Reaching for the sky at the Race to the Clouds

At the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, the mountain is the star. Topping out at 14,115ft, the giant of the Front Range looms above the city of Colorado Springs and thrusts into the deep blue, pre-dawn sky as lights dazzle and dance around the bustling pits and final preparations are made for the annual “Race to the Clouds.”

Look up the mountain and, high above the treeline, as the first rays of sunrise bring definition, you’ll see a twisting, sinuous ribbon climbing the slopes. It disappears then reappears between the crags and drops, stitched together by the pinpoints of spectator flashlights lining the curves and switchbacks of this legendary road.

For the 104th running of the PPIHC, on Sunday, June 21, the first car will begin its ascent at 7.30am MT. Starting at 9,390ft, it will climb more than 4,700ft through the 156 turns of the 12.42-mile course. Through the Halfway Picnic Grounds, the Devil’s Playground and the Bottomless Pit, the air gets thinner and colder, the drops more daunting, until the finish line comes in sight and the checkered flags wave at the summit.

This year, 75 cars from six different classes, with drivers from 11 different countries, will take on the challenge of the fearsome “Fourteener.” But only one driver, the fastest on the day, will be crowned King of the Mountain and join a list of legends who’ve conquered one of the most iconic challenges in all of motorsports.

The Pikes Peak Hill Climb began in 1916, when Spencer Penrose promoted a race to publicize his newly-completed scenic highway up the mountain. Aside from two world wars, come rain, snow or shine, it’s taken place every year since, second only to the Indianapolis 500 in its longevity.

And, like the Indy 500, the mountain has created legends, dynasties and a culture and atmosphere that’s pure Americana, albeit with a vibrant – and competitive – international presence, too. Go see it for real and you’re hooked for life. It’s unique, it’s spectacular and it’s pure, raw adventure: driver vs. mountain. To the fastest, the win.

Spectating at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb is a unique experience in itself. Find out more at ppihc.org. Larry Chen photo

In the beginning, and through to the start of the current century, the course was all gravel, with the cars arcing rooster-tails of dust through the turns. By 2011, the road was fully paved. But far from diminishing the spectacle, it’s only raised the speed and intensity, and it still takes a heroic effort to win the Race to the Clouds.

The first winner, back on August 12, 1916, was 22-year-old Rea Lentz. His Romano Demon Special was the smallest car entered, but his flowing style set a blueprint for success. Oddly, he never returned to the scene of his triumph.

In the 1920s and early ’30s, Glen Shultz was the guy to beat, with his seven wins mostly coming in a series of ever-more honed Stutz cars.

Then came the Unser era, starting with Louis and Joe’s first appearance in 1926. The first of Louis’ nine wins came in 1934. It could – and probably would – have been more, but for World War II shutting things down between ’42 and ’45.

Future Indy 500 great Bobby Unser took the first of his 10 overall wins in 1956 and added the last, at the wheel of the flame-spitting, all-wheel drive Audi Sport quattro SL, three decades later in 1986.

Add two for Al Unser, one for Al Jr., and four for Robby, and those nine combined wins at the Indy 500 for Al, Bobby and Al Jr. start to look like a footnote for Pikes Peak’s first family.

And continuing the story, fourth-generation Loni became the 12th Unser to take on the mountain when she made her debut in 2022.

Other golden eras for PPIHC include a spectacular half-decade of success for World Rally Championship powerhouses Audi, then Peugeot at the end of the 1980s. Michele Mouton became the first female and the first non-American to take an overall win when the French ace sideways’ed her Audi Sport quattro S1 up the fast gravel road in 1985, followed by Bobby Unser in ’86 and two-time WRC champ Walter Rohrl in ’87. Peugeot took over in 1988 and ’89 with Ari Vatanen and then Robby Unser’s first win.

Michele Mouton became the first woman and first non-American to win Pikes Peak, going fastest in her Audi Sport quattro S1 in 1985.

Most recently, Romain Dumas has been the guy reaching for rarefied air, with the twice 24 Hours of Le Mans winner now on five PPIHC wins – including a record-setting and still unbeaten 7m57.148s ascent in VW’s battery-powered I.D. R prototype in 2018 – and looking for a sixth this time around in his all-electric Ford Super Mustang Mach-E.

Four wins for Robin Shute between 2019 and 2023 have demonstrated the Brit’s potency on the Peak, too, and he’ll be chasing No. 5 in his all-new, Super Unlimited class SendyCar V1.

But to finish first, serial winners Dumas and Shute will need to overcome defending champ Simone Faggioli. The Italian won on a shortened course in 2025 and will be hoping to make it back-to-back victories – hopefully over the full 12.42 miles, weather gods permitting – in his potent, Unlimited class Nova Proto NP01 Bardahl.

Italy’s Simone Faggioli took the 2025 win in his Nova Proto NP01 on a course shortened by high winds near the summit. Larry Chen photo

Who’ll be on top of the world in 2026? RACER Network will bring live coverage of the Race to the Clouds to viewers across the world. Pikes Peak Live, presented by Mobil 1, coverage begins at 9:00am ET/7:00 a.m. MT on Sunday, June 21.Fans worldwide can also stream the race live on RACER+, free with email registration, ensuring motorsports enthusiasts everywhere can experience one of the world’s most challenging and iconic competitions in real time.

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