Celebrating International Women’s Day
Colorado Springs, CO – The Broadmoor Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, brought to you by Gran Turismo is gearing up for the 100th Running on June 26. Three elite female competitors join the field of 81 racers this year.
Kathryn Mead, 2020 Rookie of the Year, and two-time third place finisher in the Porsche Pikes Peak Trophy by Yokohama division, returns for her third race on Pikes Peak – America’s Mountain, this time switching to the Time Attack 1 division. A retired astrophysics professor from Austin, TX, Mead shares “This race is the coolest thing I have ever done and I’m looking forward to racing in Time Attack for the first time this year.”
Laura Hayes, professional BMW Driving Instructor based in South Carolina, will make her second competitive attempt at the 14,115 summit. Hayes finished fifth in the highly competitive Time Attack 1 group on a weather-shortened course last year behind the wheel of her 2021 BMW M2CSR. After piloting the 2020 Parade of Champions Car – a sleek BMW M8 Competition Coupe. Hayes wants to tell women working in the motorsports world to “Take a chance on yourself. If I had known two years ago where I’d be today, I wouldn’t believe it. I suddenly had a spontaneous goal of competing in the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, and the only person who could make that happen was me. Surround yourself with a team who believes in you, and more importantly, believe in yourself. My life has changed since racing Pikes Peak and it’s all because I took chance on myself. Do it. You wont regret it.”
Loni Unser, a fourth-generation racer from one of the most prominent names in auto racing, will compete for the first time in the Race to the Clouds. Daughter of Johnny Unser, granddaughter of Jerry Unser Jr., and great-granddaughter of Jerry Unser, Loni’s 2019 Porsche GT4 Clubsport will sport the iconic Unser #92 when she joins the Porsche Pikes Peak Trophy by Yokohama division in June. When asked about her mentors in motorsports, Unser answered, “Fortunately, I have a group of incredible mentors in my family that I have looked up to for as long as I can remember. Wanting to follow in their footsteps has motivated me to be the best I can in this industry. Their sheer passion for the sport is contagious and they were able to show me what it is like to give everything to what you love.”
The current fastest time by a female driver on Pikes Peak is 10:54.901, set by Vanina Ickx, from Belgium, a rookie at Pikes Peak in 2018. Ickx is the daughter of famed F1 driver, Jackie Ickx.
ABOUT THE PIKES PEAK INTERNATIONAL HILL CLIMB
First staged in 1916, the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb is the second oldest race in America. The invitation-only event, often referred to as The Race to the Clouds is held annually on the last Sunday of June on Pikes Peak – America’s Mountain, near Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA. The famous 12.42-mile course consists of 156 turns, boasts an elevation gain of 4,725 feet, and reaches a finish line at 14,115 feet above sea level. The PPIHC’s automobile categories feature a wide variety of vehicles representing multiple forms of motorsport; everything from production-based Time Attack challengers to purpose-built Open Wheel racers and state-of-the-art Unlimited vehicles take on America’s Mountain pursuing victory. The 100th Running of this iconic motorsport event will take place on June 26, 2022.
Contact:
Lisa Haight
Event Coordinator / Media / Historian
lisa@ppihc.org
(719) 685-4400
