Pikes Peak International Hill Climb

(Redirected from Pikes Peak Auto Hillclimb)

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 in Colorado, USA. The track measures 12.42 miles (19.99 km) and has over 156 turns, climbing 4,720 ft (1,440 m) from the start at Mile 7 on Pikes Peak Highway, to the finish at 14,115 ft (4,302 m), on grades averaging 7.2%.[1][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.[3]

Pikes Peak International Hill Climb
LocationColorado Springs, Colorado USA
38°50′N 105°02′W / 38.84°N 105.04°W / 38.84; -105.04
First race1916 (1916)
Distance12.42 mi (20 km)
Circuit information
SurfaceTarmac (historically, dirt)
Turns156
Lap record7:57.148 (France Romain Dumas, Volkswagen I.D. R Pikes Peak, 2018, Unlimited)
Al Unser's 1961 car.
1987 Audi Sport quattro E2 'Pikes Peak'
Suzuki Escudo at the 2006 Race to the Clouds
Randy Schranz rising above treeline at the 85th Race to the Clouds, 2007
Micky Dymond on his way to winning the 2007, 1200cc class, riding a BMW HP2.
Marcus Grönholm drove an 800 BHP Ford Fiesta to 5th overall at the 2009 event.
Rhys Millen's 2011 Pikes Peak Hyundai Genesis coupé
Ralph Murdock breaking the vintage class modified (RMVR modified) record in 2011, with a time of 12:51.004 in a 1970 Chevrolet Camaro
Monster Tajima Electric Car displayed during 2013 PPIHC Fan Fest at Colorado Springs, USA
Sébastien Loeb shattered the course record in 2013 with a Peugeot 208 T16 Pikes Peak (875 bhp and 875 kg)
Rick Knoop, Tim O'Neil, and Charlie Greenhaus with an EVSR electric race car by Entropy Racing at Pikes Peak in 2015

The race is self-sanctioned and has taken place since 1916.[1][2] It is currently contested by a variety of vehicle classes. The PPIHC operates as the Pikes Peak Auto Hill Climb Educational Museum to organize the annual motorsports event.[1]

History

Early history

The first Pikes Peak Hill Climb was promoted by Spencer Penrose, who had converted the narrow carriage road into the much wider Pikes Peak Highway.[4]

The first Penrose Trophy was awarded in 1916 to Rea Lentz with a time of 20:55.60.[4][5][6] In the same year Floyd Clymer won the motorcycle class with a time of 21:58.41.[7] In 1924 the final Penrose Trophy was awarded to Otto Loesche in his Lexington Special.[8] In the years following, Glen Scultz and Louis Unser shared a rivalry and won the event 12 times between them.[5] In 1929 the popular stock car class was added to the event.[4][6]

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.[4][5] During this time the event was part of the AAA and USAC IndyCar championship.[9] In 1953, the Sports Car Club of America (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.[5] In 1954 motorcycles returned to the event, the first time since its inception in 1916.[6] The motorcycle overall victory that year went to Bill Meier riding a Harley-Davidson motorcycle.[7]

In 1971 the event was won by the first non-gasoline vehicle (propane), this was also the first overall victory from the stock car class (1970 Ford Mustang), the car was driven by the Danish-American Ak Miller.[6]

European involvement

In 1984 the first European racers took part in the PPIHC with Norwegian Rallycrosser Martin Schanche (Ford Escort Mk3 4x4) and French Rally driver Michèle Mouton (Audi Sport quattro), thereby starting a new era for European teams in the almost unknown American hillclimb.[10] While Schanche failed to set a new track record due to a flat right front tire, Mouton (together with her World Rally Championship co-driver Fabrizia Pons 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.[10][7]

In 1989, an award-winning short film about the 1988 event was released by French director Jean-Louis Mourey. The film, titled Climb Dance, captured the efforts of Finnish former World Rally Champion Ari Vatanen, as he won the event in a record-breaking time with his turbocharged Peugeot 405 Turbo 16.[5][7][11]

Paving of the highway

The City of Colorado Springs began to pave the highway in 2002 after losing a lawsuit against the Sierra Club, 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.[12][13] 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.[3]

During this evolutionary period of the event, the Japanese driver Nobuhiro Tajima with Suzuki cars scored 6 overall victories (2006–2011) and two course records.[4][10] His 2011 record was the first to break the 10 minute barrier.[5]

Hill Climb champion Rod Millen warned at the time that paving the road would put an end to the race.[14] However, the 2012 race saw over 170 racer registrations by December 2011, compared with 46 at the same time the previous year.[15]

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, the son of previous event winner Rod Millen, 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.[16] 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 (Peugeot 208 T16 Pikes Peak), with a time of 8:13.878, while Rhys Millen ended up second with 9:02.192, beating his own record by more than 44 seconds.[17] 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.[5][7][18]

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. Additionally, the lowering air density of high altitudes does not reduce the power available to the driver as it does with air-breathing engines.[19][20]

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.[21]In 2015, electric cars placed first (Rhys Millen) and second (Nobuhiro Tajima) overall.[22][23] In an interview with Rhys Millen, 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.[24]In 2016 gasoline again took top honors but electric completed the podium taking second (Rhys Millen) and third (Tetsuya Yamano) as well as fifth (Nobuhiro Tajima) places overall.[25]

At the 2018 event, an electric car set a new overall record for the first time in the event's history as Frenchman Romain Dumas completed the course in the all-electric Volkswagen I.D. R with a time of 7:57.148, breaking the 8 minute barrier for the first time.[19][26]

The death of motorcyclist Carlin Dunne during the 2019 race forced the organization to postpone all motorcycle racing at the event.[27] This decision was reviewed following the 2021 running of the event, and motorcycle competition was subsequently discontinued.[28]

Racing divisions

The Pikes Peak International Hill climb currently consists of six divisions.[29]

Unlimited

Anything goes[tone] 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 set a new record of 7 minutes 57.148 seconds in the all-electric Volkswagen I.D. R Pikes Peak, beating Sébastien Loeb's previous record by over 15 seconds.[30]

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 cars 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.[31] Records set during the most recent running of the event are in bold type.

Division and class records

Current 4-wheel records[32]
DivisionClassYearNameVehicleTime
Unlimited2018 Romain DumasVolkswagen I.D. R[note 1]7:57.148
Time AttackTime Attack 12023 David DonohuePorsche GT2 RS Clubsport9:18.053
Pikes Peak Challenge CarOpen Wheel2023 Codie Vahsholtz2013 Ford Open9:19.192
Pikes Peak Open2023 Romain DumasFord Supervan 4.28:47.682
Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport2018 Travis Pastrana2016 Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport10:33.897
Current 2-wheel records[32]
DivisionClassYearNameVehicleTime
Pikes Peak Heavyweight2019Rennie Scaysbrook2018 Aprilia Tuono V4 11009:44.963
Pikes Peak Middleweight2018Chris Fillmore2018 KTM 790 Duke10:04.038
Pikes Peak Lightweight2019Chris Fillmore2019 450 SX-F Factory Edition10:20.819
Pikes Peak Challenge MotorcycleElectric2013Carlin Dunne2013 Lightning Electric Superbike [note 1]10:00.694
Quad2016Cyril Combes [note 2]2011 Suzuki KTM JF Prototype11:05.664

Non-division and class records

Records from the appendix of the PPIHC Rule Book[1][32]
TypeYearNameVehicleTime
Production Truck2024Gardner Nichols2024 Rivian R1T10:53.883
Production SUV2018 Rhys Millen2018 Bentley Bentayga W1210:48.902
Time Attack 2 (Production)2023 Rhys MillenBMW M810:12.024
Vintage Car2017Spencer Steele1995 PVA 210:25.989
Sidecar2016John Wood &
Matthew Blank
1999 Shelbourne Superlite F211:26.644
Vintage Motorcycle2012Marc LaNoue1969 Triumph Bonneville12:39.782
Alternative fuel records[32][33]
FuelDivision/ClassYearNameVehicleTime
ElectricUnlimited2018 Romain DumasVolkswagen I.D. R[note 1]7:57.148
Exhibition2024 Dani SordoHyundai Ioniq 59:30.852
Pikes Peak Open2023 Romain DumasFord Supervan 4.28:47.682
DieselExhibition2023Gregoire BlachonRadical SR3 Diesel10:25.071
Natural GasOpen Wheel1993Johnnie RogersWells-Coyote11:50.090
PropaneExhibition/PPO2012Randy Schranz2012 Shelby Cobra11:11.218
TurbineOpen Rally1981Steve BolanBolan-Allison15:27.180
HybridTime Attack 12020James Robinson2019 Acura NSX10:01.913
Drivetrain records[32]
DrivetrainDivision/ClassYearNameVehicleTime
Front-Wheel DrivePikes Peak Open2018Nick Robinson2018 Acura TLX A-Spec10:48.094
Rear-Wheel DriveUnlimited2018Simone Faggioli[note 2]2018 Norma M20 SF PKP8:37.230
All-Wheel DriveUnlimited2018 Romain DumasVolkswagen I.D. R[note 1]7:57.148
  • 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

Ari Vatanen's 1988 Peugeot 405 T16
Nobuhiro Tajima's Suzuki SX4 during his 2011 record breaking run.

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.

Table of overall winners[34]
YearWinnerVehicleTimeNotes
1916 Rea LentzRomano Special20:55.600
1917–1919No competition due to World War I
1920 Otto LoescheLexington Special22:25.400
1921 King RhileyHudson Special19:16.200
1922 Noel BullockFord Special19:50.900
1923 Glen ShultzHudson Essex18:47.000
1924 Otto LoescheLexington Special18:15.000
1925 Charles H. MyersChandler Special17:48.400
1926 Glen ShultzStutz18:19.400
1927 Glen ShultzStutz18:25.100
1928 Glen ShultzStutz Special17:41.600
1929 Edward PhillipsShultz Stutz 818:22.800
1930 Glen ShultzStutz DV-3218:08.700
1931 Charles H. MyersHunt Special17:10.300
1932 Glen ShultzShultz/Stutz Special16:47.200
1933 Glen ShultzStutz DV-3217:27.500
1934 Louis UnserStutz Special16:01.800
1935 W.P. Bentrup1935 Chevrolet 1+12-ton Truck26:12.000[note 3]
1936 Louis UnserShultz Stutz16:28.100
1937 Louis UnserStutz DV-3216:27.300
1938 Louis UnserLoop Cafe Special15:49.900
1939 Louis UnserSnowberger Special15:39.400
1940 Al RogersJoe Coniff Special15:59.900
1941 Louis UnserBurd Special15:35.200
1942–1945No competition due to World War 2
1946 Louis UnserMaserati15:28.700[note 4]
1947 Louis UnserMaserati16:34.770[note 5]
1948 Al RogersConiff Special Offenhauser15:51.300[note 5]
1949 Al RogersConiff Special15:54.260[note 5]
1950 Al RogersConiff Special15:39.000[note 5]
1951 Al RogersOffenhauser15:39.700[note 5]
1952 George HammondKurtis Kraft Offenhauser Special15:30.650[note 5]
1953 Louis UnserFederal Engineering Special15:15.400[note 5]
1954 Keith AndrewsJoe Hunt14:39.700[note 5]
1955 Bob FinneyDick Frenzel Special14:27.200[note 5]
1956 Bobby UnserUnser Special14:27.000[note 6]
1957 Bob FinneyDick Frenzel Special14:11.700[note 6]
1958 Bobby UnserUnser Special13:47.900[note 6]
1959 Bobby UnserUnser Special13:36.500[note 6]
1960 Bobby UnserUnser Special13:28.500[note 6]
1961 Bobby UnserUnser Special12:56.700[note 6]
1962 Bobby UnserUnser Special12:05.800[note 6]
1963 Bobby UnserChevrolet 32712:30.600[note 6]
1964 Al UnserOffenhauser12:24.500[note 6]
1965 Al UnserHarrison Ford12:54.300[note 7]
1966 Bobby UnserChevrolet12:23.800[note 7]
1967 Wes VandervoortChevrolet12:46.300[note 7]
1968 Bobby UnserRislone Special11:54.900[note 7]
1969 Mario AndrettiChevrolet STP Special12:44.070[note 7]
1970 Ted FoltzChevrolet 30312:41.100[note 6]
1971 Ak Miller1970 Mustang14:18.600
1972 Roger MearsVolkswagen 218013:26.840
1973 Roger MearsVolkswagen 218012:54.790
1974 Errol KobilanSprint Chevrolet 30212:54.770
1975 Orville NanceChevrolet 32712:36.650
1976 Rick MearsPorsche 238612:11.890
1977 Bob HerringChevrolet 35012:15.720
1978 Errol KobilanChevrolet11:55.830
1979 Dick Dodge Jr.Hoffpauir Wells Coyote Chevrolet11:54.180
1980 Ted Foltz1970 Chevrolet 35012:15.810
1981 Gary Lee Kanawyer1976 N-D Porsche12:03.960
1982 Bill BristerWoziwodzki Wells Coyote Chevrolet11:44.820
1983 Al Unser Jr.Woziwodzki Wells Coyote Chevy11:38.300
1984 Bill Brister1981 Wells Coyote11:44.490
1985 Michèle MoutonAudi Sport Quattro S111:25.390
1986 Bobby UnserAudi Sport Quattro SL11:09.220
1987 Walter RöhrlAudi Sport Quattro E2 Pikes Peak10:47.850
1988 Ari VatanenPeugeot 405 Turbo 1610:47.220
1989 Robby UnserPeugeot 405 Turbo 1610:48.340
1990 Robby UnserUnser Chevrolet11:32.860
1991 David DonnerDonner-Dykstra Chevrolet11:12.420
1992 Robby UnserUnser Chevrolet10:53.870
1993 Paul DallenbachDavis Chevrolet10:43.630
1994 Rod MillenToyota Celica AWD Turbo10:04.060
1995 Nobuhiro TajimaSuzuki Escudo7:53.000[note 8]
1996 Rod MillenToyota Celica10:13.640
1997 Rod MillenToyota Celica10:04.540
1998 Rod MillenToyota Tacoma10:07.700
1999 Rod MillenToyota Tacoma10:11.150
2000 Larry Ragland2000 GMC Envoy11:17.660
2001 Gary Lee Kanawyer1981 Wells Coyote10:39.760
2002 David Donner1997 Donner Dykstra10:52.300[note 9]
2003 Paul Dallenbach2000 PVA-0111:34.700[note 10]
2004 Robby UnserSubaru Impreza STI11:47.280[note 11]
2005 David DonnerDonner/Dykstra Special11:15.680[note 12]
2006 Nobuhiro TajimaSuzuki Escudo7:38.900[note 8][note 13]
2007 Nobuhiro TajimaSuzuki XL710:01.408[note 14]
2008 Nobuhiro TajimaSuzuki XL710:18.250[note 15]
2009 Nobuhiro TajimaSuzuki SX410:15.368[note 16]
2010 Nobuhiro TajimaSuzuki SX410:11.490[note 17]
2011 Nobuhiro TajimaSuzuki SX49:51.278[note 18]
2012 Rhys MillenHyundai Genesis Coupe9:46.164[note 19]
2013 Sébastien LoebPeugeot 208 T16 Pikes Peak8:13.878
2014 Romain DumasNorma M20 RD-Honda9:05.801
2015 Rhys MilleneO PP039:07.222[note 1]
2016 Romain DumasNorma M20 RD-Honda8:51.445
2017 Romain DumasNorma M20 RD-Honda9:05.672
2018 Romain DumasVolkswagen I.D. R7:57.148[note 1]
2019 Robin Shute2018 Wolf TSC-Honda9:12.476
2020 Clint Vahsholtz2013 Ford Open9:35.490
2021 Robin Shute2018 Wolf GB08 TSC-LT-Honda5:55.246[note 8]
2022 Robin Shute2018 Wolf TSC-FS-Honda10:09.525
2023 Robin Shute2018 Wolf TSC‑FS-Honda8:40.080
2024 Romain Dumas[35]2024 Ford F-150 Lightning SuperTruck8:53.563[note 1]

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.[36] He crashed less than a quarter of a mile from the finish line.[36]

Table of motorcycle winners[7]
YearWinnerVehicleTimeNotes
1916 Floyd ClymerExcelsior21:58.410
1917-1953No motorcycle competition was held.
1954 Bill MeierHarley-Davidson15:34.100
1955 Don TindallHarley-Davidson16:08.600
1956-1970No motorcycle competition was held.
1971 Gary MyersHusqvarna15:11.960
1972 Steve ScottBultaco15:13.470
1973 Rick DeaneTriumph 75013:56.030
1974 Bob ConwayYamaha 75013:54.570
1975 Rick DeaneTriumph 75013:54.620
1976 Rick DeaneTriumph 75013:12.610
1977-1979No motorcycle competition was held.
1980 Lonnie HoutchensYamaha 75013:44.730
1981 Brian AndersonTriumph 75013:20.860
1982 Arlo EnglundNA13:19.280
1983-1990No motorcycle competition was held.
1991 Brian AndersonWood-Rotax 60013:24.820
1992 Brian AndersonWood-Rotax12:54.000
1993 Clint VahsholtzWood-Rotax12:29.380
1994 Clint VahsholtzWood-Rotax 60012:21.130
1995 Clint Vahsholtz1992 Wood-Rotax09:17.100[note 8]
1996 Davey Durelle1988 Wood-Rotax12:33.730
1997 Davey Durelle1988 Wood-Rotax12:21.960
1998 John Stallworth1987 Yamaha Banshee 43012:52.370
1999 Lonnie EubanksYamaha12:42.190
2000 Bobby ParrLSR Lightweight12:37.860
2001 Bobby ParrLSR12:09.160
2002 Bobby ParrLone Star12:30.000[note 9]
2003 Bobby ParrLightweight12:28.480[note 10]
2004 Davey DurelleHonda CRF12:27.810[note 11]
2005 Micky DymondKTM12:12.614[note 12]
2006 Gary TrachyHusqvarna SMR11:46.841[note 13]
2007 Davey Durelle2005 Rotax11:41.756[note 14]
2008 Davey DurelleAprilia SM 55011:42.991[note 15]
2009 Davey DurelleAprilia SXV11:48.649[note 16]
2010 Gary TrachyTM 66011:33.700[note 17]
2011 Carlin Dunne2011 Ducati Multistrada 120011:11.329[note 18]
2012 Carlin Dunne2012 Ducati Multistrada 12009:52.819[note 19]
2013 Carlin Dunne2013 Lightning Electric Superbike10:00.694
2014 Jeremy Toye2013 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R09:58.687
2015 Jeffrey Tigert2014 Honda CBR1000RR10:02.735
2016 Bruno Langlois2015 Kawasaki Z100010:13.106
2017 Chris Fillmore2017 KTM Super Duke 1290 R9:49:625
2018 Carlin Dunne2018 Ducati MTS-1260 Pikes Peak9:59.102
2019 Rennie Scaysbrook2018 Aprilia Tuono V4 11009:44.963

See also

Notes

References