Pikes Peak International Hill Climb 2022
Kingsley Motorsports
THE MISSION
Our mission with this project was to capture all things media for the Kingsley Motorsports team. We had the pleasure of being invited out to cover the race for them this year. We provided media coverage for the full week of events.
CLIENT
Kingsley Motorsports
THE OUTCOME
We ended up producing some wonderful images for the team as well as some videos that the team is able to post to any platform they wish. In being on the mountain for the week we were also able to capture several shots of all cars involved.
SERVICES
Media Coverage
THE IMPACT
This project impacted Kingsley Motorsports directly by providing coverage for their team! Inversely, the impact of our images stretched throughout the event as we shared them with a few of the other teams.
Event Background
The Broadmoor Pikes Peak International Hill Climb (PPIHC), brought to you by Gran Turismo, also known as The Race to the Clouds, is an invitational automobile hill climb to the summit of Pikes Peak – America’s Mountain in Colorado, USA held on the last Sunday of June. Founded in 1916 by Spencer Penrose (also the founder of The Broadmoor Hotel, Pikes Peak Highway and El Pomar Foundation), The Broadmoor PPIHC takes place on a 12.42 mile (19.99 km) public toll-road boasting 156 turns, while competitors climb 4,720 ft. (1,440 m.) from the 9,390 ft. (2,862 m.) Start Line at Mile 7 marker on the Pikes Peak Highway to the 14,115 ft. (4,300 m) Finish Line at the mountain’s summit.
(The race. Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. (2022, August 15). Retrieved April 4, 2023, from https://ppihc.org/about/)
Reasons of the project
Capture images that had an impact on the automotive industry and provide coverage for a local driver. We thank Andy and Katie Kingsley for the opportunity to shoot this project. The team is based out of Buena Vista, Colorado which is near and dear to us as we grew up in the town.
Tech Inspection
Broadmoor World Area
Our time at the tech inspection consisted of us meeting the team and snapping some images of them getting the car ready. Getting the car ready included putting the front splitter on, checking electronics, and overall a quick rundown of the car before it was looked at. All went well and Andy tossed on the Unlimited class sticker.
Qualification Specs
Making sure all competitors are safe
Check In
Drivers and teams as well as media are all required to check in at tech inspection.
Safety
Things such as roll cages, harnesses, and electonics are all looked at during the inspection.
Class
Driver class is determined: Unlimited, Time Attack 1, Porsche Pikes Peak Trophy by Yokohama, Open Wheel, Pikes Peak Open and Exhibition
Weight
The weight of each car is taken to help narrow down which class each car will fall into.
Qualifying
Three Days - Three sections
Each qualifying day came with its own set of challenges. As the competitors transition through each section factors such as temperature and weather play huge roles in the outcome of qualification. One competitor can have a perfect day and just the next morning a competitor can be in a snowy situation.
Day One
Upper Section
Overall the weather was pretty good for the first day on the upper section. It was the coldest day out of them all for sure, but that is to be expected being up as high as we are. The upper section is above the tree line so we had some clouds rolling in which made for a beautiful morning!
Day Two
Lower Section
This was the sunniest day out of them all. By the time the session was wrapping up, we were both down to t-shirts for the walk back to the car. Some really great dense forest shots came of the day as we were in the heart of the mountain.
Day Three
Middle Section
Wrapping up qualification we found ourselves in the middle section. There is a bunch of high-elevation spots to capture in this section as well as some fast corners! We saw the sun most of this morning which made for a much more pleasurable time as we trekked through the woods.
Fan Fest
Downtown Colorado Springs
Fan Fest takes place in downtown Colorado Springs on Tejon Street. Most of all the drivers and teams gather on Friday evening to display their cars for all to see. It was a great chnace for us to grab some candid photos of Andy and the team chatting with friends and fans.
Evening Timeline
A chance for all fans to meet most if not all competing drivers
Kingsley Motorsports team arriving downtown to set up the car
Katie and the team conversing about the night and getting ready for race day
Interactions with fans and lifelong connections in the industry
Andy Kingsley signing autographs for fans and kids
What is Fan Fest all about?
It is all about getting together with friends and family to check out some fun and exciting cars. It is a great chance to meet several of the drivers and ask them questions before they head up to the mountain for the big race day. It is also huge for drivers as they get to interact with their fans on a more personal level.
Race Day
Pikes Peak - 14,115 feet (4,302.31 m)
What a race day this year! Coming from the great weather during the week for qualifying, we set out on race day with umbrellas and rain sleeves for the cameras. On the ground the weather was manageable but it was a different story in the car. Visibility was very low, so awesome to see all the competitors push through the challenge.
Conditions
The heavy fog on the day made it tough but in the end, the images turned out with this epic/dramatic feel that definitely fit the atmosphere. We can only imagine the struggle it must have been for the competitors. Luckily, as they made their way up the course the fog cleared and they were able to get a little sun.
Challenges Overcome
Challenges for both us as media and the competitors persisted most of the day. Specifically the competitors had to think on their feet as conditions at the base were wet and as they went up the course dried out. Tire choice was important with the varying conditions. The teams did an incredible job with the variability of the day.
