CASCADE — Shoulders slumped and a long look wore on Nobuhiro “Monster” Tajima’s face on his 60th birthday.
The “Monster” wasn’t beaten. Rather, he was disappointed he didn’t break the 10-minute barrier on a wet and gloomy Sunday in the 88th running of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb.
At 10 minutes, 11 seconds, Tajima was the unlimited division and overall winner for the fifth straight year on the 12.42-mile course.
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Tajima said he didn’t experience problems, had new tires modified for the course and thought he drove faster than in 2007 when he set the record at 10:01. When he finished, he calmly sat in his driver’s seat, spending two minutes sucking air from an oxygen tank. After leaving the car, he kissed his 2009 Suzuki SX4, thinking he set a record.
When Tajima was told he was 10 seconds short, he asked: “Really? You sure?. . . I don’t know why (I didn’t break the record).”
Later, two cameras from his vehicle were detached and sent to race officials in a protest of his time.
Director of competition Randy Ruyle said Tajima lost his transponder in the final third of the race and once they showed him documentation, Tajima withdrew his protest.
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