Just like every year since I first raced the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in 1992, when the month of June rolls around on the calendar, my palms get sweaty and I develop an insatiable itch that can only be cured by a heavy shot of adrenaline. This magic potion is found only at the top of Pikes Peak, a scant 14,110 ft. above sea level on the very mountain that inspired the poem that was later turned into the song “America The Beautiful.”
This majestic mountain is located in Manitou Springs, Colorado, and attracts racers like myself from all over the globe back again and again for the competitive challenge between man, machine, a time clock and the 12 miles of twisty mountain road that leads you into the lap of heaven itself.
RETURN TO UNSER MOUNTAIN
This year would prove to be no different from the years past. The phone rang and it was my good friend Robby Unser telling me about his plans to return to Unser Mountain (nicknamed that after the many championships the Unser family has collected there over the years) attempting to lay claim to his 9th overall championship at Pikes Peak.|
This year, Robby Unser was driving for Mr. Koseki, a Japanese businessman, in a specially prepared Subaru WRX straight from Japan (right hand drive and all). He was supported by local Colorado Springs Subaru dealer Gunner Heuberger along with Auto Smart, a car dealer in Denver, Colorado.
ROAD TRIP
4:00 AM on June 22nd found me watching the Phoenix lights disappear in my rear view mirror as I headed north up I-17 for the mountains of Colorado. Excited to see my old friends each year, much like the swallows return to San Juan Capistrano, we cuckoos return to Manitou Springs for the Pikes Peak race. Depending on exactly what part of the U.S. you are coming from will determine what type of grades you will have to deal with. We had several at 6%, so be prepared.
LIVING ON THE EDGE
This race is very unique in that the course is also a public highway that opens at 9:00AM for tourists to visit the Pikes Peak summit. In the past, the road was all dirt and was much like the bestgroomed dirt track in the country. Those days are gone now as the so-called “environmentalists” have had the bottom half of the course paved and plan on increasing the pavement at least one mile per year.
The good news is that the top half remains dirt and is above the tree line so you can see for miles up the mountain. It still retains the excitement of throwing your racer into the hairpin turns at over 60 MPH for most of the race classes. There is one catch to all this...there is positively no room for error as some of the turns have over 1000 ft. drops. If you miss the corner, you’ll have plenty of time for screaming on the way down. Any one of these brave racers will tell you that they can only feel this much alive when they are staring death straight in the eyes for 12 miles
WHEN IN DOUBT, GAS IT!
Race day brought the third morning in a row that the alarm was set for 2:30 AM and I for one was glad it was the last day of waking up with the sun. Any of you outdoor types would feel right at home in the pits at Pikes Peak on race morning. In what looks like more of a family camping trip than a race pit, with camps scattered through the woods, you could smell the coffee and find families crawling out from their warm sleeping bags to enjoy some good conversation with their fellow racers.
Walking through the pits you can find every sort of racer, from propane-powered Shelby Cobras all the way to Mike Ryan’s Kenworth that can lay down 200 ft. of rubber while exiting a turn! If open wheelers get your motor running, Paul Dallenbach’s converted Indy car that won last year’s overall was looking as strong as ever. In the mini sprint class, Todd Cook had taken the top qualifying spot and was looking relaxed as he did a final once-over on his racer. Todd crews for a friend of mine that won the SCCA Formula Ford class and knows how to prep a car to win.
Motorcycle racer Davey Durelle had his 500cc bike hooked up and was looking for another win this year if he could hold off the rest of the class that were looking to better his time with the addition of the extra pavement put down on the race course. Davey is a champion dirt track racer and ice racer from the Midwest and the talk in the pits among his competition was that he didn’t like the paved part of the course as much as the dirt. I’ve watched Davey since his first trip up the hill learning from Brian Anderson and I think those guys that are racing in his class are still racing for second place.
Chopper builder/TV star, Jesse James, was next in his older Chevy Blazer to pull up to the starting line while Robby Unser’s crew was attempting to change to a mud tire because of the road conditions above 11,000 ft. As Jesse James left the starting line, Robby Unser was clearly upset with the race official’s decision to not let him run the more aggressive mud tires. One thing about Robby, he knows how to turn that anger into record-breaking runs, so I was looking forward to seeing his times through the check points on the way up.
The quads and bikes were up next. While the cars and trucks are cool, they only go off one at a time to race the hill. The bikes line up five to a row and the quads line up three per row. This makes for some real spectator treats, watching these racers bang wheels and handlebars while racing the clock to the top of the hill. As the last of the quads left the starting line at 9,200 ft., a nasty storm was surrounding the mountain above 12,000 ft. and my thoughts were that the road was going to be slippery. Even though the calendar read June 26th, the storms that blow in up there have a habit of dropping multiple inches of snow.
The weather became a real issue when the race was stopped while the first racers up the mountain returned to the starting line to keep from freezing at the high altitude and wet conditions. After a three-hour delay the race resumed, and for only the second time in the 82 years it has run, the race was called short. The remainder of the classes where only allowed to run to the half way point on the course because of safety issues for the competitors.
I bet Robby Unser was glad he got a full run in since he won his class and tied for overall win with Paul Dallenbach. That makes NINE overalls for Unser.No wonder they call this place Unser Mountain. Once again, this proved to be a great race event and a lesson too. You can’t beat Mother Nature.
I would like to give a special thanks to Chuck and Peggy Bynum at the Santa Fe Motel for their outstanding hospitality. I encourage anyone who plans on not bringing their toyhauler on the trip and needs a place to stay in the Colorado Springs area to call them at (866) 460-3030 for an experience you won’t forget. Also www.redhotcars.com of Phoenix, AZ, for providing a first class vehicle for my trip to the clouds.
This event is great for many types of toy owners. For information on the 83rd Annual International Pikes Peak Hill Climb visit www.ppihc.com.
