Records Falling Fast On Pikes Peak! (43.2 degrees at the Summit currently) Two motorcycle racers crack 10-minute mark- 7 Motorcycle Records Have Already Fallen! Colorado Springs, August 12 — At the 90th Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, records are falling fast on the now fully-paved 12.42 mile course. Motorcycles set five new records in the first five events, in fact. Carlin Dunne (Santa Barbara, CA) broke the Peak’s ten-minute mark in winning the 1205 cc motorcycle with a clocking of 9:52.819. Runnerup Greg Tracy clocked 9:58.262 to crack the old barrier first. Dunne set the course mark for bikes last year with an 11:11.329. Marc LaNoue (Houston, TX) won the Vintage Motorcycle Division with a class record of 12:39.782; Jason Archuleta (Colorado Springs, CO), set a class mark in winning the 250 cc division with an 11:41.015 clocking; Travis Newbold (Montrose, CO) won the 450cc division with a class record of 11:06.618, and Gary Trachy (Orange, CA) set a new class record in winning the 750 cc division with a blistering 10:40.753 clocking. John-Thomas Wood (Adelanto, CA) and co-driver Chris Rizzo shredded their old mark in repeating as Motorcycle Sidecar Champions. Wood’s time of 11:41.406 buried the old mark they set last year of 13:09.040. Steve Tutt (Platte City, MO) broke the Quad Modified motorcycle mark with his clocking of 11:40.521, eclipsing the old standard of 11:59.021 set last year by Michael Coburn. Doug Siddens (Cedar Park, TX) triumphed in the motorcycle Exhibition Powersport Class, racing his 2009 Polaris RZR-X to the win with a clocking of 10:40.669. This division features UTVs, electric motorcycles, and Quads 750cc-and-up. John Groendyke (Enid, OK) drove his 1949 Cadillac Series 62 Fastback sedan to a win in the Vintage Auto Division with a clocking of 12:26.357 as the automobile divisions opened after Noon. Notes: Greg Tracy and Gary Trachy are actually brothers, but choose to spell their last names differently. The old PPIHC Motorcycle course record was the 11:11.329 set last year by Ducati’s Carlin Dunne in the 1205 cc division. This is the first time in the history of the race that the course is fully-paved, making the times faster and the chance of a host of records to fall today. Worth Noting: The overall course record was the 9:51.278 set last year by Japan’s Nobuhiro Tajima in winning the Unlimited Crown. He’s moved to the loaded Electric Auto division this year. How long is that mark going to last today? FLASH QUOTES: Carlin Dunne 1205 cc Motorcycle (Set new course record of 9:52.819 for motorcycles) “I got to say I’m really glad to be up top, and all my fellow competitors are up here so far, it’s allows me to breathe a sigh of relief. I know how quickly we’re going, and everyone’s hungry. We all wanted to set the first record on the new pavement. I’m glad everything worked out. I was actually pretty surprised when they told me that I’d taken the overall, because really, I didn’t feel like I had the best run, the course seemed a lot greener than it did on our last practice day, a lot less traction, so it felt awkward the entire time. There’s a lot more pressure on me this year, so I try not to let the pressure get to me. Really trying to do my best to focus, and calm myself down, so I didn’t make any mistakes, and it looked like it all worked out. It’s such a piece of American history this race, it’s cool to be a part of it. It’s cool to have your name on the trophy. It’s about as iconic as it can be, an iconic peak here, America’s race here, having a little piece of it is pretty cool.” Greg Tracy 1205 cc Motorcycle “Track was a little slick I had a couple close calls but I did what I wanted to do, break the 10 minute mark” “First bike to break the 10 minute mark, pretty cool” “The bike ran good though, the bike ran fantastic” The beauty about Pikes Peak is it’s a 156 turns that are ever changing…Literally it’s like it’s alive” “I had a really close call on a high speed corner, it’s one of those one’s where another quarter second and it could have been a disaster” Gary Trachy 750 cc Motorcycle “It feels great man just to break that 11 minute barrier for us in the 750 class! I think my brother broke the 10 minute barrier in the 1200 class so we’re stoked man, me and my brother made it up here and we’re both safe.” Course Well obviously with all the pavement it’s going to be a little bit faster, but really when you think about it, we really only added a couple miles of pavement, as opposed to last year. So the times are going to drop, they keep on going faster, and we’re stoaked. We’re stoaked to be here, Pikes Peak is an awesome place. Weather Not so far, but I can tell you my bike wasn’t running too good. I don’t know what the gremlins were, but after the halfway point it started spitting and sputtering, and I was just going, please make it and make it a good time, so I’m just happy to make it up here. Was it hard, endurance? Yeah absolutely, and you know what, we’re wearing like these tight leather suits now, opposed to what we were wearing when it was all dirt, so when you’re hunched over, you’re crouching to make sure you’re tucking from the wind. This thing doesn’t let you breathe too well, and then we’re wearing these helmets that are right in front of your face, so just to breathe is hard enough in this outfit, then when you add up the altitude that we have, it makes it really hard. How does it feel to have bragging rights for the next year? You know what, it always feels good to win, so you know, it’s a good deal. Marc LaNoue Vintage Motorcycle Thoughts on course… “To be the first guy up, and break a record, it was quite an honor…it’s a beautiful day, a beautiful mountain, you couldn’t ask for anything better. It truly is majestic here.” Advice to those at starting line? “The track is beautiful, boogie. Just go for it-hammer down.” Any surprises? “No, nothing. I’ve been up here seven years and, it’s just different…we miss the dirt, some of us miss the dirt, it’s going to be a completely different race for years to come, hopefully in a good way, it’ll be interesting to see what happens in the next couple of years.” How do you compare the PPIHC with other races? “There’s no other race like this. Nothing. 156 turns, 12.4 miles and you end up at 14,110 feet. There’s nothing like this in the world. ” Travis Newbold 450 cc Motorcycle “Fifth year, fourth podium, first win, which means a lot. I didn’t expect to that good this year. There are a lot of champions in my class that are really, really fast. It’s pretty good to get up on top.” (He said that he salvaged his frame and kind of built his own bike.) There were a couple moments, There was a hay bale that pushed me off, got right on the edge there and I kept the throttle on and luckily it balanced my bike right back onto the pavement, but it was as close as close can be. “This is my first win, so it’s a big moment. I’m stoked.” Jason Archuleta 250cc Motorcycle “It went pretty good, I had a decent run” “I have been working on this race basically for the past 8 months and I’m just glad I didn’t get second” “It was a little bit more slippery today and it’s colder up here than it was the last few days” “Everything up here is a compromise because there is an elevation change…Pick a set up that runs okay everywhere” Doug Siddens Exhibition Powersport On winning… “There’s no words to describe it. This has been three years of blood, sweat and tears to get to this point.” “It was hurry up and wait. All black car, black suit, black helmet. I was getting antsy down there.” “I started out with a 2009 Polaris Razor S, and had a crazy idea to be the first guy to drive up Pikes Peak with it. So over the last few years, and the spirit of the peak, I just built a monster…so, we’re here. We’re at the top today, finally. “The adrenalin is just ridiculous, you can feel it out of the top of your head and the bottom of your feet. You cross that finish line and emotion is coming out of every pore, and it’s just an amazing feeling.” “…I think we should do those donuts, those famous donuts up here…maybe we should take a bath in those or something.” John-Thomas Wood Sidecar class “The race was…I don’t have words. It was fantastic and terrifying at the same time. I was surprised at how well I had it memorized.” “The asphalt is a catch-22-you get way more grip, but the track surface is now narrower so you have way less room for mistakes and you’re going fast.” “Having the bikes go first was absolutely genius. There was a couple absolutely terrifying turns last year b/c the all-wheel drive cars take a completely different line than the side cars do.” “The fact that there are so many different classes here-cars, bikes, quads-the camaraderie you get because nobody’s really in direct competition, everybody’s like your best friend, it’s amazing.” On being first… “It’s huge. I wanted to be the guy to hold the sidecar record in the last year of dirt and the first year of asphalt, and so far – according to the unofficial results – I am.” On asphalt vs. dirt You can break deeper, you can hold more speed…everything’s coming up at you way faster. The sections where there’s a lot of spectators…you don’t have that in practice. So instead of green and brown, you’ve got a rainbow. You’re like in a tunnel of people. It feels like you’re going 150…it’s just a wild ride. Biggest challenge is remember where you’re going and stay on the track and staying calm. I told Chris before we went-make a mistake, forget it. Every corner that’s behind you is behind you. Just concentrate on the 2 or 3 corners and just go for it.” More, from a press release issued by Extension PR on behalf of Ducati: DUCATI WINS PIKES PEAK INTERNATIONAL HILL CLIMB FOR THE THIRD-CONSECUTIVE YEAR Carlin Dunne Earns Back-to-Back Victories and Course Records on a DucatiMultistrada 1200 S Pikes Peak, CO (August 12, 2012) Carlin Dunne dominated the 2012 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, setting the new course record for motorcycles today from pole position for the second year in a row on a Ducati Multistrada 1200 S. This win marks Ducati’s third-straight victory at the historic race to the clouds. Both Dunne and Spider Grips Ducati teammate and six-time winner Greg Tracy finished the race under the 10-minute barrier, which is a first for any motorcycle in the race’s 90-year history. Dunne crossed the finish line at the 14,110-foot summit of Pikes Peak with the record-settingtime of 9:52.819, beating his previous record of 11:11.32, while Tracy was less than six seconds behind, placing second with 9:58.262. “Today was an emotional day,” said Dunne. “The year of work the Spider Grips Ducati team put into preparing for Pikes Peak got us across the finish line in under 10 minutes, an achievement we’re very proud of. When we heard that we won and broke the record for the second time, I was speechless. The one-two finish proves the Ducati Multistrada 1200 S is the ultimate bike to conquer Pikes Peak.” Dunne reached speeds above 144 MPH throughout the mountain’s straightaways, and traversed 156 turns, ranging from hairpin, blind, decreasing radius, and multi-apex turns, while consistently gaining elevation up the technical 12.42-mile course. “Ducatisti around the world are celebrating the victory of Carlin Dunne and the Spider Grips Ducati Team we are all very proud,” said Dominique Cheraki, General Manager of Ducati North America. “Three years ago we chose the Multistrada 1200 S to compete at Pikes Peak to showcase its on-and-off road capabilities, class-leading ergonomics, handling, and performance. When we were alerted that the entire course would be paved in 2012, there was no doubt that the Multistrada 1200 S was still the right choice and breaking the record today proves this.” For more information about the Ducati Multistrada 1200 S, the Multistrada 1200 S Pikes Peak Special Edition, and Carlin Dunne’s victory at the 2012 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, please visit www.ducati.com. About Ducati: Founded in 1926, Ducati has been producing sport-inspired motorcycles since 1946. “Desmodromic” performance engines, innovative design and avant-garde technology characterize its motorcycles. Covering several market segments, Ducati’s range of motorcycles are divided into model families which include: Diavel, Hypermotard, Monster, Multistrada, Streetfighter andSuperbike. These authentic icons of “made in Italy” are sold in over 80 countries around the world, with concentration on the European, North American and Asia Pacific markets. Ducati competes in both the World Superbike Championship and, with an official team, the World MotoGP Championship. In Superbike Ducati has won 17 Manufacturers’ titles and 14 Riders’ titles and in 2011 passed the historic milestone of 300 race victories. Ducati have participated in MotoGP since 2003, and took both the Manufacturers’ and Riders’ titles in 2007.