Rally champ finished 25th, and ex-MLB pitcher C.J. Wilson also made impressive run in the challenging event.
This year marked the 96th running of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb and within the 73-vehicle field was a group of eight drivers who were piloting even-matched Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport race cars. The German automaker invited these eight well-known drivers to compete in the hill climb event in the specially-prepared Caymans as part of a new, dedicated class specifically for the GT4 Clubsport models.
While there was some struggles in practice, six of the eight cars finished the run on race day and three of the Caymans finished in the 10-minute range, allowing them to finish in the top 30 of the 73-vehicle field. The Mobil1 The Grid YouTube channelput together a video following the progress of this unique class, giving us a look at the preparation and the results.
The Drivers
Porsche picked eight drivers to compete in the inaugural Cayman GT4 Clubsport class in the Pikes Peak Hill Climb, providing a field of evenly-matched race cars and some experienced coaches to help the drivers during practice sessions. The field included rally racing champion Travis Pastrana, IndyCar driver J.R. Hildebrand, MLB pitcher-turned-endurance racer C.J. Wilson, surgeon and Porsche road racer Dr. Alexander Marmureanu, endurance racer Till Bechtolsheimer, journeyman racer Mike Skeen, and two drivers from other Porsche-specific racing series, Thomas Collingwood and Nicholas Kwan.
From that list, Hildebrand, Collingwood, Wilson, Marmureanu, Bechtolsheimer and Kwan are Pikes Peak rookies while Skeen and Pastrana have both made full passes up the 156-turn track in the past.
Practice Sessions
If you are unfamiliar with how the practice sessions for the Pikes Peak Hill Climb work, drivers are permitted to work out on three different sections, but they are not permitted to practice the entire course at one time and there are portions of the track not included in the three practice areas. This includes the top of the mountain, where drivers are trying to make up time in the final few thousand feet in an area where they have not gotten to practice.
Before going out, each of the drivers in the Cayman GT4 Clubsport class got pointers from the Porsche team leaders, but that didn’t stop Mike Skeen from crashing hard in the lower section during practice. Fortunately, things went much better for Skeen during competition.
"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.
"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.
"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.
"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.
"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.
