Date set for 100th running of Hill Climb in 2022
The 100th running of the Broadmoor Pikes Peak International Hill Climb will take place June 26, 2022, event organizers announced last week.
“We anticipate unprecedented interest from manufacturers, race teams and top-tier competitors,” said Hill Climb executive director Megan Leatham. “Pikes Peak is legendary in the motorsports world. It’s a racing venue like no other.”
The Hill Climb began in 1916 by Spencer Penrose of Broadmoor fame. He wanted to market his new Pikes Peak Highway.
The race was popular from the beginning. Indianapolis 500 winner Barney Oldfield competed in that first event. The first race was won by Rea Lentz in his Romano Special with a time of 20 minutes, 55.6 seconds.
In 2018, France’s Romain Dumas set the current course record of 7 minutes, 57.148 seconds behind the wheel of the all-electric Volkswagen I.D. R Pikes Peak.
There were no races held during World Wars I and II.
“Our 100th Running will be a perfect opportunity for drivers to bring their best game to Pikes Peak to cap the first 100 years of competition while ushering in a new century of racing on America’s Mountain,” Leatham said.
Lisa Haight, the media relations director of the race, said organizers are working on a number of special events to commemorate the 100th running. The popular Fan Fest, a pre-race street festival in downtown Colorado Springs, is expected to be back in full force.
Haight said the 2022 Pikes Peak Hill Climb Hall of Fame Induction ceremony will also take place.
The Hill Climb has long been refered to as the Race to the Clouds. It is run over a 12.42-mile course that consists of 156 turns and boasts an elevation gain of 4,725 feet. The finish line is at the summit of the 14,115-foot mountain.
Woodland Park native Clint Vahsholtz, King of the Mountain in 2020, is expected to race in the 100th running of the Hill Climb next June. He skipped this year’s race in order to help his son, Codie, compete in the race. Codie raced Clint’s car.