Pikes Peak teams finish race day prep in final practice

Qualifying concluded Thursday, but competitors still had one final opportunity Friday to make adjustments and build confidence before race day. With starting positions and the HELLA Fast 15 already set, practice sessions across all three sections of Pikes Peak focused on fine-tuning setups, troubleshooting issues and making final preparations for Sunday's 104th Running of The Broadmoor Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, presented by Gran Turismo.

RELATED: Defending champs lead the way as Pikes Peak qualifying concludes

The battle among the favorites continued in the upper section, where reigning King of the Mountain Simone Faggioli again led the way with a best run of 2m14.377s, narrowly edging five-time King of the Mountain Romain Dumas (pictured above) at 2m14.598s in his Ford Super Mustang Mach-E. The pair have traded fast times throughout race week and enter Sunday's race as two of the clear contenders for the overall victory.

In the middle section, Laura Hayes paced the GT4 field with a best run of 2m40.059s in her Toyota Supra GT4 EVO2. The fastest woman on four wheels at Pikes Peak continued a strong race week as she prepares to defend that title.

Among the naturally aspirated GT4 competitors, Clint Vahsholtz remained quickest at 2m51.194s, followed closely by Tad Cusack at 2m54.877s. Patrick Culligan topped the Super Unlimited entries with a 2m39.984s, while Tom Tang led the Production-Based Unlimited category at 2m37.761.s

Several experienced competitors posted quick times on the lower section before the mountain closed for competition. Open Wheel veteran Dan Novembre led the session with a 3m46.780s, while Codie Vahsholtz followed at 3m53.113s.

Among the Time Attack 1 entries, JR Hildebrand topped the charts with a 4m00.439s in the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1X.

• 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/7:00am 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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