COLORADO SPRINGS, Co. — The first day of practice and qualifying for the 101st running of the Broadmoor Pikes Peak International Hill Climb took place Tuesday morning as 66 drivers got their first look at the mountain in one of three sections.
LOWER SECTION
Qualifying took place on the lower section for the Porsche Pikes Peak Trophy by Yokohama division and the Time Attack 1 competitors.
Brumos Racing was out in front in the Time Attack 1 division with Pennsylvania’s David Donohue behind the wheel of the iconic No. 59 2019 Porsche GT2 RS Clubsport. Donohue clocked a new TA1 qualifying record of 03:53.618, besting his 2022 record of 03:55.750.
Two PPIHC rookies laid down the fastest times in the Porsche Pikes Peak Trophy by Yokohama division. Hayden Bradley, the youngest competitor in the field at 18 years old, was the division’s top qualifier with a time of 04:27.091 in his No. 727 2020 Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport.
Nuno Caetano of Portugal clocked a qualifying time just seconds behind Bradley in his No. 77 2020 Porsche Cayman Clubsport at 04:31.519. The division qualifying record was set by Tanner Foust in 2021 in 04:21.277.
MIDDLE SECTION
The Exhibition and Open Wheel divisions made their practice runs on the middle section.
Randy Pobst ran fastest in the Exhibition division, just one second ahead of Tanner Foust and the Radford entry. Former Parade of Champions driver, Matt Mullins, was the fastest rookie in the same group.
Woodland Park’s Codie Vahsholtz outpaced the other Open Wheel competitors, with PPIHC rookie Sylas Montgomery bringing his former Silver Crown racer, a MFG Road Course Sprint Car to the same division.
UPPER SECTION
The wind in the upper section, along with plenty of snow, reminded drivers it isn’t quite springtime at 14,115 feet.
Competitors in the Pikes Peak Open and Unlimited divisions braced for the chill as they warmed their tires in anticipation of their runs. Reigning course record holder, Romain Dumas, returned to the mountain in the 2023 Ford Performance SuperVan 4 and clocked the fastest time in the upper section in 02:24.73 — 14 seconds ahead of fellow Frenchman, Raphael Astier, in the A110 Alpine GT4 Evo.
The division’s only PPIHC Rookie, Satoshi Yagi of Japan, had his first taste of the mountain, completing three practice runs.
Robin Shute, three-time King of the Mountain, proved he still has what it takes to send his 2018 Wolf TSC-FS through the upper section turns. Shute’s fast time on the upper section topped the Unlimited division, with Dan Novembre, also in a Wolf, running only five seconds off Shute’s pace.
PPIHC Rookie, Duncan Cowper, from Great Britain in the Alcon Brake entry, a 2018 Cowper Dax Rush Pikes Peak Special, was the fastest rookie among the Unlimited competitors.
Competitors will rotate sections on Wednesday. Pikes Peak Open and Unlimited will qualify on the lower section. Porsche Pikes Peak Trophy by Yokohama and Time Attack 1 move to the middle, and Exhibition and Open Wheel drivers challenge the upper section.