Jeff Zwart, from Woody Creek, Colo., sliced more than ten seconds off his final qualifying run on the lower portion of the Pikes Peak Hillclimb to earn the second spot in Time Attack 2WD for Sunday’s event.
Zwart, driving a Porsche 911 GT2 RS street car which he drove from Los Angeles to the event, climbed to within 1.5 seconds of pole-sitter Rod Millen – who is driving much lighter, purpose-built race car – after changing both tires and driving style to accommodate the advantages that his 620-horsepower Porsche gives him.
“Because the Porsche 911 GT2 RS is a street car, adjusting handling and performance is not the same as it would be on a race car, and I was having trouble feeling comfortable going as fast as I needed to for a good qualifying run,” said Zwart.
“Then, we worked with Michelin to switch from racing rain tires to grooved slicks, and suddenly the car’s handling came to me. Also, since the 620 hp Porsche is geared for more than 200 mph, and I rarely goes above 125 mpg on the mountain, I have learned to use first second and third only – to maximize the engine’s torque and performance to gain speed,” he said.
Zwart had to turn his good time with limited qualifying runs, at the usual five passes became three because of the time limitations due to the large field of entries – something Jeff didn’t know until he pulled up to the starting line for his third run. He decided right then that he would “go for it all,” and that’s when he tuned his best time – 5:15.7. Millen is on the pole in the class at 5:14.12. Both Millen and Zwart – in the 2WD Time Attack class – beat all but one of the Time Attack 4WD cars – pointing out how outstanding both of their entries are. Still, Zwart’s record in last year’s Porsche 911 GT3 Cup still stands, so there was some consolation that he didn’t get the pole.
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.
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 run Sunday beginning at 9:00 AM MDT. Results will be posted on the official Pikes Peak web site – www.ppihc.com.
Source: Porsche
