Tajima Monsters His Suzuki To Pikes Peak Record

Suzuki motorsport legend Nobuhiro ‘Monster’ Tajima overcame serious mechanical issues to become the first person to break the fabled 10 minute barrier at Pikes Peak.

The 60-year-old steered his SX4 race car to a record time of 9 minutes, 51.278 seconds to record his sixth consecutive outright win at the famous Pikes Peak International Hill Climb.

He had to overcome a blown radiator and a sudden loss of power steering in the final part of the event up the famous course.

The race is run on a 19.9 kilometre-long course with 156 turns that begins at an altitude of 2860 metres and finishes at the 4300 metre summit of Pikes Peak.

The dramatic rise in altitude robs engines of 30 per cent of their power at the summit and competitors employ special oxygen breathing apparatus to combat the changes in air pressure.

Monster has been a fixture at the world famous event since 1988 and has now won the unlimited division a record 11 times – all behind the wheel of Suzuki vehicles.

This year he won in his latest SX4 race car, maintaining an unbeaten run that now stretches back to 2003.

Monster’s SX4 boasts a twin turbocharged Suzuki V6, boasting a phenomenal 680 kW of power and 890 Nm of torque.

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