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Electric cars win Pikes Peak!

Topics:  Nobuhiro “Monster” Tajima, Rimac Automobili Concept_One, Pikes Peak International Hill Climb

Electric cars win Pikes Peak!

Rimac Automobili
July 2, 2015

Colorado, June 2015. – Nobuhiro Monster Tajima celebrates his 65th birthday finishing second overall on the 93rd Pikes Peak International Hill Climb 2015 on June 28th. Stopping the clock at 9:32.401, storming over the finish line in “Tajima Rimac E-Runner Concept_One”, Nobuhiro Tajima wrote history today finishing in front of combustion engine powered racing cars.

This is the first time in history an electric car has won Pikes Peak, and we had two of them on the podium.

Breaking the record with no brakes

With this race Tajima broke his previous record of 9:43.90 by 11 seconds, and set a new record through the Pikes Peak speed trap, 145 miles per hour!

However the mechanical brakes failed during the race causing a huge loss in time. Determined not to give up, Monster Tajima safely managed to dash across the finish line 4,300m up at the mountain peak.

Overall winner of 2015 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb is Rhys Millen. Driving the “Drive e0” Millen put a new record on the table for electric cars clocking 9:07.222. Nobuhiro Monster Tajima was second driving the Tajima Rimac E-Runner Concept_One, leaving the first petrol powered car of Paul Dallenbach behind by more than 4 seconds.

Storm after the race

The race day started with bright sunshine and warm climate, luring the sense of a wonderful day to hold the race finals. The 2-wheel division started out first then on to the 4-wheels. MONSTER Tajima piloting the "Tajima Rimac E-Runner Concept_One" started fourth in line.

Despite the day starting out with beautiful weather, during the afternoon it quickly changed into a barrage of hail covering the mountain into a desolate silvery world. At the base of the mountain was a severe thunderstorm which caused suspension of the race by race officials. The heavy rain and thunder receded away 30 minutes later. Due to safety concerns the course for other competitors was truncated, and the finish line moved down to Glen Cove. This means that all entrants who have made it up to the peak will have their time qualified only up to Glen Cove as their official time. This is just one of the charms of challenging the Pikes Peak Hill Climb of its unabridged unrelenting reality of mother-nature being itself but it is also the principal reason why numerous research and development team from auto manufactures visit the mountain.

“The weather for this year’s Pikes Peak was very serious. Our team was able to reach the top section, however the course was shortened by a half up to Glen Cove. I am fully satisfied being able to run the full course however unfortunately I could not drive as I wanted due to the mechanical brakes breaking during the race. In light of this, since we are partnered with Croatian company Rimac Automobili in order to pursue development of ultimate vehicle control, their torque vectoring system worked beautifully despite the fact the mechanical brakes were lost, I was still able to surpass my time last year by 11 seconds. As for development in technology, we were able to pursue many developments during the race week and it was great to be able to prove its performance at the hill climb. We intend to further advance our ‘all wheel control concept’ of controlling 4 wheels independently to develop automobiles that people can drive safely under any condition. Pikes Peak is a wonderful hill climb. I wish to be part of it even further and wish for your kind support for our team and challenge into the future.” commented Mr Nobuhiro Tajima after the race.

“We had our ups and downs preparing the car, but the whole team showed great skill and speed to make everything just right. Pikes Peak is a grueling test of performance and the ultimate test bed for our technology that we ultimately use in our products. Torque Vectoring was developed for Rimac Concept_One, and it has evolved on a whole new level with this project. We learned a lot on the Pikes Peak race and this result is of great value to us. Rimac Racing would also like to congratulate other competitors, especially in the Electric Modified division on a great race.” Said Mate Rimac, CEO and founder of Rimac Automobili.