The Broadmoor Pikes Peak International Hill Climb is ready to roll with a dynamic field of drivers and racers from 14 countries
Colorado Springs——– The 2017 Broadmoor Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, brought to you by Gran Turismo, will feature a star-studded roster of veteran auto drivers and motorcycle racers who have recorded 101 total previous PPIHC class victories in the world’s most challenging motorsport hill climb.
“Our fans deserve a memorable time on the mountain, and I think this race will be among our best,” said PPIHC Executive Director Megan Leatham. “Along with former champions and experienced veterans, we have 19 notable rookies ready to take on the mountain.”
The entrants for the 95th running of the Race to the Clouds on June 25 includes familiar names from past editions of the PPIHC, including 2016 King of the Mountain Romain Dumas of France; Rhys Millen, the decorated New Zealand-born ace who was the 1992 Rookie of the Year and winner of 11 Pikes Peak titles in 24 appearances; David Donner of Colorado Springs, a six-time PPIHC champion; Clint Vahsholtz of nearby Woodland Park, the winningest driver in PPIHC history with 22 class victories; and motorcycle legend Davey Durelle of Elizabeth, Colorado, the most decorated motorcycle competitor in PPIHC history with 17 class victories, six King of the Mountain titles, eight motorcycle division/class records and one motorcycle course record to his name.
Six current division or class record holders are in a lineup of 55 autos and 31 motorcycles with drivers and racers representing the United States, France, Canada, Great Britain, Belgium, Russia, New Zealand, Australia, Taiwan, Corsica, Germany, Brazil, Italy and Japan.
2017 Race Preview
Auto Divisions
Unlimited
Record: 2013 – Sébastien Loeb, 2013 Peugeot 208 T16 Pikes Peak – 8:13.878
The prestigious Unlimited Division spotlight shines squarely on French driver Romain Dumas, who won the division last year with the second-fastest time in the history of the race, a clocking of 8:51.445 behind the wheel of a 2016 Norma M20 RD Limited on the way to becoming the first driver to win at The 24 Hours of Le Mans and Pikes Peak in the same year. Dumas will be driving an open-cockpit prototype developed in partnership with French constructor Norma. With the MXX RD Limited, he will be looking to capture his third win at Pikes Peak and get even closer to the current course record time set by Sébastien Loeb. 2016 Pikes Peak Hill Climb Museum Hall of Fame Inductee and seven time PPIHC King of the Mountain Nobuhiro “Monster” Tajima will not compete this year and 2016 Electric Modified Class winner and electric record holder Rhys Millen has moved to the Time Attack 1 Class. Rodney Tu, an Australian representing Taiwan this year, was third in Unlimited last year at 10:06.137, well behind winner Dumas. David Rowe, a British resident representing Australia, was second in the Time Attack 1 Class in 2015 on the Peak. Veteran Steve Goeglein (Falcon, CO) was seventh in Unlimited last year at 10:55.669 after three second place finishes in the Stock Car Class and 1991 Rookie of the Year honors.
Time Attack – Time Attack 1 Class
Record: 2013 – Paul Dallenbach, 2013 Hyundai Genesis Coupe – 9:46.001
With 24 competitors, Time Attack 1 is one the largest and most competitive classes in recent PPIHC history. 2016 Time Attack 1 winner (10:00.813) and six-time PPIHC winner David Donner (Colorado Springs, CO) a member of the Pikes Peak Hill Climb Museum Hall of Fame will return to defend his title in a 2013 Porsche GT3R. He’ll face Australian Rhys Millen, the PPIHC superstar who won the Electric Modified Class last year with a sizzling time of 8:57.118, the third-fastest time in the race’s history. Millen was King of the Hill in 2012 when he won the Time Attack Combined crown with a clocking of 9:46.164 in a 2012 Hyundai Genesis Coupe, the same auto he will drive this year. Donner and Millen will face several top five Time Attack 1 finishers from 2016 in Tim Hardy – 10:12.881, Robb Holland – 10:56.878, and Derek Boyd – 10:57.684 among others in a loaded field.
Time Attack – Time Attack 2 Production Class
Record: 2015 – David Donner, 2014 Porsche 911 Turbo S – 10:26.896
This class, the PPIHC’s answer to a modern-day Stock Car Class, features a head-to-head duel between internal combustion entrant Robert Prilika of Castle Rock, CO and electric driver Blake Fuller of Sarasota, FL. Prilika placed third in the Pikes Peak Challenge – Pikes Peak Open in 2013 and 2016 and will drive a 2009 Chevrolet Corvette this year. Fuller won the Electric Production Class last year while setting a new Electric Vehicle Production record of 11:48.264 behind the wheel of his Tesla S P90D. He is seeking to break his own record this year in a 2016 GO PUCK Tesla Model S P90D. Fuller also won the 2002 Pikes Peak Open Class in a 1995 Honda.
Pikes Peak Challenge – Pikes Peak Open Class
Record: 2012 – Romain Dumas, 2012 Porsche GT3R – 9:46.181
2016 Pikes Peak Open class winner Layne Schranz (Birmingham, Alabama) will return to defend his class title in a 2015 Chevrolet SS after joining the 9-Minute Club with a run of 9:53.071 last summer. Chris Lennon of Monument, CO, was the 2015 Pikes Peak Vintage winner in his 1973 Porsche 911 RSR, and was the second-place finisher in 2013 and 2014 in the same class. He will tackle the Pikes Peak Open field in the same car he drove to the title in 2015. The lone female in this year’s PPIHC, Laure Many (Paris, France) is a 2017 Rookie and RD teammate of Romain Dumas. She will be driving a 1980 Porsche 911 SC 3, 01 Gr4. She has two class wins in the Historic Tour de Corse and one in the famed Rally of Morocco. Davey Schmidt of Colorado Springs will be racing for the 26th time on Pikes Peak and was the 1992 Rookie of the Year in the Truck Division. He’ll drive a 2014 Howe TA2 Mustang in the Open Class. Rookie RJ Gottlieb (Santa Monica, CA) will drive a 1969 Chevy Camaro nicknamed “Big Red.” Muscle car vets call it the ‘Baddest 1969 Camaro ever!” The car was damaged by a fire in 2016, but was rebuilt and will be on the Peak on June 25. Rookie Peter Cunningham (Milwaukee, WI), a seven-time Pirelli World Challenge Champion, will drive a 2017 Acura TLX GT.
Pikes Peak Challenge – Open Wheel Class
Record: 2015 – Paul Dallenbach, 2003 PVA Dallenbach Special – 9:36.496
2016 Open Wheel Class winner Clint Vahsholtz (Woodland Park, CO) will return to defend his title. Vahsholtz is the winningest driver in PPIHC history with 22 class victories in addition to three titles as the two-wheeled King of the Mountain. Vahsholtz will be challenged by PPIHC veteran Spencer Steele (Denver, CO) who won the Open Wheel Class in 2010, 2011 and 2012 and returns this year driving a 1995 PVA 2. 2016 Open Wheel second place finisher Dan Novembre (Colorado Springs, CO) will return to Pikes Peak in a 2016 Novembre MACAutosport Special with his eyes set on winning. A darkhorse could be veteran Dave Wood (Woodland Park, CO) and his 1981 Wells Coyote.
Pikes Peak Challenge – Exhibition Class
This interesting class will feature a competitive showdown of electric autos: one from a start-up builder and one from a well-known manufacturer. Faraday Future will enter the 2016 Faraday Future 91, a preview of the company’s first production vehicle. It boasts a powertrain with 1,050 bhp, mounted into a scalable chassis, and is apparently capable of accelerating from 0 to 60mph in just 2.39 seconds. It’s also got four-wheel steering and torque vectoring, and packs active aero too. The FF 91 will be driven by PPIHC rookie Robin Shute (Gardena, CA), Faraday Future’s Principal Engineer and a 2016 Formula Car Challenge Triple Crown National Champion and Formula Pro Mazda winner. He’ll be matched with PPIHC veteran Nick Robinson (Delaware, OH), who will pilot a 2018 Acura TLX A-Spec that will make its racing debut in the Exhibition class.Its 3.5-liter turbocharged V6 puts out 500 hp. Robinson won the PPIHC Time Attack 2 Production Class last year, driving a 2017 Acura NSX with a clocking of 10:28.820.
Motorcycle Divisions
Pikes Peak Heavyweight
Record: 2014 – Jeremy Toye, 2013 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R – 9:58.687
Rennie Scaysbrook (Australia/Costa Mesa, CA) could be a factor in the Pikes Peak Heavyweight Division. He will be riding a 2017 KTM 1290 Super Duke 1290 R. Scaysbrook earned Rookie of the Year honors, taking second in the Heavyweight Division last year on his KTM 1290 Super Duke R in a time of 10:28:407 behind winner Bruno Langlois (Ajaccio, Corsica), who clocked 10:13.106 to take top honors and returns this summer to defend his triumph. A top contender to challenge Scaysbrook and Langlois is PPIHC rookie and KTM Factory Rider Chris Fillmore (Corona del Mar, CA) who will be competing on the same bike as Scaysbrook, a 2017 KTM Super Duke 1290 R. This is a big-power bike from those “Race Ready” folks in Austria previously known for competitive dirt bikes. The newest design of the LC8 V-twin, first introduced in 1999, beats the battle drums at 177 hp. Another rider to watch is rookie Thilo Günther (Bielefeld, Germany). He was the winner in 2012, 2015 and 2016 of the biggest German road race, called “Fischereihafen-Rennen.” He will be aboard a 2015 BMW R 1200 R. Shane Scott (Moncton, New Brunswick – Canada) was third last year in this division.
Pikes Peak Middleweight
Record: 2014 – Eric Piscione, 2013 Ducati Streetfighter – 10:46.159
2016 Pikes Peak Middleweight Division winner Kris Lillegard (Houston, TX) will return to defend his Middleweight title. Lillegard will face stiff competition from the third generation of the legendary Vahsholtz family in 2016 fourth place class finisher and current Pikes Peak Lightweight record holder Codie Vahsholtz (Woodland Park, CO). Last year, during the PPIHC’s 100th Anniversary Race, Lillegard rode his 2014 MV Agusta Brutale 675 to a winning time of 10:46.406, just off the record for the division. He’ll race the same bike again this year. Vahsholtz, riding a 2016 Husqvarna 701 Supermoto, took fourth with a clocking of 11:07.154. He returns riding the same model with his eyes fixed on the title this year. Rafael Paschoalin (São Paulo, Brazil) was sixth last year in the Middleweight Division and will ride his 2016 Yamaha FZ 07 in search of a higher finish.
Pikes Peak Lightweight
Record: 2015 – Codie Vahsholtz, 2006 KTM SMR – 10:50.421
2016 Pikes Peak Lightweight Division winner Davey Durelle (Elizabeth, CO) will return to defend his Lightweight title. Durelle, fresh from being inducted into the Colorado Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2016, is the winningest motorcycle competitor in PPIHC history. He will ride a 2009 Aprilia SXV450 on June 25, the same bike he won with last year in 10:55.288. Look out for rookie Brandon Ward, a soldier in the U.S. Army stationed at nearby Fort Carson, Colorado. He is the son of Jeff Ward, a seven-time AMA motocross champion, 1999 Indy 500 runner-up, and two-time X Games Moto X Super Moto gold medalist. Ward will ride a 2017 Kawasaki KX450F. Veteran Darryl Lujan (Brighton, CO) was third in the Lightweight Division in 2015 and 2016 and has raced on Pikes Peak since 2000. He will ride a 2013 Honda CRF450R this year.
Pikes Peak Challenge – Electric Motorcycle Class
Record: 2013 – Carlin Dunne, 2013 Lightning Electric Superbike – 10:00.694
The PPIHC Electric Motorcycle Class should be extremely competitive with a very talented and experienced field. Pikes Peak 2014 Electric Motorcycle Class winner Jeremiah Johnson (St. Petersburg, FL), has teamed up with Britain’s University of Nottingham to produce his machine. Johnson rode a 2013 Brutus V-2 Rocket Electric to the title with a winning time of 12:20.448 in 2014. This year, he will be on a 2017 University of Nottingham UoN-PP-01 bike. 2016 second place finisher Yoshihiro Kishimoto (Ichinomiya-City, Japan) is back again on a 2016 USA-JAPAN IDATEN-ZERO FXS and looking for more. Kishimoto won the Electric Modified Motorcycle crown in 2015. Team Buckeye Current, the student electric motorcycle team from The Ohio State University, will return with Britain’s Robert Barber (Bury, UK) after his third place finish in 2016. Barber will represent the USA this year aboard a2017 Buckeye Current RW-3x.
Pikes Peak Challenge – Quad Class
Record: 2016 – Cyril Combes, 2011 Suzuki KTM JF Prototype – 11:05.664
This Class is shaping up to be anyone’s race to win with one of the most competitive classes in the 2017 race – four of the five competitors having previously placed on the PPIHC Quad podium. 2016’s second and third place finishers return in Colorado Springs’ Chris Wagner and San Rafael, CA’s Theo Bernhard, who won the class in 2014. Mike Ell IV (Raymore, MO) is making his 13th PPIHC appearance and is also a past winner, taking the 2007 Quad 500cc title in 2007 with a time of 12:25.59 on a 2006 Yamaha Banshee and sharing King of the Mountain honors with Steven Tutt. Troy Smith (Fountain, CO) was third in 2015 and will ride a 2016 Yamaha Raptor 734 TSS this year. This will be Smith’s ninth appearance on Pikes Peak.
Pikes Peak Challenge – Exhibition Powersport Class
Checking out the Pikes Peak Exhibition Powersport Class field, Travis Newbold (Arvada, CO), with Bottpower, a small Spanish motorsport engineering company located in Valencia, Spain, looks to be a contender, making his first return to the race after placing second overall in 2015. He won the 2005 World Off Road Championship Series Open B event. Newbold will be on a 2017 Bottpower XR1R motorcycle this year. Keith Speir (Fillmore, CA) is the other entry, riding a ’69 Triumph C & J. Speir won the 2015 PPIHC Vintage Motorcycle title on the same motorcycle.
The full competitor list can be found online at: www.ppihc.com.
TICKET INFO: Race day tickets can be purchased online, or throughout Race Week at the various locations listed on the race week schedule or online at www.ppihc.com.