WATCH: Travis Pastrana blitzes his own Mount Washington Hillclimb record

Action sports athlete Travis Pastrana has put himself into the record books again by beating his own best at the Mount Washington Hillclimb by 15 seconds.

Having set a time of five minutes and 44 seconds in 2017 driving a rallycross-spec Subaru WRX STi, Pastrana returned this year with his 'Airslayer' STi from the Gymkhana 2020 video, smashing his previous record by completing the 12.23 kilometre course in 5:28.67.

The attempt was undoubtedly aided by the Airslayer WRX's active aerodynamics and its massive power increase from Pastrana's previous hillclimb record holder, now making 642kW at sea level compared to the previous 450kW.

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We mention the power at sea level because competitors drive up the road to a peak elevation of 1916 metres, facing an average 12 per cent gradient with a short dirt section half way up the course – preventing anyone from running slick tyres.

After the run, the 37-year-old said everything aligned to break his own record just weeks after taking a second place finish at the Goodwood Festival of Speed shootout.

“New record in the books,” said Pastrana

“This car is the perfect machine to do it. Coming off a second-place finish at Goodwood I really wanted to set a new record here to show what the car could do in the right environment.

"Luckily we really had good weather this year and I knew if I could get a clean run in, I’d have a great shot at the 5:44 time. So much fun and I can’t wait to do it again next time!”

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Pastrana found fame early in life as a motocross and supercross rider before switching to freestyle competition and later rallying. He's notched up 17 X Games medals, including a gold for the Best Trick in 2006 – where he performed the first ever FMX double backflip as well as the inaugural Rally win, beating former WRC champion Colin McRae.

Currently racing in the American Rally Association championship, Pastrana and Australian navigator Rhiannon Gelsomino lead the standings after a win at the Sno*Drift Rally.

The Mount Washington Hillclimb was recently added to the racing simulator iRacing – if you want to watch a member of the Motor team attack the course, click the link below.