Vahsholtz’ Racers Secure Top Finishes in Respective Divisions
Trevor Phipps
Mother Nature ruled again during the 2025 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, with huge 100 mile-per-hour winds vastly forcing a shortening of the course, with Glen Cove serving as the finish line.
Unlike past years, the race didn’t get delayed due to cold, hail or snow. In fact, it was a balmy day at the bottom of the mountain. Instead, it was the crazy high-speed winds that put a damper on the 103rd running of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, which reached a grand conclusion on June 22.
Problems started when the race was supposed to start at 7:30 a.m. that Sunday morning. But at first, race officials postponed the race for an hour hoping that the 80 to 100 miles-per-hour winds towards the summit would calm down.
No such luck.
The race was postponed for an hour a second time, before race officials made the decision to move the finish line to Glen Cove, located in the middle of the course, and start the race at 9:45 a.m. due to the abnormally high-speed winds. Some fans were disappointed and argued that it is always windy above timberline, but TV news footage showed images of porta-potties getting blown over, and stop signs getting blown out of the ground.
To make matters worse, windows were getting blown out of vehicles due to flying dust, rocks and other debris. “We kept hearing reports of windows being blown out, officials not being able to get out of vehicles, it just wasn’t safe whether you are racing or you know, you have our racing personnel that have to recover and react to anything that might happen,” Pikes Peak Hill Climb CEO Melissa Eickhoff told the KRDO news station. “It just wasn’t safe all around… Nobody wants to do that. But it was really for the safety of our racers, personnel and everybody up there.”
Local Racers Make Impressive Showings
Even though the course was short, some drivers had the time to shine. Hailing from Firenze, Italy second year racer Simone Faggioli snagged the fastest time at 3:37.196 in his 2018 Nova Proto NP01 Bardahl racing in the unlimited division.
Many thought that the 10th-year racer Romain Dumas from Arzier, Switzerland would snag the top spot for the second year in a row, but he fell into second place. Dumas’s electric Ford-sponsored Super Mustang Mach-E was around five seconds slower than Faggioli at 3:42.252.
But the good news for local fans was that two well-known area racers ranked in the top 10. Colorado Springs resident Dan Novembre snagged fourth overall and first in the open wheel division. Springs resident and veteran racer David Donner took fifth overall and third in his unlimited division.
Meanwhile, third generation Woodland Park veteran racer Codie Vahsholtz secured a second place in his open wheel division. In fact, Codie took sixth overall with a time of 4:02.175. Codie’s father, Clint Vahsholtz, didn’t quite fare as well as his son in the shortened race. Clint Vahsholtz took 42nd overall and third in his Pikes Peak GT4 Trophy by Yokohama division with a time of 4:48.03. His car was a major sensation at several pre-race events.
The shortened course most likely came as bad news to several veteran local racers who use the top part of the course as their time to shine. With their extensive experience, they know to navigate the top course sections.
Despite the major setback with a much shortened course, many racers viewed the experience positively. Most were heard saying, “Oh, well! That just means we will have to come back next year!”
