PPIHC: Carlin Dunne Sets Outright Best Motorcycle Time at Pikes Peak Tire Test on a Lightning Motorcycle

The competitors for the 91st Pikes Peak International Hill Climb have just concluded a two-day tire test at the Colorado road course, and it should perhaps come as no surprise that our boy Carlin Dunne has posted the outright fastest lap for a motorcycle during the tire test (the Santa Barbara native set the outright two-wheeled course record last year on his Ducati Multistrada 1200 S). What is surprising about Carlin’s result at the tire test is that he was on the Lightning Motorcycles electric superbike. That’s right, the fastest bike so far for 2013′s Race to the Clouds is a 200+ hp electric superbike that is refueled with solar energy. Petrol heads, eat your heart out.

Report: Indianapolis “Opting-Out” of 2014 MotoGP Race?

Talking to the Indy Star, Mark Miles (CEO of Hulman & Co, the parent company to Indianapolis Motor Speedway) has put some doubt into the historic venue’s commitment to host the MotoGP Championship. Having a contract to run the race through the 2014 season, Miles said that IMS might opt-out of the final year in its agreement with Dorna (IMS apparently has this option for a brief window after the 2013 Indianapolis GP). However while the news has focused so far on IMS’s ability to opt-out, both Dorna and Indianapolis Motor Speedway have options in their contract to go through with the 2014 round, and with a bevy of variables in the air, we may or may not see three American GP rounds next year.

2014 Yamaha FZ-09 – Three Cylinders of Naked

Surprise! America will be getting a 847cc three-cylinder naked bike for the 2014 model year, the 2014 Yamaha FZ-09. Replacing the Yamaha FZ8 in the Japanese company’s line-up, the FZ-09 is the first motorcycle from the tuning fork brand to sport the Yamaha’s new line of three-cylinder engines. The Yamaha FZ-09 comes about as the MIC is reporting its second-consecutive year of growth in the 751+cc sport bike segment, as well as increase in commuter riding over short-distance sport riding. With those trends in mind, Yamaha has punched out the displacement on its middleweight naked bike, and focused on giving riders a comfortable, yet stout, motorcycle. Priced at $7,990 MSRP, we think Yamaha hit the nail pretty much on the head with this one.

Trackside Tuesday: The Mind-Killer

In the past few years I’ve come to believe that, while superior physical differences (their reflexes and fine motor skills) are significant, it’s the mental differences that are the most interesting. I suppose anyone who has ridden a motorcycle even a bit beyond one’s comfort zone can appreciate some part of the physical aspect of riding a racing bike. For most of us, even the speed of racers in local events is impressive compared to our street riding. While the skills with throttle, brakes, and balance are on a level similar to the best athletes in other sports, I think that what really sets motorcycle racers apart is their ability to overcome fear.

Video: Still Think Electric Motorcycles Are Slow?

The progress in the last five years on electric motorcycles has been astounding. Taking their first laps around the Isle of Man TT Mountain Course, a 87.434 mph pace was the best an electric motorcycle could do at the prestigious road race in 2009 — a pace that was on par with the 50cc record set in 1971. In just five years after the first laps were taken by electric motorcycles at Snaefell, these machines have grown their average lap speeds by over 20 mph at the TT Zero race, setting a new record of 109.675 mph in 2013, and boasting a rate of improvement of roughly 5 mph each year since 2009. If hitting 142.2 mph down the Sulby Straight speed trap wasn’t further proof of the speeds these bikes are achieving, maybe some visual evidence will help support the notion.

Here’s Your Feel Good Moment of the Week — Now, What’s Your Excuse for Not Riding Today?

Darius Glover is a dirt bike racer. Like you and me, he lives to ride, and when he is on two-wheels he feels the freedom that only other motorcyclists can truly understand. The thing is though, Darius is paralyzed from the waist down. Where others would give up their dreams and this sport, Darius at the age of 15 instead pushed onward. No pity parties, no excuses, just simply a daily example of where there is a will, there is a way, and a reminder that you can achieve anything that you put your mind to. It’s hard not to get a bit choked up listening to Darius tell his story, but you walk away feeling uplifted after feeling his attitude come across the screen.

Erzberg Rodeo – Red Bull’s S&M Playhouse for Motorcycles

Any race where 1,500 riders start, 500 qualify, and only 14 finish, has got to be an epic competition, and considering the fact that the Erzberg Rodeo starts in the excavation pit of an Austrian mine…well, it takes a special rider to be enticed by such an event. One such special rider is Graham Jarvis, who was the first of the fourteen men to reach the 20th and final checkpoint. Taking 2 hours and 52 seconds to complete the course, Jarvis made the 2013 Erzberg Rodeo look downright easy. However, with one look at the race-day conditions from this past weekend, we know it was anything but.

Controlling the Uncontrollable – The Role of Ritual in Racing

While normally, MotoGP fans never get enough of seeing Valentino Rossi on TV, there is one shot they would (for the most part) gladly be spared. As he leaves the pits, Rossi stands on the footpegs, and pulls his leathers from between his buttocks, before sitting back down again and leaving. These rituals – part useful limbering up, part invocation of Lady Luck – are something many riders perform, in their attempt to exert control over themselves, and over their environment. In a fascinating press release – by far the most interesting we have received in many months – the Aspar team today provided a discussion and explanation of what riders are trying to achieve through the use of these rituals.

Up-Close with the 2013 MotoCzysz E1pc

Hoping to make it four wins in a row, it goes without saying that the MotoCzysz crew is working hard to close the gap to the John McGuinness and the Mugen team. However, having Team Principal Michael Czysz stuck back in the US, undergoing cancer treatments, must certainly add another level of motivation for the on-island MotoCzysz crew. Making time in their busy schedule, Asphalt & Rubber got to take some up-close photos of the 2013 MotoCzysz E1pc. The most obvious changes made to the MotoCzysz E1pc for the 2013 TT Zero race are the use conventional suspension pieces. Of course, it’s not a completely standard suspension setup, as MotoCzysz has developed its own adjustable triple clamp that incorporates tunable lateral flex parameters.

MotoGP: Max Biaggi To Test Ben Spies’s Ducati at Mugello, Michele Pirro To Replace Spies at Barcelona

Max Biaggi is to make a surprise return to riding a MotoGP machine. The former 250 and World Superbike champion will take a seat on Ben Spies’ Ignite Pramac Ducati as part of a one-day test at Mugello, as part of Ducati’s testing program, according to Italian site GPOne. Spies was scheduled to stay on at Mugello to take part in a two-day test, but after the first day of practice at last weekend’s Italian Grand Prix, it was clear to both Spies and Ducati that his shoulder was still too weak to ride a MotoGP machine. With work continuing on the Desmosedici, it was important for Ducati to get as much data as possible on their bike, and so Biaggi was offered the chance to ride the machine.

PPIHC: Motorcycles Shatter 10 Minute Barrier at Pikes Peak

08/12/2012 @ 9:41 pm, by Jensen Beeler20 COMMENTS

With the road to the summit of Pikes Peak fully-paved now, riders not only had to contend with learning the 156 corners that comprise the race to the clouds, but they also had to learn the new asphalt sections that were paved after last year’s race. Getting three days of practice and sunshine on the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb course, on Saturday the weather hit the reset button, bringing rain down on the mountain, which made the road very green for racing the next day.

The sun returned for Sunday’s set of races though, with the motorcycles leading the charge up Pikes Peak. As with the previous years, the talk of class records falling was again high on the discussion list, which is unsurprising since Pikes Peak has added new pavement sections each year to the course. Though, with the asphalt now going all the way to the summit, the big question this year was by what margin the records would fall, and in the motorcycle category, whether a new class of motorcycle would dominate the mountain.

With most of the field still comprised of supermoto bikes and a handful of flat trackers, the 1205cc class showed the most diversity in entries, with BMW, Ducati, Harley-Davidson, and KTM all represented. The PPIHC crew isn’t keen on full-fledged sport bikes racing on the mountain, relegating those entries that did show up into the exhibition class. Though many thought the sport bikers would dominate this year, it was the adventure-touring bikes in 1205cc class that would lay siege to Pikes Peak, in more than impressive style.

Shattering the 10 minute lap barrier to the summit, Carlin Dunne made a repeat victory and course record with his 9’52.819 run on the Ducati Multistrada 1200 S Pikes Peak race bike. With Dunne’s transponder failing to check in a final time at the finish, the entire paddock had to sit and wait for his result before a winner could be declared, since Greg Tracy also put in an astounding sub-10 minute run as well, with a 9’58.262 lap to the top — doing so with a vertebrae that he fractured the previous Sunday, shooting a commercial for Ducati & Audi.

With the motorcycles getting fairly good weather on the mountain, the rest of the classes were not as fortunate. With rain, hail, and snow reported at the summit, the car classes had to contend with the changing conditions, and a bevy of red flags, before they could get all their races completed. One of the longest hill climbs in duration ever at Pikes Peak, the day saw Rhys Millen set an outright course record of 9’46.164 in the Time Attack class on his Hyundai drift car.

Of course, the real feat is Dunne and Tracy’s times, which were the third and fourth fastest overall for the day, respectively — on fairly stock adventure-touring machines, no less.

2012 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb Race Results:

Pos.	PIC	Name	Lap Time	Speed	Hometown	Chassis
1205cc Motorcycle Class
3	1	Carlin Dunne	9:52.819	72.872	Santa Barbara CA	Ducati
4	2	Greg Tracy	9:58.262	72.209	Long Beach CO	Ducati
16	3	Bruno Langlois	11:05.342	64.929	Ajaccio France	Ducati
34	4	Eddie Tafoya	11:38.545	61.843	Chino Hills CA	Ducati
40	5	Michael Henao	11:41.686	61.566	Boulder CO	Harley Davidson
50	6	Jiri Heinik	11:51.967	60.677	Czech Republic	KTM
115	7	Norman Meyer	13:38.408	52.785	Conifer CO	BMW
135	8	Weston Orloff	–.—	0.000	Mukwonago WI	Harley Davidson
750cc Motorcycle Class
10	1	Gary Trachy	10:40.753	67.421	Orange CA	TM
15	2	Jeff Grace	11:02.472	65.210	Colorado Springs CO	KTM
28	3	James McKay	11:31.423	62.480	Dayton NV	Husaberg
31	4	Joseph Toner	11:35.449	62.118	Scotland	Kawasaki
42	5	Marco Belli	11:43.715	61.388	Varese Italy	Ouroboros
44	6	Mattia Riva	11:44.397	61.329	Maslianicocomo Italy	Husaberg
48	7	Ryan Oosterman	11:49.827	60.860	New Ipswich NH	KTM
59	8	Joseph Connor Toner	12:00.457	59.962	Scotland	Aprilia
74	9	Pierpaolo Vivaldi	12:16.133	58.685	Trevenzuolo Italy	SMR
78	10	Dan Harmon	12:20.855	58.311	Florissant CO	KTM
108	11	Lee Summers	13:14.639	54.364	Midland TX	KTM
450cc Motorcycle Class
17	1	Travis Newbold	11:06.618	64.805	Montrose CO	Honda
19	2	Greg Chicoine	11:12.312	64.256	Jefferson SD	Kawasaki
20	3	Daniel Berendes	11:12.970	Monument CO	Honda
21	4	Craig Gleason	11:13.782	64.116	San Marcos TX	Yamaha
24	5	Geoff Cesmat	11:20.195	63.511	Boulder CO	Yamaha
25	6	Jeff Delio	11:23.479	63.206	Littleton CO	Yamaha
26	7	Chase Guthrie	11:28.056	62.786	Mentone IND	Kawasaki
29	8	Darryl Lujan	11:33.566	62.287	Brighton CO	Honda
33	9	Teague Sawyer	11:38.399	61.856	Thornton CO	Honda
37	10	Cal Collins	11:40.749	61.648	Chandler AZ	Honda
46	11	Tom McCarthy	11:44.807	61.293	Des Moines IA	Honda
47	12	Donnie Bales	11:47.241	61.082	Murrieta CA	Honda
49	13	Greg Nichols	11:50.951	60.764	Boulder CO	Yamaha
56	14	Mark Niemi	11:59.234	60.064	Denison TX	Honda
60	15	Timothy Buhler	12:01.197	59.900	Pine CO	Yamaha
62	16	Eric Monus	12:01.823	59.848	Houston TX	Yamaha
67	17	Mark Woodward	12:06.625	59.453	Longmont CO	Kawasaki
68	18	Jim Cole	12:06.688	59.448	Parker CO	Yamaha
71	19	Justin Flater	12:10.889	59.106	Colorado Springs CO	Honda
72	20	Thomas Specht	12:13.906	58.863	Woodland Park CO	Honda
73	21	Doug Chestnutt	12:14.890	58.784	Littleton CO	Yamaha
79	22	Michael Kassebaum	12:22.869	58.153	Lawrence NE	Honda
83	23	Brandon Rader	12:29.197	57.662	Lees Summit MO	Honda
87	24	Ryan Radar	12:37.969	56.994	Lees Summit MO	KTM
90	25	Charles Ford	12:39.450	56.883	Colorado Springs CO	Honda
93	26	Donnie Burns	12:42.642	56.645	Colorado Springs CO	Honda
104	27	William Kitchens	12:56.462	55.637	Houston TX	Aprilia
110	28	Chris Carr	13:15.360	54.315	Atlanta GA	KTM

Tagged under: 2012 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, Carlin Dunne, Ducati, Greg Tracy, Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, PPIHC, race, race results, record

Comment:

wreckah says:
August 13, 2012 at 12:52 AM
can anyone tell me why sportsbikes are not liked on the mountain? also, if it is 100% tarmac, how come sportsbikes are not faster? is it too tight?
i mean, it is pretty fun racing these sit-up motards (i do trackdays on my 990SM too), but you can hardly say they’re perfect for road racing : weight, seating position, ground clearance, aero’s, power,..
Gutterslob says:
August 13, 2012 at 5:23 AM
@wreckah
Yeah, I asked the same thing in the previous Pikes Peak article a couple of days ago.
Wasn’t quite sure as I’ve never been to the place, but looking at the amount of aero and what little ground clearance the cars have, I’m think a full-on litrebike or something like an Aprillia Tuono 1000 would decimate the outright lap-times set by the cages.
Not sure how much they’d gain in the higher sections where the turns are tighter and the air thinner, but they’d make a helluva lot of seconds in the flowing bits at the beginning, me thinks. Maybe they should let John McGuinness have a go next year.
dwolvin says:
August 13, 2012 at 8:31 AM
I would bet that it’s because of the brutal acceleration that a race bike has means that they would be carrying so much corner speed in that the race officials fear becoming the new IoM TT, and they don’t want the fatalities.
Not saying it’s true, but that’s my gut feelign.
MikeD says:
August 13, 2012 at 9:29 AM
U know……….a couple of pictures of the other riders/competitors/machines besides these GLORIFIED Ugly Ducs wouldn’t hurt.
Sure, congrats to Ducati but they ain’t the only ones risking it going up the mountain.
It makes it look to me like a DUCATI PAID and ENDORSED Article…not the case ?
Sure smells like it.
P.S: I know u like Ducs…but c’mon.
Steve says:
August 13, 2012 at 9:31 AM
@ Gutterslob
Me don’t think so!
Rough figures:
Superbike: 220hp for 260 kg (with 80 kg rider) = 0.85 hp/kg
2011 Suzuki Monster Sport SX4: 910hp for 1170 kg (with 80 kg drider) = 0.78 hp/kg
Car specs: http://www.conceptcarz.com/vehicle/default.aspx?carID=19958&i=2
The car has a lot more traction for accelerating, braking and cornering, especially if you count the aero devices!
Fastest electric in at 10:15! (Watch out for the next years!)
MikeD says:
August 13, 2012 at 9:52 AM
@Steve:
Besides the woes and havoc that temp changes bring to batts…the beauty of it AND electric motors is that they don’t give a five flying frack about DEMINISHING AIR DENSITY.
Woody says:
August 13, 2012 at 10:00 AM
On almost anything requiring traction, the fastest car will beat the fastest motorcycle. The tiny contact patch on bike tires can’t give the corner speed that four car tires can.
MikeD says:
August 13, 2012 at 10:29 AM
@Woody:
+1. Proven Fact.
Jensen Beeler says:
August 13, 2012 at 10:29 AM
MikeD, if I did that, then you’d be complaining that this story didn’t have a photo of the bike/rider that blew away the course record and gave the four-wheelers a serious run for their money on the King of the Mountain title.
You must be confusing me with another blog that’s on an Italian manufacturer’s payroll.
MikeD says:
August 13, 2012 at 10:43 AM
@Jensen:
That’s why i said ” besides “… The winner will be the winner(he/she will always be given the utmost attention) … but he wasn’t the only competitor.
I don’t xpect a picture of EVERYONE that was there…but someone else besides the Ducs wouldn’t kill you.
That’s all im saying.
P.S: I always have something to critizice, one of my greatest shortcomings…sometimes taken with a grain of salt…..sometimes it has got me BANNED from other places… (^_^) hehehe.
Richard Gozinya says:
August 13, 2012 at 12:57 PM
@MikeD
If you’re all that interested in the other riders, you can always try Google. The guy on the Harley who placed 5th for example was interesting, a rookie rider, first time at Pikes Peak, on a bike he had 3 days with come race day. Not a bad showing for a rookie on an XR1200, up against MTS’s, Streetfighters and an HP2.
Gutterslob says:
August 13, 2012 at 1:18 PM
@Steve
I was basing my assumption based on the fact that an almost stock multistrada covered the entire course just 10 seconds slower than a highly tuned car. Not improbable that a supersport-spec 1000cc would make that up, considering the lenghth of the course.
Obviously, the cars will get faster next year, having acquired data from this even and whatnot, but I still see them beating all the production-based cages. A highly tuned electric in a Radical SR3 “Le-Mans style” chassis might be a different kettle of fist, though.
Speaking of Radicals, maybe we should see proper bike-engined Radicals or Westfields there in future. Those kits tend to rule the tight hillclimb events in England.
Jensen Beeler says:
August 13, 2012 at 1:29 PM
I’ve got about 100 photos to touch up on the flight home, that should help diversify the coverage.
RGR says:
August 13, 2012 at 1:43 PM
Gutterslob, I hear what you’re saying but I’ll bet you’ve never taken an MTS1200 out in the twisties. The bike might not have the hp of the top liter bikes but the handling is unreal. I doubt many could outrun me on my Multi; rider talent being somewhat similar. And my other two bikes are liter supersports btw. My only beef with the bike is the damn rider’s seat. I’m sure most other owners would disagree with me, but that is the most uncomfortable saddle I’ve ever sat in. Once I fix that, I’ll be very happy.
The only thing I wonder about is how they fixed the clearance issue. I’m guessing they’re running custom rearsets on the racebikes although I haven’t searched out any pictures to verify. The stock MTS runs out of room pretty quickly in spirited riding and you hit the pegs (and your feet) pretty easily.
AK says:
August 13, 2012 at 1:46 PM
Well they have Busa in a Sidecar class
adam says:
August 13, 2012 at 2:20 PM
what happened with audi rs5 sport. it was told to compete with multistrada..
Gutterslob says:
August 13, 2012 at 3:43 PM
@RGR
No, I haven’t run a MTS1200 on a course like Pikes Peak, or anything resempling Pikes Peak, for that matter. I’ll take your word for it, as I only have one bike (Speed Triple) which probably came with an equally uncomfortable stock seat (the angle/incline, not the padding, in my case) btw.
As for the pegs; well, they allow aftermarket rearsets even in the most amateur level club-race events I’ve taken part in, so I’m pretty sure it’d be legal to change em for something like Pikes Peak. Pretty sure they’d allow some sort of custom mounting even if the stock mounts didn’t suffice, since ground-clearance relates to safety to a large extent.
MikeD says:
August 13, 2012 at 8:38 PM
@Jensen:
Thank you Sir. Ur sure listen to your “audience”. LOL.
@Richard G:
(^_^) U saw that ? Sometimes even the Bitchy ones get attention…..ROTFLMAO.
RGR says:
August 15, 2012 at 2:55 PM
Hey Gutterslob, we have similar taste. I was the proud owner of an ’07 Speed Triple at one time. I had the optional gel seat on mine and it was SO much better than the stock saddle. I’d say the Multistrada handles better than the Speed Triple believe it or not (a bit more stable and you get even more leverage from the bar). Of course, I have the S version with the Ohlins suspension, etc. so it’s not exactly apples to apples. It also has more power. The Speed Triple is an awesome bike though, so I’m certainly not dogging it for anything. I had a blast on mine and really liked it a lot.
One nice thing about Colorado is that roads like Pikes Peak are all over the place lol! Riding here is phenomenal.
BSA bike says:
August 15, 2012 at 8:36 PM
There aren’t any superbikes because the rules won’t allow it. While cars have an unlimited class that is only limited by safety gear, the fastest bike class is limited to three cylinders and must have come from the factory with a tube handlebar, not clipons. No Panigale, ZX-10r, S1000RR, etc. No superchargers or nos. No slick tires, must have street tires. These are pretty severe restrictions for a paved course that tops out at over 14,000feet.
The only reason bikes got close to the cars this year is because snow closed the top of the course before the fastest cars got a chance to race. They ran a short course that was only 4-5 minutes long.
Of course the fastest motorcycles were ridden by the spectators and parked on the shoulder while dirtbikes went up the closed paved course on treaded street tires.

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