Faggioli is the first Italian to conquer Pikes Peak

      The name Simone Faggioli probably means little to the general public, but in his homeland, in Italy, especially in his native Florence, this racer is well known. At the age of 46, he is an 11–time national champion in high-speed hill climbing, and he has the same number of European champion titles in this classic motorsport discipline.

      Last Sunday, he added one more to all his previous achievements – he won the famous American high-speed climbing competition on Pikes Peak Mountain in Colorado. and the press is now calling Faggioli the new "King of the Mountain." 

      On the French-built Nova Proto NP01 Bardahl sports prototype with an Emap engine equipped with two turbines, he overcame the mountain track with its endless turns faster than the other 72 participants, showing a result of 3:37,196. In particular, he beat Roman Dumas, who won five times at Pikes Peak in previous years. 

      The Frenchman again piloted a specially prepared Ford electric car, now it was a Super Mustang Mach-E. However, traditional technologies prevailed this time, and Dumas remained second.

      And Simone Fagioli became the first Italian to conquer Pikes Peak, i.e. to win these competitions in the Unlimited category. By the way, they were held for the 103rd time. However, due to very strong winds blowing closer to the top, the distance had to be shortened, and the competitions started 2 hours and 15 minutes later than planned due to bad weather, but the organizers did not completely cancel or postpone them. 

      But they didn't take care of an interpreter: the winner refused an interview after the finish line because of the language barrier. The last line of the text in the local edition of The Denver Gazette is as follows: "Maybe Fagioli does not speak English, but he understands the word "success."