2025 Year in Review and 2026 Improvement plan

2025 is a year to remember! We had crazy weather on Pikes Peak that seems like it does more often than not. Despite that, we had huge success with getting our first win on Pikes Peak! Our team is really getting along well and has so much to offer in improving the car even more. I am excited about what is in store.

Here are my thoughts for the 2025 year in review:

The good:

 The pace that we have is already way above my expectations. Flirting with top 20 best times ever on practice sections. With this pace, we can have consistent Top overall times and can continue to fight for class wins. Still so much potential left with more seat time, chassis adjustments, aero upgrades, and more fine tuning

 We made significant progress in the focus areas of improvement of Power System, Cooling, and Braking. Some work left.

 The transition to Open Wheel is successful with a class win and potential to set a new course record.

 We made the most of the little time we had with the car with making really good thought-out changes to the car to improve it. Once we got the car back on all four wheels, we were able to show the teams true capabilities.

 Continued getting good exposure with quick times and a professional look/package for our team.

 The growth of the Crew was very beneficial, we were able to handle multiple issues at once

 The Crew’s dedication to this team was tested and proven. I can’t thank the team enough for the time commitment!

The not so good:

 Still have some work left to do on Power System and Cooling.

 We were still wrestling with car reliability concerns instead of focusing on chassis adjustments or other areas to improve our times.

 Oil pressure is lower than we would like and could be contributing to engine issues.

 Limited amount of spares and support equipment.

 Still could define Roles/Responsibilities to cover lower priority tasks.

 Overall felt like we always had a lot to do with too little time to complete.

2025 Summary:

Even though we didn’t get a full summit run, 2025 was immensely successful and was a top performance! We were able to achieve some of the harder goals we set out for ourselves and are really primed now for when we do get a chance for a full race run.

2026 Pre-view / Improvement Plan:

Reliability Improvements:

 Work through low oil pressure issues. Revamp oil lines to determine where it is loosing pressure. Adjust oil sump.

 Add even more Oil cooling

 Adjust pully size on Alternator to get better in charging range with rpm (especially idle)

 Clean-out and inspect fuel system

Performance Improvements:

 Continue CFD Aero Analysis

 Increase front downforce with front wing

 Consider 2nd element on rear wing

 Add side skirts along side pods

 Tune ABS system

 Configure Boost Controller switch

 Configure Traction Control switch

 Get more seat time and test time to fine tune chassis adjustments

With these improvements I am hoping that we can keep getting faster and achieve our goal of a sub 9 minute run.