Just read on the Racer site that Peugeot are building a special Unlimited car for Sebastian Loeb for Pikes Peak this year, and that Rhys Millen will have an all-new Hyundai-based unlimited car as well. If the weather is good, any bets that one will be under 9 minutes? This could be spectacular, Loeb is amazing on tarmac (well, amazing on any surface, but particularly on tarmac).
Loeb is a machine, but he just makes wrc so boring to follow lol
Even when he's (mostly) retired?
I might have to go back to the race this year to see him take on the mountain.
Sorry the last few years I don't really pay attention anymore
I don't doubt that they'll crack 9 minutes this year. Last year Millen managed a 9:46 and change in his modified Genesis drift car. A few miliseconds behind was Romain Dumas in a pretty-much "stock" 911 GT3R. Oh, and it snowed...
These cars that are built for the hill will be much faster.
Sorry to resurrect a dead thread, but I just found this cool video of Loeb's 8:13 run.
In reply to jstein77:
You must have been listening to my show last night. 
Holy E36M3!
That guy is an alien! I just watched that video three times, and I think I noticed only three spot in is entire run were I thought "he wasn't at full 10/10 there". That was as close to perfection as can be.
If you check the top right corner, they give his heart beat during the run. I think mine was higher just watching it.
I got to see the run. It looked totally controlled from the outside, but the fast ones always do.
From the on-air radio interview afterwards:
"Do you think anyone will beat your record?"
"With this car, no."
I was at devils playground, I'll post my leob vids later :)
comparison:
rhys millen did a 9:03 (his last and most current record was 9:47)
also, it didn't snow - it hailed.
Someone should set off an EMP near Loeb. Just sayin'
yeah that is insane how easy he makes it look. His setup for corners makes it look effortless. Blindingly fast... driven home everytime he drove past a person or stationary object.
I'd show Seb a thing or two about driving... If I were about 100 times better.
Awesome video, thanks for the link! The car shifts so fast at first I thought the digital display was slow in keeping up, but after watching the fire bottle I came to the conclusion the audio is out-of-sync. You'd never know from watching the car accelerate though.
I was up at Devil's Playground as well - the first hail was a little soft, I can see how people would call it snow. But I called it hail 
I'd like to point out that I drove the same course that Loeb did - but I did the twistiest part in the dark. This makes my run more impressive.
I'll bet $1 right here and right now that if he goes back in '14 he gets under 8min.
He looks like he needs alot more horsepower.
I was just amazed. I am not the best driver in the world, but I do hillclimb a bit here in the east. It's an awesome car, and awesome driver.
You really have to know a hill to go fast on it. I'm sure he studied video, but that is never the same. I'm sure he did some recce too, but that isn't close to the same pace.
If he was able to go that fast right off the bat, there is no doubt he could go faster with more time at the hill. I really didn't think 8:13 was possible, and that is with thinking he was the best driver for the task and thinking he had the best car. Given more practice in identical conditions with the same car, I'm sure he could lower his time even more. I'd love to see him back east on a hill I've run on just so I could see just how bad I stink. There was talk with Red bull's involvement at Mt Washington, that he might end up there, really wish that could have happened.
I know I saw on his little display 197km/h, which if my math is correct makes that a little over 122mph. On the side of a 14k' mountain. In a tin can with a seat.
He topped 240, actually. An honest 150 mph. His average speed on the run was 87-ish. Speed limit is 25
Keith, thanks for the speed info - back in the day, Rod Millen was radared at 132 mph on dirt at the picnic grounds straight, and on the slight downhill section at Bottomless Pit (great name!), this in the so-called "Tacoma" with the livestock painted on the side so it didn't look so much like a GTP car - so that provides some perspective.
Nice articles on the car in recent issues of Racecar Engineering.
fanfoy wrote: Holy E36M3! That guy is an alien! I just watched that video three times, and I think I noticed only three spot in is entire run were I thought "he wasn't at full 10/10 there". That was as close to perfection as can be. If you check the top right corner, they give his heart beat during the run. I think mine was higher just watching it.
Are you referencing this?
That vid is 100% proof that smooth is fast.
I know you never get a true depiction from watching footage like that, but what impressed me most is that never seemed to late-brake, and he never pushed too hard around the slow corners.
simply amazing drive..........
moparman76_69 wrote:
looks about right to me...
How fast you think he could run Mt. Philo's .9 mile??
vwcorvette wrote:
He'd break the minute barrier, the question, is by how much.
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