Peugeot 405 T16 + Ari Vatanen - Montée Pikes Peak - Classic Jean Louis Mourey Film - a must see!
Gives us an excuse to feature the legendary "Climb Dance" video of Ari Vatanen romping up the hill in 1988. Interesting to think of the Peugeot connection between Ari and Jean Todt as they run against each other for President of the FIA.
The event runs this weekend although there have been practice runs in the week.
Ford are using the event to gain some PR for the forthcoming 2011 Ford Fiesta - by commissioning Olsbergs Motorsports to run 2 800 BHP rallycross cars - being driven by Marcus Gronholm and Andreas Eriksson. The cars will lose 30% of their power as they scale the summit and the altitude coupled with a lack of power hampered the Ford duo in hairpin turns during practice the past two days. Eriksson, a four-time Swedish rally champion with multiple Rallycross wins, went off course Thursday and flipped.
"It's a good thing it happened on the inside of the mountain and not the outside," said Eriksson, who hasn't raced above 6,500 feet before.
Eriksson and Gronholm both are employing co-drivers to help navigate a course with 1,500-foot cliffs. Though having Timo Alanne on board adds weight, Gronholm said he can make up the extra time in two turns with the benefit of better directions.
"To learn all these corners perfectly, you need to be here five to 10 years," said Eriksson, who will have co-driver Per Ola Svensson. "There'll be things we haven't thought about."
The UK Mach 2 racing entry - an 850BHP RS200 with NOS to keep power stable near the top of the hill - ran into mechanical problems - and new pistons from the UK were scheduled to arrive today - enabling them to complete their practice runs.
Finally whilst everyone is making noise about sub-10 minute runs - don't forget Record Holder "Monster" Tajima will be at the sharp end in his 1000 BHP Suzuki - an iconic vehicle known well to a generation of Gran Turismo enthusiasts.
PIKES PEAK FAST FACTS
* Where: 12.42-mile pavement and asphalt course in Colorado Springs, starting at 9,390 feet and ending at the 14,110-foot summit of Pikes Peak * Turns: 156 * Average grade: 7% * Straightaway width: 20 feet * Curves' width: 20-50 feet * Competitors: 51 car or truck drivers and 115 motorcycle racers in 11 divisions, including automotive, semi truck, exhibition, open wheel, super stock car, pro truck and motorcycle classes * Top speeds: 130 mph * Overall record:10:01.408 by Nobuhiro Tajima on July 21, 2007 (breaking mark by three seconds)
