Shute takes second Pikes Peak win

British driver and engineer Robin Shute has been crowned ‘King of the Mountain’ once again at the 99th Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in Colorado, held on June 27. Competing in the Unlimited Division, Shute posted a time of 5min 55.246sec in a Wolf GB08 TSC-LT.

Normally the run is just under 12½ miles but due to wintry Snake Pass-like conditions of snow, ice and fog along the run to the 14,000ft summit, organisers were forced to delay the start by an hour and shorten the course. Even on a reduced nine-mile ascent, visibility remained a problem for some of the 56 competitors.

Norwich-born, LA-based Shute won the world’s most extreme hillclimb in 2019 and stands as the only Briton to hold the Pikes Peak title. His time this year was 36sec faster than second-placed Romain Dumas, who was in a Porsche 911 GT2 RS Clubsport. Asked if he expected the gap to be so wide, Shute responded, “Yeah, I did. I knew what was in the car and that we had a good run in us.”