#53 RX-8 | West Virginia HILLFEST24 - Hillclimb at Snowshoe Mountain

Ride along in the #53 Mazda RX-8 for the West Virginia HILLFEST 24 Hillclimb at Snowshoe Mountain. After mostly autocrosses, it was nice to get back out on the mountain and stretch the legs (more than a little - those straights are long and steep!). The hill climbs about 1,000' over ~2.2 miles to a height of ~4848'. This event definitely favored powerful cars, but it was still fun to claw back time in the corners. This is my daily-driver with 92k on the original engine.
westvirginiahi...
There are a few folks asking good questions regarding safety. The required safety equipment is a SNELL SA2015 or newer helmet and a car that passes a basic tech inspection, similar to what you'd see at an autocross or track day. It is definitely the most lax on safety requirements, and hence has the lowest barrier to entry. That said the organizers encourage as much safety equipment as you can afford, and the event is run with a high level of safety in mind. you are in charge of managing your own risk level. Typically, hillclimbs require a minimum of a 4-point rollbar, 5-point or more harnesses, typically a race seat, arm restraints,racing suit, gloves, and shoes. With harnesses, a HANS is highly recommended.
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#53 Mazda RX-8 Summary
32mm Progress front swaybar, OEM rear swaybar
Off-the-shelf Ohlins R&T coilvovers
Underdrive pulleys, Versatuner
Fujitsubo catback exhaust
Falken RT660 255/40/17 on 17x9
Conservative (daily driver) ride height and alignment
My data acquisition setup:
• Full autocross / track...
Helmet Camera: Go Pro Hero 9 with media mod
Extermal mic: Olympus ME-51S
Foot cam: Akaso EK7000