LIVE BLOG: The 97th Pikes Peak International Hill Climb
The 97th running of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb is set for Sunday morning on America's Mountain.
Racers might not just be racing the clock -- storms could move in by the afternoon, meaning drivers might also be battling the weather.
(PHOTOS: The 97th Pikes Peak International Hill Climb)
We'll update this page with notable results and any record-breaking runs up the mountain. You can listen to our coverage live on KRDO Radio and by clicking HERE.
(See this week's stories and interactive elements on our Hill Climb page HERE.)
Live blog
4:45 p.m. The final car is heading up the mountain, but electronic timing systems are still offline. Check HERE for final times when they're available. The parade of champions to conclude the race will start from the Glen Cove area, and that will be the official end of the 97th Pikes Peak International Hill Climb.
Tune to KRDO NewsChannel 13 at 10 p.m. for a full recap with the best video from the course.
4:20 p.m. A lightning strike at the top of the mountain has affected electronic equipment, including timing machines for the race. No times have been reported since Fred Veitch left the starting line. A manual timer is being used at the Glen Cove finish, but those times aren't able to be reported electronically. We'll update this blog with final times when they're available.
The lightning also fried some of our broadcast equipment at the summit, effectively cutting our summit team off from our radio broadcast.
4:05 p.m. Some drivers have chosen not to race the course after the news of Dunne's death and the weather that's hovering over the mountain.
3:50 p.m. The Green Flag is up again, and several racers have taken off for the shortened course to Glen Cove.
3:40 p.m. We have a sad update on the status of Carlin Dunne -- the motorcyclist died after crashing just short of the finish line. Follow this linked article for more information.
3:30 p.m. The finish line has officially been closed at the summit due to weather. The new finish line is at Glen Cove for a shortened course. Times will be noted as such.
3:05 p.m. The starting line was placed on hold again due to reported lightning at the summit, but our summit crew says weather conditions haven't been severe. Tyler Pappas finished his climb with a time of 12:28.242. Rodney O'Maley finished with a time of 13:43.614 in the open wheel division.
Rodney O'Maley made it to the top! Unfortunately he spun out right after the finish line and damaged the front. But he's fine and happy to have finished. #PPIHC pic.twitter.com/Se46U8CbZz
— Bart Bedsole KRDO (@BartKRDO) June 30, 2019
3 p.m. The race is back on, and Tyler Pappas left the start line. David Sterckx wasn't able to finish due to the weather. A little over two dozen racers are left.
2:35 p.m. The race has been paused due to weather. Andy Figueroa told KRDO that "from the start line to Glen Cove, it's like ice skating."
2:30 p.m. Pueblo native Andy Figueroa braved the slick course in an open-wheel car without slick racing tires. He finished with a time of 13:10.769, undoubtedly slower due to the weather and inadvertent drifts through corners because of the slick road. Randy Pobst finished in the exhibition division with a time of 11:57.8.
2:20 p.m. Marc Bunting is the second driver in the Porsche Trophy division to cross the line. He finished behind Pastrana and clocked a time of 11:33.142. Gustav Lundh finished at 11:41.564. Phil Bloom was the fourth Porsche Trophy driver across, and he finished with a time of 11:28.190.
2:05 p.m. Weather conditions could be slowing the drivers down: Christian Schmitter crossed the line at 11:54.075 and William Cavailhes clocked in at 12:14.113 in the Time Attack 1 division.
1:55 p.m. Some crews are putting rain tires on their vehicles. Rain has made some sections of the track slick, and one driver, Robb Holland, had to pull off due to the slick conditions. Drivers are still able to go up from the start line.
1:50 p.m. Travis Pastrana crossed the line for the Porsche Trophy category. He finished with a time of 11:24.287 in a Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport. Steve Goeglein in the unlimited category did not finish the race.
1:30 p.m. William Au-Yeung crossed at 11:03.988 in the unlimited category. Greg Tracy followed him but set a faster time at 9:55.011. Rain is starting to fall in some areas, and the 16-mile area was seeing sleet.
1:24 p.m. James Clay crossed at 10:39.786, and Nick Robinson crossed at 10:25.556 in the Time Attack 1 category; and Rhys Millen finished with a time of 10:18.488 in the exhibition category. Tommy Boileau finished with a time of 10:34.3. Millen also set the record for the fastest time in a production car in his Bentley Continental GT.
12:54 p.m. James Robinson crossed the finish with a time of 10:07.940 in the Time Attack 1 category. Tim Hardy finished with a time of 10:02.384 in the same category.
12:45 p.m. The race is back on, Clint Vahsholtz restarted after the red flag, as did James Robinson. Yoshihara was unable to finish after going off the course. Vahsholtz ended up finishing with a time of 9:48.716, putting him in the lead in the Time Attack 1 division.
12:22 p.m. A red flag went up near the 16-mile area as Daijiro Yoshihara passed by. Spectators noticed something and called for safety crews to inspect the area, but we don't have any official information.
Layne Schranz set a time of 9:40.630 in a Chevrolet SS.
12:10 p.m. Peter Cunningham is the third car driver across the finish line. He's the first in the Pikes Peak Open division, and he set a time of 9:24.433, less than a second behind Astier. Paul Dallenbach finished at 9:44.630 in the Open Wheel division. David Donohue finished with a time of 9:33.404.
Noon Robin Shute set a time of 9:12.476 in his Wolf TSC-Honda. Raphael Astier followed in the Time Attack division with a time of 9:23.721. That time set a record for the Time Attack 1 division. The cars are racing in order from fastest to slowest in qualifying times.
11:50 a.m. The first car is on the course -- Robin Shute of Great Britain is the first on the track for the unlimited division. He passed through our speed check at 139 mph.
10:45 a.m. The motorcycles divisions are officially over, and the cars will be up next. First driver is Robin Shute in a Wolf TSC Honda.
10:40 a.m. Dunne wasn't able to finish and had to stop just short of the summit. The race is expected to continue soon.
10:28 a.m. Carlin Dunne took off from the start line and made it through three sections, but our crew at the summit didn't see him cross the finish line. An ambulance was seen heading down the hill from the summit.
10:21 a.m. Rennie Scaysbrook took the win in the heavyweight division by finishing at 9:44.963. He beat Glockner's time by about 14 seconds. Fillmore's triple crown lasted for all of about five minutes before his heavyweight record time was beaten by Scaysbrook's.
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Rennie Scaysbrook passes by Mile 16.
Wow! Rennie Scaysbrook finds out he's set a new record for the fastest motorcycle time up Pike's Peak in the Heavyweight division. #pikespeakhillclimb #ColoradoSprings@KRDONC13 pic.twitter.com/iV7dyFumCb
— Danny Mata KRDO (@DannyMataJr) June 30, 2019
10:15 a.m. Chris Fillmore wins the triple crown by earning top speeds in the lightweight, middleweight, and heavyweight motorcycle divisions. His time in the lightweight division was 10:20.819, which is nearly a minute faster than the next-fastest lightweight competitor.
Codie Vahsholtz finished his run at 10:03.908, putting him at second behind Lucy Glockner in the heavyweight division.
10:10 a.m. Lucy Glockner powered her way up the mountain and was the first to break the 10-minute mark Sunday. Her final time was 9:58.878.
Akinori Inoue finished at 10:36.884.
10 a.m. Robert Barber took the new top time with 10:19.040. Rafael Paschoalin finished at 10:43.880. The riders are getting faster as the day progresses.
9:55 a.m. Bart has officially taken his coat off, so it's finally warming up at the summit. Kamil Holan set the new pace at 10:38.109. Lucy Glockner, the only woman competing in this year's Hill Climb, started her run at about 9:59 a.m.
9:50 a.m. The Green Flag is back up and Cory West started his run. Robert Barber set the new speed record at the picnic grounds with 133 mph. Yoshihiro Kishimoto did not finish the race after having mechanical issues with his motorcycle. West finished and set the new fastest time at 10:46.233.
9:30 a.m. A red flag went up at the start line due to mechanical issues. Michael Woolaway finished with a time of 11:18.671, and Darryl Lujan was the latest to cross the finish with a time of 11:15.666.
Joseph Toner set the fastest speed through the picnic grounds so far at 121 mph, but his final time was 11:29.415. Greg Chicoine finished at 11:20.665.
9:20 a.m. Japan's Yasuo Arai briefly took the quickest time on the mountain, finishing at 11:18.220 on a 1979 Kawasaki Z1000. Immediately after Arai finished, Stefan Dolipski crossed with a time of 11:11.915.
9:15 a.m. Eric Wilson's time of 11:19.1 is the fastest of the day so far. Nineteen-year-old Tyler Portillo crossed after him on a quad with a time of 11:52.9. Thomas Kendall finished with a time of 11:50.151 and Theo Bernhard finished at 11:46.961.
9:10 a.m. Eric Wilson of Northern Ireland is the first heavyweight motorcycle rider to cross the finish line. Wilson self-funded his trip but he's raising money for the Injured Riders Welfare Fund and the Fondation Fabrice Miguet – LE MIG, according to his Gofundme page.
9 a.m. The Green Flag is back, and two motorcyclists were relaunched from the start line.
8:50 a.m. The course is back on a red flag due to a mechanical issue. Motorcyclists were seen making their way up to the course, and they'll head back down to restart. Richard Kay was the last to arrive at the summit with an unofficial time of 11:20.959.
8:42 a.m. The first rider has made it to the summit -- Jimi Heyder crossed the line on a motorcycle with a time of 12:58.629. Other motorcyclists are leaving the starting line at about three-minute intervals. Sun Tong finished right after him with a time of 12:10.2.
8:30 a.m. Officials gave an update and said Mark Bartle of Peyton, Colorado, was "alert" and responsive after a motorcycle crash at Rookie Corner. The race is back to green flag status, and Jimi Heyder lined up next.
8:10 a.m. According to a KRDO reporter at the start line, a flight-for-life helicopter was called for the motorcycle crash at Rookie Corner. Mark Bartle was flown off the mountain, but his current condition isn't known. The safety vehicles are starting to move back into their positions, signaling that the race will likely resume soon.
7:40 a.m. A safety vehicle entered the course shortly after the first motorcyclist left the start line. No word has been given on injuries, but the incident will delay the rest of the running for at least a few minutes. Officials say the motorcyclist went off the road at Rookie Corner.
7:30 a.m. The Green Flag has dropped and the Hill Climb is underway. The first results should be posted within the next few minutes. The run order is slowest to fastest, motorcycles and then cars.
6 a.m. The Green Flag is set to drop at 7:30 a.m., you can see a list of competitors here. KRDO has multiple crews stationed along the mountain highway, and we'll have pictures uploaded throughout the day.
Click play to see route, click here for a printable map
