Ari Vatanen's climb dance at Pikes Peak

A famous rally driver Ari Vatanen has achieved many nice victories in his career, but one of the things that he will be remembered for is definitely his Pikes Peak climb in 1988.

Pikes Peak hill climb, also known as ‘The Race to the Clouds’, is an annual automobile summit in Colorado. The Finn once admitted that driving Peugeot 405 T16 there was one of the most exciting moments in his life.

How Jean Todt disappeared

“One thing I will remember forever was an occurrence during our preparations in Colorado. 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!” explained Vatanen.

Vatanen’s Pikes Peak climb was immortalized in the short movie called ‘Climb Dance’ and won many awards at international festivals around the world.

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Read more about Ari Vatanen’s illustrious career

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Video: Climb Dance

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Photo: driversclubgermany.com