Ducati storms to victory at Pikes Peak
American rookie rider sets new Pikes Peak record on a dealer demo bike, shaming several higher profile riders
An showroom demonstrator Ducati Multistrada 1200 ridden by Californian young gun Carlin Dunne has given the Italian brand its second consecutive victory in the premier 1200cc motorcycle class of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb.
The 11min 11sec (11:11.32) time posted by Carlin Dunne on a shop-modified Ducati Multistrada 1200 not only beat the factory sponsored Ducati riders of Greg Tracy and Alexander Smith, but also rewrote history making Dunne the fastest person to ever traverse the 20km race to the clouds on a motorcycle.
Aprilia, Honda and Kawasaki also scored category wins in the various motorcycle classes, and the top five times for other categories (including 750cc, 450cc, quads etc) are listed below.
Setting the fastest time for the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb was a massive coupe for Dunne, a 28-year-old rookie who seemingly knows no fear.
As the owner of Ducati Santa Barbara in California, he was fast early on in the event, scoring pole position after qualifying fastest and then went on to set a course record for motorcycles.
"We were definitely anxious to get out and race today," recounts Dunne. "When the flag dropped I got the holeshot and went for it. The whole week's worth of setup work with my technician Sam Swain came together and the Multistrada 1200 worked flawlessly to give us the win.
"With the help of Spider Grips, Dumontec, BrakeTech and Burley Motorsports we can go home with an all time record!" beamed an elated Dunne.
Second place went to KTM rider Jeff Grace who was almost a minute slower at 12:02.510, while third place was taken by another Ducati Multistrada 1200, ridden by Pikes Peak regular Alexander Smith.
The traction control and ABS systems that are available on the 150hp Multistrada 1200, not to mention the power adjustments, are ideally suited to the winding Pikes Peak course, which covers both dirt and asphalt sections of road.
Ducati will no doubt be confident of performing a three-peat in 2012 after such a strong recent showing at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. See below the video for more results from different categories.
2011 Pikes Peak Motorcycle Results:
1205cc Motorcycle
1. Carlin Dunne (Ducati) - 11:11.329
2. Jeff Grace (KTM) - 12:02.510
3. Alexander Smith (Ducati) - 12:12.920
4. Glenn Cox (KTM) - 12:15.000
5. Jeff Jensen (Ducati) - 13:06.000
750cc Motorcycle
1. Stuart Sinclair (Aprilia) - 11:27.396
2. Gary Trachy (TM) - 11:32.004
3. Marco Belli (Ouroboros) - 12:10.660
4. James McKay (Husaberg) - 12:14.212
5. David Johansen (KTM) - 12:47.292
2. Greg Chicoine (Kawasaki) - 12:05.527
3. Craig Gleason (Yamaha) - 12:14.628
4. Geoff Cesmat (Yamaha) - 12:28.030
5. Alessandro Scalabrin (Honda) - 12:33.862
450cc Motorcycle
1. Davey Durelle (Kawasaki) - 11:50.988
2. Joe Prussiano (Honda) - 12:11.046
3. Travis Newbold (Honda) - 12:19.445
4. Tom McCarthy (Honda) - 12:35.584
5. Mark Woodward (Kawasaki) - 12:38.374
250cc Motorcycle
1.Chuck Lee (Honda) - 12:39.366
2. Zach Warnock (KTM) - 12:43.072
3. Codie Vahsholtz (Kawasaki) - 12:51.183
4. Randy Belisle (Yamaha) - 12:54.669
5. Scott Warner (Yamaha) - 13:21.449
2. Craig Kilday (Yamaha) - 13:14.948
3. Troy Smith (Suzuki) - 13:35.923
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