Qualifying begins at Pikes Peak

The Broadmoor Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, presented by Gran Turismo welcomed all drivers to the mountain Tuesday. Drivers were split into three groups for the first day of practice runs and qualifying on the 12.42-mile course to the summit.

Upper: Time Attack 1, Pikes Peak GT4 Trophy by Yokohama, Exhibition

Middle: Pikes Peak Open

Lower Section (Qualifying): Unlimited, Open Wheel

Lower Section / Qualifying: Cool and cloudy temperatures early in the morning gave way to plenty of sun for the final run of qualifying.

One of just five drivers to ever set a sub-nine minute time on race day, Simone Faggioli kicked things off with a 3:38.448 on the first run in his 2018 Nova Proto NP01 Bardahl, and held the lead all day before wrapping things up with a blistering 3:33.757 on the final run. Second to Faggioli was his teammate, Diego Degasperi, who wrung a 3:40.591 out of the same equipment.

Leading the Open Wheel competitors was Colorado Springs’ own Dan Novembre, who laid down a 3:44.852 to close out the day and edge out Unlimited driver David Donner for third overall by just under one tenth of a second. Novembre’s first sector time was faster than Degasperi, as he looks to return the 2013 Wolf GB08S TC Special to the Fast 15 once again this year. In total, seven competitors managed to break the four-minute mark in qualifying, including six in the final run.

Four-time "King of the Mountain" Robin Shute makes his return to Pikes Peak this year with something completely new to him: DuSold Designs’ 1967 Chevrolet Camaro. While a far cry in both aesthetic and driving style from the Wolf prototypes he’s raced to overall victories here, Shute was right on the four-minute mark immediately in the morning, and he only got faster as the day went on.

“This car is very different to the Wolf  – we’ve got double the weight at about 3300 pounds, but we also have about double the horsepower,” Shute explained. “The aero on it is surprisingly good, so the very first qualifying sector is very fast, but we struggle a bit on the second qualifying sector where it’s very slow and a bit more technical. It’s been an adjustment, but it’s been a lot of fun, and it’s been fun to work on it from an engineering perspective as well as driving and racing it.”

Rookie Danny Aitken made a late vehicle swap for his first attempt at Pikes Peak, taking on the challenge of Layne Schranz’s well-known Chevrolet SS stock car and rewrapping it with a "Talladega Nights" theme. With a stuffed cougar sitting alongside him, a Fig Newtons decal on the rear windshield, and Ricky Bobby catchphrases all over the car, it’s sure to be one of the most popular rides in this year’s event.

Lew Bouchier’s journey back to Pikes Peak saw him swap out his air-cooled Porsche from his rookie run two years ago for a water-cooled 1999 GT3. While he concedes that his current air-cooled Porsche record on the mountain is likely to fall to Jeff Zwart this year, the Texan is having too much fun with his new entry to worry too much about the record books.

“Having a car like this is so incredible,” Bouchier said. “Every Porsche is improved upon, and every one you get is the best one that was ever made in the world at that time. This is my first water-cooled car – getting the power down on this thing is almost impossible, it has so much power and takes so much discipline. It doesn’t have traction control, it doesn’t have an automatic transmission, it’s just meat and potatoes and it’s glorious to drive.”

Middle Section

This year’s Pikes Peak Open line-up is so big that its competitors get their sections all to themselves on practice and qualifying days. Unsurprisingly, it was defending King of the Mountain and overall record holder Romain Dumas pacing the group in his 2025 Super Mustang Mach-E EV in their first showing on race week.

As was the case for Faggioli in qualifying, Dumas’ final pass was his best, as he posted a blistering 2:14.224. As was the case for the division in last year’s race, Jimmy Ford was second, posting a 2:32.462 on the final run. BBi Autosport teammates Loni Unser and Jeff Zwart may be running two very different Porsches, but they were closely matched at third and fourth on the day thanks to Unser’s 2:33.029 and Zwart’s 2:34.402, while rookie Patrick Culligan rounded out the top five.

Upper Section:

The Time Attack 1, Exhibition, and Pikes Peak GT4 Trophy by Yokohama divisions had their turn at the top of the mountain on Tuesday, and all three division leaders were separated by just under a second.

Top among the group was GT4 leader Steve Wetterau, a veteran crew member on the mountain who trades in his spot in the pits for one in the cockpit for the first time this year. His 2:48.183 on the penultimate run of the day was more than nine seconds better than any in-division competition.

Wetterau’s closest competition for the overall fastest time of the day came from Time Attack 1 leader Robb Holland, himself a former GT4 competitor at Pikes Peak who traded in that Porsche for a 2023 GT3 Cup model. Holland’s 2:48.510 on the final run of the day bested the TA1 entries while coming closest to Wetterau.

Rounding out the division leaders at third overall was Robert Walker, who returned the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N EV to the mountain with a 2:49.171; that time came on the first run and bested the Upper Section racers overall for most of the day.

Practice and Qualifying Groups Qualification times will be based on the competitor’s best time in the Lower Section during qualifying held Tuesday, June 17 – Thursday, June 19. Run order will be determined based on qualification times.  

Watch the 2025 Pikes Peak International Hillclimb live on the RACER Network and RACER+ App on June 22.