Paving the Way at Pikes Peak: Time For an American Goodwood?

Naysayers could justifiably campaign for an asterisk next to all future times, with work already begun to finish paving the road up to the summit (Rhys Millen's father Rod Millen is the all-dirt record holder: 10:04.06 set in 1994).

Surfacing completed last year near the top of the course was expected to provide the conditions for a record-breaking run during this year's event, but wet weather altered the dry, blue-grooved dirt sections between Friday's qualifying and Sunday's race. If paving work is completed by next year, don't bet against Millen and the Hyundai crew, though a full pavement course could bring out all kinds of new competition.

This year's mixed-medium racecourse spotlighted fading parity between long-fettled and purpose-built hill climbers such as Tajima's five-time winning Suzuki SX4 nuclear dune-buggy and nascent efforts such as Hyundai's Genesis project. Only four-months old, the PM580 qualified second fastest, and showed some wicked speed on both the dirt and pavement. Though overheating brakes, gearbox snafus and a spin during the race eliminated any hope of victory, Millen noted that trying to tune the chassis for dirt and pavement was the most counter-productive challenge.

With very limited but promising testing on the all new Genesis PM580 completed at Orange County's El Toro (see Jacquot's first-hand account), the shakedown at Pikes Peak revealed the suspension to be set far too stiff for the dirt sections.

Millen explained that in the dirt this lack of compliance kept the front tires from gripping in the turns, and prevented the rear from squatting enough to bite on exits. This meant pattering understeer going in, and snap spins any time he attempted to get on the boost. The team spent Saturday swapping in softer springs, which looked promising for race day until rain on the mountain dragged all sorts of loose debris onto the course.

Amidst all the problems, the PM580 showed some serious velocities on the course. The softer spring setup helped in the dirt, Millen said, though unfortunately with a corresponding drop in pavement grip.

Though he won the hill climb, Tajima struggled in the latter stages, slowing for several faster corners on the last dirt section from Upper Gravel Pit through Boulder Park. On the final pavement section, he clipped a hay bale in the second-to-last corner.

Millen, pushing very hard trying to make up for the issues he had on the lower portion of the course, was blistering through the final dirt section. The Hyundai railed through the final paved corners on disciplined lines.

Though not in finest form up top, Tajima seemed surprised that he'd not broken the 10 minute barrier. Second-place finisher Dallenbach (10:39.534) made a public plea for a new, forced-induction engine for next year. His lower-profile hill-climb special should still fare well on an all-pavement course given some extra motor. That said, the future likely belongs to low-slung purpose built machines such as Millen's PM580. Given more than four months development time and tuned for just one racing surface, the RMR-Hyundai car should be a serious force on the mountain.

With a history dating back to its first run in 1916, the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb is on the verge of the biggest change yet. An all-pavement Pikes Peak course could create an event somewhere between the Isle of Man and this weekend's Goodwood Festival. The Pikes Peak organizers now have an enormous opportunity to grow the event, with some restructuring of the class running order to better suit a live TV audience one keen suggestion.

Hyundai's efforts at the 2010 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb saw the Red Bull camera crew out in hi-def force. Look for upcoming coverage on NBC's World of Adventure Sports Saturday, August 28 at 3 p.m. Eastern.