Peak Mini

Sebastien Loeb will not be the only Frenchman tackling Pike Peak's 12.42 miles of switchbacks at the end of June. His Peugeot 208T16 will  be challenged by a 912hp Mini based rocket driven by Andros Trophy ice racer Jean-Philippe Dayraut.

Dayrout has previously raced in the American classic in a Dacia based car in 2012 and 2011.  

The Race to the Clouds has developed quite a cult following in Europe: in 2013 Loeb and Dayrout will be joined in attacking the Colorado mountain  "Pour la France"  by Romain Dumas  and Simon Pagenaud both in  Honda powered machines. 






(autohebdo)

Here's Sebastien Loeb Testing For Pike's Peak

Sebastien Loeb tested the Peugeot 208 T16, now in its full Red Bull livery on the windy roads of Mont Ventoux, in the south of France, in preparation for his assault on the Pike's Peak record at the end of June.  Sick.

On the mountain

Jamey Price was at Pike's Peak shooting for Audi and Ducati but he took some time to send Axis these amazing shots.   Check out the full gallery after the jump.

What do you say as you fly off a cliff?

How many people have seen Jeremy Foley and Yuri Kouznetsov fly off the side of Pike's Peak?   My mother called me from Italy to ask me if I had seen that crazy car crash...  enough said.

Now, since both somehow got to drive another day, I don't think it's too soon to have a bit of fun.  They must agree because they posted their onboard GoPro videos ...
So what DO you say as your car flies off a cliff?  Turns out, pretty much what you'd imagine:



"Oh Shit" seems appropriate if somewhat understated considering.  "AAAAAAAAARGH" might be more what I would go with.



(Hat tip to 0-60!)

Pike's Peak is still crazy dangerous

"Jeremy Foley and his co-driver go off at Devils Playground at exactly the same spot Bobby Regester did last year. They weren't quite as lucky. Both were taken to the hospital but all I heard was that one of them had serious but not life-threatening injuries. I certainly hope it wasn't too serious."
(YouTube)



As scary as the clip above is, at least there was nobody else around.    Same cannot be said for the crash involving Paul Dallenbach's Gazillion horsepower Pike's Peak special which went straight off into the woods after the first few corners.  It's a miracle nobody was hurt.
(Tx RJC!)

Pike's Peak is Electric

EVs are everywhere, braking their own records for now but I wonder how long it will be before they are faster than internal combustion cars.

Nobuhiro Monster Tajima, the ninja of Pikes Peak, driving the Team APEV Monster  Sport E-Runner prototype will almost certainly pulverize the current Electric Vehicle record of 14:33 set last year by a Nissan Leaf.

The E-Runner is all wheel drive, driven by two liquid cooled motors powered by Mitsubishi Li-Ion batteries.     Tajima has competition from the Radical based Toyota EV that set the Nürburgring EV lap record, not to mention a electrified e36 M3 and entries from Mitsubishi but "Monster" has experience on his side.

Sunday is when it counts.

Check out the photo gallery on Autoblog

Postcard from Pike's Peak

Romain Dumas says: "Meilleur chrono de la catégorie pour ce deuxième jour (sur la portion du milieu). A 4 dixièmes de "Monster" Tajima sur une partie où il faut de la puissance. On est toujours plutôt dans le coup et on continue d'apprendre. Tout va bien, on manque juste un peu d'air ;-)"


Fastest time in class for this second day (on the middle portion). 4/10th from "Monster" Tajima on a part where you need power. Still in the game and continue to learn. All is well, it just missing a little air;-)

Picture of the Day

Parnelli Jones's Mercury Marauder , 1964 Pike's Peak.

Peak Performance

Almost as good as the famous Ari Vatanen "Climb Dance"! Marcus Gronholm in a Ford Fiesta at this year's Pike's Peak.






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Porsches in the dirt.

It snowed here in NYC yesterday and while it seems these days most people are terrified by any hint of sliding, I immediately took my car out and relished any amount of slow speed sideways action I could manage... It was great fun and a rare treat while it lasted.

Speaking of driving on loose stuff please take a look at this great little film by photographer/racer Jeff Zwart, author of the highly collectible book Porsche Rennsport.


I'm not really down with the conclusion but right up to the GT2 driving up Pike's Peak, it's brilliant.

As a bonus and for sideways inspiration, find a collection of classic Pike's Peak videos after the jump!

(via Bringatrailer.com)