One of the world’s most difficult and dangerous motor sports courses just got more challenging.

As 2014 Broadmoor Pikes Peak International Hill Climb champion Fred Veitch guides his 2001 Porsche 996 Turbo around the first of 156 course turns in a practice run Friday morning, what had been a light drizzle turns to an all-out downpour. His quick-spinning wheels kick up a puddle of standing water, and he is forced to apply his brake and slow to a near-crawl to complete the turn.

He says something about the quality of the roads, but his words are drowned by the deafening roar of the engine. He speeds on, gunning the straightaway before having to slow significantly again to avoid the fast-accumulating puddles near the next turn.

“You know, this is what it could be like race day,” Veitch says, a hint of unease in his deep voice.

Veitch’s concern has nothing to do with his safety. The three-time Hill Climb competitor, who won the Time Attack 2 Production Class championship last year, has decided to retire from the Pikes Peak course.

“I’m 68 years old this year,” he said. “My wife asked me not to go, and I have six grandkids. This is much more dangerous than any road race. My family is very supportive of my racing, but they’re also very supportive of me not doing Pikes Peak.”

Inclement weather, however, will affect the nearly 150 drivers competing in this year’s climb. As the paved road disappears beneath Veitch’s tires, the trees seem to form a singular, green blur on either side of the road.

Veitch’s worry is justified. The road just keeps getting slicker.

He’s not the only one who is worried about the conditions for the race June 28. Three-time champion and fellow local David Donner said he has never seen pre-race conditions this poor in his 20-plus years of competing in the race.

“When it was full gravel it wasn’t so much of an issue,” Donner said, referring to the fully paved road, which was completed in 2011. “But this, it gets pretty bad.”

Before beginning the practice runs, Veitch had addressed the handful of participating drivers. Huddled in a cramped trailer for warmth and light in the pitch black of predawn, Veitch had told the drivers that their greatest challenge was not their fellow competitors, but conquering the mountain itself.

“Before you guys can go out and compete against each other, you have to make peace with this mountain.”

It was almost as if he knew what loomed. As it turned out, making peace with the mountain was more difficult than it sounded. The rain – and snow at higher elevation – began before the trial runs did, and didn’t let up, creating poor conditions and slower speeds.

Now, Veitch steers his car along a hairpin turn near Double Cut, just past the midway point of the course. Where his speedometer has hovered around 75 mph – occasionally touching 90 – it now dances down to just under 10 as Veitch drags around the curve.

The tree line has thinned, red rocks and snow have taken its place, and the heavy fog that envelops Pikes Peak has shrouded any visibility off the side of the mountain. At this point, Veitch slows his car to a stop. This is the farthest he will climb today. The visibility is too poor to continue onto the highest section of the course safely.

“This hill is a great equalizer,” is all he has to say, respect echoed in his inflection.

The visibility issues that Veitch is experiencing will be, according to Donner, just another hindrance that will demand a “cautious” approach, should race day conditions prove similar to Friday’s.

“You have to be ready for weather conditions, but visibility is always the biggest issue for me,” he said. “You need to go quick, but you need to be careful because it’s really easy to go off the side. When it turns into that race, it becomes about survival.”