Filed under: Motorsports, SUVs, Suzuki
Monster Tajima is Pikes Peak's new "King of the Mountain"
by Alex Nunez on Jul 21st 2007 at 10:05PM 
Click image to enlarge
Nobuhiro "Monster" Tajima has accomplished what he set out to do at Pikes Peak. Today, the 57-year-old Japanese driver piloted his immensely powerful, spectacularly bewinged Suzuki XL7 Hill Climb Special up the mountain and completed the 156-turn course in 10 minutes, 1.408 seconds, eclipsing Rod Millen's 1994 mark of 10 minutes, 4.06 seconds. According to the Associated Press, Tajima was quoted as saying, "It's fantastic. I'm very happy. I want to try again and beat the 10-minute barrier." We've no doubt that he'll be back again next year, looking to do exactly that. In the meantime, Tajima can sleep soundly, knowing that today, a Monster was crowned King of the Mountain.
For the full results (all classes and participants), click here.
[Source: AP via Sports Illustrated]
_opt_thumbnail.jpg)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
David Harris 10:23PM (7/21/2007)
Nobuhiro "Monster" Tajima ,
Congratulations. You have made Suzuki and American Suzuki Motor Corporation proud! Next year less than 10!
David Harris
ASMC E-Business Manager
Reply
labrador 10:51PM (7/21/2007)
That's simply awesome !
Reply
Bob-o 10:54PM (7/21/2007)
They laid down a lot of extra pavement and all they could muster is 2.5 seconds? That's not very impressive in my book. Rod still holds the title in my opinion.
Reply
streetKJ 12:35AM (7/22/2007)
Considering that Rod Millen has a lot of experience running this hill climb, and this newcomer did it with a beast of a car, I would say this is a fair and gentlemanly show of skill.
Bob-o 4:11AM (7/22/2007)
Check your facts, Tajima is hardly new to Pikes Peak. He was the one who lost to Millen when Millen broke the record in '94. If you Google it, he's been there pretty readily since then trying again and again to beat him. A quick search shows that he's been there at least in '92, '93, '94 '95, '96, 2000, '01, '06, and '07.
500 11:07PM (7/21/2007)
This is Monster's moment, and he deserves to be congratulated.
But the main picture of the "car" accompanying the article really highlights how it has nothing in common with a real Suzuki. Looks like an F1 car with a fake XL7 body stretched around it. NASCAR racers look "stock" compared to that thing!
Reply
HotRodzNKustoms 1:22AM (7/22/2007)
Yeah but it's the unlimited class. So you can have a unlimited car. This type of car is what I think Pikes Peak is all about.
Reply
Eric 2:57AM (7/22/2007)
only video i could find so far.. pretty wicked :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqqH1WoJS9M
Reply
Bob-o 5:18AM (7/22/2007)
SNORE...
This is what it *should* look like.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3y6RAetetho
Bob-o 5:19AM (7/22/2007)
And that guy in the Suzuki video is a total idiot. I hope he got hit by a wing or something.
Bastos 11:08AM (7/22/2007)
It's much more impressive in the dirt.
Galley 8:45AM (7/22/2007)
Why do these Pike's Peak cars look so radical; is the required downforce to keep them form careening down the mountain?
Reply
Kash 4:05PM (7/22/2007)
That's like asking why top fuel dragsters look so radical.
chris 6:54PM (7/22/2007)
Look at what a WRC car looks like compared to stock with "just" 300hp, this car has 1000hp so I'd want as much downforce as possible if I was driving the thing up a mountain.
Snark 9:02AM (7/25/2007)
At 12-14,000 feet the air density is so low that even more conventional ground effects wouldn't be sufficient. You're dealing with elevations nearly THREE MILES above sea level; I've seen marathoners from LA collapse on Pike's Peak due to lack of oxygen. I'm from the area and have climbed it five times, and it's still never easy. The huge wings and such are necessary to keep the thing on the ground and provide traction.
Incidentally, that's why the thing is rated at 1000+ hp; it's producing far less than that at altitude, but big turbos are the only thing that will suck in enough air to develop any power at all. Driving to the top dramatically reduces what power you have available; any naturally aspirated engine turns into a hamster wheel above 10,000 feet.
TheCleaner 7:01PM (7/22/2007)
Hehe, reminds me of GT3 where the most powerful attainable car is the suzuki pikes peak. that thing would near take off with the right aero settings. Just shows it must take the majority of a lifetime to attain the skills for a record hillclibm like this.
Reply
Evan 9:58PM (7/22/2007)
That's awesome. I hope my life is that exciting when I'm 57.
Reply
Calebe 10:00AM (7/23/2007)
sweet
Reply
jeff in toronto 12:05PM (7/23/2007)
XL7?? The only XL7 thing about that is the name on the decals. I guess the "Suzuki, 1000hp special purpose for P.P.'s hill climb record vehicle" isn't very good for the marketing boys. Congrats all the same!
Reply
Justin Maldonado 2:55PM (7/24/2007)
I dont think you guys have any idea what it takes to shave even a second off a race like this. WRC guys drive hundreds of miles in an event and will still finish within fractions of a second from eachother. Tajima is awesome, and he deserves a lot of respect with this victory. The track was super slippy because of the recent rains and cars pulling up rocks that had the other drivers saying "it was like driving on marbles on top of ice". I can actually point myself out in the video posted above, and I gotta say that the sheer speed he took going up the mountain was incredible. Even with the new pavement on devils playground he still took the turn to its fullest. I look forward to him breaking the 10min barrier next year, and dont look forward to having the hill paved more. Also, those thinking the pavement helped need only to have been there in years before. The track is a TON more narrow and twisty, and many of the cars were noticably slower through some turns because of them being nearly half the size as before.
So give the man some respect, and remember that the suzuki sticker doesnt mean anything. Its an unlimited class car, and hes called monster for a reason!
Reply