Records and Cars Broken At 2017 Climb To The Clouds

Dave Patten drives up into the clouds in his 1971 Datsun 510 on the Mt. Washington Auto Road during a trial run on Saturday ~ Photo by Christian Mower

Pinkham Notch, NH – Records and cars were broken this weekend on the Mount Washington Auto Road. The three day Climb to the Clouds race, considered one of the oldest hill climbing event in North America, saw 80 drivers race up the 7.6 mile Auto Road in hopes of making it up the fastest.

 

 

 

 

(Right) Former record holder David Higgins and new record holder Travis Pastrana (Left) head down the Mt. Washington Auto Road after a trial run up on Saturday. ~ Photo by Christian Mower

Returning racer and x-games gold medalist Travis Pastrana broke the record set by his teammate David Higgins in 2014 by 23 seconds with a time of 5 minutes and 46 seconds. Higgins unfortunately was out of the race after his first Sunday run when he collided with some rocks going off the edge of a dirt section of road.

 

Dave Wallingford rolled his 2016 Ford Fiesta R2T coming into a corner on the Mt. Washington Auto road during a trial run up the mountain Saturday ~ Photos by Christian Mower

Another notable accident happened during Saturdays practice run when number 78 Dave Wallingford’s Ford Fiesta flipped coming into a corner on a section of road. Luckily Wallingford and his co-driver were ok, however the damage to their vehicle prevented them from competing on Sunday. A full list of Sundays results can be found Here.

Dave Wallingford and his Co-driver check out the damage to their Ford Fiesta R2T after it rolled on Saturday. ~ Photo by Christian Mower

 

Sarah Price climbs the Auto Road in her Fiat 124 Abarth Rally Car during a trial run Saturday. ~ Photo by Christian Mower

 

David Dennis climbs the Auto Road in his 1975 Dodge Dart during a trial run Saturday. ~ Photo by Christian Mower

 

Todd Cook climbs the Auto Road in his 2000 Wells Coyote during a trial run Saturday. ~ Photo by Christian Mower

 

Mike Wilson climbs the Auto Road in his Entropy Racing EVSR an, electric car, during a trial run Saturday. ~ Photo by Christian Mower

For more Photo’s from Saturday’s trial runs check out our Facebook page by Clicking Here.