Fully electric Ford SuperTruck wins Pikes Peak Hill Climb

With the era of electrically-powered cars having started, it’s not surprising that EVs are starting to capture victories in motorsports events. With their higher output, they will certainly be setting new records and starting new chapters in motorsport history.

This was evident in the recent Pikes Peak International Hill Climb (PPIH) in the USA which ran for the 102nd time this year. For the third time in the history of the event, a fully electric vehicle was the overall winner – a Ford F-150 Lightning SuperTruck electric vehicle demonstrator.

Victory for Romain Dumas again
The time taken on the 20-km route with 156 turns on the way to the summit at 4,300 metres was 8:53.553 minutes. The driver was Romain Dumas, who has also been overall winner in 2014 and 2018, using a fully electric Volkswagen ID.R for the second win.

The Pikes Peak Hill Climb course is 19.99 kms long with 156 turns. The cars (and motorcycles before 2019) start at 1,440 metres and finish at the top at 4,302 metres. The surface used to be gravel, adding extra challenge but became tarmac after 2011. A challenge going up is the thinner air which affects performance. Turbocharged engines are advantageous and of course, electric powertrains have no such problems.

Dumas, well known in endurance racing, had almost missed victory as a technical issue during the run had brought his truck to a complete stop. He managed to restart the 1,600 bhp vehicle and  even with that stop of about 26 seconds, he made it to the top in the fastest time among the 61 competitors.

“I’m honoured to achieve this victory with Ford Performance at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb,” said Dumas after his fifth PPIH win. “Everything about this event is a challenge because it is unlike any other form of racing… you only have one shot. We faced a challenge early on but that only gave me more determination to make up the lost time in the rest of the run.”

How the Ford SuperVan 4.2 did at Pikes Peak

How times have changed
Ford vehicles have been racing up Pikes Peak since 1916. The progress in technology and performance can be seen when comparing Ford’s first Pikes Peak vehicle – a Model T – which completed the climb in 28 minutes 3 seconds… and the time set by the Super Truck this year under 9 minutes. However, the record is 7:57.148 minutes, which Dumas set in 2018 with the Volkswagen ID.R.

Romain Dumas in the Volkswagen ID.R which set the all-time record for the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in 2018.

The post Fully electric Ford SuperTruck wins Pikes Peak Hill Climb appeared first on MotaAuto.com.