"I'm just happy to be here, driving sideways up the mountain one last time before the whole road is paved," says Doug Havir on the morning before the 83rd running of the Falken Tire Pikes Peak International Hill Climb.
Rallying is again showcased at the historic event under new sanctioning body Rally America. Competitors run stages in the dawn's early light in the days preceding the hill climb. There are few finer places to be than high on a Colorado mountain at sunup, golden light warming the great plains below and the peaks of the front range above as rally cars slide by in full attack mode.
There is, however, a definite melancholy accompanying the adrenaline this year. Stakes marking the next steps in the paving of the peak litter the sides of the course. Pavement currently extends 2.8 miles past the traditional start line as a result of a suit brought by the Sierra Club.
The 1999 ruling declared the 12 unpaved miles of the Pikes Peak Highway a "point source" for pollution, specifically gravel erosion runoff, and the City of Colorado Springs was given until 2012 to correct the problem. Various surface treatments have been tried-the suit called for 'surface stabilization' and erosion control-but paving, concrete-lined ditches and catch basins seem to be the current answer.
Tarmac is leap-frogging up the mountain. The next section paved will be from Glen Cove past Double Cut and into the W's, reaching Devil's Playground in 2006. "I can't imagine racing through the W's when they're tarmac," says Havir.
And despite T-shirts proclaiming "Real Men Don't Need Guardrails!" the metal ribbons are also creeping up the mountain, leaving one to wonder about the fate of the nation's second oldest motorsport event. With pavement, Pikes Peak and the race will never be the same.
Rally competitors run on various sections of the highway in the days leading up to the hill climb itself, which acts as the final stage in the rally and a stand-alone hill climb class. Group N competitor Travis Pastrana complains, "You really need 600 hp to have fun here," and the results prove he's right.
Stephan Verdier and Chrissie Beavis are first overall in the rally and the hill climb in Autosport Engineering's Open Class WRX. Leon Styles and Therin Pace are second in an Open Class EVO. Only sixth-tenths of a second separate Stig Blomqvist and Ana Goni in third from fourth-place Patrick and Nathalie Richard, but the Group N cars are more than a minute and 15 seconds behind Verdier. Doug Shepard and Chris Whiteman are sixth overall and first in Group 5. Semilocal hero Tanner Foust is an impressive ninth overall in his Production GT WRX.
The Vahsholtzes are back-Leonard in Super Stock Truck and Clint in Super Stock Car-extending their record number of father-and-son victories to 29. Paul Dallenbach talked brother and NASCAR regular Wally Jr. into competing in matching Open Wheel cars, but both have problems and fail to finish on race day. David Donner had troubles all week, but is fastest when it counts, winning the class and overall titles with a time of 11:15.685.
Everyone expects Open Class drivers Koichi Horiuchi and Kiwi newcomer Andrew Hawkeswood to challenge for the overall win, but Horiuchi's engine sours and Hawkeswood flattens a tire with three miles to go, slowing his stunningly quick EVO enough to give Donner the title. Crowd favorite Mike Ryan shaves 27 seconds off his Big Rig record, hustling his Freightliner up the mountain in 12:46.815.
Recovering from several difficult years, the hillclimb seems to be back on the right track, thanks in large part to Falken Tire's title sponsorship. It remains to be seen how the paving process will affect the character of the world-famous race. Traditionalists will bemoan the loss of gravel, but there's always a new generation of racers waiting in the wings. After all, the Irish Rally Championship is a tarmac series, and the highway would certainly be the ultimate drifting road.
Rally AmericaMaking it happen Halfway through its debut season as the United States' only rally-sanctioning body, there is little doubt Rally America has stepped up and filled the void left by the SCCA.
"We've definitely had our share of teething problems," says Doug Havir, Rally America's president and owner. "Thankfully, the organizers and the volunteers are experienced. Together they've been able to work everything out and the events have gone smoothly. All of the right people exist in the rally community to make things happen, we just need to find the right mixture of strategy, support infrastructure and execution."
Havir doesn't need to worry too much. "Events run very smoothly. Signage is better, access to spectator areas is better, registration is better, even results come in quicker," says Chris Yandell, Vermont Sportscar's marketing guru.
The competition is tighter as well, with the first four events of 2005 producing as many different winners. Group N is the real hot spot this year. Last year's North American and Canadian champion, Pat Richard, won Sno* Drift, and 1984 World Rally Champion Stig Blomqvist came home first overall at Oregon Trail. The power-hungry roads of STPR and Pikes Peak saw the return of Open Class cars to the podium's top step; Paul Choiniere won in Pennsylvania and Verdier was triumphant in the thin Colorado air.
Fields have never had this depth of talent or equipment either. "When you look at the entry list, there are at least 10 quality cars. This is the first time we've seen so many quality drivers in quality cars all going for it" says Yandell.
On the sponsorship side, Red Bull and DC Shoes both have a strong presence this year; the Richards are sporting a new paint job courtesy of Easy Street Motorsports and Subaru Performance Tuning, and a new TV deal with OLN should provide rallying with support lacking at SPEED. After years as the red-headed stepchild of the SCCA, it's good to see rallying get its fair share of attention.
* For more information on American rallying and Pikes Peak, go to:www.ppihc.comwww.rally-america.com