Not even the $25,000 incentive for breaking the 10-minute barrier in the 86th Pikes Peak International Hill Climb was enough to make a difference Sunday.

Only one driver, Nobuhiro Tajima of Japan, was able to better the 11-minute mark on a hot, dry and sometimes windy day on the 14,110-foot mountain. And records in all the car, truck and motorcycle divisions were rare.

Tajima was able to defend his Unlimited Division title with a time of 10:18.250 on the 12.42-mile, 156-turn paved and gravel road. Nevertheless, he was more than pleased with his effort, even though it wasn't close to the 10:01.408 mark he set last year.

Only one other driver, Paul Dallenbach, of Basalt, came close to breaking 11 minutes. He drove to an 11:00.944 time in winning his second consecutive Open Wheel championship and fourth overall in the division.

Tajima got off to a fine start on his way to winning for a third time on Pikes Peak, but, as he expected, the upper section of gravel caused a lot of trouble.

"Not a record, but I'm very happy with the way the car ran," said Tajima, who drives a 2008 Suzuki SL7. "The middle section was OK, but the top section was very narrow, some places very bumpy and some places loose gravel. I'm very careful about driving up there. The conditions were very hard for me, but I'm happy."

The top section also was the biggest trouble spot for Dallenbach.

"The bottom was good, as there was some blue groove down there," Dallenbach said. "But once I got to the top and once I hit past Devil's Playground, I was just all over the place. On this last corner, I was just spinning my tires and felt like I was wasting my time.

"Back in 1993 and '94, we had a lot of calcium chloride and there was a blue groove from bottom to top," Dallenbach said. "Since then, it has been quite a struggle, and that's why the old record (10:04 by Rod Millen in 1994) stood so long. The weather is out of everyone's control. But once they pave the road, the record is going to go down pretty fast. It is the top part where we lost so much time."

Clint Vahsholtz, of Woodland Park, returned to the winner's circle for the 11th time in 12 years in Super Stock Car, with a time of 11:45.499. Second went to the 2007 champion - and still the division record holder - Bobby Regester, of Divide. Regester finished in 11:58.76.

"The road was slick and loose and I thought I left a lot on the table," said Vahsholtz, who also has two motorcycle victories on the Peak. "But I will take a win over a record any day."

Said Regester: "Clint put on a whale of a battle. The mountain still rules all of us, but it's nice to retain my record."

Rhys Millen set a record with a car that hasn't run on the Peak this year, even in practice. He broke his own record in the Attack II (two-wheel drive) division, finishing in 12:31.61, beating his previous mark of 12:45.153.

"You can't be disappointed by that," Millen said. "I crashed the car at a drifting event last week and didn't have it ready until 10:30 (Saturday) night. The results are a credit to my crew. The tuning was not quite right but enough to do the job."

And as fate might have it, another Millen car came up a winner, this one driven by David Carapetyan in Pikes Peak Open, with a time of 12:32.176.

"It is absolutely incredible to win in Rhys' old car," Carapet- yan said.

"Three weeks ago, we climbed into this car (a 2004 Subaru Impreza), and if you had asked me today how I was going to finish, I would have said I would be thrilled to just be on the podium."

stockers@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5275

NUMBERS GAME

9 red flags for accidents and road conditions set a record and held up the day's competition. The defending Pikes Peak Open champion team of Brandye Conley and Nathan Conley had the most serious accident when they went off the road and hit a tree. Brandye was taken by helicopter to Colorado Springs with unknown injuries.

FIX THAT CAR

Lynn Cowan, who drove in Super Stock Car, crashed in the final practice Friday. He had said the car wouldn't be ready and that he would use his older car instead. But to the surprise of just about every driver in the field, he made it to the top of the mountain in the same car.

RADIO STAR

Leonard Vahsholtz, who has 18 victories in the Hill Climb and retired last year as a competitor, was the second driver up the mountain. At the top, he joined the radio broadcast team as a color commentator.

THREE-FLAT FINISH

Robert Lopez, running in Pikes Peak Open, came across the finish line with three flat tires. That, though, was the least of his worries. On the upper section of road, he hit the new concrete water channels and nearly flipped over.

"The car was halfway over, but if it hadn't been for the concrete, I think I would have been over the cliff. I was able to pull it back to the road."

HE SAID IT

"The road was really slick, and I'm happy to set the record with the conditions the road was in. Chuck and I had a great fight all the way. We got together five or six times, and it was a dogfight all the way to the top."

Mark Miller, of Highlands Ranch, who finished in 12:40.479 to smash the 250cc motorcycle record held by his friend, Chuck Lee.

Scott Stocker

RESULTS

86th Pikes Peak International Hill Climb

Sunday, at Cascade

Division winners

Unlimited: Nobuhiro Tajima, 10:18.25; Open Wheel: Paul Dallenbach, 11:00.944. Super Stock Car: Clint Vahsholtz, 11:45.499. Vintage Car: Doug Mockett and Angelica Garcia, 14:26.034. Pro Truck: Jason Voss and James East, 14:08.096. Time Attack 2wd: Rhys Millen, 12:31.61. Time Attack 4wd: David and Allison Kern, 11:48.434. Pikes Peak Open: David Carapetyan, 12:32.176. 250cc motorcycle: Mark Miller, 12:40.479. 450cc motorcycle: Joe Prussiano, 12:32.299. 750cc motorcycle: Davey Durelle, 11:42.991. 1200cc motorcycle: Greg Tracy, 12:06.602. Vintage motorcycle: Eddie Mulder, 13:27.949. Quad 450cc: Steven Tutt, 12:46.133. Quad 500cc: John Stallworth, 12:19.204. Super Moto 450cc: Gary Trachy, 11:51.865. Sidecar Motorcycle: Bryan, Allen Wenzel, 15:40.466. Sidecar Motorcycle Unlimited: Marlin Bruno, Jeandemange Sylvie, 13:19.194.