story by: Suzuki Auto South Africa 30 June 2010 It’s been called the toughest uphill race in the world – and the most treacherous, with a mix of tar and gravel surfaces, serpentine corners and dizzying precipices.
 
But despite some tough and committed competition, nothing could deter Nobuhiro ‘Monster’ Tajima from taking an amazing fifth consecutive victory at the annual Pikes Peak International Hill Climb at the wheel of a purpose-built Suzuki SX4 hill climb racer.
 
The legendary driver covered the 19,87 km course, with its 156 corners, in a time of 10 min 11,49 seconds – more than 5 seconds quicker than last year, but still tantalisingly short of the 10 min 01,408 sec record, set by Tajima in 2007.
 
The Suzuki driver was not only aiming for a fifth consecutive overall victory, but had set his sights on a new record, especially after setting the fastest ever qualifying time earlier in the week. But despite what appeared to be a clean run, the record still stands.
 
“I am very disappointed,” Tajima was reported as saying. “The car and everything worked well.”
 
The ‘Race to the Clouds’ is a US motorsport institution that has been running since 1916, and was held for the 88^th time this past weekend. More than half of the twisty, treacherous mountain pass near Colorado Springs has a gravel surface, while the altitude increases by an astonishing 1 400 m from the start  to the 4 300 m finish.
 
These extreme factors pose an acute challenge to both car and driver – but one that hasn’t prevented Tajima from being one of Pikes Peak’s all-time greats.
  
Monster’s all-wheel drive Suzuki SX4 beat the Chevy of Paul Dallenbach by 28 seconds, while drift king Rhys Millen, son of another Pikes Peak legend, Rod Millen, slotted his newly built Hyundai Genesis coupé into third, a further 32 seconds back.
 
The Suzuki SX4 AWD, on which the Pikes Peak Hill Climb racer is based, is part of the SX4 model range available through Suzuki Auto SA’s national dealer network.
 
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