Japan’s Nobuhiro Tajima won his fourth consecutive Pikes Peak International Hill Climb on Sunday, but a loose track kept him from achieving his goal of breaking the 10-minute mark.
Tajima finished with a time of 10:15.368—a few seconds faster than his winning time from a year ago. But it was well short of the record of 10:01.408 he set in 2007.
A trio of European rally car champions were expected to challenge Tajima and the elusive 10-minute barrier at this years 87th running of the “Race to the Clouds,†the nation’s second-oldest race behind the Indianapolis 500.
Two-time world rally champion Marcus Gronholm had engine trouble and finished second at 11:28.963. He finished the race with the right rear tire of his Ford Rallycross Fiesta in flames…Â Details
The 2009 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb is in the books. Reigning king of the hill Nobuhiro “Monster†Tajima again took top honors in the unlimited class but failed to break his own record with the new Suzuki SX4 hill-climb special. In fact, he fell 14 seconds shy of his record 2007 run with a 10:15.368. He did manage to beat Marcus Gronholm and Timo Alanne in one of Ford’s Rallycross Fiestas, which only managed an 11:28.963 as it crossed the line with its right rear tire in flames.
One of two categories that did see records broken was the 2WD Time Attack for production-based cars. Here, Rhys Millen found that the confidence he gained from his practice runs earlier in the week was not misplaced. In his 17th run at Pikes Peak, Millen covered the 12.4 mile course to the 14,110-foot summit in…Â Details
In the spirit of Parnelli Jones, world-class rally aces Marcus Grönholm and Andreas Eriksson will scale Pikes Peak Sunday determined to crack the elusive 10-minute barrier.
Jones, one of America’s most versatile drivers, won the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in 1963 and 1964 in a Mercury Marauder set up as a U.S. Auto Club stock car. Grönholm, a two-time World Rally Car champion, and Eriksson, a four-time Swedish Rally champion, will tackle the 87th edition of “The Race to the Clouds†in a pair of supercharged Ford Fiestas.
Despite their impressive rally credentials, Grönholm and Eriksson have spent this week in and around Colorado Springs, Colo., adjusting to the serpentine 12.42-mile course and thin air as bonafide rookies. Jones, the 1963 Indianapolis 500 champion, suggested that was a wise approach.
“Those rally guys are pretty brave guys anyway, running on the circuits they run… Details
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