It’s affectionally called the “Race to the Clouds,” a nickname it earned for its unconventional race course, at least relative to traditional race courses. It’s also been referred to as one of the toughest races in the world and the world’s most famous hill climbing competition - no small feats for an event that it’s been around for 101 years. Whatever name or whatever description it goes by, this race will forever be referred to as the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, and it’s taking place for the 96th time this weekend on June 24.

Like most years, a huge throng of people will be making the pilgrimage to Colorado Springs this weekend in what has become one of the most eagerly anticipated racing spectacles in the U.S. Pikes Peak is non-traditional in a sense that it’s not part of a racing series, nor is it an actual race track or oval circuit. Instead, competitors literally have to go up a mountain to get to the finish line. If it sounds easy in that description, it’s actually not. Far from it, to be honest. Competing in Pikes Peak takes a toll on the driver and the car in ways that no other kind of motorsport race can do. That’s a big reason why finishing it as much of a big deal as actually winning it, let alone setting an actual record. So ahead of this weekend’s Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, we’ve prepared a little primer to get people up-to-speed on the history of the race, the spectacle that comes with it, and the expectations that will go in being invested in the outcome of this year’s race.

Continue after the jump to read the full story.

What’s the backstory on the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb?

The event itself actually dates back to 1916, making it the second oldest motorsport race in the U.S., beaten only by the Indianapolis 500, which had its first race five years earlier in 1911. While the race is celebrating its 101st anniversary this year, it’s only running for the 95th time. The discrepancy between the two can be largely attributed to the two World Wars, which saw the race cancelled in 1917, 1918, and 1919 because of World War I and 1942, 1943, 1944, and 1945 because of World War II. As Dan Sanborn, a historian of the event and the vice president of the Pikes Peak Hill Climb Historical Association told The Gazette last year, “all the resources of the country had to go to the war effort.”

"In that time frame, a big part of that were gas shortages,” Sanborn added. “People were encouraged to not drive. It probably wouldn't have gone over too well for the race to go on. Race cars use a lot more gas than a normal car. It was part of fluff that people weren't partaking of at that time."

Since then, though, the Hill Climb has been run every year, leading to the age-old joke amount Pikes Peak enthusiasts that the event can’t be stopped by anything short of an actual world war.

Has the course changed layouts over the years?

For the most part, the course has remained the same, but it has undergone a major shift in terms of upgrading the terrain of the highway. Beginning in 2002, the City of Colorado Springs, the party responsible for maintaining the Pikes Peak highway, began paving the 13 miles of road that led to the Pikes Peak summit in response to a lawsuit filed against it by the Pikes Peak chapter of the Sierra Club, which accused the City of violating the Clean Water Act because of all the gravel pollution caused by the aforementioned 13 miles of unpaved roads that led up to the summit. Ultimately, it took the City 10 years to complete the paving of the 13-mile road, finishing it in 2012.

Overall, the course is 12.41 miles long with 156 turns throughout its distance. The start line is at the Mile 7 marker on the Pikes Peak Highway, which already has an altitude of 9,390 feet. All in all, racers have to climb another 4,729 feet to get to the finish line at the mountain’s summit, which sits at an altitude of 14,115 feet.

The uncharacteristic layout of the course - relative to other tracks in the world - means that drivers and their cars will have to massively compensate for the thin air that brought about by the conditions. It’s been said that thin air slows reflexes and saps the driver’s physical and metal strengths, making it imperative for the competitors to be in peak physical shape to finish the race, let alone win their divisions. As far as the cars themselves go, competing at that altitude also means that the engines lose up to 30 percent of the power they have at the Start Line. Imagine how taxing that’s going to be.

What are the classes/divisions we should know about?

Car entries and motorcycle entries will compete in their own races, as it has been for quite some time now. In the car segment, there will be three notable divisions to keep an eye on: Pikes Peak Challenge, Time Attack, and Unlimited. Both the Pikes Peak Challenge and Time Attack Divisions have their own classes - Open Wheel and Pikes Peak Open under the Pikes Peak Challenge and Time Attack 1 and Time Attack 2 under the Time Attack Division. That said, the unquestioned crown jewel division of the Pikes Peak Hill Climb is the Unlimited Division, which essentially tosses out any race-spec guidelines and just lets cars compete in it regardless of their size and abilities. Most of the overall winners of Pikes Peak come from this division, although it must be noted that Rhys Millen won the overall title in 2015 with a time of 9:07.222 on board an EO PP03 electric racer. Interestingly enough, Millen actually beat that lap time a year later in the EO PP100 with a time of 8:57.118. Had it not been for Dumas posting his 8:51.445 lap time, the last two overall winners of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb would’ve been electric cars. Sign of the times, perhaps?

Who are the prominent racers competing this year?

A lot of notable names will compete in the Race to the Clouds this year. Defending Unlimited Division Champion, Romain Dumas, will be back to defend his crown. He’ll be driving the 2018 Volkswagen I.D. R Pikes Peak, an all-electric racer that actually set 1st in qualifying. Not surprisingly, Dumas is shooting for a faster time this year, with hopes to break the EV record of 8:57.118 set by Rhys Millinen or maybe even the overall record of 8:13.878 that was set by Sebastian Loeb back in 2013. In addition to Dumas, Rhys Millen will also be returning to Pikes Peak, this time with a Bentley Bentayga that he will use in the Exhibition Division. Kevin Wesley will be running Time Attack 1 with a 2019 Dodge Challenger and Randy Pobst will run in the Pikes Peak Open with a 2018 Ford Mustang GT. You can see a full list of competitors at the Pikes Peak Webpage.

Any cars worth looking out for?

There are a lot of them, no doubt about it. The 2017 Acura NSX will be at the event and will be driven by James Robinson. The Palatov D2TT, a lightweight two-seater sports car, will also be in the race together with its driver David Meyer. A good number of Porsche 911's and Nissan GT-R's will also be there. The most important car is the Volkswagen I.D. R Pikes Peak, which is driven by Dumas this year and set the best qualifying time. It is scheduled to take off to the clouds first, as soon as the two-wheeled division has finished.

Who are the current record-holders at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb?

The overall record is held by nine-time World Rally Championship champion Sebastian Loeb, who, in 2013, drove a specially modified Peugeot 208 that was known as the T16 Pikes Peak and reached the top of the summit in a stunning time of 8:13.878. The record has yet to be threatened.

While Loeb’s time is still considered the time to beat in Pikes Peak, the event also keeps track of other record times depending on the class and division of the car. For example, the Time Attack and Pikes Peak Challenge have their own record times. Check out the table below to see who holds what record where.

Division

Class

Year

Name

Vehicle

Time

Unlimited

2013

Sebastian Loeb

Peugeot 208 T16 Pikes Peak

8:13.878

Time Attack

Time Attack 1

2013

Paul Dallenbach

Hyundai Genesis Coupe

9:46.001

Time Attack 2

2015

David Donner

2014 Porsche 911 Turbo S

10:26.896

Pikes Peak Challenge

Open Wheel

2015

Paul Dallenbach

2003 PVA Dallenbach Special

9:36.496

Pikes Peak Open

2012

Romain Dumas

2012 Porsche GT3R

9:46.181


The Pikes Peak record books also acknowledges non-division and class records, which are no less significant given the changing environment of the race itself. Take for example the “Alternative Fuel Records"

in the table below.

Fuel

Division/Class

Year

Name

Vehicle

Time

Electric

Modified

2016

Rhys Millen

2016 EO PP100

8:57.118

Production

2016

Blake Fuller

2016 Tesla Model S P90D

11:48.264

Diesel

Exhibition

2015

Uwe Nittel

2016 Mercedes C300 D 4MATIC

11:37.149

Natural Gas

OW

1993

Johnnie Rogers

Wells-Coyote

11:50.090

Propane

Exhibition/PPO

2012

Randy Schranz

2012 Shelby Cobra

11:11.218

Turbine

Open Rally

1981

Steve Bolan

Bolan Allison

15:27.180


And in case anybody’s interested to know about the Drivetrain Records, here they are.

Year

Division/Class

Year

Name

Vehicle

Time

Front-Wheel Drive

Time Attack 1

2016

Robb Holland

2013 Audi TT-RS

10:56.878

Rear-Wheel Drive

Unlimited

2013

Rhys Millen

Hyundai PM580T

9:02.192

All-Wheel Drive

Unlimited

2013

Sebastian Loeb

Peugeot 208 T16 Pikes Peak

8:13.878


Where can I get tickets to watch it live

Tickets are available on the official website of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. Single tickets are available for $60 if a customer buys in advance or $70 if a customer buys on race day itself. Certain packages are also available at costs ranging from $100 to $240 for tickets bought in advance or $120 to $320 for tickets brought on race day. Certain restrictions based on the event’s terms and conditions apply.

I’m not going to the event but I want to watch it. Where can I see it?

Provided your Internet connection is up to snuff, you can go to the official website of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb where the event will be live-streamed. You’ll need to register for it though.