The Champion Colors Fly Again
The wait is finally over. The world premiere of Champion’s 911 Porsche GT2 RS Clubsport for this year’s 99th running of The Broadmoor Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, brought to you by Gran Turismo, has arrived.
This marks the return of Champion’s iconic multi-colored livery to racing; it has been modernized, but still implements the traditional reflective effect seen in year’s past. The famous livery was originally created in a combined effort between Dave Schnorr, of Schnorr Art, and Champion founder, Dave Maraj back in 1995. The livery made its debut on the #74 Champion Racing Porsche GT2 at the Daytona International Speedway during the 24 Hours of Daytona event that same year. The Champion colors continued through the years with numerous appearances on victory lane with probably its most notable being its overall victory at the 2005 24 Hours of Le Mans. For their return to racing, Dave Schnorr has again been commissioned to bring the Champion livery back to life in a more modernized version with sharper lines.
Champion’s Porsche 911 GT2 RS Clubsport has been finely tuned by their engineers to incorporate additional aerodynamic elements specifically for the run up America’s Mountain this coming June. During their former competitive era Champion also developed a great relationship with renowned tire manufacturer Michelin, and now, with specific tires for their climb to the top, the two will again be paired for their return to racing this year. Champion also welcomes additional partners to the event including Chopard, Aventura Mall, Ohlins Suspension and Stratasys.
The car will be piloted by Romain Dumas who is no stranger to the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb as he currently holds the record for the fastest time up the 12.42mile, 14,115ft elevated course. The French racer started his career in karting and single seaters before moving on to endurance, GT and prototype racing. He soon became a factory driver for Porsche and has multiple wins in such famous races as the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the 24 Hours Nürburgring as well as a win at the 12 Hours of Sebring.
With Champion’s history and experience in motorsport coupled with Romain’s skill and expertise, the team is setting its sights on victory this year at Pikes Peak and will push to claim that King of the Mountain title the only way they know how …. like a Champion.
The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb (PPIHC), also known as The Race to the Clouds, is an annual automobile hillclimb to the summit of Pikes Peak in Colorado, USA. The track measures 12.42 miles (19.99 km) and has over 156 turns, climbing 4,720 ft (1,440 m) from the start at Mile 7 on Pikes Peak Highway, to the finish at 14,115 ft (4,302 m), on grades averaging 7.2%.[1][2] It used to consist of both gravel and paved sections, but as of August 2011, the highway is fully paved; as a result, all subsequent events will be run on asphalt from start to finish.