Electric Vehicle (EV) Racing TEAM APEV

Colorado Springs June 30 (Sunny, and later rain) The long anticipated Finale of the 91st Pikes Peak International Hill Climb was held at last. From the race week opening on Monday, June 24, expectation has built up higher and higher ever since. The Bike Division will start off the Finals, and Car Division will follow into the afternoon. Concerns arose from forecasts claiming the weather would change for the worse. The team made preparations while poring over the weather map and keeping track of the race progress.

The weather forecast predicted correctly, and rain started to dampen the road surface right before the Electric Division's run. Some areas were heavily raining so the race start was delayed. Rain clouds moved quickly showering the top section, and then by the time the rain clouds hit the starting line, the rain had already held up at the top section. What concerned the team most was determining how wet the roads were, as it affects the decision to go with rain or cut slick tires.

'Monster' Tajima has experienced many challenging situations such as this, in the course of over 20 years of Pikes Peak Hill Climb racing. He decided on cut slick tires and requested further groove cuts to be made on the tires. The team worked in haste to prepare the tires to set the racing machine on the starting line in optimal condition.

The first runner of the Electric Division was top qualifying driver Greg Tracy for Mitsubishi. His time marked 10:23.649, which will be the set benchmark for now. The second runner Hiroshi Masuoka of Mitsubishi, managed to shave off more than 2 seconds off Tracy's record at 10:21.866 and placed himself as provisional first place.

Then 'Monster' Tajima dashed out of the starting line, breaking section time records with his own faster times. Clearly and absolutely quicker! 'Monster' Tajima piloted the E-RUNNER Pikes Peak Special at will, clearing challenging road surfaces of varying degrees of grip, and flew through the finish line. The clocked time marked 9:46.530! Despite under wet conditions, 'Monster' Tajima finished with an astonishing record rivaling last year's winner record on dry conditions.

Next driver Rod Millen attacked the course, however fell short to break 'Monster' Tajima's time and crossed the finish line. A circle of joy erupted in the team as 'Monster' Tajima still held the record time at 1st place.

At the start of the competition, Mitsubishi presented great speed and performance, where the 3 Day practice sessions left TEAM APEV with Monster Sport barely putting up a decent fight, in which no one could have predicted the outcome of the final battle. However considering the team staff worked hard to the last minute and finish up the E-RUNNER Pikes Peak Special, combined with one highly important 'Monster' Tajima's experience and technique accumulated over 20 years. We could not have won this race without this important factor. Next year, rivals are sure to bring more powerful race machines, raising the bar higher with challenges to overcome. However, this is exactly what is needed to carve the pathway for the future of Electric Vehicles.

With the end of the 3 day practice, the annual pre-race celebration Fan Fest was held on Friday evening in downtown Colorado Springs.

The main street was filled with fans as top race qualifiers displayed their vehicles, give driver demos and present for autograph sessions.
And of course our own Pikes Peak Legend 'Monster Tajima' exhibited prominent popularity, where many fans produced long lines for autographs. 'Monster' himself enjoyed taking pictures with fans and received much words of support and cheers. Our Victory at the Final race on Sunday shall be for all our fans. Please be sure not to miss 'Monster' Tajima's graceful run to the peak!

The 91st Pikes Peak International Hill Climb is on its third practice day, and today the Electric Division took on the middle section of the Pikes Peak race course.

The middle section is the most challenging to achieve good times out of the 3 sections.. From the Glen Cove starting line at the altitude of 3480m, the scenery quickly changes as the forest limit soon passes by. Low grass and bare rocks covet the area from this point. The road continues gently at first curving along the shape of the mountain, however at each ends a small hairpin bend awaits. The road continues to wind and curve up to the Devil’s Playground at altitude 3980m, harshly testing the racing machine’s ability to rapidly decelerate and accelerate as the vehicle slingshots itself through each corner continuing to climb higher and higher.

Only a minimum of guardrails stand alongside the narrow hillside road. Any safety minded person would not dare to go at high speeds, let alone racing speeds. Only with the driver’s technique and courage, perfectly combined with a truly reliable racing machine can one challenge the course at mind blowing speeds. ‘MONSTER’ Tajima has over 20 years of experience of racing the Pikes Peak Mountain. He continues to aggressively challenge the course to this day, and the E-RUNNER Pikes Peak Special responds with great speed and reliability.

The 3 day long practice period has come to an end, and rival performances are much revealed. Top time was within grasps however unattainable. On the bright side the recorded time continued to improve and the difference with the top time became extremely small. The team continues to work further on improvements and adjustments until the machine sets foot on the Final’s starting line.

Bear in mind that the final race is not simply a combination of the 3 practice runs. Drivers must conquer the 20km road consisting 156 corners all in one go, which stress levels to the race driver and race machine are more than one can imagine. On top of this, the 3 Day practice sessions were all conducted in the early mornings. The actual final will go into the afternoon which will certainly affect road surface temperature. Since mountain weather tend to change rapidly, sudden rain is no surprise and road conditions can become unfavorable. On some occasions hail will fall. It is not easy or simple becoming the champion of Pikes Peak.

The Final race will be held on Sunday, June 30 following a day for maintenance on Saturday June 29. Please look forward to the success of TEAM APEV with Monster Sport, and wish us good luck!

The 91st Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, is now on its second practice day. The Electric Division will be running the bottom section. The practice run is also a qualifying session and the results will determine the race starting order.

Divided in 3 parts, the bottom section of the course spans 8.9km and the longest, Racers dash through the beautiful forest while gaining altitude. Truly the perfect stage for the Clean Zero Emission Electric Vehicle, as it races through the beautiful Pike National Forest.

For today’s run, the team readjusts the suspension and aerodynamic characteristics based on yesterday's practice results. Like other paved road competitions tire management has become a critical factor, as the Pikes Peak Hill Climb course is now entirely paved. New tires and reduced vehicle weight demand delicate tuning, however the results are starting to show.

The E-RUNNER Pikes Peak Special is smooth and agile, taking on corners one by one improving time.
Driver ‘Monster’ Tajima appears to be driving the E-RUNNER Pikes Peak Special by delicate operation. Time difference with yesterday’s rival had been greatly improved leading to high anticipation toward the Finals.

Tomorrow June 28, the challenging middle section of the course with many hairpin turns and extreme road curvature await racers. Altitudes increase just at the end of the forest, applying great stress to the power train. In an electric vehicle balance between electric consumption and performance is the key. Mechanically, temperature management of the motor and its controller is the point of focus.

The 91st Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, the world’s largest hill climb event is now open. Since its first opening in 1916, it has long held its tradition of paved and gravel roads however from the past year the entire race course is now paved completely. The second chapter, the second year of the challenge starts here and now.

As the Race Day draws near, practice sessions are conducted by dividing the course into 3 sections, from top to bottom. The Electric Division which TEAM APEV with MONSTER SPORT compete, will practice in the following order: Wednesday - Top Section, Thursday - Bottom Section, Friday - middle section. The qualifying section will be Thursday – bottom section.

Our new partner and tire supplier GiTi Tire (Head Quarter: Singapore) developed tires until the racing week. Suspension system will be carefully calibrated with the new tires through 4 days of official practice, starting from yesterday. Tire tests conducted in Japan had promising results, and everyone is looking forward how well GiTi Tire will fare on the Pikes Peak Course.

Practice Day 1, top section: Starting point is the ‘Devil’s Playground’ where the altitude reaches 3890m, and drivers race to the peak at 4300m along the ridge.
The high speed section is a test of experience.

5:30AM – Starting run.
‘MONSTER’ Tajima drives the E-RUNNER Pikes Peak Special carefully, as he absorbs all information and road conditions of this years’ race course; The time measured at this point is only for reference. The team analyze the data acquired, and compare to the previous year. They intend to find the optimum settings for the Race Day Finals on the 30th.

Tomorrow Thursday 28, will be practice on the bottom section. This is an important day, as there will be a qualifying run.