Greenville racer claims 'Queen of the Mountain' title at Pikes Peak
Reaching the summit of Pikes Peak in Colorado these days is not a particularly notable achievement. In fact, you can drive there.
But rocketing to the top in a high-performance race car while breaking the record as the fastest woman to do so earns you a singular title: “Queen of the Mountain.”
Greenville’s Laura Hayes claimed her crown June 23 during the Broadmoor Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, reaching the 14,115-foot summit in a record-shattering time of 10 minutes, 20.487 seconds.
‘America’s mountain’
People have been racing vehicles to the top of Pikes Peak for more than 100 years, in part because the attempt pushes both driver and machine to their limits of endurance.
Often referred to as “America’s Mountain” because it was among the first of the Rocky Mountains early settlers saw in their westward migration, Pikes Peak offers a particular set of challenges for racers.
“When you bring all these incredible people together and what we’re able to do together — that’s really special. We’re just this big family.” – Laura Hayes
For one thing, Hayes explained, the final leg of the race takes place above the tree line where oxygen, for both car and driver, is scarce.
She discovered the importance of oxygen — or the lack thereof — during a couple of practice runs when the oxygen system feeding her helmet did not function properly.
“Your life is really on the line driving up this mountain as fast as you can,” Hayes said. “To be able to make those split-second decisions, you need (oxygen).”
The hill climb course, also known as the “Race to the Clouds,” covers 12.42 miles, traverses 156 turns and ascends 4,720 vertical feet from the 9,390-foot start line to the 14,115-foot summit.
Hayes beat all other drivers in the GT4 division introduced for the first time this year. Her time of 10:20.487 at the wheel of a Toyota Supra GT4 secured her title as the fastest woman to race a car to the top of Pikes Peak.
She said the victory was uniquely exhilarating, not only for her personally but for her team – Greenville-based Thunder Bunny Racing.
Paving the way
Hayes described the Pikes Peak race as an “epic side quest” for the team and a departure from the typical endurance races they tackle.
For all that and because the race garners worldwide attention, she hopes the victory will open other avenues for the team to compete at the very highest levels of motor sport in the U.S.
“I’m hoping that Pikes Peak will help us move forward and meet new people who want to be part of something exciting,” Hayes said.
But beyond opening doors for her and her team, she said she hopes to inspire young girls and women out there who will see her achievements and realize this is a path they can pursue for themselves.
“Hopefully I can be that inspiration or that mentor to that little girl who’s just starting off … and she’s like, ‘That racing stuff’s really cool.’” Hayes said. “I want to be part of that.”
Introduced by her parents to racing when she was 8 years old, Hayes said there were few female role models she could look to for inspiration. Her family followed NASCAR, and she looked up to Jeff Gordon as a racer. She was often the only female competing in a given race and said she never gave much thought to it — that was just how things were.
But as a racer and, perhaps more importantly, as a performance driving instructor Hayes has been blazing a path for women in motorsports for more than a decade.
She began her career as an instructor in 2010 at the Richard Petty Driving Experience in Charlotte before joining the team at the BMW Performance Center in Greer in 2013.
That experience drew together much of the team that became Thunder Bunny Racing, and she credits her win as much to her team as to her own driving skill.
Thunder Bunny Racing started as a group of friends who shared a love of racing that evolved into a full-service automotive shop dedicated to performance tuning euro, exotic and classic cars.
Hayes said despite the team’s mounting racing success, they remain a tight-knit group who simply enjoys hanging out together.
“When you bring all these incredible people together and what we’re able to do together — that’s really special,” she said. “We’re just this big family.”
What’s in a name?
Thunder Bunny Racing gets its name from the team’s first race car, a Nissan 350Z, which had a bunny decal on it and was nicknamed Thunder Bunny. When the car broke a track record at a course in Thunderbolt, New Jersey, the team decided to call themselves Thunder Bunny Racing.
Fast facts: Pikes Peak International Hill Climb
First run in 1916
12.42-mile course features 156 turns
The course climbs 4,720 feet in vertical elevation to finish above the tree line at 14,115 feet
コメント