Romain Dumas in full preparation for Pikes Peak

For his second participation in the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, Romain Dumas will drive a Norma M20FC PP entered in the Unlimited class. The Alès, France native was in full preparation mode for the famous American hill climb event over the course of a busy weekend. On order were two tests at the Pôle Mécanique d’Alès and aerodynamics testing on an airfield.

Finishing second in the 2012 edition with a Porsche 911 GT3 R, only 17 thousandths of a second off the leader, and rookie of the year, Romain Dumas has decided to play outside favorite for the overall win this year. The French driver has opted for a Norma prototype, lighter than his competitors’ entries. Romain Dumas discovered his ride on Friday at the Pôle Mécanique d’Alès. He then performed aero testing on an airfield before returning to the Pôle on Sunday for another test session. In addition to setting up the car for the « Race to the Clouds », the team also tested two engine configurations : a four cylinder, 2 liter Honda engine with, and without, turbo. A decision on which solution is best will be made after analysis of the data gathered from the tests.

"These tests were interesting," explains Romain Dumas. "The Norma M20FC PP is like how I imagined it : light and agile, with good downforce. Most of our work will be focused on the engine, where we still have potential for improvement. Of course, there are still things we need to learn about the car, but the potential is there. We opted for a different solution, with different advantages. It’s up to us to prepare the best we can in the time remaining in order to take on the strong competition. We don’t have backing from a manufacturer, but Norma knows how to make prototypes that perform well. It’s going to be a big adventure."

Since confirming his participation in the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, the weeks have been very busy for Romain Dumas. In their workshops, Norma assembled a new car around a new M20FC chassis. Along with a reduced weight of 540kg, several modifications were made including a front splitter, additional roll cage, rear wing, diffuser, etc. The Norma M20FC PP then headed to Alès where the final adjustments were made.

"Bravo to Norma and Norbert Santos for the work done in such a short amount of time. You can feel the passion that’s behind this project. I’m looking forward to taking the next step," concludes Romain Dumas who was testing the car in its 2013 livery as well as running the number 911, a nod toward Porsche, for whom he is an official driver.

RomainDumas.com