The first time Alex Lloyd drove the 12.42-mile Pikes Peak hill climb, he was already strapped into his Honda Fit race car for his first practice run.
Lloyd’s flight was delayed, so the 30-year-old British driver couldn’t scope out the course before making his first run.
For the 2015 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, Lloyd is driving the number 42 Honda Racing HPD Fit, which still has the stock 1.5-liter, 130 horsepower four-cylinder engine and the stock CVT transmission. The only performance changes to the car are grippier brake pads and Maxxis race tires.
Lloyd estimates that at the high altitude of Pikes Peak, the Fit is making around 80 horsepower.
As for the CVT, Lloyd has been using the paddle shifters for his runs, but said he’s going to try keeping it in full CVT mode to see if the car is any faster.
The Honda team at Pikes Peak will also be fielding three Acuras – an ILX, a TLX and a previous-generation NSX. The Honda LMP2 race car driven by TFLcar test driver Justin Wilson experienced two separate mechanical failures during the week and will not be taking part in the race on Sunday.
The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb takes place on June 28 and is a world-renowned sporting event that features 156 corners and harrowing exposure to shear dropoffs with no safety guardrails before reaching the summit. The ‘Race to the Clouds’ dates back to 1916, making it the second-oldest motorsport event in the U.S. behind the Indy 500. Live timing and scoring of this year’s Pikes Peak International Hill Climb is available online.
TFLcar will be providing complete coverage of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, so stay tuned for more news and updates from the event.
Lloyd is a veteran of IndyCar open wheel racing, earning Rookie of the Year honors in 2010 and placing fourth in that year’s Indianapolis 500. He has also driven in the Pirelli World Challenge GT class and was part of the driving team that won the 2014 25 Hours of Thunderhill.
Check out the complete video of Lloyd’s practice run up Pikes Peak in this TFLcar video:
