SERIOUS ABOUT HIS 2025 GOAL SHAWN BASSETT PLANS TO STORM PIKES PEAK IN DATSUN 240Z
Colorado Springs, CO – The Broadmoor Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, presented by Gran Turismo, draws competitors to compete in the famed Race to the Clouds from around the world and from coast to coast. Shawn Bassett (Mount Dora, FL) has challenged the 14,115′ summit three times and in 2025, he’ll return to America’s Mountain in his popular 1972 Datsun 240Z in the Unlimited division.
ONCE THOUGHT UNOBTAINABLE – THE BUILD
Bassett described his racing transition from two wheels to four, and shared how he had always longed for a 240Z. “I wanted to do Time Attack events, so I found this one on Craigslist in Miami for $1,100. It was an absolute mess and, really, should have been free. The guy sold it for a little more than it was.
“I just started taking more and more of the car off and determined it wasn’t salvageable. I stopped working on it for about six months, but during that time I got excited about Pikes Peak. I thought, ‘Let’s let it live it’s best life and get it up Pikes Peak.’ So, not much of the original car is left. I kept the best parts I could.”
RACING TOWARD A DREAM
With a foundation in motorcycle racing, Bassett began racing his 240Z in Time Attack and GridLife events in 2019.
He discussed how he met Scott Birdsall and began his path to Pikes Peak. “I met Scott at SEMA in 2019. He was a Toyo Tires driver/athlete. I conveyed my aspirations and just took me under his wing. I crewed for him three times, twice with Old Smokey and one year with the LMP. Scott has been a mentor ever since. I’ve always taken racing super seriously, and Scott gave me the opportunity to experience it on his crew before I started to compete. It was hard, but you learn how to prepare.”
Bassett first raced on the mountain in 2020 where he recorded his best time to date, a 13:08.904. The following year, he experienced the unpredictable weather that Pikes Peak can throw at competitors, and raced only to the 16 mile marker.
LEARNING THE 156
The 156 turns on Pikes Peak are notorious. Bassett shared how he has committed them to memory. “I started watching YouTube videos, and now watch my own Pikes Peak videos. And, my sim is incredibly helpful. I’ve done a lot of work improving my sim, too. Everything on it is identical to what’s on my racecar. Getting it set up like my car, and getting comfortable in it, really has translated to my racing performance. I’ve spent thousands of hours on the sim and have, without a doubt, memorized the entire course. I don’t have to second guess any of the turns.”
“The upper section is super disruptive to everything in a car. It’s not like a typical road course. I wince with the scraping as I’m going through those heaves.”
Shawn Bassett
RELIVING 2024
Bassett returned to Pikes Peak in 2024 and experienced all the ups down this race can deliver. Sharing his behind-the-wheel viewpoint Bassett offered, “The car did so well all week. It was prepped for my one race day run. I was so ready and really excited. Competitors were telling me I was looking good, and it felt good to have the officials see my progress.”
“At the start line, there was so much emotion. I took off and the car was just ripping,” exclaimed Bassett. “I got to Glen Cove and I saw a low oil pressure warning. I was braking hard into the corners, but then I’d accelerate and get right back to speed, but that warning kept popping up. In pretty much every 180 degree turn, I’d get the warning, and I’d delete the warning. At Devils, it happened again, but I was planning to keep pressing that button until we got to the top.”
“When I pressed it at Olympic, right below the summit, the car just stalled. I literally went into Olympic thinking, ‘I just drove my butt off…I must have a 10:30…definitely under 11:00.’ I turned off the warning light, and the car just wouldn’t restart. I didn’t know it at the time, but in the ECU settings, there was a limit of 10 warning cancellations, and then it wouldn’t restart. I’d reached the limit. So, I had to do a hard restart of the ECU, but it took about three minutes.”
In the interim, Bassett was able to restart the car, but a red flag has been thrown, recording his run as a DNF. He was eventually able to drive the car to the summit where he was welcomed enthusiastically by fellow competitors. “It was crazy getting out of the car. I think everyone was really happy to see us put in a good run,” Bassett explained, “We’d been working really hard. It was cool to see how many people were rooting for me and how much they felt for me, though definitely bittersweet that day.”
FAN FAVE
“The 240Z is such a relatable vehicle,” shared Bassett. “If you’re young, it’s classic Japanese technology. If you’re older, it’s racing heritage. Either way, it’s relatable. It looks like a Pikes Peak car. But for me, it was just something unobtainable when I was growing up.”
Bassett shared his first experience with Fan Fest in 2024, “It’s so accessible for the fans to talk to you, you can pop the hood, put kids in the seat. You hope it sparks something for them to be involved in motorsports.”
LOFTY GOAL FOR 2025
Asked what fans can expect to see in June, Bassett was eager to share, “We’ve redone everything, mainly focused around aero. It’s real high level aero, and looks completely different. We’re going for a really max effort with the downforce set up, and anticipate a significant increase in grip. We’ve also added a new ABS brake package, so we have more stopping power.”
“We’ll also be turning off every single alarm on the car for race day,” quipped Bassett. In 2025 we have one goal, one vision – top 10 under 10!”
GET TO KNOW SHAWN BASSETT
Instagram: @shawnb26 / @AttackingTheClockRacing
Fun Facts:
“My favorite place to go in Colorado is Hungry Bear in Woodland Park. Every morning after practice, you’ll find us there.”
“I’m a business owner, and I’m also self-taught, so I’m always trying to learn new skills. I’ve recently invested in our fabrication shop and am working on my skills at metal shaping.”
“I have two daily drivers, a Model 3 and a Tacoma.”
“We have a Bassett hound, Hamilton, but he needed a little brother, so…welcome Ted!”
How to you train and prep for Pikes Peak, living at sea level?
“I’m in my car a lot, but it’s hot. I do a lot of controlled breathing. I’m an avid mountain biker. But nothing can prepare you for Pikes Peak unless you live there. As far as the car, we’ve got some Pikes Peak data now. We can look at how the car performs at a high level. I partnered with HalTech who does the ECU and tuning. They make sure it’s tuned well.”
If you could drive any car up the mountain, what would it be? “When Betim Berisha at BBi brought the Type 99 GT2 Evo Jeff Zwart drove in 2024, I just fell in love with that car.”
Pikes Peak heroes: “Riders would be Carlin Dunne and Chris Fillmore; driver would be Jeff Zwart.”
Three ‘Must-Have’ Items in the Race Trailer: “Fuel, for obvious reasons; nitrogen for the air jacks…our car is impossible to jack up off the ground; and a cooler full of beer to celebrate after the race!”
Advice for someone serious about getting involved at Pikes Peak: “Consider a path to Pikes Peak versus debuting your car at Pikes Peak. Try to find a Pikes Peak team to crew with, and invest in yourself. Pay your own way. Look at it like you’re paying for education. It’s not easy, but try it. It looks good on your resume, and plus you get to see how it works. If you plan on racing your car on the mountain, you should at least have two full race seasons in that car. It’s pretty important to come out of Pikes Peak with some speed, so you can carry that over to your next year’s effort. You don’t want to be a mistake for the selection committee. Even if you can’t crew, come be a spectator, shake some hands and see what’s it all about.”
Favorite Track: “We did a race at Lime Rock Park. It’s a cool, historic track. I was really surprised how much I liked it. We went after Pikes Peak for a GridLife event. One of the turns is called Uphill, which is a pretty steep turn. We put our Pikes Peak slicks on, and believe it or not, we were ripping wheelies going up that. Cars shouldn’t leave the ground, right?”
SHAWN BASSETT ATTACKS THE CLOCK IN 2024 IN THIRD PPIHC ATTEMPT
Photos by: Larry Chen Photo; Larry Chen, Luis Garcia; Payton Smith, Louis Yio, Charles Zhou, Jason Zindroski, Shawn Bassett
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