djm68

Competed in the 26th running of the Larison Rock hillcllimb in my Cayman R. The event is hosted by the awesome Emerald Empire Sports Cat Club while the 'Rock' is just outside of Oakridge, Oregon. Figured 987 and 981 drivers would appreciate seeing the R tearing up a twisty mountain road.

Cheers,
DJM

orthojoe

Very cool. Thanks for sharing. I gotta say, though, unless you're really familiar with the road and are good with driving the car at the limits, it looks like a very dangerous activity. How often do people go off and destroy their cars or get hurt?

RobSpyder

I was thinking the same. That narrow road looks like low margin for error.

2XIPA

Sweet video. I don't think I could do that. I noticed the ambulance on the side of the road at 1:19 hopefully no on needed it.

khooni

it's not the narrowness, more the blind corners that worry me. I suppose one could always drive defensively so you don't get surprised when there is negative road camber and/or the corner doesn't end when you expect it to. Still, it looks fun.

n2cars

Looks like a normal Sunday drive in the mountains ;-) Try doing this at at 160 mph, at 14K feet, with no safety net.
http://www.autoweek.com/article/2013...NEWS/130709994

djm68

These events are run very professionally and legally -- we obtain permits, close the road, etc. We have mandatory drivers meetings where the course is discussed, corners to watch for, off camber sections, etc. We even have an instructional video you can find on youtube. Drivers are brought up the hill in the morning in trucks (slowly) and experienced drivers explain the course.

An ambulance *must* be at the hill and a fire team, per our racing organizations rules. Cars *do* go off and get wrecked, though generally, not so often. Quite a few people show up in fully prepped racers, gutted and caged - they tend to be the ones who go off. The worst injury we've had was several years ago, at a different hill, where the driver broke a leg. I'd honestly say I think it is not much more dangerous than DE's -- how often do we see wrecked cars at DE events?

Most people, myself included, drive judicially. This was not my first time at this hill -- I actually held the record for G-Stock in my 2006 VW GTI. I ran 2:05.xx in the GTI; this past event, I ran 2:13.xx in the Cayman. I really took it easy this year as the Cayman is new to me and I've gone from a 200hp fwd car to a 330hp rwd car -- much to learn.

It is a huge rush and not for the faint at heart, and it is certainly not for everyone, but I have to admit, I am totally hooked on it. It is about as close as we can get to a rally stage on tarmac, unless you go to Targa Newfoundland.

Cheers,
DJM

Bill Lehman

When I started competing with sports cars, hillclimbs were very popular. Here's a video from one of my first events. at Hershey

djm68

Bill,

Great video. Shame there is no sound, but very cool. Seems hillclimbs have fallen out of favor, partially due to permitting and liability concerns. In Europe, hillclimb is still very popular.

I am lucky that here in the Pacific NW, we have three hillclimbs within 150 miles of Portland, and three more within 400 miles or Portland.

Cheers,
DJM

Bill Lehman

When that video was made there was no "video". This video had to be made from some Super 8 mm movie film. The bump in the road was removed the next year. As you can see it greatly unsettled the car. Although my car wasn't seen, I was one of those who spun on at least one run. If you came over the hump too hot you landed with locked brakes.

medtech

It's amazing to see how fast those old porsches can rip through the twisties with a good driver.

Z356

That is correct. I was lucky to attend several hillclimb events in England in 2011 which were truly memorable! Attached are photos I took of an event at Shelsley Walsh, one of the most famous hillclimbs in England! It claims to be the oldest operational motorsport venue in the world! It had its first run in 1905. It is operated by the 'Midland Automobile Club' and its located in Worcestershire!

http://www.shelsley-walsh.co.uk/

The setting is just fabulous and allows spectators to watch almost the entire run uphill! It is only 1000 yards long...but very well laid out! This is where the sport of hillclimb originated in Britain!

Saludos,
Eduardo
Vail Valley, CO