![Evsr-at-Pikes-Peak](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/94/Evsr-at-Pikes-Peak.jpg)
The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb (PPIHC), also known as The Race to the Clouds, is an annual automobile
hillclimb to the summit of
Pikes Peak
Pikes Peak is the List of mountain ranges of Colorado#Mountain ranges, highest summit of the southern Front Range of the Rocky Mountains, in North America. The Ultra-prominent peak, ultra-prominent fourteener is located in Pike National Forest ...
in
Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...
, USA. The track measures and has over 156 turns, climbing from the start at Mile 7 on Pikes Peak Highway, to the finish at , on grades averaging 7.2%.
It used to consist of both gravel and paved sections, but as of August 2011, the highway is fully paved; as a result, all subsequent events will be run on asphalt from start to finish.
The race is self-sanctioned and has taken place since 1916.
It is currently contested by a variety of vehicle classes. The PPIHC operates as the
Pikes Peak Auto Hill Climb Educational Museum
The Pikes Peak Auto Hill Climb Educational Museum (PPAHCEM) is an American non-profit 501 (C)(3) organization and serves to promote and develop educational awareness of advancements in motorsports technology and automotive engineering while maint ...
to organize the annual motorsports event.
History
Early history
The first Pikes Peak Hill Climb was promoted by
Spencer Penrose
Spencer Penrose (November 2, 1865 - December 7, 1939) was an American entrepreneur and philanthropist. He made his fortune from mining, ore processing, and real estate speculation in Colorado and other parts of the West. He founded the Utah Copper ...
, who had converted the narrow carriage road into the much wider
Pikes Peak Highway
The Pikes Peak Highway is a toll road that runs from Cascade, Colorado to the summit of Pikes Peak in El Paso County, at an altitude of . It is at least partially open year-round, up to the altitude where snow removal becomes excessively di ...
.
The first Penrose Trophy was awarded in 1916 to Rea Lentz with a time of 20:55.60.
In the same year Floyd Clymer won the motorcycle class with a time of 21:58.41.
In 1924 the final Penrose Trophy was awarded to Otto Loesche in his
Lexington Special.
In the years following, Glen Scultz and
Louis Unser
Louis Unser (1896–1979) was an American auto racer and was the patriarch of the Unser family of racers. He won the Pikes Peak Hillclimb nine times between 1934 and 1953. He is buried at the Fairview Cemetery in Colorado Springs, Colorado. shared a rivalry and won the event 12 times between them.
In 1929 the popular stock car class was added to the event.
Following World War Two, Louis Unser returned to his winning ways at Pikes Peak, winning three more times between 1946 and 1970; these wins were tightly contended with rival
Al Rogers.
During this time the event was part of the AAA and
USAC IndyCar
INDYCAR, LLC, is an American-based auto racing sanctioning body for Indy car racing and other disciplines of open wheel car racing. The organization sanctions five racing series: the premier IndyCar Series with its centerpiece the Indianapolis ...
championship. In 1953, the
Sports Car Club of America
The Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) is a non-profit American automobile club and sanctioning body supporting road racing, rallying, and autocross in the United States. Formed in 1944, it runs many programs for both amateur and professional r ...
(SCCA) sponsored the event, bringing with it an influx of sports cars. In this period the course record was broken every year from 1953 until 1962, this is the largest string of record breaking runs in the event's history. The majority of these records were set by Louis' nephew,
Bobby Unser
Robert William Unser (February 20, 1934 – May 2, 2021) was an American automobile racer. At his induction into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1994, he had the fourth most IndyCar Series wins at 35 (behind his brother Al, A. J. Fo ...
.
In 1954 motorcycles returned to the event, the first time since its inception in 1916.
The motorcycle overall victory that year went to Bill Meier riding a
Harley-Davidson
Harley-Davidson, Inc. (H-D, or simply Harley) is an American motorcycle manufacturer headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1903, it is one of two major American motorcycle manufacturers to survive the Great Depressi ...
motorcycle.
In 1971 the event was won by the first non-gasoline vehicle (
propane
Propane () is a three-carbon alkane with the molecular formula . It is a gas at standard temperature and pressure, but compressible to a transportable liquid. A by-product of natural gas processing and petroleum refining, it is commonly used a ...
), this was also the first overall victory from the stock car class (1970
Ford Mustang
The Ford Mustang is a series of American automobiles manufactured by Ford. In continuous production since 1964, the Mustang is currently the longest-produced Ford car nameplate. Currently in its sixth generation, it is the fifth-best selli ...
), the car was driven by the Danish-American Ak Miller.
European involvement
In 1984 the first European racers took part in the PPIHC with Norwegian
Rallycrosser
Martin Schanche
Martin Schanche (born 1 January 1945), nicknamed ''"Mister Rallycross"'', is a Norwegian former racing driver and politician.
Biography
Schanche was born in Trondheim, as the son of a German WW2 airplane pilot, who lost his life in a plane cr ...
(Ford Escort Mk3 4x4) and French
Rally
Rally or rallye may refer to:
Gatherings
* Demonstration (political), a political rally, a political demonstration of support or protest, march, or parade
* Pep rally, an event held at a United States school or college sporting event
Sports ...
driver
Michèle Mouton
Michèle Mouton (born 23 June 1951) is a French former rally driver. Competing in the World Rally Championship for the Audi factory team, she took four victories and finished runner-up in the drivers' world championship in 1982.
Mouton debuted ...
(Audi Sport quattro), thereby starting a new era for European teams in the almost unknown American hillclimb.
While Schanche failed to set a new track record, due to a flat right front tire, Mouton (together with her
World Rally Championship
The World Rally Championship (abbreviated as WRC) is the highest level of global competition in the motorsport discipline of rallying, owned and governed by the FIA. There are separate championships for drivers, co-drivers, manufacturers and t ...
co-driver
Fabrizia Pons
Fabrizia Pons (born 26 June 1955) is an Italian rally co-driver best known for her partnership with Michèle Mouton.
Biography
The pair won four rallies with the Rallye Sanremo in 1981 and a further three to finish second in the 1982 championship ...
from Italy) won the Open Rally category, but failed to win the event overall. Mouton achieved the overall victory and course record of 11:25.39 in the following year.
In 1989, an award-winning short film about the 1988 event was released by
French director
Jean-Louis Mourey. The film, titled ''
Climb Dance
''Climb Dance'' is a famous cinéma vérité short film, which features Finnish rally driver Ari Vatanen setting a record time in the highly modified four-wheel drive, all-wheel steering Peugeot 405 Turbo 16 at the 1988 Pikes Peak International H ...
'', captured the efforts of
Finnish
Finnish may refer to:
* Something or someone from, or related to Finland
* Culture of Finland
* Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland
* Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people
* Finnish cuisine
See also ...
former
World Rally Champion
The World Rally Championship (abbreviated as WRC) is the highest level of global competition in the motorsport discipline of rallying, owned and governed by the FIA. There are separate championships for drivers, co-drivers, manufacturers and t ...
Ari Vatanen
Ari Pieti Uolevi Vatanen (; born 27 April 1952) is a Finnish rally driver turned politician and a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from 1999 to 2009. Vatanen won the World Rally Championship drivers' title in 1981 and the Paris Dakar Rally ...
, as he won the event in a record-breaking time with his
turbocharged
In an internal combustion engine, a turbocharger (often called a turbo) is a forced induction device that is powered by the flow of exhaust gases. It uses this energy to compress the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to pro ...
Peugeot 405 Turbo 16
The Peugeot 405 Turbo 16 is a coupé built by Peugeot Talbot Sport, derived from the Peugeot 405 and the Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 in 1988 for African rally raids. Driven by Ari Vatanen the four wheel drive car won the Paris Dakar rally in 1989 and ...
.
Paving of the highway
The City of
Colorado Springs
Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...
began to pave the highway in 2002 after losing a lawsuit against the
Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is an environmental organization with chapters in all 50 United States, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. The club was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by Scottish-American preservationist John Muir, who be ...
, which sued on account of erosion damage to streams, reservoirs, vegetation and wetlands downstream from the 1.5 million tons of road gravel deposited over several decades.
The local authority paved approximately 10% of the route each year after the order. The 2011 event was the last race with dirt sections, comprising approximately 25% of the course.
During this evolutionary period of the event, the Japanese driver
Nobuhiro Tajima
, nicknamed "Monster", is a hillclimb racer, tuning shop owner, rally team manager and former rally driver who is best known for his participation in Suzuki's rallying program as well as his triumphs at the Pikes Peak International Hillclimb in ...
with Suzuki cars scored 6 overall victories (2006 - 2011) and two course records.
His 2011 record was the first to break the 10 minute barrier.
Hill Climb champion
Rod Millen
Rodney K. "Rod" Millen (born 22 March 1951) is a New Zealand racing driver, vehicle designer, and business owner. He has competed in numerous genres of motorsports, including rally racing, off-road racing, hillclimbing, drifting, and super touring ...
warned at the time that paving the road would put an end to the race. However, the 2012 race saw over 170 racer registrations by December 2011, compared with 46 at the same time the previous year.
The 90th running of the event happened in 2012 and saw a larger field and a longer race day than ever before. This was the first time the race has been run on all asphalt leading to the breaking of several records, notably the overall record, which fell numerous times during the event finally falling to
Rhys Millen
Rhys Millen (born 6 September 1972) is a New Zealand-born racing driver.
Nephew of IMSA GTS driver Steve Millen, son of Rodney and older brother of Ryan, is one of the America's top competitors in drifting. Prior to that he was a top rall ...
the son of previous event winner
Rod Millen
Rodney K. "Rod" Millen (born 22 March 1951) is a New Zealand racing driver, vehicle designer, and business owner. He has competed in numerous genres of motorsports, including rally racing, off-road racing, hillclimbing, drifting, and super touring ...
, in the Time Attack Division. During the event Mike Ryan spun his big rig in a hairpin in a section called the "W"s, hitting the guard rail, he then managed to execute a three-point turn and continued on course, at which point he broke his old record by 5 seconds. This highlighted the change that a fully paved course made to the speed of the event.
The 2012 event also saw the first motorcycle to achieve a sub 10 minute time with the late Carlin Dunne in the 1205 Division riding a Ducati with a time of 9:52.819 which was only 1.5 seconds slower than the previous year's overall record.
2013 saw the nine-minute barrier shattered by WRC legend
Sébastien Loeb
Sébastien Loeb (; born 26 February 1974) is a French professional rally, racing and rallycross driver. He is the most successful driver in the World Rally Championship (WRC), having won the world championship a record nine times in a row. He h ...
(
Peugeot 208 T16 Pikes Peak), with a time of 8:13.878, while
Rhys Millen
Rhys Millen (born 6 September 1972) is a New Zealand-born racing driver.
Nephew of IMSA GTS driver Steve Millen, son of Rodney and older brother of Ryan, is one of the America's top competitors in drifting. Prior to that he was a top rall ...
ended up second with 9:02.192, beating his own record by more than 44 seconds.
Jean-Philippe Dayrault finished third with a time of 9:42.740, and
Paul Dallenbach fourth with a time of 9:46.001, making it four drivers to beat the overall record set only the previous year.
Emergence of electric vehicles
Electric cars have featured on and off in the PPIHC since the early 1980s. In 1981 Joe Ball took a Sears Electric Car to the top in 32:07.410, in 1994 Katy Endicott brought her Honda to the top in 15:44.710 and in 2013 Nobuhiro Tajima broke the 10 minute barrier with a time of 9:46.530 in his E-RUNNER Pikes Peak Special. In the following years electric entries would become more common, steadily breaking their powertrain records and eventually the overall record in 2018.
For hill-climb events and this event in particular it is reasonable to suggest that a modern, well designed electric car will be at an advantage over internal combustion engined cars. The issue of limited range does not apply to short sprints and the twisty nature of the Pikes Peak course lends itself well to the almost instant torque delivery of electric motors. In addition to this, the lowering air density of high altitudes does not reduce the power available to the driver as it does with air breathing engines.
[Rekordjagd am Pikes Peak: Elektro schlägt Verbrenner](_blank)
bei motorsport-total.com
Although the 2014 event was won by a gasoline powered car; second (Greg Tracy), third (Hiroshi Masuoka) and fourth (Nobuhiro Tajima) places overall were taken by electric cars.
In 2015, electric cars placed first (Rhys Millen) and second (Nobuhiro Tajima) overall.
In an interview with
Rhys Millen
Rhys Millen (born 6 September 1972) is a New Zealand-born racing driver.
Nephew of IMSA GTS driver Steve Millen, son of Rodney and older brother of Ryan, is one of the America's top competitors in drifting. Prior to that he was a top rall ...
, he said that he had lost power to the car's rear motor pack before the halfway point. Had this not happened he had expected his run to be 30 seconds faster.
In 2016 gasoline again took top honours but electric completed the podium taking second (Rhys Millen) and third (Tetsuya Yamano) as well as fifth (Nobuhiro Tajima) places overall.
At the 2018 event, an electric car set a new overall record for the first time in the event's history. Frenchman
Romain Dumas
Romain Dumas (born 14 December 1977) is a French racing driver and a Porsche factory driver. He first started out in karting and single-seater before becoming an expert driver in endurance racing, GT and sport-prototype. He has won the greatest r ...
completed the course in the all-electric
Volkswagen I.D. R
The Volkswagen I.D. R also known as Volkswagen I.D. R Pikes Peak, is a prototype fully electric vehicle designed as part of Volkswagen's I.D. Project, and included within Volkswagen's R series of cars designed specifically for competing in mot ...
with a time of 7:57.148, breaking the 8 minute barrier for the first time.
The death of motorcyclist Carlin Dunne during the 2019 race, forced the organisation to postpone all motorcycle racing at the event.
This decision will be reviewed following the 2021 running of the event.
Racing divisions
The Pikes Peak International Hill climb currently consists of six divisions.
Unlimited
Anything goes in the Unlimited Division as long as it passes safety inspection and meets the PPIHC's general rules. The Unlimited Division features the most exotic vehicles, most of them built specifically for this race. These race cars have the best chance of setting a new overall race record. In 2018,
Romain Dumas
Romain Dumas (born 14 December 1977) is a French racing driver and a Porsche factory driver. He first started out in karting and single-seater before becoming an expert driver in endurance racing, GT and sport-prototype. He has won the greatest r ...
set a new record of 7 minutes 57.148 seconds in the all-electric
Volkswagen I.D. R
The Volkswagen I.D. R also known as Volkswagen I.D. R Pikes Peak, is a prototype fully electric vehicle designed as part of Volkswagen's I.D. Project, and included within Volkswagen's R series of cars designed specifically for competing in mot ...
Pikes Peak, beating
Sébastien Loeb
Sébastien Loeb (; born 26 February 1974) is a French professional rally, racing and rallycross driver. He is the most successful driver in the World Rally Championship (WRC), having won the world championship a record nine times in a row. He h ...
's previous record by over 15 seconds.
Time Attack 1
A division for production based two- and four-wheel drive vehicles. Only closed cockpit four-wheeled vehicles are allowed to participate.
Porsche Pikes Peak Trophy by Yokohama
Making its debut at the 2018 event was the first official one-make Porsche category, exclusive to the Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport in four variants — Clubsport, Clubsport Trophy Specification, Clubsport MR, and Clubsport 2017 IMSA GS.
Open Wheel
The traditional Pikes Peak single-seater race cars with designs ranging from Indy style sprinters to dune buggies.
Open-wheel car
An open-wheel single-seater (often known as formula car) is a car with the wheels outside the car's main body, and usually having only one seat. Open-wheel cars contrast with street cars, sports cars, stock cars, and touring cars, which have thei ...
s have competed in every event since the inaugural race in 1916.
Pikes Peak Open
Production based vehicles with unlimited permitted modifications.
Exhibition Class
In keeping with the mission statement of the event, specifically to "demonstrate advancements in the practical application of motor sports technology", the race encourages competitors with vehicles that do not meet the technical specifications of PPIHC sanctioned divisions to enter in the Exhibition Class. While there are no class records for this class because of its exhibition status, entries are eligible for recording an overall course record as well as an attempt at records achieved by former classes.
Race records
Below follows all currently recognised records.
Records set during the most recent running of the event are in bold type.
Division and class records
Non-division and class records
*There is 7mm:70 s:032 between the first and the last stopwatch
Winners
The overall honours have always fallen to vehicles in car divisions, however motorcycles have their own divisions, records and winners. Cars have entered the event every year since its inception in 1916 (with the exception of years during the world wars) whereas motorcycles have only entered in a limited number of years.
Overall winners
![Tajima2011pikespeak](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0e/Tajima2011pikespeak.jpg)
Overall winners can compete under any division, although the majority come from the open wheel and more recently the unlimited division. A time in ''italics'' indicates this was a previous course record, a time in bold indicates the current course record.
Motorcycle winners
Motorcycle winners can compete under any division, although the majority come from open or large displacement classes. A time in ''italics'' indicates this was a previous motorcycle record, a time in bold indicates the current motorcycle record.
On 30 June 2019, four-time Pikes Peak International Hill Climb winner Carlin Dunne was killed in a crash at the race.
He crashed less than a quarter of a mile from the finish line.
See also
*
Mont Ventoux Hill Climb Mont Ventoux Hill Climb is a car and motorcycle hillclimbing race course near Avignon in France. The course, up Mont Ventoux, starts from the village of Bédoin and rises for , to the observatory at the summit, for an average gradient of 7.4%.
In ...
, started in 1902
*
Silverstone Race to the Sky
The Race to the Sky is an annual automobile and motorcycle gravel hillclimbing, hillclimb to the summit of a mountain in the Cardrona Valley of New Zealand. The race was held every year from 1998 to 2007 for two days over the Easter weekend as the ...
(now the longest gravel hill climb in the world)
*
Shelsley Walsh Speed Hill Climb
The Shelsley Walsh Speed Hill Climb is a hillclimb in Shelsley Walsh, Worcestershire, England, organised by the Midland Automobile Club (MAC). It is one of the oldest motorsport events in the world, and is the oldest to have been staged contin ...
(one of the oldest motorsport events in the world)
*
Giants Despair Hillclimb
The Giants Despair Hillclimb is a hillclimb which was established in 1906 in Laurel Run, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States, just southeast of its border to Wilkes-Barre Township. The contest was first run in conjunction with Wilkes-Ba ...
and
Rest and Be Thankful Speed Hill Climb
Rest and Be Thankful Hill Climb is a disused hillclimbing course in Glen Croe, Argyll, Scotland. The first known use of the road for a hillclimb was in 1906. The event used to count towards the British Hill Climb Championship.
Descriptions
In ...
, both started in 1906
*
Mount Washington Hillclimb Auto Race The Mount Washington Hillclimb Auto Race, also known as the Climb to the Clouds, is a timed hillclimb auto race up the Mount Washington Auto Road to the summit of Mount Washington in New Hampshire. It is one of the oldest auto races in the country, ...
(one of the oldest auto races in the United States)
Notes
References
External links
Official WebsiteAll Time Kings of the Mountain (1916-2019)
{{USAC tracks
Hillclimbs
Sports competitions in Colorado Springs, Colorado
Pikes Peak
Rally America
Motorsport in Colorado
Green racing