RACE TO THE CLOUD

Yasuo Arai, who has been introduced several times in this blog.
He continued to compete on the KZ1000MK-II and won his first Taste of Tsukuba in 2004.
Since then, he has won five times.
His success is not only domestic, but
In 2008, he competed in the AHRMA held in Daytona, USA and placed 3rd.
He won both in 2009 and 2013.
Its name is already well known in America.

The one piece suit brought in was changed from 83 to 183.
92nd PPIHC emblem on the chest.
This medal is given only to participants.

Back in the summer of 2014, Mr. Arai
My friend, Mr. Takano, and I decided to participate in Pikes Peak in the Z.

Yasuo Arai's KZ1000MK-II (1980 model) and Masahiro Takano's Z1 (1973 model).

Pikes Peak is one of the mountains in the Rocky Mountains.
Colorado Springs, a city in eastern Colorado, is located at the foot of Mt.
Pikes Peak International Hill Climb held here
(Pikes Peak International Hillclimb, PPIHC)
Also known as ``The Race to the Clouds.''
First held in 1916, it is the second oldest race in America after the Indy 500.
While there are many participating vehicles with injection,
They are the first Japanese to participate in the Z race, which is a cab car.

Pit crew is Z series tuning SHOP "BLUE THUNDERS" (Iwano representative)
, and other Z-type builders from the Kanto region gathered together.

This is what the vehicle inspection looks like.


The race starts at an altitude of 2,862m,
The goal is 4,300m higher than Mt. Fuji.
The climb to the top is 1,439m in height.
The distance is 19.99km, the number of corners is 156,
The average slope is 7%.
There are many parts of the course that runs along the mountainside that do not have guardrails.
If you miss a turn of the steering wheel, you'll slide down a 600m steep slope.

Because the altitude differs greatly between the starting point and the finishing point,
Natural conditions such as atmospheric pressure, temperature, and weather change significantly.
Even if it is sunny at the starting point,
It is said that snow and hail may fall near the top.
It changes every moment as you reach the top.
It is a race with a strong meaning of a fight against nature,
Not being able to cope with the rapidly changing atmospheric pressure, I even suffered from altitude sickness.
There is a danger that the area in front of you will suddenly become pitch black, a ``blackout.''

Because the race uses public roads, practice runs are held early in the morning, near dawn.
The temperature near the top is close to freezing. Visibility is poor and conditions are compounded.

Despite being jet-lagged, he wakes up at 2 a.m.

The first road I run on.
There are many corners that look similar,
A tight corner suddenly appears.

A high-speed right-hand corner entered at over 150km/h.
The strong morning sun is backlit and shines into your eyes, making you unable to see anything for a moment...

Qualifying, time attack, Arai marks the first place in the qualifying.
Immediately followed by "Guy Martin"
Made famous by the documentary film “CLOSER TO THE EDGE”
Isle of Man TT rider.

Unlike the track surface with good grip,
It seems that the tires were a bit slippery, but it was a fun ride.


``The race towards the clouds was real,'' Arai later wrote.

GOAL safely!

53rd overall, 2nd in class.
Guy Martin is at the top of the class.
The difference is 1 second.



He has achieved brilliant results.
congratulations.
Some riders unfortunately lost their lives in this race.
This life-threatening race.
It seems that he will participate next year as well.
It was the best stimulus for me this year.
I'm sure in that boy's heart too
There must have been something that resonated with me.
We will support them as they continue to take on challenges.
[Ushizaka]