Monday, August 15, 2011

The Spectra 341 Challenge Hits the Mountain for Another Run


Every year there are thousands of motorsport challenges that occur all across the globe but none are as scary for a drive as a hill climb. The idea of motor sport is a simple one, more control and more speed equals a better time. Drivers push their cars and the parts like the wheel bearing assembly and wheel hub assembly to the limits to make the car get through the course as fast as it can. Hill climbs are the kind of races that make heros or tragedies. During a hill climb the track is usually a road that is not designed for racing, in fact most of the time it is a standard road throughout the year and for one or two day it is transformed into a mecca of speed.
The Spectra hill climb is a relatively new race in fact this year’s running of the races marks the second annual event. True 2 times is not a legacy but it may just be the beginning of one. The list of cars that attend this even are as different as nascar and Formula 1. The track itself is a 5.2 mile stretch of highway that runs through a mining town in the middle of the Nevada desert and has no guard rails or safety barriers.
The fastest time last year and this year was run by the same man in the same car, Lou Gigliotti piloted his ZR1 to a time of 3:14. This time is amazing because a good time on the mountain is considered a 3:41 so to cut 23 seconds off that time is quite the feet. The road is called the Nurburgring of America, probably by people who have never been to Nurburgring before but it is still a good comparison.  Both of these tracks have extremely complex layouts and they both test a drivers ability to its max.  The amazing thing about this race of the Nurburg is that there is no safety on the road itself if you go off it could be a 500ft drop for the driver. For anyone who wants to it is a great idea to take a look at some of the incar videos to get an idea of just how scary this drive really is. Not to mention how crazy the drivers have to be to do this event. 

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