Porsche collector Jim Edwards and driver David Donner have gotten together to try to take back the record in the Time Attack 1 Class at the 2022 Pikes Peak International Hillclimb later this month. Their car is a brand new Porsche 911 Turbo S with the Lightweight Package. The run will be a meaningful one for Donner, for a number of reasons. Chief among those reasons, though, is that when Rhys Millen set the class record of 10:18.488 in a Bentley Continental GT in 2019, it was Donner’s time, set in 2014 in a 991-generation 911 Turbo S, that he beat to take the record.
It’s clear then, that Donner is no
stranger to Pikes Peak, and it’s the unique nature of the course and the event
that appeals to him. Unlike at those events, though, you can rock up to Pikes
Peak International Hillclimb and race the car you drove in. Competing on the
same track as absolutely insane, purpose-built prototypes, the event harkens
back to the golden era of the sports car when the segment’s name was literal.
Donner won’t be racing just any old sports
car. While he admits that many think of the Turbo as a luxurious 911,
he argues that the car’s history is all about racing and that the performance
it is capable of—especially with the lightweight package, which removes 36 kg —is beyond reproach. The one he will be racing went straight from the
dealer to the race shop in order to be prepared for competition. It sports a
livery inspired by 000 Magazine, an independent Porsche enthusiast publication.
More than simply a way to win back his Time Attack 1 class record, though, the
car is a way for Donner to commune with his family history.
Better still, Donner will be attempting to
win his record on the 100th running of the Pikes Peak International Hillclimb,
making it all the more historical. The green flags for the competition will
drop on June 26.
