The Virginia City Hill
Climb is a challenging, fast and highly social weekend in a unique part of the
world. Co-sponsored by the Ferrari and Shelby clubs, the turnout guarantees a
large concentration of cool cars and good-natured rivalry. Basically the clubs
rent a 6-mile stretch of Nevada State highway and close it for their member’s
exclusive use.
The stretch of Hwy 341 North from Silver City to Virginia City is the “course”
and Hwy 342 in the opposite direction is the return. The local law enforcement
blocks both ends of 341 to general traffic and the clubs turn cars loose about
every 60 seconds to see how fast they can complete the hill. Nevada’s finest
also shoots radar on the return trip which adds a new dimension to the
not-your-average-open track weekend.
The course is 5.2 miles with 20 turns and a 1216-foot rise in elevation, the
first three-quarters of the course a fairly constant 6-7% grade, while the last
quarter is flatter. Due to the numerous straights, high horsepower (and the
ability to make that power at high elevation) have the advantage over less
powerful but more nimble brethren.
Launch is hard acceleration from a brakes-off wheel-chock. A timing light is
75-100 yards or so from the starting box, and I was able to grab second just
before I tripped the light.
A gentle left-sweeper under full acceleration sets you up for Turn1 as you shift
into 3rd. Hard brake, crank the wheel left and up the hill, T2 is an immediate
right, long-sweeper still heading up hill noticeably. T2A was deceptive to me as
a first time driver, it’s blind, and appears initially like it’s going to hand
you another slow corner. The road actually opens up quite nicely and you learn
to throttle-up out of 2 and grab 4th for about 1/3 mile.
Lift, gentle left around a big rock, slight brake, downshift to 3rd, and scrub
speed with the declining radius in T3. At this point you go through an
impressive cut in the hill with rock walls on both sides – a mistake here would
play hell on the bodywork.
T4 is an uphill left, you straddle the double yellow line and look for the 4th
"?" (arrow left) that signals the exit and full throttle around yet another
blind-bend. A glance out the passenger window will provide a view to forever –
it’s at this point you notice how steeply the mountain leaves the road and how
quickly you’re climbing. T5 is a gentle left under full acceleration with a
reasonable straight following.
Turn6 sets up the first of three similar looking left/right switchbacks. Course
tip: the switchback right-handers at 7, 11, and 15 lead to long straights.
Brake, turn-in and climb the hill to the left, and end up hugging the guardrail
to setup for the following right-hander, in this case T7. Going fast means
maximizing exit speed, so anticipating the apexes, and consequential exits, were
key to improving my times. Exit can bring you uncomfortably close to the
guardrail, especially with the tail hanging out. The apex at T7 signals the
fastest part of the track, it's a good ¾ mile of acceleration. There's a
full-speed right-kink called turn 8 that precipitates a smirk when you see that
“25mph” sign and you look down and see 25 plus nearly a hundred more on the
speedometer.
Brake, downshift into 3rd, light brake, and keep a neutral throttle through T9.
You briefly accelerate then brake hard to setup T10. Note the skid marks here
that exit track-right -- at least he went off on the uphill side, never mind, .
. . T10 is a give-a-way as the first of the two-corner switchback.
I caught myself watching
for that "11" painted in the road signaling the apex, then it was throttle-on
for another wide open blast into T12 and T13. T12 is another kink right, T13
requires a bit of brake, but the speed and degree of turn was reminiscent for me
of T9 at Thunderhill. Next up is the last left/right switchback at T14/T15 that
leads to the second fastest/second longest straight on the course, and another
4th gear blast.
A high-speed kink signals the approaching T16 and a series of high-speed “S”
turns through T20 and the end of the course. I found myself grabbing 3rd and
giving up T16 by hugging the right curb past the red flag warning of the turn
exit hazard.
A bit of brake for T17 and miss the tree at the apex as you dive left. Lift and
settle the car, then hold the throttle constant through the T18-left and
T19-right combination. T20 is a high-speed left with an increasing radius and
wide-open throttle, but the finish is tricky – I found it the most
technically difficult part of the track (for a rookie anyway). The timing light
is at the leading edge of a bridge after a short straight, but there is an
abrupt right (at speed) before and through the bridge. As a bonus, cement walls
frame each side of the bridge. To make things really interesting, participants
have been known to trip the light with their rear bumper. As you clear the
bridge, a hard brake is needed to haul her down to 30 mph or so as you pass in
front of the Fire House and Sheriff station.
Written by- Eric Christenson
<eric_christenson@yahoo.com>
