Pikes Peak International Hillclimb 2009
 

Not sure if anyone here will care much, but Horsepower Research and Development will be running our highly modified FC RX7 in the Pikes Peak Open class this year.

The car will be driven by Steve Bennett with co-driver Travis Tollett. Both Bennett and Tollett are veterans of the hillclimb, Bennett on quads and a Mini-Sprint, and Tollett on quads- neither of them have made the trip up the mountian in anything with a windsheild and fenders! Unfortunately, Travis has been in a wheelchair since an accident at another hillclimb event, and so this will be his first assualt on the mountian since, and he will be the first parapalegic to contest the event since its inception in 1916.

I will post pictures of the car and its buildup as I have time.

Cheers,
Don walker
Horsepower Research and Development

sweet pikes peak is racing at its best post pics of said car please

Good luck and represent the FC chasis in a positive way.

The RX-7 is turbocharged and uses a water/air intercooler on a near-stock 13BT. It uses 17x10" wheels all round, and the front wheelwells have been tubbed to provide clearance for them along with fiberglass widebody fenders. With any luck we will be at the very minimum weight for the class. I will post some pics tomorrow night of the car being built.

good luck!

nice! waiting for updates

post away! Im glad to see some rotary representation at pikes peak. I saw pikes peak for the first time last year and I have to say.. its the most exciting race I have ever seen.

sweet. good luck

moved into non tech forum due to not being a tech article.

excellent!!!!!!

Weren't they supposed to paive pikes peak? I was sad when I heard the rumor.

Its more or less paved now, the dirt sections that are left are like running on asphalt once the "blue groove" is laid down. If it rains though, the blue groove gets washed away and the traction goes away.

Ya its alot like dirt track racing around here, after about 20 good laps the track turns hard and black and the cars have enough traction out of the turns to carry the front tires across the start finish.

EDIT found a pick of the "blue stripe"

http://www.raceohio.com/DAction17.jpg

Someday, I'll go.....someday

Thats awesome! I would like to see some pics of the build, maybe some pics of it in action too!

anxiously awaiting pics

Hell yeah! I'll be drivin my FC to the hill climb, so I'll get pics this summer

charging the camera battery now-

go steve go

Ok I got some pics of the car as it sits now, I will post them up when I get home and photobucket actually works.

sounds good

wow.. good luck man. im sure everyone on the forum wishes the river and co driver luck as well.

pics!

ok pictures are up! This is the cars current condition-

Front of car, currently fitting the bodywork, big sanding and prep party coming next weekend to get all the bodywork finalized for paint-
http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/c...2/IMG_2935.jpg

http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/c...2/IMG_2936.jpg

Side of car, minus sideskirts-
http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/c...2/IMG_2936.jpg

Radiator and mount- the aluminum framework supports the rad and IC core, fans, etc. and is easily replacable after the car crashes, which it will do. The radiator is a large modified NASCAR unit. You can also see the "tubbed" front wheelwells.
http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/c...2/IMG_2938.jpg

Door bars
http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/c...2/IMG_2940.jpg

Door bars with dash-
http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/c...2/IMG_2941.jpg

Hoop detail at the door, extremely tight fit, cant fit a matchbook between the hoop and the door frame, will be gusseted-
http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/c...2/IMG_2942.jpg

Behind the drivers head
http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/c...2/IMG_2943.jpg

Co-Driver Travis Tollets Bio- You cant help but like this guy!

Race Bio:

Travis Tollett - 23 - Born:Tulsa, OK - Live:Walters, OK - Walters High School - Cameron University



I started riding/racing motocross on dirtbikes at age 3. I raced all over the southwest including national arenacross series races.
Was very competitive in the 60cc Oklahoma state mx series, and competed in multiple Ponca City national qualifiers in 50cc and 60cc classes.
At the time I was about to move up to 80cc my parents divorced and I didn't get to ride anymore but the racer inside never died, I got into skateboarding for awhile but didn't like it too much, so I bought a bmx bike and raced in Oklahoma in bmx until I finally got back into motocross again when I got a YZ125. I competed in A classes in Oklahoma, Texas, and Colorado. Also started doing the Arenacross stops in Texas and Oklahoma all while trying to balance a high school career where I was salutatorian of my class, and all state in cross country and track. I loved running because it was another form of racing for me, I was on a state championship track team, and state champion in the two mile run, also played other sports in school along with mx racing outside of school. It was after high school when I started getting into quads. I had raced them before because I had friends at mx tracks that raced them, but since my dad was doing hillclimbs on them I decided to try. In 2005 my rookie year in the CHCA I placed 6th overall in points, virtually unheard of from a rookie. Also the same year I qualified 4th/placed 8th in the Pikes Peak hillclimb which was my second ever hillclimb race, and was also the highest placing rookie that year. 2006 was another great year for me, I had the rookie jitters out of the way and placed very high in all the CHCA events finishing the year 2nd overall with my dad being 3rd overall. I was lucky to have such a great mentor and teammate like my dad around. I also placed 4th that year at Pikes Peak. In 2007 I had even higher hopes than 2006, I planned on winning the CHCA title and a top 3 at Pikes Peak. I also started back racing motocross but this time on quads. I was winning my series in oklahoma for motocross and doing better than ever in the CHCA events. I had spent tons of time building the best motor possible and during the 3rd CHCA event where I had qualified 1st, I went off the road at one of the worst spots at an estimated speed of 80-90mph. Flying down a mountain at that speed plus a 50ft+ drop cart-wheeling through boulders, I landed a boulder to my chin which hyper-extended my neck breaking my C6-C7 vertebrae. This left me with a spinal cord injury, and took me away from racing for the second time in my life. At first I could barely move my arms and I've went down long roads of rehab to try to regain everything I can. From the day they told me I'd never walk again or ride again I knew I could prove everyone wrong. From day one I've kept the best attitude about this that is humanly possible and continue to do that each day. Just like my comeback to racing after my parents divorce as a kid, I still believe I can come back from this and be better than ever so long as I believe in myself I will make it happen again.



All of us involved in this adventure- Steve Bennett and the Martini Racing guys, Myself and Deiter here at HRD, and all the rest, have stepped it up and are standing behind this guy 100% to get him in a car and mount a competetive run up the mountain, something he thought he might never be able to do again.

cool!! good luck