Sebastian Loeb breaks Pikes Peak Hill Climb record with the Peugeot 208 T16
02 Jul 2013|4,018 views
After months of preparations and trial runs, French WRC superstar - Sebastien Loeb - has broken the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb record with an astonishing time of 8 minutes 13.878 seconds at an average speed of 145km/h. The feat was achieved with the monstrous 208 T16 Pikes Peak with a time quicker than what was projected via Peugeot Sport's computer. The ideal theoretical time calculated using data from Loeb's practice runs up was 8 minutes 15 seconds.


"For me, this was the race of the year. At the beginning of my run there was a bit of pressure for sure because I knew there was so much work and investment from Peugeot and all the partners. Now, after all the practice, it was just down to me and I had to perform," said Loeb at the finish line.
Loeb started first under the Unlimited class - unleashing his 875bhp monster onto the mountain after all the motorcycle competitors had passed through. However there were a number of delays before he started, which meant the team began to worry about bad weather - a common feature of Pikes Peak at high altitude.
"When I was on the start line waiting to go, I could actually see the clouds closing in at the top of the mountain. I remember thinking that if we didn’t get going soon, it would be really difficult," said Loeb.
The scenes of success at Peugeot were reminiscent of 1988, when former world rally champion Ari Vatanen broke the Pikes Peak record for the French marque 25 years ago, with the 405 T16 Pikes Peak. Back then the benchmark was just 10 minutes 47.220 seconds on gravel.
After months of preparations and trial runs, French WRC superstar - Sebastien Loeb - has broken the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb record with an astonishing time of 8 minutes 13.878 seconds at an average speed of 145km/h. The feat was achieved with the monstrous 208 T16 Pikes Peak with a time quicker than what was projected via Peugeot Sport's computer. The ideal theoretical time calculated using data from Loeb's practice runs up was 8 minutes 15 seconds.
Loeb's was faster than the previous record of 9 minutes 46.164 seconds, set by Rhys Millen last year. Interestingly the top three finishers managed to beat last year's record setting time.
"For me, this was the race of the year. At the beginning of my run there was a bit of pressure for sure because I knew there was so much work and investment from Peugeot and all the partners. Now, after all the practice, it was just down to me and I had to perform," said Loeb at the finish line.
Loeb started first under the Unlimited class - unleashing his 875bhp monster onto the mountain after all the motorcycle competitors had passed through. However there were a number of delays before he started, which meant the team began to worry about bad weather - a common feature of Pikes Peak at high altitude.
"When I was on the start line waiting to go, I could actually see the clouds closing in at the top of the mountain. I remember thinking that if we didn’t get going soon, it would be really difficult," said Loeb.
The scenes of success at Peugeot were reminiscent of 1988, when former world rally champion Ari Vatanen broke the Pikes Peak record for the French marque 25 years ago, with the 405 T16 Pikes Peak. Back then the benchmark was just 10 minutes 47.220 seconds on gravel.
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