Among the greatest races in the world, the Pikes Peak hillclimb occupies a very honourable place. Even though the road to the clouds itself has changed over the course of history and is now fully tarmac, the thrill of climbing the clouds is still the same, as is the danger. Many iconic cars were built just for this 19-mile course, which shows that this race is still very important to petrolheads from all over the world. So it’s no surprise that one of the fastest Subaru Legacy equipped with Samsonas Motorsport’s sequential gearbox had to make the climb sooner or later. And the time had finally come for Damien Bradley and Team Legacy made a trip across the pond to make their dreams come true. We are very happy to share Damien’s and Team Legacy story.
Tell me the story behind your idea of travelling to Pikes Peak? How long did you have this idea in your head?
Pikes Peak has been in my head from child hood, I had seen footage of the mountain on the TV. Pikes Peak International HillClimb was something for famous racing drivers and it was on the other side of the planet, maybe one day I could go along and spectate, that was my dream for Pikes Peak.
The 1992 Subaru Legacy was built using only tried and tested components from the world’s best motorsport companies. The car has had some great success in the UK and has dominated the saloon car classes in Hillclimbs and sprints. Trips across to Europe proved really successful too. The Legacy is now widely regarded as the fastest saloon car in the history of UK hillclimbing.
After Damien was awarded ambassadorship status at Alcon Brakes alongside the likes of Petter and Oliver Solberg, the discussion about a possible Pikes Peak application was had and that’s where the dream really started.
We were formally invited in February this year and the race was on to get our 1992 Subaru Legacy ready to take on the biggest motorsport challenge on the planet.
It‘s quite a challenge to cross the big pond together with the car and settle down there. How did everything go?
The car required several changes to be better suited to the extreme conditions of Pikes Peak. The start line is approximately 2,750 m (9,000 ft) above sea level, and the finish line is over 4,260m (14,000 ft). With no barriers and falls of thousands of feet in height, it’s an absolutely insane motorsport event. Oxygen for the driver, barometric sensors to control turbo speed and boost levels were some big improvements but the parts that would make the Legacy really competitive were already in place. In 2024 for the first time in 10 years the incredible Samsonas transmission fitted to the Legacy was changed. We moved to a much shorter ratio gearset and what an improvement that was. For Pikes Peak there can be no doubt, you have to use what you trust and that was Samsonas Motorsport transmissions.
Only one car at Pikes Peak launched on the start line of every single practice run and on race day and without any fear of transmission issues, that was us. 7000rpm, full boost and super sticky Avon slicks were no match for the Samsonas Subaru 6 Speed Sequential.
Tell us more about Pikes Peak – the format, the competition, the atmosphere. Was everything as you imagined it would be?
Pikes Peak is the scariest motorsport event there is. Where else is it recommended that you inhale Oxygen as you compete, where else can a race start at 30 degrees with glorious sunshine and end above the clouds in the snow!
The emotion, the stress, the anxiety, the excitement and the fear that you feel in this event is like no other.
And all this for one run, one single attempt at the mountain. This year was like so many others and the mountain called the shots. With winds of 80mph and gusts of 120mph the hill was cut in half. The finish line would now be at Glen Cove, the Legacy is all about the switch backs or the W’s where the gear ratios, the differentials and the car’s responsiveness are key and where our car could out perform the other in class but sadly that wasn’t to be and nature decided.
How did the Legacy cope with the challenge of the climb up the mountain?
A shortened course was far from ideal but that’s what we would face and with 20 mins to go we turned the boost to maximum, warmed the tyres and went full send on the lower section of Pikes Peak. A finish time of 4.28.395 would place us 21st overall and 3rd in class TA1, not bad for a rookie in car car bought for £500 15 years ago.
The success was down to having a team, the people that make Team Legacy are another level, their commitment and dedication is incredible.
Will we do it again?
We have to get to the top, don’t we?