F1weekly podcast # 512

F1weekly podcast number 512

Motorsports Mondial with Nasir Hameed

Dacia goes for the 89th edition of the celebrated Pikes Peak Hill Climb near Colorado Springs, USA,

In the hands of France’s three-time Trophée Andros champion Jean-Philippe Dayraut, Dacia Duster No Limit produced an extremely competitive time for the course which enabled it to claim third place overall against a field of Pikes Peak specialists and previous winners. The car’s run and podium finish were unanimously praised by the organisers, fellow competitors and spectators alike.

The exploit of the French rookie and the team’s technical staff received a particularly warm welcome from the regulars of the world’s most famous and toughest hill climb. The performance was made even more remarkable by the fact that the project only dates back to last December. The purpose-built car was produced in just three months and this was the debut attempt at the Colorado-based event of both the driver and the Dacia brand.

Duster took Dacia’s hallmark audacity, ambition and passion to new heights by posting the weekend’s third-quickest time, just seconds adrift of the efforts of two of the event’s experts. It was an achievement that mirrored the brand’s penchant for popular, grassroots events which give spectators a chance to get close up to the cars, teams and action.

Jean-Philippe Dayraut had long dreamt of contesting the Pikes Peak Hill Climb, and his enthusiasm ended up convincing Dacia and Renault Sport Technologies to join him in this extraordinary adventure which called for a hint of folly and bucket-loads of passion! Ahead of the big day, Jean-Philippe had just three days of practice to prepare for the competition, familiarise himself with the terrain and size up his rivals, many of whom have been contesting the event for years and know the course by heart. Covering the full 20km course and its 156 turns in one go was predictably an unforgettable experience for the Dacia Duster No Limit driver. Indeed, this is an event for professionals with experience of circuit racing and loose surface competition, and Jean-Philippe Dayraut’s record of six French circuit racing titles (single-seaters, touring cars), as well as in ice racing (he has won the Trophée Andros three times, including the 2010/2011 series), made him an ideally qualified opponent for the other participants.

“It’s got to be the most incredible and craziest event I have ever done,” he smiled afterwards. “The mix of asphalt and gravel calls for special driving skills and I am thrilled to have finished on the podium and competed up there with best.”

In terms of outright performance, the Frenchman’s Dacia Duster – which tipped the scales at 950kg, and which was powered by an 850hp Sodemo-tuned engine based on the Nissan GT-R’s3.8-litre V6 – fell well short of its chief rival prototypes, the power of which exceeded 1,000hp. However, Dacia Duster No Limit’s chassis – purpose-built for the occasion by Tork Engineering (design, production assembly and development) in association with Renault Sport Technologies, which brought its unique motorsport experience to the table – was certainly the most efficient of this year’s field.

[audio:http://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/mp3.f1weekly.com/podcasts/06-30-11f1weekly512.mp3]