A Japanese to Challenge Pikes Peak International Hill Climb 2024

Just before the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb 2024, a Toyota “Starlet” (EP82/1990), which will be competing for the second time, will leave Japan for the United States. What is inside the Starlet, which has been updated for the competition?

The second oldest race in the world

The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb is a hill climb race to see who can run the fastest up Pikes Peak (14,115 feet = 4302 meters) in Colorado, USA. The race has a long history, with the first race being held in 1916. Although there have been years since then when the race was not held due to World War II and other reasons, it is the second oldest race in the world, held every year around July 4, Independence Day, and will successfully hold its 100th anniversary in 2022.

The course is a single road of approximately 20 km from the start point at an elevation of 2,862 m, the halfway point of the Pikes Peak Highway attached to Pikes Peak mountain, to the top of the mountain. The time attack will be conducted one by one here. Incidentally, this Pikes Peak Highway is normally used as a tourist road, and the time attack throughout the entire course from start to finish can be done only on race day, which is only once a year.

During the race week, a practice session is held before the race, and this practice and qualifying session is also divided into three sections of the course, and each participating car is divided into three groups and runs in different sections on different days. In other words, the practice and qualifying sessions will be held on one-third of the course. The running time is also extremely limited, from 5:00 a.m. to 8:30 a.m., which is before the start of business as a tourist road.

Another feature of Pikes Peak is the high-altitude riding. The air is thinner near the summit, which is said to reduce engine output by nearly 30%. It is said that EVs, which have less power loss, are said to have the advantage, but many monster machines with super-high power output have appeared on the scene in anticipation of this reduction in power output. Another feature is the use of huge aerodynamic parts to increase aerodynamics.