using a simulator is anyone's best chance at memorizing the route, as there are no practice runs outside the racing event, and if there is an issue during practice, or you run off, it may be game over, but in real life.

That last bit is the most important, as it involves a lot of pressure for drivers who are interested in a result to write home about at Pikes Peak, since there is no chance of a second run. No matter what happens, a driver who does not do his best in the first run up the mountain on race day has no chance at another attempt for an entire year, when the race is held again.

By entering the race with a three-time overall winner, the British squad wants to be sure that the driving will be exactly as they are hoping for. And they're doing it with an Aston Martin Vantage GT3. It is a full-on racing car, which is based on the Vantage, and it has proven itself in competition by now.

The vehicle will run its 4.0-liter turbocharged V8 engine, which was optimized by the engineers of Aston Martin Racing in cooperation with Venture.

The idea is to prep it for the specific challenges of Pikes Peak, and we are thinking about a dramatic increase in height, which means that any engine will lose power because of the drop in pressure as it drives higher and higher up the road.

Electric vehicles do have an advantage here, as their power has no reason to drop as the altitude increases – with different challenges. But we are writing about a V8-engined racing car here, not an EV, so let us try to stick to the point.

The engine management system must be calibrated in such a way that it will sense the drop in air pressure, as well as in oxygen – which is another problem, and it will adapt in accordance on the fly without risking ruining the entire attempt with a limp mode or an error message, as other competitors have previously experienced on their first experience there.

The Aston Martin entry will consist of two effective entries, one in 2023, and another in 2024. This year's entrant will race in the Time Attack 1 class, while next year's run will be in the Unlimited class, with the stars of the event, where they might attempt to gun for a record at the legendary event.
If you liked the article, please follow us:  Google News icon Google News Youtube Instagram X (Twitter)

Editor's note: For illustration purposes, the photo gallery includes images of Aston Martin Vantage GT3 racing cars, not just the Pikes Peak entry, which is the white vehicle in the image at the top of the article.

press release
About the author: Sebastian Toma
Sebastian Toma profile photo

Sebastian's love for cars began at a young age. Little did he know that a career would emerge from this passion (and that it would not, sadly, involve being a professional racecar driver). In over fourteen years, he got behind the wheel of several hundred vehicles and in the offices of the most important car publications in his homeland.
Full profile

 

Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?

You will only receive our top stories