Video: Bobby Unser – King of the Hill

“I just couldn’t see a French girl having the Pikes Peak record.”

Famous last words! It’s 1985 and the French girl in question is Michèle Mouton; the first woman to win a world championship rally, runner up to Walter Röhrl in the 1982 World Rally Championship and future German Rally Champion.

And have that record she did, winning the 1985 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb with panache and setting a new qualifying record, breaking Bobby Unser’s outright record and ruffling a few feathers along the way.

This drew Unser back out to the mountain in 1986 for the first time in twelve years. He had a Quattro of his own to drive and a crown to reclaim. This video tells the story, and provides some insight into a great character of classic motorsport – Michèle Mouton – and what Pikes Peak means to Bobby Unser.