Pikes Peak Gambling Guide – The Scariest Drive Ever

In the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, the competitors are not racing against each other but the mountain. The track is picturesquely beautiful but dangerous. It is hard to imagine that now because, until 2012, the road leading to Pikes Peak was gravelly and dusty. One of the scariest mountain races, the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, has been held here for over a hundred years, offering plenty of options for gamblers. Read our Pikes Peak gambling guide and prepare for the next race!

What is Pikes Peak International Hill Climb?

Pikes Peak is a mountain race in the state of Colorado. They held the first race in 1916, and since then, motorsport lovers have returned every summer to overcome the mountain's challenges. The route they have to complete is nearly twenty kilometers long, with 156 turns, and the competitors cross the finish line at 4301 meters after overcoming a level difference of 1439 meters. According to online sportsbooks sites in the USA, until the 1980s, no one could complete it under eleven minutes. Spencer Penrose financed building the Pikes Peak Highway in 1915 with half a million dollars as a private investment. A year later, he organized the first mountain competition, where motorbikes and cars raced on the winding mountain road. The road was in private hands for a long time, but in 1936, they put it under state management. The first race was also a road test, as well as an advertisement to draw attention to it since Spencer collected tolls! Over time, the race has grown into one of the oldest and scariest rally events in America. So, this race has been going on for more than 100 years and bears the name Race to the Clouds! In the early days, the event was called the Penrose Trophy. This year's race was the 100th, so far it has been interrupted seven times because World War I and World War II. Even though it’s called Hill Climb, you don't have to conquer a steep wall but a mountain road with a car, motorbike, or truck. To make the race even more exciting, 20Bet Sportsbook offers betting options, and with the help of our Pikes Peak gambling guide, you stand a great chance!

The Beginnings

The course starts at the 7th-mile marker on the road from Cascade at 2,249 meters above sea level until the 4,302-meter peak. Which is a 20-km-long section. The track has 156 turns, so on average, there is one turn every 128 meters. However, it was not the impressive climb or the many turns that gave the race its incomparable reputation but the more than 90 years of history after finishing the road in 1915. The cars competed on the same gravelly narrow road, and to make matters worse, the ground was not solid at all, without a protective barrier.  Let's not forget that they raced on a surface that was practically constantly eroding and significantly changing depending on the pressure. Despite the crazy pace and speed, there have been "only" seven deaths during the track more than one-hundred-year history. One of the victims was a track judge, and four motorcyclists and two car racers are also on the list. Considering the lack of development of the safety regulations of the early period, this is a miracle because dozens compete in the race in several categories. 

Pikes Peak Gambling Guide - Aspects to Consider

The appeal of the competition hasn't diminished, but it will never be the same again in many ways. As at the Nürburgring, more and more electric cars are appearing, and for good reason. The internal combustion engines did not get enough air near the top to perform well. Keep in mind that a lot of things change near 4,000 meters. On the other hand, electric cars are not sensitive to this. Every Pikes Peak gambling guide will point this out! The environmental protection organization Sierra Club filed a lawsuit against the local government of Colorado Springs in the late nineties. Due to the erosion of the gravel road, partly caused by competition and partly by nature, more than one and a half million tons of stones flooded the forests and watercourses in the area over the decades. This is surprising because they improved the road every year.  In 2002, the organization won the lawsuit, and within ten years, by 2012, the road had to be asphalted. Romain Dumas holds the current asphalt track record with 7 minutes and 57 seconds, driving an electric Volkswagen I.D. R. Technology is great! Developing fast and environmentally friendly vehicles, but in 2012, a new era followed that continues to this day. If you want to place bets at 20Bet Sportsbook, you should consider that the road is no longer dusty and gravelly.

Factors that Many Bettors Ignore!

If you don’t research how the racers and cars performed in the past, it’s really just gambling, a game of chance. However, you can increase your chances of winning with the following aspects. Bettors sometimes forget about factors like the weather, but the combination of track and the weather usually determines the potential winners. After all, some drivers can perform better on rainy or sunny days, for instance. This is the information you need to find in the stats. With research, analysis, and comparing the odds given by the bookmakers, you can gain an advantage! It is also worth taking a look at who is racing what car and the errors that occurred in the past. Don’t forget that a winding section can cause problems for some car types, which may affect the final results. As we have mentioned before, around 4000 meters, electric cars are doing better than internal combustion engines, so take it into account as well. 

Previous Winners

Motorcycles are permanently excluded from Pikes Peak due to Carlin Dunne's tragic death during the 2019 event. The competition is held every year on the last Sunday of June. The paved section, a public road on weekdays, used to turn into a dust cloud at the races making the maneuvers even more dangerous. In the first race in 1916, Rean Lentz won with a Romano Special. He built the vehicle at home, equipped with an aircraft engine, reaching the finish line in less than 21 minutes! The 1984 event was the first time a European competitor participated in the Pikes Peak race.  Norwegian rallycross racer Martin Schanche with a Ford Escort 4×4 and the Frenchman Michelé Mouton with an Audi Sport Quattro were the first. Over the decades, the drivers set numerous records in many categories. However, the absolute record belongs to Romain Dumas, who finished with a 7 min 57 sec time. By the way, among the drivers, the previous record holder was Sebastian Loeb, a rally driver. In the motorcyclists' category, the recorder is Chris Fillmore in the saddle of a KTM SuperDuke 1290R in 2017, who completed the race in 9 minutes and 49.625 seconds! In 1985, the French amazon, Michele Mouton, was able to win the category. Of course, Miss Mouton and the Audi she was driving also set a record, and thus a new era began. You can check out the best female car racers in 2022 here! With new and more modern vehicles, the seemingly unbeatable time results were in the past. Nowadays, especially when you place a bet, you need to consider statistics because the results are getting better every time. In future races, always make sure that you know every available information about the chosen driver before placing a bet!

Pikes Peak Gambling Guide

Like always, when it comes to gambling, statistics are your best friends. Online sportsbook sites in the USA provide all the information you need to make a winning bet. You only need to study them. A little interest and additional knowledge of cars or motorcycles will surely help. You can also find videos and onboard records of the race, so you know what you are wagering on. You can predict time results, a new record, accidents, the winners, etc.  It often helps if you follow the drivers on social media sites. It’s the best way to learn the inside information directly from the source. There are two things you should know about rally gambling if you are a beginner bettor! First of all, you have to be aware of the rules, though don’t expect complex and overwhelming studies. Secondly, watch a few races to know what to expect from such sporting events.  If you delve a little bit deeper into the world of Pikes Peak races, you can also bet on the various stages. Though, you need more knowledge for that. Combination bets are available as well. It's when you place separate stakes on different wagers. It often happens that bookmakers offer options where you have to guess which of the two drivers will perform better. There are handicap and special betting markets too. 

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