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Acura NSX Is The Fastest Production Hybrid Ever At Pikes Peak source: https://www.motor1.com/news/442210/acura-nsx-fastest-hybrid-pikes-peak/ The race to the clouds is alive and well in 2020. Nestled in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, Pikes Peak is an area that means so much to people from all walks of life. Some may see a hiking paradise, others a quiet one-mile raceway, but ask any petrolhead and they’ll describe it as home to one of the most fearsome hill climbs in the world. In the latest running, Acura proved its hand with the NSX as the fastest performance hybrid in the race. In the driver’s seat was chief Acura engineer James Robinson, a 10-time Pikes Peak veteran with podium finishes in the Exhibition, Open, and Time Attack 1 classes. This year competing in the TA1 class, he came up against some fierce competition with a Porsche 935 tribute car driven by Jeff Zwart and GT2 RS Clubsport piloted by David Donner amongst the runners. The NSX time attack special produced a third-place finish in class, with the two Porsches of Donner and Zwart ahead. It’s clear the top three were the undisputed class off the field, with the Acura finishing almost a minute ahead of the next-best car. Results aside, it’s clear that the NSX competitor wasn’t just a stock vehicle taken from a dealership and dropped on the Pikes Peak start line. The hill climb special sports a massive rear wing, aggro front splitter, 200 pounds of weight reduction, and HRE wheels shod with sticky Pirelli rubber. The engine has also been fettled to the tune of 625 horsepower (466 kilowatts) in comparison to the standard 573. Aside from exploits up the mountain, Acura Motorsports remains integral to the brand since its launch in 1986. In its tenure, the partnership has produced multiple championships in the American sports car racing scene with both prototype and GT3 challengers. If their track record is anything to go by, we’d wager that Acura will be back to take the top step next year. Regardless, the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb remains one of the longest-running motorsports events in America.

https://www.carbibles.com/dai-yoshihara-announces-retirement-from-formula-drift/ "The End of an Era: Dai Yoshihara Announces Retirement From Formula Drift One of the longest lasting Formula Drift drivers calls it quits. In 2003 a young Japanese driver named Daijiro Yoshihara came to the United States to compete in the inaugural (and short-lived) D1 Grand Prix USA series (D1GP). At the very start of American drift culture, Yoshihara was there and doing extremely well, including a 2nd-place overall finish in 2004 Formula Drift (FD). Eighteen years of drifting later with one Formula Drift title to his name, he is calling it quits on professional drifting. For now. Yoshihara has always been one of my favorite drivers. When I was 18 years old, I shot a few rounds of Formula Drift for zero money and considerable effort. The first round I shot was 2016 Long Beach. I rented some lenses and got to the track early to explore. After I wandered the parking garage for vantage points, tech inspection began downstairs and I meandered over to the blue and white Subaru BRZ to find Dai standing just beside it. He was the first person I talked to at an FD event and he was a nice dude with good vibes. His driving style and career were the stuff of legend to me, and there I was having a nice chat. It was surreal and one of the many reasons the early years of FD are my favorite. Dai is one of those drivers who persevered through them all. My favorite time is easily 2004 to 2007, when D1GP hosted regular events stateside with some of the Japanese drivers shipping over to compete against the best of the United States. Icons like Ken Nomura, known as Nomuken, Nobushige Kumakubo of Team Orange, Max Orido with his Supra, Youichi Imamura in the APEX’i FD3S, Masato Kawabata in his S15 before the famous 2009 reverse entry, as well as Naoto and Masao Suenaga, and Michihiro Takatori who would later compete in the Super Autobacs R34, all came ashore to drift at American drift courses like Irwindale and Englishtown. That peak era of drifting is when style was still king, when cars were more original in style and in parts content, and before the insane angle-kitted, semi-tube frame, 1,200-horsepower sideways drag racers of today. Back then, a lowly AE86 Corolla with a hopped-up 4A-GE could conceivably compete against a mild SR20 S-chassis Nissan. Best of all, most of the cars still looked like cars, not like a plastic shell over a roll cage. This is even well before the idea of over fenders was even considered, with the best Japanese aero companies like BN Sports and Veilside making full kits for maximum flair, and much before the LS swap craze of the 2010s. Yoshihara competed against these folks as a part of a de facto Team America and was part of Team America for the 2005 D1 U.S.A. vs. Japan exhibition round. Though he grew up street drifting in the mountains of Japan, he found his way as a driver here in the earliest days of drifting. After years of running an S13 chassis, he started finding success after befriending former TRD engineer Mike Kojima and a brief, ill-fated stint in the Discount Tire Lexus IS 350. With a Falken Tire sponsorship and Discount Tire title sponsorship, Yoshihara got some momentum with an S13 originally destined to be a street car in 2009. With the expert suspension tuning of Kojima, they began a new era of drifting that carried through to the arrival of Daigo Saito in 2012. Suspension tuning and setup became a real thing for professional drifting, as well as the V8 LS swap. The 2010 Discount Tire S13 was one of the first cars powered by a mild LS2 and evolved into the championship-winning 2011 car. Yoshihara also became the unbelievably smooth and precise driver he is today. His 2011 season was documented by the Behind The Smoke series by GTChannel, seen above. The trends that Yoshihara set with his career are some of the longest-lasting ones in car culture. It’s impossible to go to any drift event without seeing at least 10 LS-swapped S-chassis Nissans. Ultimately, this would be the only championship Yoshihara would ever get. The next year, Daigo Saito came in with aggressive tandem driving and an 800-1,200-horsepower Lexus SC 430 to counter Yoshihara’s smooth style and 600 horsepower. Not to mention, off-the-shelf drift steering angle kits were starting to get popular, and by 2014, professional drifting became a different sport altogether. Yoshihara might be one of the best drivers in Formula Drift and one of the greats of our time. Formula Drift struggles with keeping drivers interested for the long haul, with many judging, sponsorship, and cost issues that make the series a difficult one to compete in. More often than not, it’s lighting money on fire. Though Yoshihara is leaving that sport, he is continuing on an exciting path that includes plenty of time-attack grip driving, exhibition drifting, and continuing to make attempts at a Pike’s Peak record. I’ll be honest, I don’t enjoy what pro drifting has become, but I’ll always enjoy watching Yoshihara drive cars extremely quickly. He is the ultimate example of a grassroots hero becoming a respected and well-known driver the world over. It’s amazing what some kids in a glorified parking lot with some shitcan old Japanese cars can do with their lives. Best of luck to Dai with all of his future efforts. Au revoir drifting."

Source: https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a36854490/how-to-watch-pikes-peak-hill-climb/ For a month, teams have been practicing setups, driving strategy, and building (or in some cases rebuilding) their chances of conquering the 156-turn, 12.42-mile Pikes Peak mountain in Colorado. This is easily the craziest motorsports event left in America—more dangerous than the World Rally Championship and with the spirit of a 24-hour endurance race. Teams, spectators, and media were awake Saturday night getting ready for today's climb to the clouds. Here's how to watch it, starting at 9:30 a.m. ET. The easiest way to watch is through Mobil 1's livestream, above and on the Mobil 1 Facebook page. Another free option is local Colorado Springs radio KRDO, which is hosting a live broadcast at KRDO.com, or by tuning in to radio channel 1240 AM. If you aren't already following the official Pikes Peak International Hill Climb Twitter, you absolutely should, as they'll be live-tweeting race results and likely much of the epic carnage from today's big race. Reading this on Monday or anytime after the race? Don’t fret. The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb YouTube channel will have post-race coverage, including interviews with drivers and teams for their take on what either went right, or terribly wrong. We were so excited for this year's hill climb that we drove over 1300 miles from Michigan to experience it ourselves, and will have post-race coverage with a photo gallery of our own following today's event.

Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc. (MMNA) has announced that the completely redesigned 2014 Mitsubishi Outlander crossover will be the 'Official Safety Vehicle' for this year's Pikes Peak International Hill Climb (PPIHC) to be held on June 30th. With advanced safety features including Lane Departure Warning (LDW), Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) and Forward Collision Mitigation (FCM), the seven seater 2014 Outlander will represent Mitsubishi in serving as the Official Safety Vehicle for this annual event. In addition to its safety technology, the Outlander is available with the company's Super All-Wheel Control (S-AWC) all-wheel drive system that provides superior stability, traction and control - perfect for negotiating not only the numeral twists and turns of the Pikes Peak course but also the instantaneously changing harsh weather and road conditions along this high elevation route. The Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution will also join the Outlander as a supplemental safety vehicle. These vehicles were built specifically for the race with support coming from a number of firms including BBS USA, Cobb Tuning, Kenwood USA Corporation, and Muellerized Suspension Tuning. In Mitsubishi Motors' debut in last year's running of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, its innovative i-MiEV Evolution all-electric prototype racing car scored an impressive second place finish in the Electric Vehicle Division in 2013. For the 91st hill climb, Mitsubishi Motors returns with an all new, more powerful electric powered prototype racing car dubbed the MiEV Evolution II in a two-car assault, in the very capable hands of two-time Dakar Rally winner Hiroshi Masuoka and six-time Pikes Peak overall motorcycle champion and 2002 SCORE International off-road series champion Greg Tracy. Held in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, the challenging Pikes Peak International Hill Climb features a unique road course that is 20km in length with 156 corners, commencing at an elevation of 9,390 feet and finishing at 14,110 feet. First run in 1916, this annual event is the second oldest motor race in America after the Indianapolis 500. Mitsubishi Motors will also serve as the Presenting Sponsor at the 2013 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb.