Le Mans winner Romain Dumas is competing in the 2018 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in a fully electric racing vehicle from Volkswagen. The Frenchman talks about the fascination of the world's most famous hill climb, competitive sport at an altitude of 4,000 metres and Volkswagen's chances as it returns to the most famous event of its kind.
‘Like the surface of the moon'
Pikes Peak driver Romain Dumas on the world's most famous hill climb
What make the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb so legendary?
Romain Dumas: There is no other race like it in the world. Firstly, the landscape is breathtaking. Then there is the fact that you start at an altitude of 2,900 metres, and 20 kilometres later you have reached 4,300 metres. Nowhere else do you climb so high in a racing car. In the past, the race has sometimes been cut short, because it has been snowing at the summit. Another part of the fascination is certainly the fact that you only have one attempt. If you have any kind of problem, you have to wait another year for the next opportunity.
What fascinates you personally about this race?
Dumas: When I was a boy, Volkswagen, Audi and Peugeot were battling it out on Pikes Peak. The race was considered a big deal in my homeland of France; almost as big as the 24 Hours of Le Mans or the Monaco Grand Prix in Formula 1. I used to dream of one day taking part in the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb.
What qualities do you need as a racing driver to be successful on Pikes Peak?
Dumas: The course is comparable to the legendary "Nordschleife" of the Nurburgring: plenty of fast corners and barely a straight section where you can relax. Only Pikes Peak is even more dangerous than the Nordschleife, because many places have no crash barriers. As such, you can never push yourself to the very limit. I would say that you need the precision of a circuit racer combined with the fearlessness and improvisational talent of a rally driver.
You have been participating in the race several times, already. How did you manage to turn your dream of competing at Pikes Peak into reality?
Dumas: My job as a works driver at Porsche gave me the financial means. In 2012, a few friends and I drummed up support and that was it. The first time I entered, I was so thrilled that I could no longer keep away from this mountain. The fact that I have since been able to celebrate three victories with my very own team is so much more than I had ever dreamed of as a young boy.
Which part of the course holds the key to success?
Dumas: The course is made up of three completely different sections. There are still trees by the side of the road after the start. Medium-fast corners await here, which must be taken at approximately 150 or 160 km/h. The middle section consists almost solely of hairpins; the speed here is relatively low. The final section looks like the surface of the moon; just rocks, no trees. As a result, you have no tangible reference points for the course; many of the corners are blind. At the same time, the speed is high. This section of the course is the most difficult and commands the most respect from the driver. In order to win, you need a car that works well in all three sections.
2014 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb: the first overall victory in the ‘Race to the Clouds' for Romain Dumas. His car is a prototype built and entered by his own team
The course has only been completely asphalted since 2012. Are you able to visualise what it was like to drive on the previously gravelled roads?
Dumas: I don't miss that experience. For many years, part of the course was tarmac and part of it was gravel. Compromises had to be made in terms of setup and tyres during this period. Nowadays we take the cars much closer to the limit and I like that better. The course is now more demanding and also more dangerous. We take corners at 150 km/h, where maybe speeds of 80 km/h were previously reached on gravel.
How do drivers prepare themselves for the altitude of over 4,000 metres?
Dumas: The hill climb on Pikes Peak usually takes place one or two weeks after the 24 Hours of Le Mans, so I have no time to sleep in an altitude tent, for example, which I did as part of my preparations for the Dakar Rally. The problem on Pikes Peak also has less to do with the summit height. Much more stressful for the body is the fact that you drive from an altitude of 2,900 metres to 4,300 metres in less than ten minutes. My antidote is oxygen, which I take with me in the racing car.
You have many years' experience of racing cars with hybrid drive systems. How big is the difference between those and Volkswagen's fully electric racing car?
Dumas: I have to adapt my driving style. In the hybrid racing car – which I drove in Le Mans, for example – I had to pace myself in terms of the amount of electrical power I used. This is not necessary in Volkswagen's fully electric racing car.
What does the Volkswagen Motorsport team have to brace itself for in the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb?
Dumas: There is a highly professional team working at Volkswagen Motorsport and it will certainly get along just fine in a completely new environment like the USA. The team members have to get used to driving to the course at four or five in the morning, because otherwise you get stuck in the spectator traffic if you leave it any later. There are also no pit facilities on Pikes Peak. It can get bitterly cold in the paddock at 2,900 metres. So the race is also physically demanding for the engineers.
What are you expecting from Volkswagen's first start with a fully electric racing car?
Dumas: It's really difficult to predict. It's not about developing a fast vehicle. That is out of the question for a team like Volkswagen Motorsport. But the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb is similar to the 24 Hours of Le Mans: you only have one attempt. It is not like in the World Rally Championship or Formula 1, where you might mess up one race, but can concentrate on the next. You can't afford to have any problems on Pikes Peak. That is why our primary aim is to win the electric prototype class. That would be a very good result for the first attempt. Whether it will be enough for a new best time in the category will also depend on the weather.
