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Sure, the drive up Pikes Peak at full speed is harrowing, but the ride down can even be worse. “It’s terrifying,” quips BimmerWorld’s James Clay, now a four-time entrant.
The race up, he explains, is somewhat predictable. Most classes allow tire warmers, and the schedule typically delivers the most favorable track conditions to the faster qualifiers.
BimmerWorld returned to Pikes Peak with the Bergsteiger, the team’s radical BMW M3. As driver James Clay tells us, the trip down can be just as exciting as the drive up. Photography Credit: Kevin Adolf
But once at the top of the mountain, 14,115 feet above sea level, drivers must wait until the end of the day to descend. By then, temperatures near the summit have likely plummeted–snow and ice aren’t out of the ordinary–while the slicks the cars wear have cooled to ambient. The road up doubles as the road down and, even at the relatively slow return pace, traction can be nonexistent.
Unlike last year, however, drivers at the 2022 Broadmoor Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, brought to you by Gran Turismo, got to run the full 12.42-mile, 156-turn course. And despite half a foot of snow falling the day before the big show, the road was clear by race time–though it remained wet in places. “It was wet, and variably wet,” James notes. And there was fog, too, especially near the top.
[56k stay away: All the Pikes Peak Hill Climb photos, right from the side of the hill]
Rod Millen ran the Toyota Tacoma that he drove to overall wins back in 1998 and 1999, finishing eighth overall this time. Photography Credit: Stephanie Urso
Robin Shute, last year’s champ, repeated to take the overall win–his third title–in his Wolf single-seater. David Donner, another Pikes Peak regular, took second place in a new Porsche 911 Turbo S. The gap between the top two finishers: some 24.5 seconds. Finishing third overall was David Donohue, another regular, in a Porsche GT2 RS Clubsport.
James again drove the Bergsteiger, his shop’s take on the E36-chassis BMW M3. Before this year’s Pikes Peak, it received some revision: new suspension, new aero, new bodywork and new retro graphics. Despite the weather and the fact that it’s tough to sort a car for an event unlike any other, James piloted it to second in the Pikes Peak Open class and 11th overall.
[Meet the Bergsteiger, BimmerWorld's 1000-plus horsepower E36-chassis BMW M3 Pikes Peak racer]
Robin Shute took top honors for the third time in his Wolf single-seater. Photography Credit: Rupert Berrington
Comments
From what I recall, the trip down for the racers is at almost a walking pace. Tire temp probably doesn't come into it much :)
For spectators, it's a parking lot on the way down because the exit road is basically closed while all the racers futz around in the pits. Takes hours.
kb58
SuperDork
8/10/22 12:59 p.m.
Regarding the trip down, there's no timing, no consequence of not being "first", and probably a whole lot of consequence to breaking your team's car for no reason whatsoever.
So, a PS to this.
This past weekend, I chatted with a good friend–another Pikes Peak regular.
So I asked about the trip down. Is it really that bad?
Oh heck yes!
Doesn't matter how slow you're going, cold slicks will not stick to ice/sleet/hail/etc.
He said that one year he nearly slid off the first turn on the way down–and this is while going at like walking pace.
But he saw a friend up ahead, another Pikes Peak regular, and he was inching along. So, my friend figured, it was safe to continue.
Together they inched down through nearly zero-traction conditions.
Once at the bottom, they chatted. It went something like this:
"Dude, I didn't think I had enough traction to drive down, but I saw you up ahead so I figured we had enough."
"Dude, I didn't think I had enough traction to drive down, but I saw you behind me so I figured we had enough."
kb58 said:
Regarding the trip down, there's no timing, no consequence of not being "first", and probably a whole lot of consequence to breaking your team's car for no reason whatsoever.
What if you just want to get a little extra sleep before school after you make a delivery for your lazy old man?
kb58
SuperDork
8/10/22 4:12 p.m.
I'm confused by this: "...cold slicks will not stick to ice/sleet/hail/etc."
If cold slicks don't stick on the way down, how would they stick on the way up? Them being hot can't possibly melt it in the milliseconds that they're in contact.
Now, if that ice/sleet/hail formed after their run up, then yes, that could be a big deal.
I recall reading a story from sometime back in the early 1960s, where a couple drivers in stock US full size cars (it may have been one of the Unsers and someone else) raced each other down the mountain while coasting with their engines off.
calteg
SuperDork
8/10/22 5:41 p.m.
I have nothing to add except our brakes briefly caught fire on the way down when we spectated at Pike's in pre-COVID times. There were about 8 of us in a GX470. We were "driving" at about a walking pace, but the grade forces you to be on the brakes basically 100% of the time.
In reply to calteg :
Agreed, I was overheating the brakes on the Vanagon at about 0.5 mph.
kb58
SuperDork
8/10/22 5:51 p.m.
So if you drive a Tesla down the mountain, your battery would be charged to about 1200% by the bottom...
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