Porsche will campaign a new 911 GT2 RS at Pikes Peak this month in the new 2011 Porsche 911 GT2 RS. Driven by 7 time champion Jeff Zwart, they will try and prove their cars are as reliable as they are awesome. Zwart had set the 2WD Time Attack record a year ago in his modified 911 GT3 Cup car.

His journey started this weekend when his team picked up the car from Porsche Motorsports and drove the two-day trip across country.



Press Release:
Atlanta – June 16, 2011 – Seven-time Pikes Peak Hillclimb champion Jeff Zwart, from Woody Creek, Colo., will not only take Porsche’s fastest road car ever up the mountain next week at the world’s most famous hillclimb, but he will drive the street-legal, 620 horsepower 911 GT2 RS the 1100miles from Porsche Motorsports North America in Santa Ana, Calif. to the event.

Zwart, a commercial film director, will defend his 2WD Time Attack class championship from last year, when he smashed the class record by more than 30 seconds in a modified Porsche 911 GT3 Cup road racing car. He returns to his roots at Pikes Peak – testing the limits of the ultimate street Porsche on the mountain.
With technical support from Porsche Motorsport North America (PMNA) and Michelin Tires, Zwart will be contesting the 89th running of the hillclimb classic, the second oldest race in America (behind the Indy 500). Zwart said that running a 2WD car – only the third time he has done that in his previous ten starts – will be easier because of last year’s experience, but the Porsche 911 GT2 RS, one of just 500 produced, will still be a bit of a handful. He also entered a previous generation Porsche 911 GT2 in 2003.

“Although I have gained more than 150 horsepower from last year’s car, I have also gained a lot of chassis weight – the difference between a street car and a race car. Also, I made good use of the sequential-shift transmission last year in the race car, and now have a six-speed manual gearbox to operate through Pikes Peaks’ 156 turns,” said Zwart.

The course is even more challenging for the veteran Pikes Peak competitors this year, as there are only two miles of gravel left on the mountain, which is slowly being paved completely to help attract additional tourist traffic. By next year, the road, which starts at 9,390 feet above sea level, and ends at 14,110 feet above sea level, will be all tarmac.

The road trip
This Saturday, June 18, Zwart and his crew will pick up the car at Porsche Motorsports North America in Orange County, California, and drive it over the Interstate Highway system to Colorado Springs, arriving sometime Sunday evening.

“We wanted to show the sports car enthusiasts that the Porsche 911 continues to be a car that meets multiple transportation needs, something its owners have known for years. You do not have to hit the top speed of 205 miles-per-hour to enjoy this car on the road, yet we hope to use the 600-plus horsepower to get us up Pikes Peak fast enough to win the class and break our own record,” said Zwart.

Last year, Ex-DTM pilot Roland Asch (Germany), race driver and TV commentator Patrick Simon (Germany), as well as journalists Horst von Saurma (Germany) and Chris Harris (Great Britain), drove a street-legal Porsche 911 GT3 RS, from the factory race shop in Weissach to the Nurburgring in Germany for the 24-hour race. The German and his three teammates completed a total of 145 laps without any technical mishaps.

Zwart has won his class at Pikes Peak – all in Porsche Turbo street cars – in 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, and 2002 – plus his 2010 win in the naturally aspirated 911 GT3 Cup, setting new class records four times. Recently, he co-drove a Porsche Cayenne with Pikes Peak veteran Paul Dallenbach at the challenging TransSyberia Rally (Moscow to Mongolia) in 2007. He also has an SCCA PRO Rally Championship (1990 with Rod Millen) and a SCORE Baja 1000 class win (2004) to his credit.The 89th running of Pikes Peak will start official practice on Wednesday, June 22, with Zwart scheduled to run the bottom third of the 12.42-mile course. The Porsche will run the middle part of the course during Thursday practice, and the top part of the course on Friday. Friday is also Fan Fest in Colorado Springs, and the race Sunday begins at 9:00 AM MDT. Results will be posted on the official Pikes Peak web site – www.ppihc.com.

 

How do I get a great job like that!?

Interesting post Bob!

 

I'd assume that the 24 hours of Lemans and the ALMS races to be a better testament of reliability than Pikes Peak. But then again I have been known to talk out of ma ****

Glad to see Porsche at the Peak though.

 

I'm leaning towards this as well... I'd rather see them at the 24hr of Le Mans, and the other races that they already compete in. What do they stand to gain by this?

 

Bragging rights...

 

Who cares? You don't need a reason, just a monster machine and the attitude to drive it like hell up that mountain.

 

^^^ Typical Nissan talk.

Demonstrating reliability and awesomeness (not that the car needs to) is a great excuse to get out there and have some serious fun which is what this car is basically all about.

 

And the 24hr of Le Mans doesn't display reliability?

 

Le Mans isn't the only race on the planet. The car was built to race and have fun, so they are simply only doing it justice by unleashing it at every opportunity they see fit. I mean, why not?

 

Because of this:

 

Loving the edit, speed... Really digging down deep in an attempt at maturity...

I'm sorry us po' folk can't afford a Porsche Boxster. Those things are expensive, ya' know? I cower in the presence of your wallet, speed.

You couldn't just keep the stupidity out, could you? I'm actually flattered that you are so bothered by the wonderful performance of an inanimate object. It shows your character.

 

The two of you better play nice on my thread.

 

^^^ You'd be a cheap guy to take fishing Jasper. Very little bait required to get such a large bite .

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7abO...layer_embedded

 

I think this is similar to when Roland Asch drove a GT3RS from the factory to the 'Ring for a 24 hour race - and competed the entire race (~ 140 laps, I think) without any technical problems...

So Zwart is picking up the GT2RS from Porsche Motorsports, California, driving it >1,000 miles to the race, and going after an incredible class record he previously set in a modified GT3 Cup road race car... at great elevation, through gravel and around 156 turns...

I think that shows reliability and, if he actually does break the class record, incredible awesomeness!