10/24/2011 12:20 pm

“Ain’t No Mountain High Enough…”

DHL helps Red Bull Racing break a new world record – driving a Formula 1™ car up the highest motorable road in the world

On the same day that Red Bull Racing driver Sebastian Vettel won his record-breaking second back-to-back World Championship in Suzuka, Japan, his team was in India literally taking the sport to new heights – and breaking world records. And DHL was there to help make it happen.

DHL did more than handle the already-complex logistics of transporting a virtually priceless Formula 1™ racing car, the DHL logistics team truck actually hauled Red Bull’s Show Car part of the way up the mountain after the car’s dry-weather tires were unable to manage the snow-swept roads it encountered at around 18,000 feet (some 5,400 meters), just a few kilometers shy of the pass.

DHL first flew the one-tonne car to New Delhi from the UK, where it cleared customs and was transported by truck to the base of Khardung La Pass in northern India’s Kashmir state. From there Red Bull Racing test driver Neel Jani – an native of India – raced the car up the narrow switchbacks of the world’s highest mountain motorway. Lack of oxygen at this altitude combined with rough road conditions and heavy snowfall made the drive extremely challenging.

In the end Jani rolled the car to a stop at 18,380 feet (5,602 meters) and became the first Formula 1™ driver to run a Formula 1™ car at that elevation. Watch Red Bull Racing’s complete video of the record-breaking run here.

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