WHAT IS THE PIKES PEAK EVENT?

·        A 12.42 mile (19.99 km) hillclimb up the Pikes Peak mountain at Colorado Springs.

·        Start line is at 9,440 feet (2,862 m) and the finish line is at 14,110 feet (4,301 m).

·        There are 156 bends and many with sheer drops at the road edge.

·        The thin air at the top of the run reduces engine power by about 30%.

·        Average incline is 7% and the track surfaces are a mixture of tarmac and gravel.

·         The biggest challenge is to beat the 10 minute barrier (current record: 10mins 1sec)

It is the world’s highest car race and one of the most grueling events in all of motor racing.  The start line at 9,400 feet is high enough to leave anyone short of breath. And the steep climb to the finish at  14,110 feet punishes both drivers and their vehicles.  As the drivers climb toward the summit, the thin air slows reflexes and saps muscle strength - plus it progressively robs engines of up to 30% of their power at the summit.  So competitors and vehicles must be in top shape simply to finish, let alone win.

The course is a twisty sprint of 12.4 miles. With turns and a course that turns to gravel halfway up, drivers get a tremendous workout.  Although every corner in the race deserves full respect, the one named "Bottomless Pit" gets top billing as the one not to get wrong.  No one has ever missed that corner, an error that would result in a 6,000 foot sheer drop.

As challenging as it is, Pikes Peak International Hill Climb attracts no fewer than 9 classes of racers ranging from 250cc motors to 8,000 pound big rig trucks.

There is no other race course in the world like the Pikes Peak Interntaional Hill Climb.  That''s why it attracts race crews that are willing to spend several hundred thousand dollars and months of preperation to compete for the right to be the King of the Mountain.