Pikes Peak
Pikes Peak is the highest summit of the southern Front Range of the Rocky Mountains, in North America. The ultra-prominent fourteener is located in Pike National Forest, west of downtown Colorado Springs, Colorado. The mountain is named in honor of American explorer Zebulon Pike, who was unable to reach the summit. The summit is higher than any point in the United States east of its longitude.
Pikes Peak International Hill Climb
Following world war two, Louis Unser returned to his winning ways at Pikes Peak, winning a further three more times between 1946 and 1970, these wins were tightly contended with rival Al Rogers. During this time the event was part of the AAA and USAC IndyCar championship. In 1953, the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) sponsors the event, bringing with it an influx of sports cars. In this period the course record was broken every year from 1953 until 1962, this is the largest string of record breaking runs in the event's history. The majority of these records were set by Bobby Unser, the younger brother of Louis. In 1954 motorcycles return to the event, the first time since its inception 1916. The motorcycle overall victory that year went to Bill Meier riding a Harley-Davidson motorcycle.