VortexValve? racers dominate Pikes Peak Hill Climb

The 84th running of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb was dominated this year by drivers who used an ingeniously simple air-management device called the VortexValve?.

The historic Open Wheel Division, which has been run since 1916 and has been won by such famous drivers as Mario Andretti, Al Unser and Bobby Unser was won this year by former NASCAR driver Wally Dallenbach, son of the legendary Indy 500 racer.

Dallenbach drove car No. 17, a Wells Coyote running a 700 horsepower Chevy V8. He said the VortexValve? installed on his carburetor gave him "plenty of low-end torque coming out of the corners.” Wally’s brother, Paul Dallenbach, placed second behind him in the Open Wheel Division, driving car No. 98 powered by a 406 cubic inch Chevy equipped with eight VortexValves? that put out close to 750 horsepower.

Prior to the race, the chassis dyno at Greeley Automotive Machine, in Greeley, Colo., measured the Vortex Valves? as adding more than 30 foot pounds of torque at 3,500 RPM. Torque is what drivers need when coming out of any one of the 156 turns they have to negotiate on the way up at Pikes Peak.

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Dallenbach commented, "My car had plenty of power – more power than we can put to the ground." According to younger brother Paul, the only reason his brother beat him was that he got stuck momentarily in the mud in the last two-mile stretch.

Eight-time winner Mike Ryan won the big rig Truck Exhibition Division again this year, driving a Freightliner powered by a 12-liter Mercedes twin turbo V6 with 1,250 horsepower and nearly 3,000 foot pounds of torque. Running a VortexValve? for the first time in this race, Mike set a new record, breaking his old record by three full seconds.

"I could really feel the VortexValve? coming out of the curves – it felt like more snap,” he said. Ryan also runs VortexValves? in his Freightliner Century Class powered by a Detroit Diesel Series 60, which is the hauler for his race truck.

Canadian Jim Goertz set a new record for the Quad Division. Driving No. 84, Jim said his quad was strong through the lower half of the course. He credits the VortexValve? with providing a good amount of extra mid-range torque and said that despite the fact the upper half of the course was covered with loose gravel the increased torque and traction made it easier to navigate. This was Goertz's first victory in this event.

In addition to the above victories, three motorcycles equipped with VortexValves? won their respective divisions.

The Pikes Peak International Hillclimb is an annual tarmac/gravel automobile and motorcycle hillclimb to the summit of Pikes Peak in Colorado, a distance of 12.42 miles. With more than 156 turns, 42 percent of the course is made up of corners, many of them hairpin turns without guardrails on the edge of cliffs dropping as much as 2,000 feet. Starting at an elevation of 9,402 feet at Milepost 7 on Pikes Peak Highway and running on grades averaging 7 percent to the finish line which is atop the Peak at 14,110 feet, it's no wonder why this is called the "Race to the Clouds."

The PPHIC is a race sanctioned by Rally America. Drivers from around the world challenge each other in this annual race for the Penrose Trophy. Racing up the mountain at speeds exceeding 120 mph, around blind curves and on loose gravel, each driver races against the clock.

The second oldest race in the U.S., (the Indy 500 is the oldest), the PPHIC has taken place since 1916 and is currently contested by four classes of cars (Super Stock Car, Unlimited, Open Wheel, Open Stock Car, and Exhibition), seven classes of motorcycle (Quads, 250cc, 450cc, 750cc, SuperMoto, Vintage, and Sidecars), and modified trucks. There are often numerous new classes tried and discarded year-to-year. On average there are 150 competitors. The oldest current class is the Open Wheel division which has been run since 1916 and has been won by such names as Mario Andretti, Al Unser, Bobby Unser and Robby Unser.

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The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb is the highest and arguably the most spectacular hill climb in the world.

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