From a press release:

Preview Report: AMA Chevy Trucks Superbike Round 5

Track: Pikes Peak, Colorado

Track Length: 1.315 mile

Track lap record: 0’53.776 by N Hayden (01)

Situated high in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains, Pikes Peak Raceway will host round five of the AMA Superbike Championships and the class’s first single-race weekend since Daytona. A mere 1.31 miles long, Pikes Peak is the shortest track on the AMA road racing schedule ¯ half the size of most other tracks, with lap times under a minute.


The high altitude here, almost 5,800 feet above sea level, will restrict the performance of the engines but the fast, flowing layout of the track promises high speed action. Like all speedway ovals, Pikes Peak includes sections of banking in its road racing track, notably the front and back straightaways. The run off the front straight banking onto the flat surface of the first corner is never smooth. This is amplified by a dip, which can disrupt the bike’s stability. But once you get into the second turn the fun begins. The layout seems to suit riders with a dirt track history. The long left-hander, from turn one to the in-field bends, reminds Doug Chandler of running a mile flat track, but it causes concern for the HMC Ducati technicians. The long bend has some negative camber and the combination can be rough on tires. Riders will be conscious to preserve their tires, being banked over on the left hand side for so long. Dunlop has a single compound tire made specifically for this track.

As the riders head into the infield bends the action will heat up. They can take a variety of lines to pass a competitor, especially into the tight and tricky hairpin. Riders must hug the inside of the bend, picking up the bike at the last minute and getting hard on the gas to give them a good drive into the esses. This section doesn’t have a lot of traction so the bikes will be moving around a lot. Unfortunately spectator viewing in this area is limited as it’s all infield but this will be where a lot of the action will take place. It is the last place riders can make a pass before the esses, then it will be follow-the-leader until they get onto the front straightaway. Slip streaming won’t happen until they get further around to the back straightaway where they’ll be carrying more speed. And being a little over a mile long, Pikes Peak doesn’t have much of a straightaway.


The race is an astonishing 48 laps, which, for the riders, seems to take forever. As the bikes are rarely upright the riders get very little opportunity to rest, making it one of the more demanding races of the season. The short distance makes it a relatively easy track for bike set-up and technicians will focus mainly on getting the bike turning in turn two and through the esses plus creating a bike that will conserve its tires. Most of the data taken from races so far this season will be irrelevant at Pikes Peak. Only Fontana offers some similarities.


Rider fitness will play a key part as the high altitude will not only reduce oxygen to the engine, it will reduce oxygen to the lungs. Doug Chandler left for Colorado last Friday to begin acclimatizing himself with the thin air. He won there in ’99 and is looking forward to a good result on Sunday.