INDUSTRY NEWS: Zenkai Motorsports Pikes Peak Report

During one of the practice runs, some sand and gravel on the tarmac lead to the car heading off course. Fortunately for Zenkai Motorsports’ vehicle and driver, the car stayed on the mountain, suffering minor cosmetic damage on the front bumper and splitter. Posting faster times on the last couple runs, the car and driver did not let the mountain shake their confidence.

Friday's practice sessions ran on the lower section, from the start line to Glen Cove, the team was able to wait until 3am to leave for the hill. Used as a qualifying run, ZMRT was anxious to see how well they would do on the mixed surfaces of the first section.

A flawless day on the course, Stephan Verdier set the fastest times for the class, once again. Now that he secured the pole position, he was given a big decision to make. Class leading qualifiers are able to, until 10 minutes before their class’ start time, announce which starting position they would like to take. A large number of factors go into this decision, some of which include: the more cars that run ahead of you, the cleaner the track should be; if a car ahead of you loses fluids on the track, it could be disastrous. Qualifying first, with a new course record, Stephan and the rest of the team were given the task of deciding which start position they would like to run on race day.

Race day arrived, opting for the final starting slot, Stephan Verdier attacked the course behind the wheel of the Subaru of Las Vegas, powered by Crawford Performance, protected by Motul Zenkai Motorsports Subaru Impreza WRX STI. By the time he crossed the halfway point, Stephan was on pace to set a course record, with a five minute one second time. This was fast enough to break the record he set on Friday during qualifying. Following the event, Mr. Verdier said, “It is up to the mountain whether or not you make it to the top. Today, it said no.”

Approximately two-thirds up the mountain, while heading into a sharp right hand turn at nearly 100 miles per hour, the tires hit some debris on the tarmac. The rear end of the vehicle washed out, slamming the bumper into hay bales and a guardrail, spinning the car and coming to a rest overlooking the valley below. Despite the damage done to the body of the vehicle, the engine
still ran, before noticing a pair of damaged wheels, the Motul protected Crawford Performance built engine wanted to continue to the finish line.

Pikes Peak, Crawford, Subaru, Zenkai Motorsports

Racing is a dangerous and unpredictable sport. Even with all of the wrecks that occurred over the weekend, no serious injuries were reported. Zenkai Motorsports is thankful that Stephan Verdier walked away from the accident.

We would like to say thank you one more time to all of our sponsors. Without their help and support, we would not have the opportunity to continue to compete against some of the best drivers and vehicles in the world. Pikes Peak International Hill Climb put us up against drivers from many countries across the globe. It is always an honor to be on track with so many talented drivers.