Shift Up Now Athlete Laura Hayes backed up her 2024 victory with a statement win in the 104th running of the Broadmoor Pikes Peak International Hill Climb on June 21, 2026.
Driving a Toyota Supra GT4 for TCB Racing, Hayes was supported by TCB Energy Services, Yokohama Tire, Encore Oilfield Services, Southern Transport, JTX Forged and Toyota of Colorado Springs, and was the only Supra in the GT4 Trophy presented by Yokohama class.
After missing the 2025 event, this year marked Hayes’ third attempt at “the race to the clouds.”
Practice began on Tuesday in the middle section of the notoriously unpredictable 12.42-mile, 156-turn course. With an elevation gain of 4,720 feet, racing conditions are known to be warm and sunny at the start, and ending with freezing fog or snow at the finish. Due to several delays on Tuesday, Hayes and her competitors only got three runs in, with Hayes clocking the fastest time in class.
On Wednesday, practice in the upper section began on the “Devil’s Playground,” located just above the tree line and known for its highly-technical, fast-flowing sequence of corners. Hayes’ first run took place at 5:15am in the dark. After her third run as the sun began to rise, she was second-fastest in class.
Thursday marked the start of qualifying in the lower section. With the fastest time in class—and bettering her qualifying attempt from two years ago by two seconds—Hayes earned pole position and would roll off 10th overall on race day.
On Friday, she was back to the middle section for practice, where she and her competitors got more run time. The preparation helped Hayes learn more about what she needed to do on race day and boosted her confidence heading into Sunday.
After practicing the course in segments all week, race day is the first attempt drivers get to connect the entire course in one run. Sunday dawned sunny with clear blue skies and ideal conditions for race.
Hayes had her sights set on a second GT4 class victory, along with besting her own record for the “Fastest Woman Up the Mountain.”
The first runs took place around 7:30am MDT, with Hayes being the 10th driver—and last GT4 car—to take her turn. She set the fastest time of the day with a 10:17.583, knocking three full seconds off her previous record, and finishing fully seven seconds ahead of her nearest in-class competitor. This also put her in the top 20 overall.
Hayes’ run looked to set her up for the “Fastest Woman Up the Mountain” title again, but was bettered later in the day by Emilia Hartford driving a Corvette ZR1 in the Time Attack 1 class with a 10:11.018.
To this day, Hayes still holds the record for the only woman ever to complete a sub-ten-minute run at Pikes Peak. However, her record-breaking run was set outside of the race weekend, and with spec modifications. Nevertheless, Hayes continues to break records wherever she goes.
“Months of prep and practice, early mornings, late nights, all came down to this,” said Hayes. “I couldn’t have done it without the entire team behind me, sponsors and partners supporting me, and all of the amazing motorsport fans and community.
“It has been incredible to watch this event continue to grow, even with such a long and iconic past. This year was full of fierce competition. Congratulations to everyone who made it to the summit!”
