124: "It's Drag Racing With Corners” — Building the Fastest Car on the Hill.

Tuned In

Imagine if Formula 1 got rid of most of its rules and regulations — how fast could they go? The freedom to design and build whatever will result in the fastest time is a dream for many in the higher levels of motorsport, but for British hillclimb champion Alex Summers, it’s a reality.
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There have been a lot of great families in motorsport over the years — the Earnhardts, the McRaes, the Andrettis — but when it comes to the prestigious world of British hillclimbing, one surname is better recognised than most — the Summers. This week’s guest, Alex Summers, comes from legendary hillclimbing stock, with his grandfather, father, and mother all committed participants of the sport at the highest levels. That Alex is a British hillclimb champion and three-time runner-up isn’t much of a surprise with that kind of family history.
In this episode, we first cover Alex’s early days in racing, as well as his schooling and engineering education. Starting out working for McLaren during a university placement, Alex then moved to Aston Martin, where he’s been for the last decade. During all that time, he’s never stopped racing.
This leads us to his current weapon of choice, the ‘P4t’. This absolute rocketship was designed, engineered, and built by Alex himself. It weighs 500kg and runs a 700hp, 16,000rpm Cosworth IndyCar V8, resulting in one of the fastest cars on the generally very short venues that make up the British hillclimb championship season. Unlike many overseas competitions, Britain doesn’t have much in the way of elevation, meaning runs generally last well under a minute.
This form of very short and sharp racing is described as “drag racing with corners” by Alex, and this, along with very few regulations, makes for some very unique requirements when building a competitive car. We dig deep into the P4t build, asking the big questions about the engine, chassis, and suspension setup.
Alex is also known for his involvement with the McMurtry Spéirling development team, and was one of the first drivers to test the insanely fast 1000hp fan car. We find out what a car as fast and unique as the Spéirling and its 2000kg of downforce is actually like to drive and what it takes to get record-setting runs out of it.
Follow Alex here:
IG: @alex_summers_hillclimb
YT: Alex Summers
TK: @alex.summers.hillclimb
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Timestamps:
3:47 How did you develop an interest in cars?
6:27 How much time do you need to spend in a kart to be really good?
11:57 Seriousness of the British Hill Climb Championship
18:42 What’s your formal education?
26:39 Opportunities in the UK for high-end motorsport
31:29 Australian V8 Supercars and British touring cars
34:34 What happened after you finished your degree?
40:20 How do you mentally switch on for a hill climb run?
47:55 How do you improve at hill climb when track and car time is limited?
59:44 What are these hill climb cars based off?
1:02:28 Would a British hill climb car be competitive at Pikes Peak?
1:05:36 Pros and cons of turbocharging in these cars, different engine combinations
1:12:57 How do you set up suspension with your aero package for hill climb?
1:18:13 What is a heave spring and how does it work?
1:21:05 How and why the carbon monocoque?
1:35:10 How did you get involved with the McMurtry team?
1:41:08 How do you guess as a driver the level of grip available from