Mario Andretti (King-Chevrolet), later a Formula 1 Champion, won at 12 minutes and 44.07 seconds. The race was broadcast on TV for the first time, with the catchy name Race to the Clouds.īobby Unser (Rislone Special) finished in under 12 minutes for the first time (11 minutes, 54.9 seconds). The overall win went to Louis Unser in the Kurtis Offenhauser (15 minutes, 15.4 seconds). The race was included in the Ind圜ar Championship for the first time (until 1970). Louis Unser was victorious in the Stutz Special (time: 16 minutes, 1.8 seconds), placing the Unser family on the list of winners for the first time.įirst time that a team from abroad had participated – the Talbot factory team of France took third and fourth place. The race was broadcast on the radio for the first time. Introduction of the Super Stock class for modified production saloons. His time: 20 minutes, 55.6 seconds.įirst of eight wins for Glen Shultz in the Stutz Special (17 minutes, 41.6 seconds). Rea Lentz won the first mountain race on Pikes Peak in the Romano Demon Special with Curtiss aircraft engine. Milestones and records in the history of the famous race to the hill
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The name of today’s legendary racing driver dynasty, Unser, appeared in the list of winners for the first time in 1934, with Louis Unser securing the first of his family’s currently 38 class and overall wins.
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So it’s no wonder that the best and most fearless drivers of their time get together again every year. Much to the dismay of the local leading lights, Rea Lentz of Washington, who was just 22 years old at that time, won the race in 1916. Entirely unsecured at that time, the route was skirted by the occasional drop of hundreds of metres, with ominous names such as Devil’s Playground and Bottomless Pit. And thus the “Race to the Clouds” was born, offering an irresistible attraction for racing drivers and vehicle manufacturers of all kinds: in addition to prize money of $2,000, the victor would win an impressive trophy and lots of prestige – due in large part to the extremely difficult outside conditions.
In order to publicise his “Pikes Peak Highway” and the Colorado Springs region as a holiday destination and ultimately to earn money with the toll road, Penrose organised the first-ever mountain race for cars and motorcycles on Pikes Peak from 10 to 12 August 1916. His idea to build an actual road on Pikes Peak, which had become a popular observation point, was just as bold as the budget of $500,000, an unbelievable sum at that time in history. And then there was Spencer Penrose, an entrepreneur who had made his fortune by investing in mining.