{"id":12077,"date":"2021-10-15T07:01:23","date_gmt":"2021-10-15T07:01:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.co.uk\/magazine\/?p=12077"},"modified":"2023-01-11T07:39:52","modified_gmt":"2023-01-11T07:39:52","slug":"pikes-peak-a-race-to-the-clouds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/pikes-peak-a-race-to-the-clouds\/","title":{"rendered":"Pikes Peak \u2013 A Race to the Clouds"},"content":{"rendered":"

Surely anyone with even a remote interest in motorsport (and even those without any such inclination, thinking about it) has heard of Pikes Peak. With everyone from rally legends like Mich\u00e8le Mouton and IndyCar racer Bobby Unser, to self-proclaimed ‘Hoonigan’ Ken Block having had a pop at the famous Colorado landmark it has been etched into the collective consciousness of motor racing fans for decades. And it was none other than German rally star Walter R\u00f6hrl who inspired this article after we featured a link to footage of his 1987 record breaking run in our recent five-cylinder engines<\/a> write-up.<\/p>\n

So What Is It?<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

In essence, the main function of Pikes Peak, from a motorsport perspective at least, is a hill climb event<\/a>. A timed run along 12.42 miles of pubic toll road in Colorado Springs, USA, the route rises 1,440 metres from start to finish, through 156 turns, with the chequered flag being waved, rather dramatically it has to be said, at the mountain’s summit.<\/p>\n

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An invitational event that is run annually on the last Sunday of June the race is currently open to six divisions: from the no-limits ‘Exhibition’ and ‘Unlimited’ categories, through to bikes and open wheel racers and even a Porsche specific trophy. Competitors race against the clock to try and set the best time possible, overcoming an enduring course that becomes increasingly arduous as the road climbs into the clouds where the air becomes much thinner and both driver and vehicle power is sapped.<\/p>\n

A Little History<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

Named after Lieutenant Zebulon Pike (who let’s face it sounds like a character from an Iain M. Banks sci-fi space opera) Pikes Peak was ‘discovered’ after Pike was commissioned by Thomas Jefferson to explore the great plains of Colorado in 1806. Nearly a hundred years after Pike’s initial encounter with the mountain a rudimentary roadway had been built, traversing the land mark, and in 1915 American entrepreneur Spencer Penrose, seeing the tourist (and therefore financial) potential of the area, developed the road into a more substantial highway.<\/p>\n

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It was then, in 1916, that the first recorded race took place as a way for Penrose to show off his new venture. A legend was subsequently born and that initial dash to the top was achieved in the fastest time by Rea Lentz in a shade under 21 minutes \u2013 a far cry from the sub-eight minute times of today.<\/p>\n

Through the Years<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

The second oldest motorsport race in America after The Indianapolis 500, Pikes Peak has been raced regularly since those first forays in the early 1900s and many a budding champion has attempted to break the ever-diminishing course record. The post-war period saw that record shattered year after year, due in part to technological advancements, but it wasn’t until the early ’80s that the Europeans got involved, with a whole host of rally pros taking to the mountain.<\/p>\n

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Initially an all-gravel road the highway underwent a series of updates beginning in the early 2000s and the route was paved section-by-section, mainly due to environmental concerns, until 2011 which saw the last race held with dirt sectors still included. The event is now conducted solely on tarmac which has obviously had an impact on record setting times as well as on the actual spectacle of the race itself and the set of skills required to drive it. Managing a four-wheel drift on loose gravel is a whole different kettle of fish to clipping the apex of a grippy, paved corner.<\/p>\n

Notable Wins<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

It wasn’t only R\u00f6hrl’s deft mastery of his Audi Quattro<\/a> S1 E2 that captured the imagination of motor racing fans the world over. Oh no. Other notable runs include French rally connoisseur S\u00e9bastien Loeb’s record smashing run in 2013 where he crossed the line in a Peugeot 208 T16 a full minute and a half quicker than the previous record. And then there’s fellow rally driver Ari Vatanen’s filmed attempt in 1988 and the ferocious Finn’s sprint to the summit was indelibly deposited onto celluloid by French film maker Jean Louis Mourey.<\/p>\n