The annual Pikes Peak international hill climb has taken place yesterday, 29th June. No overall record was achieved this year, with Sebastian Loeb’s unbelievable 2013 time of 8.13.878 set last year well and truly safe.
The fastest time up the hill was set by Romain Dumas in a 2013 Norma at 9.05.801. Second and third fastest times overall (in any class) were set by the ‘Elec-Electric Modified’ division Mitsubishi of Greg Tracy 9.08.188 and Hiroshi Masuoka 9.12.204 who took 1st and 2nd in their class. Coming in 3rd and 4th in the same class were Ikuo Hanawa in a 2011 Summit at 12.18.019 and Janis Horeliks in a 2014 Tesla at 12.57.536 respectively.
However, to add confusion to the results, rounding out the group is the famed Pikes Peak legend Nobuhiro Tajima, or Monster as he is affectionately known. In his Monster Sport E-RUNNER, the official timings indicate the final section of track with no official time, putting him in 5th position for the group. However, he was awarded with third place with an unofficial time of 9.37. The team have cited heat as being the cause of their failure to produce another win but cite that their intention is to come back in 2015 with a faster car, capable of winning the outright time for any car, let alone in the electric division.
Greg Tracy said:
“I am extremely happy to be able to deliver this Electric Modified class victory to Mitsubishi Motors. This win means that I am a winner both in two-wheel and in four-wheel vehicles, transitioning towards four wheels was because I really wanted to race with an electric vehicle. The Mitsubishi Motors team prepared a fantastic race car for me. I want to thank the team and also Masuoka-san who helped to develop this phenomenal race car to capture this win. This victory is truly a team effort. The road surface condition today was rather slippery but the S-AWC had eliminated any unnecessary drift of the car, and I was able to attack turns all the way to the top with full confidence. One thing that I am disappointed about from my run is that I was a little too aggressive under the braking in some turns. Therefore, the brakes started to fade a little bit towards the end, and due to pounding from hard braking, I think I lost some time at the top. I am a bit gutted since if it wasn’t for this, I think we really had a good shot at winning the overall as well. With that said, I am really proud to be able to deliver the victory in the Electric Modified Division to Mitsubishi Motors driving the MiEV Evolution III.”
In the Elec-Electric Production Bike division, Jeff Clark (rider #777m) completed the course in an impressive 11.59.814 on a 2013 ZERO. Not far behind, Jeremiah Johnson (rider #64m) completed the climb in 12.20.448, first in his class of Elec-Electric Modified Bike on a 2013 Brutus Electric Motorcycle.
Sadly, the event was marred by the tragic death of a motorcyclist, Bobby Goodin., 54 from Flower Mound, Texas (rider #86m). Reports suggest Goodin had actually completed his time, 11.07.114, and was trying to slow down having crossed the finish line but slipped and fell down an embankment and landed on some boulders. He was taken to nearby Penrose Main Hospital but sadly passed away.
Goodin was no stranger to the hill climb, having finished in third place at last year’s event, in his class. This year, he was riding in the Pikes Peak Middleweight division on a Triumph Daytona 675R.
