David Higgins and Team Subaru Storm the Mountain and Smash the Record

Sunday June, 26th, 2011- The course record at the Mt. Washington Hillclimb, one of Americas oldest auto races, was smashed today in convincing fashion by professional rally driver David Higgins at the wheel of a Vermont SportsCar prepared 2011 Subaru Impreza WRX STI.  Higgins, from the Isle of Man, broke the course record, which stood for thirteen years, by over thirty seconds at the revived 'Climb to the Clouds', which was last held in 2001. The new time to beat to the summit of the 7.6 mile sinuous asphalt and gravel Mt. Washington Auto Rd. is 6 minutes and 11.54 seconds, nearly thirty seconds faster than the outgoing record.  The Climb to the Clouds featured nearly seventy competitors driving an eclectic mix of modern rally cars, purpose built hillclimb cars and a small group of vintage racecars steeped in motorsports history.

Weather conditions had been less than ideal throughout the two practice days on Friday and Saturday, with intermittent rain showers that blanketed the Auto Road in clouds.  The weather kept the competitors from having a chance to practice on the upper half of the course thus adding to the challenge.  On Sunday however the weather cleared and two full course timed runs were held, although dense fog engulfed the summit for parts of the day.

Higgins was the last driver to launch off the start line which helped to build the anticipation of a possible record breaking run amongst the fans in attendance.  Higgins set a blistering pace on his first run, breaking the record by over twenty seconds, but had even more speed on tap on his second run where he lowered his new record by a further eight seconds. The previous record of 6 minutes and 41.99 seconds was set by Mt. Washington Hillclimb ace Frank Sprongl in 1998. 

"It was a very big challenge because the road was still wet in spots and would turn very slick suddenly. With the clouds the visibility was so low I could hardly see past the hood of my car," explained Higgins. "Our Subaru is setup perfectly for a road like this but I have never raced here before and it was a lot of work to try to learn the course. It's fantastic to have the record at such a prestigious event."

In second place was Todd Cook of Tempe, Arizona in an open-wheeled TCE/Wells Coyote hillclimb car and in third place was Paul Tingaud in his crowd favorite Audi "Super Chicken" Hillclimb Special.  Tingaud held off former Mt. Washington Hillclimb record holder Paul Choiniere, driving a Hyundai Tiburon all-wheel-drive rally car, by just one-second for the final podium position.

A new speed record of 114mph, measured at the Quarter Mile section of the course, was attained by veteran hillclimber Jerry Driscoll at the wheel of "The Patriot", his bespoke hillclimb car.  Driscoll, of East Randolph, Vermont, set the outgoing Speed Record of 113mph on the Mt. Washington Auto Rd. course in 1998 driving the very same car.

The Mt. Washington Auto Road welcomed for the first time a truck to race up its narrow serpentine course as daredevil Mike Ryan of Santa Clarita, California raced his purpose-built Freightliner Cascadia  race-truck, with an amazing 1,950HP, in the Hillclimb Special Class. Ryan was an impressive 27th Overall and commented that, "it was a terrifying and challenging ride to the top and at the finish I truly felt like I accomplished something."

Winning the all-wheel-drive Rally class (R1) was Robert Martai with his co-driver Fabian Sannet in their 2008 Mitsubishi Evo X.  While the two-wheel drive (R2) class was won by local rally driver Chris Duplessis and his co-driver Sarah Trask, both of Littleton, New Hampshire in their 2011 Ford Fiesta. 

Of the four Hillclimb classes, meant for regional hillclimb racers and their cars, the Hillclimb-1 class was won by Sherman Baumen, while the Hillclimb-2 class was won by Jamie Melhuish in his 2003 BMW M3. Melhuish, of Newtonville, Massachusetts finished an impressive 7th Overall.   The Hillclimb-3 class was won by Tim Mather in a Nissan Sentra and Hillclimb-4 class was won by Nick Wheelock at the wheel of his 2004 Subaru STI.

The Vintage Class featured a lineup of prestigious racing cars from the 1930's and 1950's. Although all the entered vehicles are steeped in motorsports history none as much so as an extremely rare 1933 Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 that won Le Mans with legendary Grand Prix driver Tazio Nuvolari at the wheel. The 8C was shipped across the Atlantic, and in 1937 it raced and won the Mt. Washington Hillclimb.  It was raced on Sunday by current owner Peter Sachs.   Also competing was a 1934 Reuter Special known as "The Old Grey Mare," and a 1951 Jaguar XK120 known as "The Beast" which Sherwood Johnston piloted in the 1953 to a record-breaking run of 10 minutes, 47.6 seconds. The Vintage Class roster also featured a 1931 Studebaker factory Indy car, one of only three that were built, that won the pole at the 1931 Indianapolis 500  as well as raced and won the Pikes Peak Hillclimb the same year.

Full results can be found here: http://climbtotheclouds.com/general-info/results/

About the Mt. Washington "Climb to the Clouds"  Hillclimb:

First opened in 1861 as the Mt. Washington Carriage Road, the Mt. Washington Auto Road, located in Pinkham Notch, New Hampshire is the country's oldest man-made attraction. The 7.6 mile Mt. Washington Auto Road is one of the ultimate challenges for driver and automobile. The serpentine tarmac and gravel road is lined with trees and dramatic drop-offs as it winds its way to the 6,288 foot summit of the Northeast's tallest peak. Considered to be one of the oldest motorsports events in the United States, the Climb to the Clouds was first run in 1904, seven years before the first 500-mile race at the Brickyard in Indianapolis and twelve years prior to the inaugural Pikes Peak International Hillclimb in Colorado. The last time the Climb to the Clouds was run was in 2001.

Organized by Vermont SportsCar and sanctioned by the Sports Car Club of New Hampshire,  the 2011 Mt. Washington Hillclimb  served as one of several  events to help celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Mt. Washington Auto Road as the nation's oldest man-made attraction.

Source: Climbtotheclouds
Photos: Lars Gange

David Higgins Takes Mt. Washington Record.

Sunday June, 26th 2011- David Higgins made Mt. Washington Climb to the Clouds History as he crossed the line in 6 minutes 19 seconds during his first full-length timed run of Sunday morning. Higgins was just over a second faster than his Subaru Rally Team USA teammate Travis Pastrana who ran the Mt. Washington Auto Road in a similar car to promote the return of the hillclimb last fall. The prior record set by Frank Sprongl in 1998 is 6:41.99 and has stood for 13 years.
Jon Kemp followed at 7:06.82 and Todd Cook has the 3rd fastest time with a 7:07.33, less than a second back.
The Mt. Washington Auto Road is one of the ultimate challenges for driver and automobile, the 7.6 mile serpentine tarmac and gravel road is lined with trees and dramatic drop-offs as it winds its way to the 6,288 foot summit of the Northeast’s tallest peak.  The Mt. Washington Auto Road’s history goes well beyond just this Hillclimb as it celebrates its 150^thanniversary this summer.
Source: Climbtotheclouds.com
Picture: Lars Gange

Higgins Sets the Pace on Mt. Washington

June 24, 2011- The Mt. Washington Hillclimb, known affectionately as the "Climb to the Clouds" is making a comeback this weekend after a nearly ten-year hiatus. The event, one of Americas' oldest auto races, features a strong 70-car competition field with some of the best drivers and cars from around the world competing for "King of the Hill" honors. The first day of practice, on the lower half of the 7.6 mile Mt. Washington Auto Road, was conducted this morning with Subaru driver David Higgins, from the Isle of Man, toping the time sheets nearly twenty seconds faster than his closest challenger in rainy and challenging conditions.

The entry list includes two of the past course record holders, former and current rally champions, high-powered open-wheel cars, a vintage class filled with cars steeped in motorsports history and a first for the event; a purpose-built race-truck.

"What a road! Really good fun," said Higgins, who has never competed on the auto road before. "The conditions were really slick and challenging plus I'm still trying to learn the road." Higgins is driving a Vermont SportsCar prepared Subaru Impreza WRX STI rally car.

Former Climb to the Clouds record holder Tim O'Neil of Whitefield, New Hampshire, who last competed here nearly twenty years ago, was sixth fastest on the morning practice session. "I don't think the auto road has changed much in twenty years but my memory has gotten worse!"

The Mt. Washington Auto Road will see a truck race up its narrow serpentine course for the first time in its history as daredevil Mike Ryan of Santa Clarita, California takes his purpose-built Freightliner 14.7 liter, 1,950HP turbo-diesel-powered race-truck up Mt. Washington in the Hillclimb Special Class. Ryan was an impressive 31st fastest on the morning practice session.

Evening entertainment kicks off tonight with the Jim Devlin Band performing at 8pm on the Climb to the Clouds stage at the base of the Mt. Washington Auto Road followed by a Fireworks show. A second practice is scheduled for tomorrow and at 8pm Boston-based TAB The Band, who recently toured the US and UK with the Stone Temple Pilots, will perform on stage. Race day is Sunday where all teams will have two full course attempts to the summit.

Grandstand seating will be available for spectators at the start area while several on-course spectating areas will be available. Tickets and schedule information are available at http://www.climbtotheclouds.com/.

Fans will also enjoy car displays, vendors, food and a beer garden. All festivities are located at the base of the Mt. Washington Auto Road in Pinkham Notch, New Hampshire.

Photo/ Mike_Proulx-WorldRallySport

Subaru Isle of Man TT Record Attempt

Mark Higgins has a massive moment during testing for his record breaking run around the famed Isle of Man TT course - hold on.

Higgins Nips L'Estage For a Hotly Contested Susquehannock Trail Rally Win

Wellsboro, PA (June 5th, 2011)  -- Subaru Rally Team USA's David Higgins and co-driver Craig Drew win the 2011 Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally (STPR) by a narrow margin of 1.3 seconds over rivals Antoine L'Estage and Nathalie Richard. Higgins had a 37 second deficit halfway through day two after losing intercom at the start of Stage 8 and puncturing a tire on Stage 9, but came back to lead the rally by 2.5 seconds going into the final stage. This is the third time Higgins has taken the outright STPR win in his career, having won the event back in 2002 and 2003.

The Rockstar Mitsubishi crew of Antoine L'Estage and co-driver Nathalie Richard finished in a close second place after controlling the rally lead up until the second to last stage. The privateer driver set a blistering pace from the start despite being down on power and went on to win six of the event's fourteen stages including both passes of the Super Special at the Tioga Fairgrounds.

The Susquehannock Trail Rally is round five of the six-round Rally America Championship and is based in Wellsboro, PA. STPR features some of the fastest, roughest gravel stages in the Series with technical sections and 'gotcha's' scattered throughout. Severe dust caused visibility issues until about Stage 8, when heavy rains in the area challenged teams with slippery roads. The changing weather conditions contributed to an already heavy rate of attrition, putting several of the top crews and many regional competitors out of the event or out of contention.

The podium was rounded out by Ramana Lagemann and co-driver Chrissie Beavis, who once again placed third overall and first in the Super Production (SP) class. Lagemann nearly retired from the rally early on day two after running out of fuel on Stage 7 only three miles from the finish. Lagemann's Subaru sputtered to a stop on the following transit, but rival SP class driver Travis Hanson displayed excellent sportsmanship by towing him back to Service. Travis Hanson and co-driver Terry Hanson placed fourth overall and second in class, clinching the 2011 Super Production title at STPR. The remainder of the Super Production field fell victim to attrition, leaving Lagemann and Hanson as the only crews in the class to finish the event.

In Two-Wheel-Drive (2WD) competition, Chris Greenhouse piloted his 1995 Plymouth Neon to his first-ever National class victory. Greenhouse and co-driver Billy Mann finished sixth overall with a 38 second lead over the second fastest team in their class and were the quickest 2WD crew on both passes of the Super Special. Brian Gottlieb and co-driver Pat Darrow placed second in class in their 1989 Honda Civic with a comfortable cushion of over one minute on Dillon Van Way. Van Way and co-driver Jake Blattner placed third in 2WD despite losing time on Stage 7 after rolling their 2011 Ford Fiesta.

2010 Two-Wheel-Drive champion Chris Duplessis is the first in North America to build and field a Ford Fiesta R2, which made its U.S. debut at STPR. Duplessis and co-driver Catherine Woods' rally came to a disappointing end after breaking a control arm tie rod near the finish of Stage 12. Duplessis was sitting sixth overall and was well over 8 minutes ahead of his 2WD rivals when he retired.

The 2011 Rally America National Championship comes down to the wire at the sixth and final round, the New England Forest Rally based in Newry, Maine this July 15-16.