The Camaro laying on it’s side on one of the last stretches of the old dirt section of Pikes Peak illustrates nicely why the mountain and the race are an international focal point in motorsports. Pikes Peak isn’t the most deadly course in the world (that honor belongs to the Isle of Man course) but that doesn’t mean that the mountain can’t properly screw up even the most skilled racers. Blind corners, narrow roads, and cliff drops that would make a jaded Wile E. Coyote lock up in fear await the competitors who run everything from dirt bikes through race-prepared semi tractors up the hill. After a 2011 paving, the entire course surface is asphalt, but prior to the paving the last four to five miles were dirt. In the 1988 film Climb Dance Ari Vantanen made the drive look easy, but it is far from it. The road itself narrows, the switchbacks are almost perfect 180 degree turns, and may I remind you once again of the cliffs?
Look out below!
