A superlative automobile competition whose 102nd edition is scheduled for this Sunday, June 23, the Pikes Peak hill climb is a destination to which Romain Dumas is viscerally attached.
Since 2012 and his first ascent of this mountain in Colorado, the native of Alès has risen to the rank of true local icon by winning the race four times, the last time in 2018 with Volkswagen, erasing the old record in the process. by Sébastien Loeb.
It is the American giant Ford which is now banking on the unrivaled expertise of the Gardois locations. Already last year, their association resulted in a second place aboard a curious and explosive electric Supervan specifically designed to tackle the slopes of Pikes Peak.
156 bends to reach an altitude of 4,300 m
This first experience helped, Ford developed a new machine for this edition. An even more explosive car called “Ford F-150 Lightning SuperTruck”, catapulted by three electric motors officially providing a whopping 1,400 hp (probably even a little more in reality…)!
Even more radical aerodynamically than the previous one, this Ford should allow Romain Dumas to seek a fifth victory and jeopardize his own 2018 record.
For this, a single timed climb awaits him on Sunday at the start of this aptly named “race towards the clouds”. Once the 156 bends have been negotiated, most often at the edge of precipices, he will cross the finish line at an altitude of more than 4,300 m!
