Article: Climb Dance

[Steve Holmes]

If you've not seen this before, you really need to. This is the stunning award winning Jean Louis Mourey short film of Ari Vatanen's record breaking 1988 Pikes Peak run. As well as being visually beautiful, its also completely jaw-dropping.

The car Vatanen drove was a factory Peugeot 405 T16, built specifically for this event. It featured over 600hp, four wheel drive, and four wheel steering, and weighed 900kg. For 1988, this was state of the art.

Here is Vatanen's description of the car, and the event: "One thing I'll remember forever was an occurrence during our preparations in Colorado. We prepared the cars in a workshop in an industrial estate, where it was possible to do a quick roll-out on a closed-off street.

"Jean Todt sat beside me in the car, but of course there was no passenger seat. The car's acceleration on tarmac (0-200 in under 10 secs) had made me think that this is how it must feel to be catapulted off the deck of an aircraft carrier! Jean tried to hang on to whatever solid objects he could find inside the car, but when I stamped on the pedal he just disappeared from my peripheral view... getting squashed against the firewall in the back!

"Watching the Climb Dance video you can hear me playing with the clutch. It was necessary to do that to maintain sufficient turbo boost. If I'd changed to a lower gear, all four wheels would have just spun insanely. In my younger days I had had to play with the clutch because of a lack of power, but now I had too much of it!

"Amongst the jewelry of competition cars, this one was a diamond. Like unique jewelry is only worn on rare occasions, the Pikes Peak car was only used to climb the hill once a year.

"But the enjoyment you get from driving that car... it really is the ultimate!"

Enjoy:

[jamie]

YES that is amazing Jamie A

[Grant Sprague]

A hand full and 3/4.....Hey Jamie I remember u put one of yr scanz turbo cars up a hill climb might have been earth quake gully or name similar was probably sealed road ..... things we did lol [and got a way with it]

[Murray Maunder]

Amazing stuff! Whenever I meet some poor sod who says they don't like motorsport I give them the link to this fabulous video. I tell them about the fact that Ari is a retired WR champion turned European parliamentarian (for his sins!) and how the car he drives is like an alien device.

I remember Ari well from when he drove the Peugeot 205 in the 1985 Rally of New Zealand and I was an amateur motorsport video enthusiast. Here's a few takes from Ari's drive to 2nd behind teammate Timo Salonen and ahead of Audi's Walter Rohrl. Spot a young Jean Todt in the Peugeot service area.

Sadly this was to be Ari's last event before almost dying in a big prang in Argentina. After 18 months lay off he returned to the front line but never added to his total of 10 World Rally wins but managed podium positions on 7 occasions.

[Shoreboy57]

The remains of Vatanen's Peugeot on Rally Argentina

[Shoreboy57]

Clearly this Martin Holmes picture captured Ari before the rally start. The Masport Escort is looking immaculate

[Max Headroom]

Those were the days indeed....
A couple of links to put that amazing run in perspective, from 1988 when Walter Rohrl in the Audi beat Ari in a 205 Ti16, ex Group B rally cars. The comment from Ari at 6 mins 45 or thereabouts in the video is priceless. And they did.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfOGATgRcdE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8nKhhMJtvc

[928]

of course we should remember thar Michele Mouton was one of the first EU rally stars to do Pikes Peak

[928]

Then Martin Schancke took his Gartrac G4 rallycross car over to do Pikes Peak.On arrival he could not find a truck, or rent a car and trailer to get from the airport to the event. So he put his Norwegian number plates (all cars in Norway are registered) on the car and drove it. only got stopped by one cop who could not find any fault. Was well on the way to when he punctured, still finished and amassed the yanks.

[jamie]

Yes Grant Earth quake Gully that was an awsom run had fasted time of day Jamie A

[bry3500]

turn up the volume!