Tuesday 29^th June 2004

BLOMQVIST TAKES THE UNLIMITED TITLE AT PIKES PEAK

Stig Blomqvist, driving the UK-based Arrow Mach 2 Racing’s Ford RS200E, won the Unlimited section at this year’s Pikes Peak Hill Climb, with a time of 5:16.8, which took place on 26^th June 2004.

The Arrow Mach 2 Racing’s (AM2R) Ford RS200E, driven by 1984 World Rally Champion, Stig Blomqvist, beat the competition to come first in the Unlimited section of this year’s Pikes Peak Hill International Hill Climb in Colorado, USA. AM2R’s aim had always been to win its section, but also beat the course record of just over ten minutes to the top of the hill, set back in 1994 by Rod Millen’s Toyota Celica.

Glorious sunshine helped the times made during the morning races,  but extreme weather conditions hit Pikes Peak in the afternoon for several hours, halting the event. Hail and lightning strikes hammered the course while emergency vehicles were sent to the summit to rescue stranded spectators. Once the storm had passed race directors made the welcome decision to run the sections remaining halfway up the Peak to Glen Cove. And despite the wet roads Stig managed to rack up the best time in the Unlimited section to Glen Cove, coming in at 5:16.8.

AM2R Team Manager, Alan Greenwood, commented: “The whole day was a

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real rollercoaster ride of emotions for the team. We had spent a hard week preparing for the race, faced with the turbo blowing up one engine and our mechanics having to work through the night and day to fit a new one – flown in especially from the UK. With the perfect race conditions in the morning and the car ready and running better than ever, we felt we had a great shot at breaking the Peak’s course record. But with the storms raking the course in the afternoon we soon knew this was not going to happen.

“Once it had been confirmed the remaining sections would only race to Glen Cove, the team set its sights on winning the Unlimited Class, and Stig and the RS did not disappoint. It’s a great victory for a us, which just fuels our desire to go back next year to set a new course record. It wasn’t to be this year, but as the locals say, some years the mountain just doesn’t want to be conquered. “

For further information please visit www.ppihc.com, www.mach2racing.com, or contact Andy Hughes via e-mail at andy.hughes@mach2.co.uk. Photographs are available upon request.

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Last modified: July 21, 2009