British racer and owner of Lifeline Fire & Safety Systems Jim Morris has set a new front-wheel-drive record at the 2026 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. Starting 35th in the running order, Morris piloted a custom-built Volkswagen Golf GTI to the summit in a record-breaking 10:33.104 minutes; besting the previous record of 10:48.094 minutes by nearly 15 seconds. One of the two competing front-wheel-drive Time Attack Hondas finished just 0.07 seconds behind Morris.

In preparation for the event, Morris spent three weeks familiarising himself with the 20km course, which comprises 156 turns and an elevation gain of 1 440m before reaching the 4 302m summit. He did so by driving the route in a rental car to learn the twists, turns and road imperfections, before making his first full-speed run of the entire course on race day.

Commenting on his record run, Morris said: “We set out over four years ago to design and build the ultimate front-wheel-drive car to tackle Pikes Peak and break the existing front-wheel-drive record. Today, we achieved that, bringing the record to the UK. I would like to thank everyone who has helped and supported this great team effort.”

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