97TH ANNUAL PIKES PEAK HILL CLIMB TAKES PLACE SUNDAY

The 97th annual Pikes Peak International Hill Climb takes place Sunday, starting at 7:30 a.m.

“The Race to the Clouds” will feature 88 competitors, including 29 rookies, from 17 countries. Approximately 7,000 spectators from a dozen countries and 44 states are expected to be in attendance as racers take on the 12.42-mile track that climbs 4,720 feet on the 14,115-foot mountain.

Pikes Peak is the second-oldest oldest motorsport race in America, having started in 1916, just behind the world-famous Indianapolis 500, which began in 1911.

Sunday’s competitors will come from the U.S., Canada, Great Britain, Belgium, France, Japan, Italy, Norway, Sweden, Australia, New Zealand, Scotland, China, Brazil, Germany, Northern Ireland and the Czech Republic.

Last year, French driver Romain Dumas raced to the finish line at the summit in a course-record time of 7:57.148. Dumas’ time broke the old record of 8:13.78, set by Sébastien Loeb of France in 2013.