This just in! The 90<sup>th</sup> running of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb will be July 8, 2012. Sadly, without me
Sweet! I have an annual club camp that is in the middle of June and it has always kept me from going to the race. Not next year though!! I am putting it on my calendar now and look forward to being there.
It (the pavement) has been a long time coming (10 years) and it will be a long time gone. But, it is time to move, completely, to the next phase for PPIHC. With 100% pavement, it will be a very different event. I'm looking forward to what the organizers have in store vis-a-vis rules, classes, etc. My fear is that they will try to stay with the dirt/traditional rules & look (no clip ons, etc) and will shun the road race applications/needs that the event is now. But, That is projecting. I'll wait and see. Rules are to be out in October, and I think registration opens Nov. 1, or thereabouts. I plan to be there again in 2012. Cheers,
..what a bullsh.t!! :eek1 why they did this??? so this race is NOT interesting for me anymore!! sorry!!
2011 was my first time to watch the race in person. Guess I'm privileged to watch the last race held on some dirt. Looking forward to watching it this year!
If a bunch of cars and bikes hauling ass up a twisty mountain road is not interesting to you, you might have a problem.
the sierra club sued the forest service/county claiming the dirt road and gravel from the road were clogging streams .. complete BS.. but they won on the road race aspect Im sure the pavement with be totally jacked up with constant snow removal leaving a not very good surface for superbikes.. also dirt and dust on the summit as there is nothing but dirt and no vegitation to hold it when it gets blown around.. I was going to try to make it ..we will see..
I heard they are having a exhibition race this year that is for sportbikes/streetbikes. There's some incredibly expensive entry fee and there's no prize money or trophy. But they are at least entertaining sportbike/streetbike racing up the hill. I'll be curious what shows up, and how fast they go.
...so why you think the pikes peak hillclimb is famous for us (europeans)??? yes- its this crazy race on GRAVEL goin up to bout 4000meters !! crazy drifts- special motorcycles and cars!! big us cars driftin on gravel at high speeds!? we didnt have this here! so thats what makes it special- even for us europeans!- this is why europ. teams and drivers were comin to the US!!! -like walter röhrl etc. - just another hillclimb on asphalt with streetracebikes and streetcars!??- no thanx - we have thousands of this HERE (in europe)- -maybe you get it now!? -THATS what was PP for us: theres a good statement- http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=vjG7AUvRxB8#t=64s DIRT IS FOR RACING- ASPHALT IS FOR SISSYS:::: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gijMCJIu2YU http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPHdRt6MY-8&feature=related
Raced PPIHC the past two years and had a blast doing so! Would have likely gone back this year again if the project I'm working on would allow me the time, and while it will be different I don't think its any less of an event. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o></o> <o></o> However, one of the big changes I feel is safety, for the worse, not so much the higher speeds that should be expected but the damn oil and fluid the cars spew on the pavement. In case you didn't know the bikes run the course last and the two years I competed there were at least 6 to 8 blown up broken down cars off on the shoulder scattered all the way to the top. More pavement = more possibility of oil and fluids.<o></o> <o></o> As an example last year, Greg Tracy binned it at the base of the W's after hitting fluid on the pavement (checked my helmet cam footage and was amazed how close I came to the same fate). Or coming around a corner fully pinned dropping down to the "bottomless pit" corner crapping your pants because there is oil all over the road and no way to not ride through it, thinking "how much do you trust that kitty litter?", at least someone made an attempt to safety that spill a bit!<o></o> <o></o> It's always been about the rider/driver racing themselves and the mountain and in that regard the race is the same and while the dirt is gone, and with it the sensation of having the ass end of your bike floating around at speed the whole thing is simply fucking awesome!<o></o>
Man I can't believe how quick things are approaching. Instead of trying to update the whole damned event, check out http://mylifeatspeed.com/archives/category/pikes-peak-international-hill-climb for lots of good video from many of the car team. The big buzz is having some of the vintage cars back for parade laps, and the electric car division. There is a slew of Unsers, and all-out record holder "Monster" Tajima has released some shot of his all-new electric car (scroll down on the link and you will see a video). Paul Dallenbach is back with a 1100HP open wheeled car for the Unlimited division, and I'd expect to see a new record from him. In the motorcycle division, testing has shown things very close between current record holder Carlin Dunne and previous mutil-time record holder Greg Trachy. Each was faster than the other in different sections on different days, and it's anyone's guess as to how this year's event will shape up. In my own class- the sidecar division- the field remains small, but close. Another "Super F2" sidecar like mine will be there, and will be piloted by 13-time Isle of Man TT racer Wade Boyd. The last time Wade and I raced together was more than a year ago on a tight race course in Las Vegas. He beat me on Saturday and I beat him on Sunday. There is really no telling what will happen there. I have the experience advantage with this being my 4th time to the Peak, but Wade has the advantage of being able to "read" a road he's not familiar with and still be fast. He has a slight power advantage, but I probably have a slight handling advantage. Everywhere there's give, there's take, so look for some action there. Also of note in my class is Barnett Clutches. They are sending out their hospitality vehicle and display, but more important is who they have as a rep... AMA hall-of-famer and record holding sidecar racer Larry Coleman. It's going to be awesome having that kind of history, and maybe it will spark some interest in running again at Pikes Peak (you know I'll be hammering him on that that whole time). Also new is a live webcast of the event. Bookmark www.ppihc.com for the live scoring during practice, and a live webcast for the July 8th race. Motorcycles will be launching first so I expect much less debris on the race course since motorcycles obviously don't dip their inside wheels off the course to make turns. With good weather it should be more record setting, and the first year ever the event is all-tarmac. Definitely a year to watch. Cheers, Johnny
You may have heard that the side of the valley opposite the toll gate is on fire. If they manage to get the fire out by the 8th there might be a race. There's nothing yet on the USAC news page but it hasn't been updated since the 19th. Look for news on how the fire might impact the race. I don't see any yet.
Yes I've seen nothing myself, and have gotten email updates from PPIHC today. I have friends that live on that valley (Cascade) and I heard flames were to within 2500ft of the highway. There are houses 2500ft from the highway. Watching the live feed of the news, I heard that no structures had burned. I also heard on a Yahoo article that 22 structures had burned (there are 8 different fires in CO right now). Hard to say, but I'm expecting that the race will go ahead, and I know Manitou Springs had it's evacuation order lifted yesterday at 8pm Mountain time. Watching closely for sure. -Johnny