The 90th Pikes Peak International Hill Climb should have been done and dusted by now, however, due to the Waldo Canyon wild fires in Colorado Springs, the event has had to be moved from 8 July to August 12th, after consultation with the U.S. Forestry Service. Tom Osborne, chairman of the board for the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb noted, “Our deepest concern is for the safety of the public and the competitors”. Barring any further unforeseen circumstances, we can expect a full cast of 211 competitors ready to run the ‘Race to the Clouds’.
In 2012, the usual cast of racers is expected to be lead up Pikes Peak by the legendary Nobuhiro ‘Monster’ Tajima, who was the first person to achieve a sub-10 minute run in 2011, behind the wheel of his 700 kW-plus Suzuki SX4 Hill Climb Special. Take a look at Tajima’s record breaking run in this video – man, is this guy brave?!
Tajima might not have it all his own way in 2012, however, as he will be competing in an all new car called the ‘Monster Sport E-Runner Pikes Peak Special’, as opposed to his tried and tested, record setting, Suzuki SX4. A gamble for the legendary driver perhaps, but in keeping with the times, the new car is a full electric vehicle – or so we are led to believe by Team APEV Monster Sports, who haven’t shared any specific details on its propulsion.
Thankfully the car looks imposing enough with all its carbon fibre and LED lighting. Almost like a hill climb version of an LMP1 prototype. Tajima, a six-time defending champion at Pikes Peak, is looking to not only to set a new electric car record, but to also better his own record of 9 minutes 51 seconds in the Unlimited class. He sounds confident, which means he must be happy with the new car’s power – more than 700 kW we hope.
