No Victory at Pikes Peak

Victory Racing says it experienced some highs and lows with racing at Pikes Peak after Project 156, ridden by Cycle World Editor Don Canet, crashed in the second section of the mountain course and stopped running less than two miles from the summit of the Pikes Peak's finish line following an aggressive starting pace that proved the potential of the prototype engine.

Canet had qualified first in the Exhibition Class a few days before the race and was buoyed by qualifying fourth overall. Early on in the race, Don was posting speeds on Project 156 that were putting him in the running for an overall podium finish until he touched the slippery white paint in section two's Brown Bush corner, one of the tightest corners out of the 156 turns, resulting in a minor lowside that would cause issues later in the run.

Don was rolling again in 23 seconds and resumed his fast pace. In the third section he was back on race pace posting the fifth fastest split time overall. However, it was not meant to be and he had to retire in the fourth and final section of the course around 13,000ft elevation.

Canet said: "I was off to a strong start and competitive with the fastest bikes on the mountain. My disappointment is more for the team and how much work they put into Project 156 from the very beginning. The bike was working really well today despite being a prototype and being rebuilt after the practice crash a few weeks ago. To go fast here you have to ride outside the paint lines and I got caught out crossing over one. I never let go of the handlebars and got right back up again but unfortunately the bike stopped running in the last section. Overall, I'm really proud of the team's effort."

Victory Motorcycles General Manager Rod Krois said: "The Victory team didn't shy away from the challenge of racing Pikes Peak.

"Racing is the ultimate test for any machine and on the back of a podium at the Isle of Man TT a few weeks ago we were hoping for a strong result with Project 156 as well. We know that Don and the team were pushing hard to take a position on the overall podium and we absolutely support their commitment to racing as hard as possible at Pikes Peak this year."

Meanwhile, Pikes Peak proved productive for Honda. Jeffery Tigert's CBR 1000 was the fastest bike, climbing the mountain in 10:02.735, 16 seconds faster than Travis Newbold from Ronin could manage aboard his custom built bike. Third was Bruno Langlois on a Kawasaki in a time of 10:19.738.

This year's race was the 93rd running of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. Frenchman Sebastien Loeb's Peugeot 208 still holds the race record of 8:13.878 set in 2013.

Visit www.victorymotorcycles.com.au