This past weekend, amid stiff competition for sporting attention from the likes of the World Cup, Wimbledon and a great few days of baseball, one of the most exciting events in motorsports took place: the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, also known as the Race to the Clouds.

In Colorado Springs, Colo., racers across a number of 4- and 2-wheel categories tackled the 14,110-foot ascent, which is composed of dirt, gravel and paved sections of road -- much the same course originally raced when the contest began way back in 1916. The victor in the most closely watched category -- "unlimited," which as the name suggests allows all types of highly modified 4-wheel rides -- was the current record holder, Japanese racer Nobuhiro "Monster" Tajima. While there was significant buzz that Monster, thanks to a more powerful car, would break his own record of 10 minutes, 1 second (and therefore likely break the 10-minute mark) he managed only 10 minutes, 11 seconds in his Suzuki SX4. But that was still good enough for the win, his fifth overall victory in a row.

Over in the motorcycle divisions, Ducati emerged victorious in the powerful 1205 CC class, with rider Greg Tracy taking first and Alexander Smith taking third, both riding the awesome Ducati Multistrada. (Buell rounded out the top four in the category, with Walker Pew riding a XBSTT to a second-place finish and Rob Smith bombing up the mountain on a Buell S1 Lightning fast enough for fourth.)

Congratulations to all on another breathtaking set of runs. Be sure to check out the Pikes Peak site for news, videos and more results across categories.

[Source: PPIHC.]

Check out this video, too: