The 101st running of The Broadmoor Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, brought to you by Gran Turismo added a number of feats and achievements to the long-running story of the “Race to the Clouds.” The race is conducted on a 12.42-mile paved course consisting of 156 turns that boasts an elevation gain of 4,725 feet, and reaches a finish line at 14,115 feet. Champions were crowned in six divisions, while seven race records were toppled. The podium finishers in each division were as follows:
Unlimited
British driver Robin Shute, now residing in Long Beach, Calif., sent his 2018 Wolf TSC-FS to the summit in a sizzling 8m40.080s, claiming first in the Unlimited division and earning his fourth “King of the Mountain” crown.
Dan Novembre of Colorado Springs, made his 15th run to the summit to claim a division second place in his 2013 Wolf GB08S TC Special in 9m27.611s.
Pikes Peak rookie Duncan Cowper, also representing Great Britain, captured third in the 2009 Cowper Dax Rush Pikes Peak Special with an impressive sub-10-minute run of 9m57.072s.
Pikes Peak Open
Romain Dumas of Switzerland, four-time King of the Mountain and overall course record holder, grabbed top honors in the Pikes Peak Open division in the purpose-built 2023 Ford Performance SuperVan 4.2 (pictured at left, Ford Performance photo) with a run of 8m47.682s. His time beat the 2019 record set by Peter Cunningham, setting a new mark in the Pikes Peak Open division. The PPIHC overall course record set by Dumas in 2018 in the Volkswagen I.D. R Pikes Peak, a blistering 7m57.148s, still reigns.
France’s Raphael Astier claimed second place in the 2018 Alpine A110 GT4 Evo in 9m17.412s.
James Clay of Dublin, Va., took third in a 1995 BMW M3, just three seconds behind Astier with a 9m20.433s.
Time Attack 1
David Donohue of West Chester, Pa., not only won the division with his 2019 Porsche GT2 RS Clubsport, but bested the former record set in 2020 by David Donner. Donohue stepped to the top of the podium with a time of 9m18.053s – a prestigious win for Brumos. As the fastest Porsche on the mountain, Donohue also received the Bergmeister Award, given by Porsche of Colorado Springs and Fred Veitch. The award also allowed the winner to designate a cause or charity of their choice to direct the $1,000 cash award. Donohue graciously awarded the funds to the newly established 43 Institute Foundation in honor of the late Ken Block.
Racer, film maker, driver coach and PPIHC Hall of Famer Jeff Zwart of Aspen, Colo., drove his 2019 Porsche 935/19 to second place in 9m46.131s.
Acura’s James Robinson of Raymond, Ohio, finished third in his 2022 NSX in 10m11.950s.
Open Wheel
Codie Vahsholtz of Woodland Park, Colo., piloting the 2013 Ford Open Vahsholtz Custom, clocked a new Open Wheel division record, besting his father Clint’s record set in 2020 — in the same car. Codie’s time was 9m19.192s.
Sylas Montgomery, a PPIHC newcomer, grabbed second place in the throwback 2007 MFG Road Course Sprint Car — a build harkening back to the early sprint car designs on Pikes Peak. His time was 9m55.993s. As the fastest rookie, overall, Montgomery was also awarded 2023 PPIHC Rookie of the Year.
Back on the mountain for the first time since 2015, “Texas Dave” Carapetyan of Dale, Texas proved he hadn’t forgotten one of those 156 turns, taking third place in the 2023 Sierra Alpha in 10m04.665s.
Porsche Pikes Peak Trophy by Yokohama
In a tight race, the spec-Porsche division welcomed three PPIHC rookies to the podium. The difference in their finish times spanned only five seconds. Hayden Bradley, an 18-year-old from St. Petersburg, Fla., took the win with a time of 10m48.387s in the 2020 Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport.
Nuno Caetano traveled from Lisbon, Portugal to the summit of America’s Mountain to claim a division second-place finish in his 2020 Porsche Cayman Clubsport in 10m50.741s.
Third place went to Hutton McKenna of Norwalk, Calif., for his clocking of 10m55.746s behind the wheel of his 2023 Porsche GT4.
Exhibition
Tanner Foust of Newport Beach, Calif., was tapped by Radford to take its Ant Anstead/Jenson Button build to the summit for the 101st running. Foust’s division win in the 2023 Radford Type 62-2 put him in first in the eclectic Exhibition division with a time of 9m37.326s.
Randy Pobst, racing out of Atlanta, Ga., took second in the 2021 Tesla Model S Plaid, bringing a loyal fan base to cheer him on to a finish time of 9m54.901s. Pobst’s clocking was a new Electric Modified Car record.
Rhys Millen of Huntington Beach, Calif., racing a bright yellow, Pennzoil-liveried 2023 BMW M8, claimed third while setting a new Production Car record of 10m12.024s. This topped his former production record set in 2019 with a Bentley Continental GT.
Other notable highlights
In his diesel-fueled Exhibition division entry, the Radical SR Diesel, Frenchman Gregoire Blachon roared to the summit in 10m25.071s, smashing Scott Birdsall’s 2020 record of 11m24.065s.
Kathryn Mead of Austin, Texas, edged the time set by Vanina Ickx in 2018 — 10m54.901s — with her fourth-place finish in the Time Attack 1 division, marking her as the fastest woman to race a car on Pikes Peak. Mead’s time of 10m53.074s gave her the distinction. Only Germany’s Lucy Glockner aboard her BMW motorcycle in 2019, notching a sub-10-minute run of 9m58.878s, has been faster. Mead also earned Rookie of the Year honors in 2020.
Gardner Nichols, a PPIHC Rookie from Basalt, Colo., set the initial record for the Electric Production Truck/Van entry, racing his 2022 Rivian R1T in the Exhibition division to a finish time of 11m23.983s.