Sebastien Loeb Leads Qualifying for the Pikes Peak Hill Climb

Sebastien Loeb qualified his PeugeotPeugeotFrance, 1882 > present120 models
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208 T16 Pikes Peak at the top of the pack for the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. Over two runs, Loeb was fastest in both.

“It’s not like a race: qualifying isn’t really a crucial part of what goes on here. It’s how you perform on the day that counts. You have to rely on your own skills but also the car, the weather and the road conditions as well. Anything can still happen, but obviously we’re here to try and win: that’s our mission and we’ll be disappointed if we don’t achieve it. So far we’ve got off to a really good start,” said Loeb.

Pikes Peak is a unique race for a variety of reasons. First, it is one of the highest altitude races in the world, and the drivers never get to take on the full course before the event. In practice, the drivers are only allowed to use specified portions of the course, and qualifying only covered 5.1 miles (8.3km) of the total course. The drivers will only get to take on the entire course in a single run on Sunday June 30.

Loeb will be facing stiff competition. The second-place qualifier in this year’s race was a NormaNormaFrance, 1989 > present1 model
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prototype driven by PorschePorscheGermany, 1931 > present43 models
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LMP1 driver Romain Dumas.

The Pikes Peak course covers 19.899km (12.42 miles) with 156 corners.

Loeb’s 208 T16 Pikes Peak is powered by an 875hp turbocharged V6 and takes much of its chassis from the 908Peugeot 908France, 2011 > present3 photos
prototype. The car is competing in the Unlimited class, which only has rules for car safety.

The hill climb will streamed online on Redbull.tv on June 30.