Today saw the fourth and final set of qualifying sessions before Sunday's 93rd running of the Broadmoor Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. After yesterday's tragic turn, the mood seems somewhat more subdued – at least, on the bottom section, where the motorcycles spent their day.
Our Friday focus was on the middle part of Americas Mountain, where we watched a truly interesting mix of classes vie for position. This is where the Electric Production cars – which aren't nearly as stock as one might imagine by their misnomer – showed they aren't quite as advanced yet as their Electric Modified cousins, lagging behind a good number of competitors in Open Attack2 and Vintage classes. Even Mike Ryan, who last year crashed his Freightliner, managed to edge out the electrified Honda CR-Z and Rav4 EV driven by Ryan Millen.
After buffing out the body damage to his go-fast tractor, Mike swapped out last year's turbo setup with some new hardware and installed an independent front suspension, turning the truck from an unruly beast into a much more smooth operator.
At the top of the course, Rhys Millen continued to best all comers with the Latvian megawatt electric racer from Drive eO, turning in an impressive 2:22.20 time. Nobuhiro "Monster" Tajima was second (2:34.19) in his Rimac-powered Monster Sport E-Runner, a strong 17-plus seconds quicker than the fire-spitting Open Attack1 Porsche of Jeff Zwart.
With teams taking a rest tomorrow before Sunday's early start, you'll have plenty of time to recap the weeks happenings on days one, two, and three, complete with awesome shots from our star photographer Drew Phillips (we've reposted the galleries below, too). We'll be on the mountain ourselves ready to relay the results as they happen.
Our Friday focus was on the middle part of Americas Mountain, where we watched a truly interesting mix of classes vie for position. This is where the Electric Production cars – which aren't nearly as stock as one might imagine by their misnomer – showed they aren't quite as advanced yet as their Electric Modified cousins, lagging behind a good number of competitors in Open Attack2 and Vintage classes. Even Mike Ryan, who last year crashed his Freightliner, managed to edge out the electrified Honda CR-Z and Rav4 EV driven by Ryan Millen.
After buffing out the body damage to his go-fast tractor, Mike swapped out last year's turbo setup with some new hardware and installed an independent front suspension, turning the truck from an unruly beast into a much more smooth operator.
At the top of the course, Rhys Millen continued to best all comers with the Latvian megawatt electric racer from Drive eO, turning in an impressive 2:22.20 time. Nobuhiro "Monster" Tajima was second (2:34.19) in his Rimac-powered Monster Sport E-Runner, a strong 17-plus seconds quicker than the fire-spitting Open Attack1 Porsche of Jeff Zwart.
With teams taking a rest tomorrow before Sunday's early start, you'll have plenty of time to recap the weeks happenings on days one, two, and three, complete with awesome shots from our star photographer Drew Phillips (we've reposted the galleries below, too). We'll be on the mountain ourselves ready to relay the results as they happen.
Featured Gallery 2015 Pikes Peak Hill Climb: Practice Day 4
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