The Peaks Peak International Hillclimb is one of motorsports’ most-feared challenges. Amongst the Rocky Mountains, an intestinal road rises to over 14,115 feet above sea level. The altitude makes it hard to breathe, the drops are steep and riddled with uncompromising rocks. This mercurial Front Range member bites, hard. That doesn’t stop a group of lunatics from trying to drive (or ride) up it as quickly as possible each year in The Race to the Clouds. Not for me, that. Far too dangerous. I’ll stay at home and experience the daunting prospect virtually, thanks. Except. I can’t really. Not officially or in laser-scanned glory. Which is odd, and a bit confusing. Some say it’s because of a Gran Turismo exclusive deal… but is it actually? Here’s the full story of a notorious Rocky Mountain route that is missing from sim racing. Before we discuss Pikes Peak’s racing game and simulation backstory, we must first understand the appeal of the real-world event. The concept itself is simple enough, but the road used is anything but, lasting over 12 miles and 156 turns. Initially held in 1916 as a dirt event, by the mid-1990s, sections of the pathway were covered in a ‘surface treatment’, and in 2012, after several years of work, it became entirely asphalt. Romain Dumas holds the record, a 7-minute 57-second run in the frankly bonkers electric Volkswagen ID. R, and while he won the event again this year, in a Ford Super Mustang Mach-E, he was 20 seconds behind his past best. This is perhaps due to several large bumps appearing on the higher areas. Before the Dumas domination, nine-time world rally champion Sébastien Loeb (more on him later..) set the best time in a Peugeot 208. No, not the same compact hatchback you see in a Tesco