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Video: Bobby Unser – King of the Hill

Submitted by on August 22, 20124 Comments

Bobby Unser Pikes Peak

“I just couldn’t see a French girl having the Pikes Peak record.”

Famous last words! It’s 1985 and the French girl in question is Michèle Mouton; the first woman to win a world championship rally, runner up to Walter Röhrl in the 1982 World Rally Championship and future German Rally Champion.

And have that record she did, winning the 1985 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb with panache and setting a new qualifying record, breaking Bobby Unser’s outright record and ruffling a few feathers along the way.

This drew Unser back out to the mountain in 1986 for the first time in twelve years. He had a Quattro of his own to drive and a crown to reclaim. This video tells the story, and provides some insight into a great character of classic motorsport – Michèle Mouton – and what Pikes Peak means to Bobby Unser.

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  • http://www.sponsorpr.com Randy Unsbee, MA, ABC

    Very cool, brings back memories. I was working for the PR/Advertising agency that introduced cell phones and service to Colorado that year. I positioned my wife on the outside of a tight bend, holding a Motorola “brick” phone, and waited with my 35 mm camera for Bobby to come into the frame. It was a great shot. That was also the time his transmission failed in practice and he used one of the phones to call Germany for a replacement from the top of Pikes Peak. The story made headlines.

  • Simon

    Well done Bobby, but……
    The 1986 Audi Quattro had more power, better aerodynamic aids and was by any standards a much faster specification car than the earlier version driven by Michelle Mouton in 1985.
    In equal machinery how would it have panned out.
    My monies on Michelle. What a gal!
    Glamorous and fast, really fast.

  • Guilherme

    What hell is this Audi sound?! A V8, because a 5cl turbo is not!

  • Jared van Bergen

    What a ridiculous video… V8 engine noise instead of the 5 cylinder? Come on… Disgrace to the memory of Michelle’s fantastic achievements.