CHRISTOPHER DU BOIS FULFILLS FRIEND’S DREAM TO RACE AT PIKES PEAK
Colorado Springs, CO – The Broadmoor Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, presented by Gran Turismo, has initiated rookies since the very first running in 1916. Confident in their abilities, trusting their team’s creation, and passionate about speed, drivers with big dreams take on the infamous 156 turns. In 2024, Christopher du Bois, a New Hampshire competitor, brought all these to Pikes Peak, and one thing more, the memory of his friend, Mike Sureau, who inspired him to challenge America’s Mountain.
A CAR GUY AT HEART
Many drivers follow in the footsteps of a racing family, not du Bois. He was the first in his family to catch the racing bug. Describing his foray into getting his first car, he laughed, “I could only have a car with a 2-barrel carburetor, not a 4-barrel!”
In the early 2000s he began participating in track days and by 2008 he entered the world of hill climbing. “I became a mechanic because I was interested in cars. At the dealership where I worked, one of the auto techs introduced me to hill climb racing,” du Bois shared.
An active member of the New England Hillclimb Association (NEHA), du Bois was a three time class champion. He also competed three times in New Hampshire’s Mt. Washington Hillclimb.
CLIMBING HIGHER
Proving he could conquer the 6,288′ summit of New Hampshire’s famous peak, du Bois set his sights on the 14,115′ pinnacle of Colorado’s most iconic mountain.
“Pikes Peak and Mt. Washington represent the two most challenging hill climbs in the country, and likely the world,” explained du Bois. “It’s a hill climb racer’s dream, and ultimate goal, to compete in either one. To me, Pikes Peak represents the pinnacle, and final challenge.”
Du Bois entered the Time Attack 1 division and finished 10th in his first time behind the wheel. Driving a 2010 Nissan GTR, he clocked a rookie time of 12:32.938.
TUNING FOR ELEVATION
Du Bois elaborated on his biggest challenge – tuning for elevation. “Our dynos are sea level and the car barely wanted to start at elevation. We flew our tuner out to Colorado and made adjustments all week, but we still battled a lot of gremlins. When I’d lift off the throttle it would continue to accelerate for a second, before deceleration. We had a big engine, twin turbo, and all wheel drive, but we could only run it in rear wheel drive.”
Even on race day, the car was sputtering near the summit, but when du Bois saw the finish line, he breathed an emotional sigh of relief, and realized what the team had accomplished.
“As I crossed the finish line, I yelled out ‘WE DID IT MIKE!’ and it felt like he was there.”
Christopher du Bois
IN MEMORY OF MIKE
“My friend, Mike Sureau, bought this car to build for Pikes Peak. He liked the Skylines and GTRs, in general, and he had an R35 Gizmo edition. Mike owned a carbon fiber company and was planning to do some crazy aero, but he passed away before he could finish the build.”
“His parents wanted his dream to live on and approached me about completing the car and racing it at Pikes Peak in his memory. It took us four or five years of ups and downs to get it settled, but finally, we were ready to go.”
“Making the trek from New Hampshire to Pikes Peak with my crew chief, Doug, we spent three days towing the car across country,” explained du Bois. “Once we were on the road, it was hard to believe it was finally happening. I’d pushed hard on the build to make sure his parents could see this achievement.
“Looking back, the whole thing is still surreal. This was a family and friends-fueled affair. We’re a small team of privateers, not a big factory effort, but we still made our dream come true.”
BEST MEMORY
“I’d driven Mike’s parents up the mountain earlier in the week so they could see it,” shared du Bois. “And they were with me all day in the pits on race day. There was just so much emotion all week.”
“As I crossed the finish line, I yelled out ‘WE DID IT MIKE!’ and it felt like he was there. When I got back to the start line and saw his family it was just a beautiful moment.”
GET TO KNOW CHRISTOPHER DU BOIS
Fun Facts:
“I’m an avid fisherman.”
“I enjoy cooking.”
“I love backcountry snowmobiling.”
“Before I raced at Pikes Peak, I’d never driven it in real life, only on Gran Turismo on my
PlayStation 1 as a kid.”
“I’ll miss the race in 2025 since I’m getting married.”
Occupation: “I own Three Ponds Auto. We specialize mostly in Asian vehicles. I was also a Master Honda Tech, and foreman for 15 years.”
Favorite Section: “The lower section – those high-speed sweepers were really fun.”
Most Challenging Corner: “I thought I’d enjoy the upper section more, but I’d only seen it on a simulator where you don’t experience those bumps!”
Pikes Peak Heroes: “Nobuhiro Tajima and Jimi Heyder. Tajima because of Gran Turismo and the Escudo, and Jimi Heyder because he was a bit of a legend before I started hill climbing, and then I became good friends with him over the years racing together.”
Advice for a Rookie: “Don’t give up, no matter how hard. You’ll get there. If that’s your dream, keep pushing!”
NEW HAMPSHIRE ROOKIE, CHRISTOPHER DU BOIS PAYS TRIBUTE TO FRIEND AND MENTOR, MIKE SUREAU
Photos by: Larry Chen Photo; Larry Chen, Luis Garcia; Payton Smith, Charles Zhao, Jason Zindroski
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