Mountain Pass Ascent
Uphill mountain circuit that starts in the valley and climbs to the summit. Tight switchbacks, elevation changes, and zero margin for error. This is the track where driver skill matters more than car choice.
Best Cars for This Track
Uphill climbing from valley to summit, tight switchbacks, elevation changes, and zero margin for error. Driver skill matters more than car choice on this track, and I mean that fr, a good driver in a B class car will beat a bad driver in S2 here every time. The uphill grade punishes heavy cars hard, every kilo you're carrying is fighting gravity, so lightweight builds dominate. My favorite is the Lotus Elise GT1 in A class, weighs nothing, corners like it's on rails, and the mid-engine layout gives perfect traction out of the tight uphill hairpins. Power is secondary here, you want handling, weight reduction, and short gearing to keep the engine in the power band on the climb.
For S1 the Ferrari 458 Speciale is legit broken on this climb, the naturally aspirated V8 has instant throttle response which matters on uphill corners where turbo lag kills your exit speed. But honestly the car matters less than the driver on this track. I've seen guys in stock Civics gap hypercars here just because they know every corner and braking point. Focus on learning the track, not buying a faster car. Short gearing is the one tune tip I'll give, the uphill saps power and you want the engine revving high coming out of every corner. Set your final drive so you're at about 7000 RPM in third gear through the tight switchbacks, and you'll have instant power on tap when you need it.
Racing Line Breakdown
The uphill line is all about momentum, you can't just power out of corners because gravity is fighting your acceleration. I take late apexes on every uphill hairpin, sacrificing entry speed to get the car pointed straight earlier so I can get on full throttle sooner. An early apex on an uphill corner is death, you'll be waiting forever for the car to rotate while gravity pulls you wide into the cliff face. The first sector from the valley has a series of medium-speed corners where you can carry momentum if you link them smoothly, but one mistake and the rhythm is broken for the next three turns.
The switchback section in the middle is the heart of this track. Tight hairpins stacked one after another, each one climbing higher, and the elevation change means your braking points are different for every corner because the grade steepens as you climb. I brake earlier for the higher switchbacks cause the steeper grade reduces effective braking power. No joke. The final sector near the summit opens up into faster sweepers with guardrails and cliff drops, and by now your engine is hot and the air is thin, you're down on power compared to sea level. I actually feel the power loss in the last sector, the car pulls less hard in the thinner air, and you need to adjust your shift points accordingly. Shift about 300 RPM earlier near the summit than you would at the bottom, the engine runs out of breath faster up there.
Common Mistakes
Overdriving the hairpins, that's what kills lap times here. People charge into uphill switchbacks like they're on a flat track and then wonder why they can't get the power down on exit. You're fighting gravity, be patient, let the car rotate, then apply throttle. Second mistake is bad gearing for the climb, if your gears are too long you'll be bogging out of every corner with the engine below the power band. Short gears are your friend on this track, you want instant response when you floor it, not waiting for the turbo to spool while the car behind you closes the gap.
Another thing, people ignore the elevation effect on braking. The track gets steeper as you climb, so the same braking point that works for hairpin three won't work for hairpin six because the grade is steeper and the car carries more speed into the corner. You need to brake progressively earlier as you climb, about two meters earlier per switchback, which sounds tiny but over six switchbacks that's 12 meters of braking distance you're misjudging. And the summit sector, people celebrate too early and push hard through the final sweepers thinking the race is almost over. There's a fast left at 90 percent track completion that has no guardrail and a very long drop, and I've seen more DNFs there than anywhere else on the mountain. Finish the lap, then you can celebrate, not a meter before.
Weather and Seasonal Tips
Weather on the mountain is actually two different weather systems, the valley can be clear while the summit is in clouds, and you climb through the change mid-lap which is wild. Rain on an uphill track is brutal because the water runs downhill against your direction of travel, creating streams across the road that you hit at speed. The switchbacks collect water at the apexes and you'll hydroplane through the tightest part of the corner, there's no avoiding it, just be ready for the slide. I run wet tires and soften the suspension two clicks all around for rain, the car needs to absorb the water ruts without bouncing. Fog at the summit reduces visibility to almost nothing in the final sector, you're driving those cliffside sweepers blind and it's honestly terrifying in the best way. Cold temperatures at altitude mean less power from your engine and less grip from your tires, so warm up the tires on the first sector and keep them warm through the climb by being slightly aggressive with your steering inputs. Not too aggressive, just enough to keep heat in the rubber, you'll feel the difference in grip by the time you hit the switchbacks.