Pikes Peak International Hill Climb

A few words about going back to PPHC -- Going back to the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb is truly facing your fears head-on. It is one of the most dangerous events in the world of motorsports -- a wrong move and you could fall 1000m down a mountainside cliff. It is one of the most challenging events -- you get just one chance to do it and do it right. It is one of the most demanding events -- you have to have 100% concentration the entire run.

Last year we had a good car but not good tires. The rear tires lacked grip, so much so that we rarely got over 3000rpm on the dirt versus 7000 on the pavement! We simply could not get the power down. So this year we are bringing 4 or 5 different tire choices and will select the one with the best grip.

But I have a great advantage over everyone else -- my special secret weapon! And that is my teammate and navigator, Angelica Fuentes. Last year she called the most perfect stage she ever has in our 3 years of rallying together. She proved herself the true pro she is by calling a perfect stage, never missing a turn or its difficulty or how to take the turn. It will be a pleasure to do the event again with her.

Last year we qualified 3rd in the Vintage Class by .8 and won by 8 seconds, thanks to Angelica's navigating. With better grip on better tires, we should be in good shape to defend our title! Now a few words about driving F1 ...

(for photos go to www.historicgrandprix.com. Go to "event photos" or something like that. The Penske is the red/white/blue car # 28. The WOLF is the black car # 20. Good shots of Penske at Lime Rock Memorial Day weekend. Good shots of WOLF at next event, Infineon. They can be used without any problem.).


The weekend of July 10-12 is a big vintage race meet at St. Jovite in Mt. Tremblant about 100km north of Montreal. It is also the Mt. Tremblant Blues Festival, so a lot of fun 24/7. The area is a popular winter skiing resort area as well as popular for summer holidays. And usually the weather is perfect.

I'll be driving my 1978 WOLF WR6 3 litre car which was driven in "real life" by Jody Scheckter in two events. He finished 3rd in the US Grand Prix at Watkins Glen and 2nd at Montreal, Canada a week later. The car was sold off and replaced by WR7 for the 1979 season. WOLF was founded by a Canadian oilman, Walter Wolf, and it is always a very popular car with the fans in Canada! It has several Canadian flags on it and the Canadians are very proud of their motorsports heritage.

Afterwards we will go to Colorado to start practice for the Hill Climb, after a quick stop at Watkins Glen to dedicate a memorial to Peter Revson, an old friend. Since practice for the Pikes Peak Hill Climb ends at 8:30am Friday, Angelica, Keith and I will take a flight to Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin where I'll drive the Penske Friday afternoon and all day Saturday before we fly 2000km back to Colorado that evening for the Hill Climb Sunday.

Everyone asks -- "you must be tired after all that!" And the answer is "yes -- exhausted!". It is tiring but we love motorsports and love the excitement and the challenge. So we do it.

The other thing I am often asked is "What's it like to drive an F1 car?" There is nothing else in the world like it. It accelerates so fast -- it has 500hp and weighs just 500kg -- it is a rocket ship. Before you know it you are at 11,000rpm in 5th gear! Depending upon gearing, you are going 300+/-km! With the g-forces it becomes very tiring to drive, especially on shorter tracks. At Lime Rock, a 2.4km twisty road course we were turning laps in 47 seconds! That was exhausting.

St Jovite is a flowing quite fast track that is a delight to drive. Elkhart Lake is a long track with fast turns. We average some 175-180km per lap.

But overall, we love motor racing and  cannot imagine doing anything else. Or as I tell friends,

"I don't play golf".

Hasta la próxima!!!

Su amiga
Angélica Fuentes
 

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