5 women will challenge Pikes Peak this summer at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb

Tiffany Wismer
·3 min read

(COLORADO SPRINGS) — The 102nd Running of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb (PPIHC) will be held this summer, and five of the drivers who will be attacking Pikes Peak are women. Three experienced female drivers will be joined by two first-timers.

Kathryn Mead, Laura Hayes, and Loni Unser are all experienced drivers who have participated in the Hill Climb before. Mary Barker and Ryan Cheek are the newcomers.

Lady Hill Climbers: The Veterans

Kathryn Mead has raced on America’s Mountain for the past four years. She won Rookie of the Year in 2020, driving a 2019 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport wrapped with a livery she designed. She finished third in the one-make division that year. In 2023 she set a personal best time of 10:53.074 which gave her the distinction of fastest woman to race on Pikes Peak. She will return to the Hill Climb this year in a Porsche Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport. Kathryn hails from Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Laura Hayes, from Greenville, South Carolina, is returning to Pikes Peak for the third year. She raced a BMW M2CSR in the Time Attack 1 division in 2021 and 2022. Adverse weather during those races left her with a desire to race again and achieve a stronger performance in 2024. She will bring a 2022 Toyota Supra GT4 to the inaugural Pikes Peak GT4 Trophy by Yokohama division. Hayes had this to say to any woman interested in pursuing a career in motorsports: “My life has changed since racing Pikes Peak and it’s all because I took a chance on myself. Do it. You won’t regret it.”

Loni Unser of Sun Valley, Idaho first raced America’s Mountain in 2022. She finished second in the Porsche Pikes Peak Trophy by Yokohama division. In 2023, she came back and drove for Acura in a 2023 Integra, recording her personal best time of 11:34.709 in the Acura model in the Exhibition division. This year she will race a BBI-built and prepped 2015 Porsche GT3 Turbo Cup in the Pikes Peak Open division. “Work hard, and don’t be afraid of being uncomfortable,” Loni said. “Nothing good comes from staying in your comfort zone.”

Lady Hill Climbers: The Rookies

Mary Barker, from Hendersonville, North Carolina, will race for the first time this summer. Mary has battled cancer for the last year and is excited to come to Colorado to take on the Hill Climb. Barker came to the race in 2023 with her fiancé, Kendall Samuel, and participated as part of his race crew. This year she will be taking on the mountain herself in the 2000 Subaru Impreza GC8 in the Unlimited division.

Ryan Cheek, also from North Carolina, is entering the race for the first time this summer as well but has competed in NASA, SCCA, and other hill climb events previously. She will be driving a 2021 American X Kart in the Open Wheel division. In honor of her father, who has Lou Gehrig’s disease, Cheek and her team will be raising awareness for ALS this June.

If you would like to come out and support these women and all the other race participants in June, you can buy tickets here for the 102nd Running of the Race to the Clouds.

The event will be held on Sunday, June 23, 2024.

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