In an age of rising insurance rates, the Pikes Peak International Hillclimb is changing, and a new team-up with Ducati shows it.
Unlike the Isle of Man TT, the motorcycle races at Pikes Peak have had relatively few fatalities, despite running for many decades. There are a few reasons for this; interest in Pikes Peak isn’t as intense as the IOMTT, the course’s gravel sections kept speeds down, and until recently, sportbikes were banned from competing (they could run non-competitively). Bobby Goodin’s death at the PPIHC last summer was the first motorcycle fatality since 1982, and only the fifth fatality ever at the race, including car drivers.
Considering the race’s hairpin bends that could send you shooting off a mountainside, that’s a fantastic safety record over the past 100 years.
But despite that safety record, there were rumblings of problems with insurance rates this year. True or not, the fact there were two deaths in the past two years (a car driver died in 2014), shows the race is dangerous. And now Ducati is stepping up to help new riders survive.
Ducati has announced a deal with Pikes Peak that sees them provide riding coaches to motorcycle racers at Pikes Peak, to share advice on the course’s ins and outs. They’ve assembled an all-star lineup, including Greg Tracy, Carlin Dunne, Micky Dymond, and Gary Trachy. All of those riders have won their class at Pikes Peak. Tracy and Dunne have both broken the 10:00 mark and won the overall motorcycle trophy on Ducatis. These guys are the best of the best on the mountain.
The Race Smart program is available to all Pikes Peak contestants, veterans or rookies. Hopefully, it’s a sign that the motorcycle program is alive and well at Pikes Peak, instead of dying off, as some were suggesting might happen this summer.
