It took 13 years for kiwi Rod Millen’s 1994 Pikes Peak run to be finally bested by Nobuhiro Tajima in 2007. And when Tajima set the new record of 10:01.408 in the Suzuki XL7 Hill Climb Special some folk thought there was no way that time could ever be eclipsed. But in motorsport someone is always wants to go faster and this weekend it’s Mach 2 Racing having a go at the record in a specially-prepared Ford RS200.
Teamed up with Avon Tires, the Essex, U.K based motorsports firm has built a formidable rally-bred Ford, packing a new turbo that boosts output to 950 h. But that isn’t enough so a 70-liter nitrous oxide tank has been included to deliver another 200 hp for a total of 1,150 hp.
Wheel-man for the day is ex-British Rallycross Champion, Mark Rennison, who claims that the Pikes Peak-prepped RS200 could break the ten-minute mark over the 12-mile, 156-turn course. “If everything on the day goes right and the weather conditions are good beating the 10-minute barrier shouldn’t be a problem,” Rennison said recently, “But strange things happen at Pikes Peak, it’s a unique event.” No doubt.
Check back next week to find out how the Mach 2 Racing team went.
