It seemed like the whole mountain stopped breathing the moment Monster Tajima crossed the finish line at the summit and we all time warped back into the 1950s. There were huddled masses of spectators, media and corner marshed around the nearest radio waiting for the official time. The waiting was even worse than the cliff hanger endings from the episodes of the television series, 24.
But after a bit of drama, the time came out: ten minutes and eleven seconds. Tajima did not break the sub ten minute time. The next two unlimited cars went out and also failed to break the record.
One record that did fall was Rhys Millen's 2WD time attack time from last year. Rhys' 12:02 was laid to waste by Jeff Zwart and his just as impressive Porsche 911 Cup car!
It was a bitter sweet ending to an overall fantastic race to the top: one record broken while another much bigger record still stands.
Unlimited
#1 Nobuhiro Tajima Suzuki SX4 10:11.5
#98 Paul Dallenbach Chevy 10:39.5
#6 Rhys Millen Hyundai RMR 11:06.2
Time Attack 2WD
#111 Jeff Zwart Porsche 911 11:31.1
#22 Ken Stouffer Nissan 240SX 13:19.1
#127 Savannah Rickli Mini Cooper S 13:58.2
-Linhbergh
OFFICIAL SPEEDHUNTERS SUPPLIERS
give me that as a wallpaper linh!!!!! wicked photo
if u hadnt seen rhys millen in formula D i would know him for this, but after seeing this, id say rhys millen could push a little more and have that record! go kiwi!!
You know wht they say, theres always next year, and you can bet they are working for next year.
Cool to see that Ken Stouffer's 240sx did so well!
Rad.
best day of my life so far
Considering the testing time and subsequent lack of set up that Rhys was able to achieve with his car, I'd think he probably got a pretty decent time. In any situation, a badly set up car wont exactly give a driver confidence, and Pikes is definitely a place where you want to be confident in your car. It looked very squirmy, but once its set up right, I'd be interested to see how much better it is. Bring on next year.
Kudos' to Jeff Zwart though. That is an Epic time to achieve in a 2wd at Pikes. Absolutely smashed the record from last year, and he was within 25sec of Rhys this year.
As always, go the Monster. May your reign never end.....Until I get the chance to race that is.
classic coverage.. not a bad time really for Tajima.. nice one Mr. Linhbergh..
It's funny how little of Suzuki's enthusiasm for racing shows up in the cars they sell in North America.
Congrats to Ken! Nowhere near the Jeff Zwart's time, but I've followed the build of his s14, and 2nd place with his budget is extremely respectable.
Next year will see sub 10 minute runs, as more of the course will be paved.
WHAT HAPPENED!!!?!?!?!
More than a minute over his mark.
That car is so sexy too.
fail for the redbull team, anyway congrats to ken and Tajima
would be nice to have a spotlight on the 997 Cup. I'm curious about the changes made on this circuit racer to allow it to run on dirt..
I am interested in seeing pictures of Paul Dallenbach's car if there are any around. Just as a matter of interest.
How did the guy with the e30 do and we need some pix of Paul Dallenbach's car none around at all
drift
What happened to the Ford Fiesta Unlimited car that was drivin by that WRC driver last year?
well considering how little time they spent developing the Hyundai RMR, it's not surprising that it didn't do too well. maybe they should just stick to the formula set by Rod Millen in the Tacoma, 1000hp is a good number