Romain Dumas took his fifth overall victory at the famous Pikes Peak hill climb aboard Ford’s electric F-150 Lightning SuperTruck demonstrator, despite briefly stopping and having to restart.
Dumas explained that the error, which required a power cycle, had never occurred before during the prototype’s two-year development and was estimated to have cost about 26 seconds.
But the Frenchman’s time of 8:53.553 minutes on the 12.42-mile course fell just short of his time of 8:47.682 minutes for the 2023 climb aboard Ford’s SuperVan 4.2, but was still good enough to set the fastest overall time of the 61 competitors.
Dumas, who holds the absolute track record of 7:57.148 minutes with the 2018 Volkswagen ID R, admitted it was “quite stressful, I have to say. I think it was the most stressful I’ve had since I’ve been here at Pikes Peak.”
“I don’t know what happened at the beginning, the car just turned itself off, that’s never happened before,” he told Pikes Peak’s YouTube channel.
The two-time winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans admitted that after the restart there was some confusion as to whether he would be able to complete his drive to the summit at 4,302m above sea level.
“They told me over the radio that it was a red flag because I assume they saw that I had stopped on the track,” he explained.
Romain Dumas, 2024 Ford F-150 Lightning SuperTruck
Photo by: Ford Performance
“But I had already restarted, so I didn’t know whether I should stop or not. There was a bit of confusion, but at the first split time I knew exactly what time I should have.
“I saw that I was 26 seconds, compared my determination [qualifying time] slower. So I said, “OK, I just need to step on the gas and it should work.” So I made up a few seconds.”
Dumas, who took his first victory at Pikes Peak in 2014 before winning the race in the clouds in 2016, 2017 and 2018, added: “Pikes Peak is so difficult because you only have one chance, only one run. And if you have a small or a big problem, you can lose everything.”
“We have prepared everything perfectly. This problem has occurred for the first time in two years, I don’t know why.”
“I happened to read through all the procedures and arrived to restart the car. At this point I was quite glad that I had re-read last night what I should do in case of a [an] Output!”
The F-150 Lightning SuperTruck, co-developed by the Austrian company STARD, has an output of over 1,600 hp and runs on tailor-made Pirelli P-Zero tires.
It is the latest product of the blue oval’s strategy to develop demonstrators outside the regulations of existing electric racing championships as the company continues to work towards its return to Formula 1 in partnership with Red Bull in 2026.
Its four-pronged motorsport strategy is complemented by off-road disciplines such as the World Rally Championship and, from 2025, the Dakar Rally, as well as its programs with Mustangs in GT3, GT4, Australian Supercars and NASCAR.
“Ford’s electric vehicles to take on and overcome the toughest challenges is a great testament to the hard work and dedication our teams have put into the program,” noted Mark Rushbrook, global director of Ford Performance Motorsports.
Romain Dumas, 2024 Ford F-150 Lightning SuperTruck
Photo by: Ford Performance
“We learned a lot from the SuperVan 4.2 at last year’s Pikes Peak International Hill Climb and were able to apply that knowledge to this year’s race. It’s onwards and upwards from here.”
“Achieving this amazing feat was no small effort,” said Sriram Pakkam, Formula 1 and high-performance electric vehicle manager at Ford Performance Motorsports.
“This was a real team effort across the board, from our highly talented aerodynamicists to our powertrain specialists.
“We also had to work on the details as a team, like keeping the weight low while maximising downforce, and I think the team did a fantastic job.”
Meanwhile, Hyundai World Rally Championship driver Dani Sordo won the Exhibition class. The Spaniard drove a time of 9:30.852 minutes in his also electric IONIQ 5 N TA.