Ready for the most legendary mountain race on the planet?
In 6 days’ time, on Sunday June 24, it will be the moment of truth for Automobiles Gillet and Vanina Ickx. For months now, they have been preparing for the ‛Pikes Peak International Hill Climb’ – the most stunning and spectacular mountain race on the planet.
For daredevils only
The ‛Broadmoor Pikes Peak International Hill Climb’, also known as ‛The Race to the Clouds’, is an annual invitational automobile and motorcycle mountain race to the summit of Pikes Peak in Colorado. The mountain, located in the Rocky Mountains, is one of the most famous summits in the United States.
Every year, on the last Sunday in June, this is the setting for the legendary Race to the Clouds. Not only does the race take place at a mind-boggling altitude with the finish line at 4,300 meters (14,115 feet) above sea level. During the 20-kilometer-long race the competitors climb a total height of 1,440 meters (4,720 ft) steering their cars through 156 treacherous curves.
As the drivers and riders climb toward the summit, the thin mountain air slows reflexes and depletes competitors’ mental and muscle strength, in addition to robbing internal combustion engines of up to 30% of the power they are capable of producing at the start line. Drivers and their vehicles must be in top shape and condition simply to finish, let alone win.
Working day and night until the race
A true challenge, even for an experienced driver like Vanina Ickx, daughter of the famous racing driver Jacky Ickx. This week the last preparations have been made to the all-new Vertigo that carmaker Automobiles Gillet specially designed for the race. With the car Tony Gillet wishes to write history exactly 25 years after he broke the world record for acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h (in 3.266 seconds).
“In this final week everything comes together and the stress starts to mount”, says Vanina. “Last week, just before putting the car on the airplane to Colorado, we added the finishing touches to the set-up of the car to further increase the driving comfort and the efficiency.” The engineers at Gillet will be working day and night in the last few days before the race to make sure that the car is fully prepared and that nothing is left to chance.
Some interesting facts about the race
The race was founded in 1916 by Spencer Penrose and the first record was set by Ray Lentz at 20:55.6. Today the record-holder in the Unlimited Division is no one less than Sébastien Loeb. In 2013 he shredded the existing 9+ minute record and set the bar high at 8:13.878.
The race is self-sanctioned and is the most diverse one day motorsports event in the world with everything from Sidecars, Motorcycles and 1,400+hp Electric Vehicle & Unlimited racers competing in the same event.
Do you want to see Vanina Ickx in action and join the thrill of the race to Pikes Peak? Stay tuned for our next episode in which we cover the race itself!
Discover all about the race
