RALLY ON THE MOUNTAIN: SUBARU AT PIKES PEAK

Photos: Lars Gange/Subaru of America

THE ANNUAL COLORADO MOUNTAIN HILL CLIMB IS LEGENDARY. IN A TWIST ON TRADITION, SUBARU DRIVERS BECOME A PART OF THE MOUNTAIN’S STORY.

LT. ZEBULON MONTGOMERY PIKE AND THE CLIMB TO THE TOP

In November of 1806, Lt. Zebulon Montgomery Pike tried climbing the easternmost mountain in what would become Colorado as part of his exploration of the Louisiana Purchase. Acting on orders from President Thomas Jefferson, he was determining the southwestern borders of the Purchase. Lt. Pike never made it to the top, forced back by the weather. Even so, Pikes Peak bears his name.

Although not the tallest mountain in Colorado, Pikes Peak stands 14,110 feet above sea level. A carriage road built to the top was opened in the fall of 1888 by the Cascade and Pikes Peak Toll Road Company. The first automobile to climb the road (August 12, 1901) was a Locomobile Steamer.

Fifteen years later, the first Pikes Peak Hill Climb was held between August 10 and 12. It commemorated the opening of the Pikes Peak Highway.

Today, the Hill Climb is the second oldest automobile race in the United States. (The Indy 500 is the oldest.) Vehicles in several divisions compete in the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb – the Race to the Clouds.

FROM THE VERMONT SPORTSCAR SUBARU RALLY TEAM

Ken Block's VSC-prepared WRX STi.

The Vermont SportsCar Subaru Rally Team chronicled its experience at the 83rd running of Rally America’s Pikes Peak International Hill Climb and Rally in June 2005.

Expectations
“The Vermont SportsCar Subaru Rally Team fielded three cars at this event. The team’s two crews of Travis Pastrana/Christian Edstrom and Ken Block/Alex Gelsomino were joined by 2004 SCCA Club Rally National Champion Bob Wall and his co-driver, Bob Gray. Wall drove his Vermont SportsCar-prepared PGT (production GT) class 2002 WRX – this is the same car that Travis Pastrana ‘borrowed’ to start his rally career in 2004 at the SnoDrift Rally.

“Pastrana had the benefit of competing here last year but looked for better results. In 2004, he rolled his Subaru on the event’s second stage, but Vermont SportsCar was able to repair his car in time for him to run the Hill Climb portion the following day, finishing sixth in class.”

Rally – The Other Pikes Peak Event
“Our rallies are usually composed of over 100 miles of competitive roads split into 10 to 20 stages, over two days. Nearly all the roads we normally run on are gravel, with a few exceptions.

“Pikes Peak, on the other hand, is primarily one stretch of 12 miles of road, all uphill, with nearly a third of it smooth tarmac. In an effort to make the event seem more like a typical rally to the rally teams, the organizers added stages – all composed of sections of the Pikes Peak toll road. The seven stages totaled 50 miles, with the seventh and last stage the 12-mile climb to the summit.

“Although not a proper rally, the event appealed to our team. First, it was huge, with thousands of spectators and worldwide media attention.

“Second, the event has such a great history. That makes it fun.

“Plus the scenery is fantastic. It’s like another planet at the summit, and it’s just wild to think we raced cars up there.”

Car Prep
“Cars run nearly a tarmac setup. Even the gravel portions of the hill are very smooth, so we ran an intermediate tarmac tire on most of the stages and larger tarmac wheels.

“Group N rules restrict us from making any big changes to the car. A big deal was engine mapping. The lack of oxygen due to elevation not only saps engine power but also can cause problems with the turbo. The turbo will want to try to make normal levels of boost, but with the lack of air density, it just can’t. So there was a risk of overworking the turbo (overspinning) and having it blow. Therefore, we remapped the engine to compensate.”

Block/Gelsomino secured fourth in Group N for the Hill Climb and Rally. Ken Block (left) and Travis Pastrana drive for the VSC Subaru Rally Team. Co-driver Gelsomino and driver Block in their “office.” Pastrana/Edstrom took third in Group N at the Pikes Peak event.

Results
“Our rally cars were not meant to break records at the hill. The Group N cars are nearly stock, plus they’re choked by the mandatory 32mm restrictor [reducing the aperture to the intake system]. They just don’t have the horsepower to really go for it. The altitude saps roughly 30 percent of the car’s power by the time they get to the top. Even the Open Class rally cars are restricted. They run a 34mm restrictor and therefore get a bit more horsepower, but they can also be much lighter than Group N cars.

“In the early stages, the lower paved sections caused the most difficulty for Travis and Ken. That’s where they lost time due to lack of experience on paved roads. ‘Travis and I have never driven our rally cars on a smooth tarmac road like this, and it was tough to know what our Michelin tires and the car could really do,’ explained Ken Block. ‘After each stage we got a bit better, but I don’t think we ever were using the car and tires to their full potential. We just didn’t know where the limit was.’

“At the conclusion of the week’s stages, Ken and Travis were out of reach of the top two spots. Jockeying for overall lead in Group N were former World Rally Champion Stig Blomqvist and defending U.S. and Canadian rally champ Patrick Richard – both driving Subaru vehicles. Both competitors have extensive tarmac experience, whereas these were the first miles of tarmac our two drivers had driven in competition. Understandably, Travis and Ken had some difficulty matching the speed of these two veterans.

“Ken and Travis sought to keep their positions in the rally and drove to the finish without incident on Saturday’s main event, the 12.4-mile run to the summit. ‘I’m glad I made it to the top, but even happier about finishing the rally portion of the event. I’ve learned a lot and had a great time,’ said Pastrana.

“Travis finished third in class for the event, which included the Hill Climb. His teammate Ken Block finished fourth. Bob Wall placed fourth in Production GT.”

For more about Rally America’s Pikes Peak International Hill Climb rally event, go to www.rally-america.com. Go to www.ppihc.com for more on the 83rd Hill Climb.