Tajima breaks own Pikes Peak Hill Climb record
Nobuhiro Tajima lowered his own record in the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb on Sunday, becoming the first driver to break 10 minutes in winning the race for a sixth straight time.
''This is what I wanted and what motivated to come back,'' said Tajima, who leaped out of the car and pumped his fists above his head. ''I would have been very disappointed if I didn't win.''
The 60-year-old Japanese covered the 12.42-mile course in 9 minutes, 51.28 seconds in the Unlimited Division, surpassing the record of 10:01.41 he set on July 21, 2007.
Tajima overcame an overheated engine and wind gusts of up to 40 mph, driving his 2011 Monster Sport SX4 Hill Climb Special through 156 turns from the start at 9,390 feet to the 14,110-foot summit.
''I took my car to the limit,'' Tajima said. ''And it held up to everything I asked of it.''
The car spewed water from the radiator over the final 500 yards of the race.
Before the race, Tajima predicted he would break the course record, finish in under 10 minutes and win the final time the course would include a section of gravel.
Gravel remains on just under three miles of the course, from the Halfway Picnic Grounds to near Glen Cove. Race officials said the course will be completely paved for the 2012 race. This is the first year that pavement replaced gravel from Devil's Playground to Boulder Park.
Rhys Millen of San Juan Capistrano, Calif., was second in 10:09.24 and Jean Philippe Dayraut of Montrabe, France, third in 10:17.71.
''If anyone deserves it more, it's him,'' Millen said of Tajima.
Before the race, Millen predicted two or three racers would finish under 10 minutes. He also set his sights on ending Tajima's run, but was hampered by brake problems.
''We were in at 6 seconds faster than him practice and I gave up 8 seconds to him in brakes,'' Millen said. ''I lost the brakes way too early, by the second hairpin in the W's. ... Would we have beaten them? I think it would been on the same second or within a second.''
