Due to its myriad firsts, the 2018 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb went down as one of the most significant races in the event’s history. First winning time under eight minutes; first electric car to win overall; first electric car to possess the course record. Romain Dumas and Volkswagen’s 680 horsepower I.D. R electric prototype changed the way we will talk about records at Pikes Peak from here on out. No longer will the overall record lord over a separate electric record; there is now the overall record and the internal combustion record.
This is not to forget the rest of the star-studded racing cast, without which 2018 wouldn’t have been quite as special. Multidisciplinary racing star Travis Pastrana raced in (and won) the new, highly competitive Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport spec class. Drifter, stunt driver, and Pikes Peak veteran Rhys Millen ripped up the production SUV record with a 10:49.9 blitz up the mountain.
It was an event worth chronicling, beyond a doubt, and who better to do the job than Jeremy Hart? Hart, once a TV presenter for the World Rally Championship, Dakar Rally, and Formula 1, developed his own attachment to Pikes Peak when he attended in 1988, which saw Ari Vatanen break the course record, his efforts immortalized in the short film “Climb Dance.”
Three decades on, Hart saw the opportunity to make a film of the kind his skills permit: A documentary by the name of “The Mountain Decides.” With the help of Romain Dumas, Rhys Millen, Travis Pastrana, Pikes Peak perennial Paul Dallenbach, and others, Hart put together the 25-minute film, which explains the history of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, the race’s unique challenges, and the specific stakes and drama surrounding the special 2018 event.
Whether or not you have a racing bone in your body, give Hart’s documentary a watch. There’ll be something in there for you.