For a 5-person company designing and building cars completely from scratch and going against top-level international competition, I’m proud of our record. Especially considering that two of the five podium finishes were class wins. My previous post may have sounded a bit negative but that’s because I set my goals and the expectation of myself and the team very high. We shoot for the sun, so a walk on the moon feels like coming up short sometimes. But then I look at the big picture and see what it is we have done. We walk on the moon a lot. And then I see how much more I still want to do.
Congratulations to Rodney on a great drive (1.75 drives really due to a red flag) and sharing the podium once again with Romain Dumas and now Paul Gerrard.
Also many thanks and congratulations to Tristan and Jay on a job well done prepping and maintaining the car. The guys are pros. Throughout this trip I kept realizing how fortunate I am to be able to just focus on the logistics and getting us here, knowing that anything that needs to be done to the car will get done, efficiently and correctly. They built it, they can sure as heck run it. Our intern Jonathan got to contribute as well, and experience all that is Pikes Peak.
The Mountain tests everyone. Talk to any competitor and they will have endless stories of crazy challenges, surmounting seemingly impossible setbacks and pulling through against all odds. Time, space, altitude, rebuilding suspension and engines from scratch at 2am with 1 hour to go – we’ve heard and done it all.
One of those crazy stories is Cody Loveland’s Enviate Hypercar, driven by second-place Unlimited finisher Paul Gerrard – which also happens to use our GTC uprights.
Cody was generous enough to say that we have 2 out of 3 podium spots but of course our contribution, while not insignificant, is nothing compared to what they’ve put in. I suggested 1.01 and we settled on 1.15 🙂 We are rivals but we’ve also become friends and being tested by the Mountain is a shared experience like no other. This is what makes this place unique.
As I posted on his FB feed, I look forward to fighting him for the watch next year (only the first place finisher in class gets one). There is much learned, both on the D1 and the D2, and much development planned. Cody and Paul did some of the testing for us this year in a way so it’s definitely a two-way street.
David Meyer’s run in the D2TT this year was interrupted by a spin that he couldn’t continue from, but with everything we’ve learned we’ll be able to put together a much stronger effort next year.
Again a huge thank you to all the organizers and volunteers who make the event possible. Competing here has been and continues to be one of the most challenging and most rewarding things I have ever done.
We’re now driving back to Portland, stopped for the day. Much to do when we get back.