Katherine Legge will make a return to Pikes Peak after her first run last summer.
It’s almost time for the 103rd Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, and Acura announced Thursday what we can expect to see on America’s Mountain on June 22. With Katherine Legge making her second run to the 14,115 summit of Pikes Peak, the automaker is chasing down the front-wheel drive record, in the competitive Time Attack 1 (TA1) division with an Integra Type S DE5 race car. Acura worked on the #93 Integra racer in coordination with Honda Racing Corporation (HRC), and it’s also fielding another Integra Type S as a pace car for the hill climb event.
“It was an honor to compete in Pikes Peak for the first time in 2024, as I had always dreamt of being among the famous drivers who have tackled the mountain” said Legge. “At Pikes Peak, you’re always competing against yourself, the mountain and the other drivers. It’s my goal to leave my own legacy, setting the front-wheel drive record in the Integra Type S DE5.”
Beyond taking on the Pikes Peak Hill Climb, Legge has and continues to compete across a host of other racing series, including IndyCar and the IMSA SportsCar Championship. Last year, her rookie run yielded a top-five finish in the TA1 category, with her 10:51.359 time landing a few seconds short of the current front-wheel drive record holder: Nick Robinson in a 500-horsepower Acura TLX, set in 2018.
Acura is bringing the Integra Type S HRC prototype it debuted at Monterey last year, too.
Throughout the Pikes Peak Hill Climb, another HRC-upgraded Integra Type S will serve as the official pace car. We first saw it during Monterey Car Week last year, where the automaker showed off a line of performance parts owners will actually be able to buy for their cars soon.
Olympic speed skater Rusty Smith will be driving the pace car. He made Team USA three times, competing in the 1998, 2002 and 2006 winter games. Acura says he also has a strong passion for their vehicles, owning several enthusiast models including a first-generation NSX-T in Spa Yellow (with a Vivid Yellow interior, no less).
Honda’s Olympic connections aren’t stopping with this year’s Pikes Peak, as the company announced it would be a founding partner of the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic games in Los Angeles, serving as Team USA’s official automotive partner.
