Monster Tajima sets new Pikes Peak record

Nobuhiro ‘Monster’ Tajima has just powered his 680kW Suzuki SX4 and himself into the record books, becoming the first person to complete the famous Pikes Peak Hill Climb course in under 10 minutes.

Tajima covered the 19.9km journey, which starts at 2860m and finishes at 4300m, in 9 minutes 51.278 seconds. Not bad going for a bloke who is 60-years-old. Especially when you consider it is his sixth outright win in a row at Pikes Peak.

Okay, Pikes Peak may have lost a bit of its charm since Ari Vatanen’s Climb Dance days, with more tarmac paving the way. But ‘Monster’ should be given a pat on the back for setting the new mark, all the same.

More pics and, more importantly, video can be seen after the break.

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.