Giti Tire is returning to the historic Pikes Peak International Hill Climb on June 29 after playing a key role in last year’s electric division victory by Nobuhiro “Monster” Tajima and his “Monster Sport E-Runner Pikes Peak Special.”
Tajima, a legendary Pikes Peak champion, will be driving the 2014 Monster Sport E-RUNNER Pikes Peak Special in the 92nd running of the Pikes Peak event. The 2014 vehicle is based on last year’s machine with some performance enhancements, including specially designed 18-inch GitiCompete GTR1 slicks (340/710-18) instead of the 20-inch version used last year. The team this year will employ the CHAdeMO rapid charging station on site to charge the vehicle batteries safely and speedily. The E-Runner uses two GKN EVO eDrive Systems motors with a SIM-Drive controller and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) MLiX lithium-ion battery.
In the 2013 event, Tajima set a new electric record of 9:46.530 after Giti Tire engineers hand cut tread grooves into the 20-inch slicks that had been specially designed for the 1,000-horsepower vehicle. Their quick action was in response to the road becoming wet from a 30-minute rainfall that let up just as Tajima was getting his electric-powered vehicle in position at the start line. The renowned driver later credited the engineers’ quick action for giving him much-needed grip on the rain-dampened course.
With last year’s 9:46.530 time, Tajima surpassed the 9:51.278 mark he turned in during the 2011 race in a gas-powered Suzuki SX4 when he became the first driver to crack the Peak’s elusive ten-minute barrier. In addition to another electric division win, Tajima has his sights on the overall time record of 8:13.878 set last year when driver Sebastien Loeb smashed the previous record of 9:46.164 in the Peugeot 208 T16.
An electric vehicle utilizing ultra-advanced Japanese technology, the Monster Sport E-RUNNER Pikes Peak Special is sponsored by the Association for the Promotion of Electric Vehicles (APEV) whose goal is to preserve and realize a self-sustainable society.
“Giti Tire USA is thrilled to continue our support of the company’s global motorsports efforts at this year’s iconic Pikes Peak International Hill Climb competition,” said Armand Allaire, vice president of marketing at Giti Tire USA. “Involvement in motorsports events like Pikes Peak drives our engineers to constantly seek better technology solutions for superior tire performance. There’s no question that advancements made on the race track are incorporated into our everyday tires for the benefit of all our customers, including the GT Radial line which is carried here in North America.”
Starting in 1916, The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb is the second oldest motor sports race in America. The race is run on a 12.42 mile course with 156 turns that begins at 9,390 feet and finishes at the 14,110 foot summit.
Headquartered in Singapore, Giti Tire offers a complete range of quality tires and services, delivering to more than 100 countries worldwide and ranked 9th globally in terms of sales revenue. The company utilizes motorsports as a platform for fast track technology developments in material science, process and construction designs. These technologies ultimately find their way into the DNA of the company’s everyday tires for consumers.
Giti Tire has participated in hundreds of motorsports competitions, including the World Cup Rally Championship, the Asia-Pacific Cup Rally Championship, the National Rally Championship, the National Automotive Short Track Rally Championship, the China Cross-country Rally Series and more. In 2013, Giti was appointed as the official tire supplier for Formula Masters China Series (FMCS), a platform designed for Asia’s most promising young talent.