COLORADO SPRINGS — The race into the clouds is just days away, and the 56 drivers competing have traveled from eight different countries and over a dozen states.
"So, we start dark and early in the morning. The first car normally goes off around sunrise," said Executive Director Megan Leatham.
Festivities leading up to the event began Monday, with qualifying and practice sessions wrapping up Thursday morning.
"On Monday, we had our technical inspections where all of our competitors go through tech to make sure their car is legal. Make sure it meets our safety standards. One of the wildest things is our competitors have been up on Pikes Peak qualifying and doing time trials all week."
Thursday qualifying sessions wrapped up with the Unlimited and Time Attack 1 division.
Robin Shute led the Unlimited class with a run of 3:55, while Pikes Peak record holder Romain Dumas led the way in Time Attack 1 with a run of 3:56.
"We have a fantastic field this year. I think the most exciting part is; honestly, we have no idea who's going to win this race."
Now that the Broadmor Pikes Peak International Hill Climb released its official 2021 run order, fans can scope out their favorites to win and enjoy the 99th edition as things return to normal.
"We are super excited to have the best fans in the world back on Sunday. The great news is we don't have any fan limitations or restrictions due to Covid-19."
The only thing fans won't enjoy is Fan Fest due to the time frame between finding out spectators were allowed and the date of the big race. Leatham says the preparation to hold up to 30,000 people didn't allow time this year.
"But will be back in action next year. Not only are we going to have a fan fest back. But next year marks the 100th running of this historic event."
This list of the PPIHC Official 2021 Run Order can be found here.
