Aubervilliers, 3 August 2012. It's been two months since the 24 Hours of Le Mans, sports car racing’s oldest and most famous race, at which Motul-supported cars carried off a clutch of podium honours including Larbre Competition’s third consecutive GTE-Am class win. It's been one month since another historic and celebrated event should have taken place – the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in Colorado Springs, USA – and now just a week before the 186 competitors in the ‘Race to the Clouds’ will take to the 19.99 km (12.42 mile) track.
Postponed from July 8 to August 12 because of the devastating wild fires in the Colorado Springs region, Pikes Peak is an annual automobile and motorcycle climb. First run in 1916, in 2012 for the first time the event will be run on a 100% asphalt surface to the summit around the 156 turns, climbing to over 4,267 metres (14,000 feet) above sea level. It is a mark of the event’s prestige and standing that only 10 competitors have cancelled their entries since the postponement.
Global lubricant specialist, Motul, whose products are present in over 85 markets throughout the world, will be technical partner at Pikes Peak to no less than seven cars which are represented in four of the multiple categories on the entry list. Each competitor has just one timed attempt so there is no room for any mechanical weakness; Motul’s proven technical reliability and performance in this high-altitude arena, using specially adapted lubricants from its 300V range, are indispensable to its competitors. Motul’s products are relied upon in this way in multiple disciplines the world over, from Pikes Peak to the Isle of Man TT and MotoGP to the 24 Hours of Le Mans .
Headlining the Motul line-up in the Unlimited Class is the French ‘No Limit ‘Dacia Duster of Jean-Philippe Dayraut, the former SuperTouring and Andros Trophy champion who is returning to Pikes Peak for the second time with the express purpose of improving upon his 2011 third place finish. Quickest in testing two months ago in his Tork Engineering and Sodemo prepared car, smashing the time record thanks to the 100% asphalt surface, Dayraut of Montrabe in France has just one aim – to win. Dayraut estimates the increase in speed equates to more than a second per kilometre so expect existing records to tumble on Sunday, 12th August.
Motul is supporting four cars in the Time Attack class including the Hyundai Genesis Veloster Coupe of Californian Rhys Millen who finished second overall in 2011. Son of Pikes Peak living legend, Rod Millen, Rhys is supported by Motul across programmes in Formula Drift and Global Rallycross. The 6-time Class Champion and 17-time competitor is, however, up against some tough opposition in the 25-strong class. Kash Singh lines up for his second attempt in the 2WD Time Attack class in his Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 which, this year, features revisions and upgrades to its cooling system aimed at ensuring a finish at the summit.
Moving from the Unlimited to the Time Attack class for 2012 is 2-time Open Champion Dave Carapetyan. Rally Ready Motorsports has used Motul products on his Subaru WRX STi as the Texan here recounts: “Motul is the life blood of this car. We can reliably make very consistent power and manage an effective cooling and braking system entirely due to our exclusive use of Motul lubricants. I am a firm believer in the power of Motul for the grassroots competitor.”
The fourth Motul-supported entrant in the Time Attack class is Rookie Anthony Perez of FMR (Fatman Racing) who is driving a Honda Civic, a platform he's very familiar with. The 3-time SCCA class champion is from Colorado Springs so is sure to receive a huge amount of local support.
In the Exhibition Powersports category will once again be the indomitable Travis Tollett, a quadriplegic driver who made his debut at Pikes Peak in 2009. Tollett, with experienced co-driver John Stallworth of JSR Performance, is driving a 2012 Polaris RZR900 and aiming for a strong result. Also supported by Motul will be the Scion xD running in the Exhibition category and driven by Canadian Andrew Comrie-Picard. Making their first attack on the Peak, Motul is delighted to extend its support of the Rally xD team from their usual arena of the American Rally Championship to the celebrated Hill Climb.
Watch “Motul at Pikes Peak 2011” video here.
Photo credit : Bernard Bakalian - PAB
