A little report on the Mt. Washington Hillclimb this year...
This year's event was fun as usual. I arrived late early Friday evening, and
set up camp at Dolly Copp Campground. Waldo and my brother Joe showed up
later that evening and we spent an enjoyable time bench racing and swapping
stories of youth, as well as sharing photos of events and projects. Friday
night was stunningly clear, the stars looked like they were just over the
treetops in the campground, just wonderful.
Saturday morning we had breakfast at camp, and headed down to the basecamp
at the mountain. Event Director Tim Chapman had guest badges supplied for
us, which we picked up at the stage office. These badges were really nice,
as they allowed us access into the racers pit area, as well as passage up
and down the mountain on the Autoroad (a $40. value for a vehicle with four
passangers). Thanks Tim for taking the time and effort to include our small
group in the event. The weather was overcast but dry, and we spent a few
hours in the pits talking with the drivers and looking at the racecars.
Eventual class 4 winner Sherman Baumann recalled a scary moment the day
before, when a rookie had an "off" which resulted in the total destruction
of his car, and his fortunate recovery. He suffered burns and a broken arm,
and the one recoverable part of his burnt car, the windshield, was passed
around the pits and signed by all the other drivers to be sent to him later.
Aside from a few minor offs on Saturday, the timed trials racing went
smoothly, and in the afternoon we enjoyed driving up to the Summit. I did
learn that my new LZ22 does NOT like forced low rpm situations... Just past
the halfway point on the climb we had to slow due to a stopped car ahead of
us, and my engine lost rpm, falling out of its powerband. I didn't see it
coming, and had a few tense minutes as the motor lugged us up the mountain
gravel at less than 10 mph. A case of too much cam and not enough gear
combined with lack of driver experience on the steep grade (the Mount
Washington AutoRoad climbs 6,00 feet in 8 miles). Weather on the top was
foggy, and although we couldn't enjoy the normal beautiful view the summit
usually provides, we did visit the gift shop and see the steam powered cog
railway in action. Waldo's little Yorkshire, Zippy the Babe Magnet
attracted several people, and appropriately vented his small bladder on the
summit, leading us to quip that he should get a dog tag that says "This dog
pee'd on Mount Washington" (sorry Tim). The rest of the afternoon we
relaxed in the corral area or the pits, participating in the car show and
enjoying each others company. Saturday evening brought some drizzle to the
campsite, but it broke long enough to enjoy a fire cooked meal and more
talking, before an early night.
Sunday was raceday, and again was overcast but mostly dry. The cars that
race at Mount Washington are always interesting and varied... Very fun to
watch. Brendan has arrived early Sunday morning in his 510, and had taken
the shuttle up to the halfway point to watch the race from there. He told
us later about cars getting air over the rises in the road, and different
driving styles, from the oversteer happy class one cars to the smoother AWD
open class cars. I enjoyed the variety of cars, from the high tech of the
past in Benjamin Bragg's 1933 straight eight Buick Indy car, to open class
winner Paul Choiniere's awesome 2001 AWD Hyundai Tiburon. Some other
favorites of mine were high speed record holder (113 MPH) Gerald Driscoll's
homebuilt Patriot Special modified, the Valliere's Sunbeam Tiger and Porche
911, Joseph Ware's Austin Mini S, Sherman Baumann's Kawasaki powered dwarf
dirt track car, Karen Miller's '50 Jaguar XK120 OTS, and of course Dave
Patten's 510. Dave did race his orange tube frame 510, and unfortunately
lost the battle with a greasy section of gravel at the 4 mile mark, going
straight when the road turned... he launched of the side, but fortunately
had scrubbed off enough speed to not fly too far, landing in some trees.
Damage to the 510 was not too bad, front end and body panels... He was his
usual optomistic, jovial self, and escaped without any injury.
After the racing was the awards ceremony and racecar viewing time. The AUDI
top prize and trophy for the open class went to Paul Choiniere and his 2001
Hyundai Tiburon this year, unseating fellow SCCA Pro-Rally driver Frank
Sprongl, who came in second, just five seconds behind over the 5.7 mile
course run this year. Two other competitors also joined the exclusive
100mph club, which now sports three members... After driving up the road a
few times it's pretty amazing that the winning time in the open class was
4:59.73 over 5.7 miles, or just about 68 mph average from a standing
start... WOW!
The only real disappointment for me was the amount of Datsuns that showed
up, after trying to encourage people on the 510, Z-Car, and Roadster list to
participate, we only had two cars and three dimers show up for the Datsun
Corral. I would like to thank Tim Chapman again for being an encouragement
to me and a gracious host with such low turnout, and would encourage all
that couldn't make it this year to earmark June 21-23 of 2002 and try to
make it. I will give more notice to you all next year. Thanks Waldo and
Brendan for showing up, and thanks Waldo for including Zippy the Babe Magnet
in a great weekend.
Chris of Maine "fun, fun, fun"
'71 wagon "junkbox" driver DR#5 (LZ22 :>)
'71 wagon - bone stock
'72 4dr - project DR#6 (V8)
'69 1600 Bluebird SSS 4dr 1/24 scale
'70 Bluebird Coupe 30th Anniversary Edition 1/60 scale (thanks Lou!)
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