To the Top of the World – Photographing the 2008 Pikes Peak Hillclimb

Pikes Peak Hill Climb was first run in 1916, five years after the first Indy 500, making it the second oldest auto race in the US.

Four wheel motorsport fans around the world are familiar with Pikes Peak – those who are of more mature years were most likely inspired by the Audi quattro and Peugeot 405 wins in the 80s for Michele Mouton, Walter Rohrl, Ari Vatanen and Bobby and Robby Unser.

Younger fans may have been introduced to Pikes Peak by Gran Turismo 2 or Dirt Rally or perhaps seen the exploits of Nobuhiro “Monster” Tajima in his Suzukis the early 2000s, Sebastien Loeb in his Peugeot 208T16 in 2013 or the stunning run by Romain Dumas in the electric Volkswagen I.D. R in 2018.

We, however, are rolling back to 2008 when another carefully arranged Harbey family holiday found us in Colorado for the NHRA Drag Racing at Denver and the 86th running of the Pikes Peak Hill Climb – the Race to the Clouds.

Landing in Denver at 5,000 ft – higher than Ben Nevis - was just the start as we first drove up Mt Evans on the highest road in the US at 14,271 ft. The summit of Pikes Peak, at a mere 14,110 ft, was however actually the one where I felt short of breath.

In 2008, the course was split 50/50 paved and gravel and the 10 minute barrier was still to be broken, although Tajima had come within 2 seconds the previous year. 

Hopes were high, therefore, for the first sub-10 minute run as the programme demonstrates. That’s Tajima’s autograph on the cover of the programme.

There was a Fan Fest in Colorado Springs on the Friday evening with competitors and their vehicles lined up for autographs and photos.

We were aware that British journalist Richard “Dickie” Meaden who was back for a second attempt at Pikes Peak with Paul Dallenbach’s team.

Dallenbach is a two time overall winner on the mountain so knows his stuff. We managed a quick word to wish Dickie all the best for the run. 2007 had ended in disappointment for Meaden with mechanical failure

Also on display was the Arciero Special. You and I might know this as a Lotus 23, but in the hands of the Unser family, multiple winners over the years and with a 2.7 litre engine fitted, it both won its class and set a division record.

Sunday starts early - very early !  The toll gate opens at 4 am and you need to be there by 5am before the road closes. We planned to park at Glen Cove Inn, around two thirds of the way up the climb.

Once we were there, we were there for the day. Every type of weather has been experienced on the event that usually runs in July - including snow and fog. We had a very hot day and blue skies. There’s lots of vantage points.

We walked down to the switchback below Glen Cove – a big, wide hairpin and planted our Union Jack and Aston Martin Racing flags on the outside of the bend.

It had been a while since I had seen cars on loose gravel but it was an excellent reminder of how dramatic it can look. I was still very much in the mode of spectator taking a few photos and I’d love to go back with my current kit (and slower shutter speeds !) to see what shots I could get.

First to run was the Exhibition Class including a very non-standard Ford Explorer and a Factory Five “Cobra”.

Andrew, my youngest, had previously only been to circuit racing and had missed the glory days of Group B as he wasn’t born !

He recalls that day sitting on a rock watching the early classes head up to the corner, full committed and leaving a cloud of dust behind. Then, later, standing on the inside of the corner as the cars came round, clipping the apex as close as they dared.

The Rocky Mountain Vintage Racers were up next with a strong Carrera Panamericana vibe. All the drivers in this class were Pikes Peak rookies, but had a wealth of other racing experience between them including the contemporary Carrera Panamericana events.

They certainly met the big, noisy and colourful criteria ! Doug Mockett set fastest time for this class in his Oldsmobile #133.

Pro Trucks followed the Vintage class – with a nice close up of Mike Childress and Joe David in their Ford F150.

Rhys Millen, son of Kiwi Rod Millen a multiple Pikes Peak champion in his own right, was in the Time Attack 2WD class. Given that this was his Formula Drift car, he was suitably spectacular around the hairpin. Red Bull sponsorship rarely looks bad on a car 

Time Attack 4WD was a mainly Japanese affair. However, a sole and slightly elderly Audi brought some variety.

Sadly it didn’t make it to the top.

The Open Wheel class was next to take their runs. You can see the compromises needed in the mixed surface days of Pikes Peak. Tyres need to be able to cope with tarmac and loose dirt, whilst the thinner air – the start is at nearly 10,000 ft above sea level – demands large and extravagant wings.

Many of the entrants in this class are locals who are multi-year competitors.

The notable exception was Dickie Meaden in his second attempt running with Paul Dallenbach’s team. This time, he successfully reached the Summit an excellent third in class in 11 mins 55.910 secs

Dallenbach himself won the class within a whisker of breaking the 11 minute barrier with a time of 11 mins 00.944 secs.

Of course, we were eagerly awaiting Monster in the Suzuki which was likely to be the quickest vehicle up the hill. In the event, the Open Class came up next with a Mustang taking a VERY wide line and the ubiquitous Subarus and Mitsubishis.

The win this time went to the Impreza #725 of Dave Carapetyan.

We were working our way back to the Glen Cove Inn area and were able to look down on the cars – this is the Super Stock class Chevrolet Monte Carlo of Layne Schranz.

The Suzuki of Monster Tajima then flew into view – so quickly that this less than brilliant photo was the result ! Still, we had the shots from the Fan Fest in the can.

There are full classes of quads, sidecars and bikes but by then the heat, altitude and very early start were starting to take their toll. Perhaps I will have to go back to fully capture these intrepid competitors.

The final two vehicles were the most incongruous … 

After all the competitors have had their attempt at Pikes Peak, the course car leads them back down the hill with spectator interaction.

Motorcycles …

Sidecars …

Cars …

And Trucks.

Since we were there, the remainder of the course has been paved leading to more European hillclimb style cars taking part. There is still room for slightly mad – Bentley sent their Bentayga up in 2018 to set a Production SUV record and Rhys Millen set a Time Attack record in 2019 in a Bentley Continental GT.

With that and their Le Mans and GT3 efforts, Bentley is a company that recognises the value of motorsport.

When the manufacturers get behind efforts there is a lot of publicity and I recall seeing live coverage of Sebastien Loeb in the 208 T16 taking nearly two minutes off the fastest time in 2013 – here we see the car at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.

In 2018, Volkswagen decided it was time to burnish their electric vehicle credentials and three time winner Romain Dumas swapped his European style Norma for the Volkswagen I.D. R. Electric power does not suffer from the same issues at altitude as internal combustion and provided the batteries last (and they did !) allowed for a sub 8 minute time.

Note though, this was only 16 seconds quicker than Loeb five years earlier. The car is seen here at the Goodwood Festival of Speed 

If you would like to find out more about Pikes Peak check out the links below.

Vatanen - Peugeot - YouTube

2011 Monster Tajima - Suzuki - YouTube

2013 Sebastien Loeb - Peugeot - YouTube

2019 Romain Dumas - Volkswagen - YouTube

2018 Rhys Millen - Bentley Bentayga - YouTube

2019 Rhys Millen – Bentley Continental GT - YouTube

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