Pikes Peak 2020: Pro Racer Randy Pobst to Pilot Model 3
[July 17, 2020]
Electric vehicles are by no means new to the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. In fact, an EV currently holds the overall record for the race to the clouds. That record came in 2018 with the Volkswagen I.D. R electric race car driven by Romain Dumas, resetting the Sébastien Loeb 2013 Unlimited class record by 15 seconds, with a time of 7:57.148. From custom race car creations to a near-stock Tesla Model S, other EVs have made the climb, but during this year’s Aug. 30, 2020, running of the historic event, another notable has tossed his name into the EV hat: Randy Pobst.
For Pobst, whose resume includes being a factory Porsche driver, claiming a pair of Rolex 24 wins, a duo of World Challenge championships, and two SCCA National Championship Runoffs titles, this will be his sixth run up Pikes Peak. And while this will be his first attempt in an EV, this electrified step is not a complete surprise when you consider the circumstances.
“You may know I got to help setup Tesla’s Model 3 Performance Track Mode,” Pobst explained in a video he posted on social media this week. “Through that connection I got to know some of the guys at Unplugged Performance. They make Teslas faster and handle better. Guess what we’re doing? The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb.”
Pro racer Randy Pobst revealed his 2020 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb EV plans via Facebook this week.
That Model 3 Performance Track Mode development came about through Pobst’s connection as a contributor to MotorTrend.
While details are slim at the moment, we do know Pobst will not be piloting a completely stock Model 3 Performance. What we don’t know is how modified the Model 3 will be. The car itself will be supplied by Unplugged Performance, with Pobst describing it as “their full race build Tesla Model 3.”
Unplugged’s Pikes Peak Model 3 could include a host of the company’s performance bolt-on offerings, like competition brake pads, adjustable front upper control arms and rear toe arms, swaybars, and a lightweight trunk. It would be pretty slick if they also equipped Pobst’s Model 3 with Unplugged’s $15,000 carbon fiber wheels. That said, Pikes Peak’s Electric category rules will limit some of the allowable modifications if they choose to compete in the Electric Production class rather than Unlimited.
Unplugged Performance confirmed its 2020 partnership with Randy Pobst through a social media post discussing their potential car number for the event.
Electric vehicles hold exceptional performance potential at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, as the Colorado mountain road that climbs 4,720ft through its 156-turn, 12.42-mile jaunt to the race’s 14,115ft finish line leaves ICE motors gasping. Turbocharged motors do well at elevation as compressors can help compensate for drops in air density. EV power, meanwhile, is altitude agnostic. Also, as elevation increases up the mountain, ambient temperatures generally decrease, which can help regulate EV battery temperatures – although this year’s Pike Peak International Hill Climb comes two months later than usual thanks to the coronavirus pandemic.
“It’s going to be great – we’re going for class wins and records and whatever we can get our hands on,” Pobst explained in his usually exuberant way.
But those records won’t be easy. From the looks of things, Blake Fuller will also be returning to the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, this time piloting a Model 3 rather than the mostly stock Model S he set a class record in during the 2016 hill climb. Fuller’s record in the Electric Production class stands at 11:48.264.
Of Pobst’s previous climbs up Pikes Peak, one ended very notably when he jumped a Nissan GT-R into The Sump.
“I can’t wait to get out there and go head-to-head with those petrol-burning dinosaurs,” Pobst laughed at the end of his video.
(Main image courtesy Tesla)
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