K&N Official Sponsor of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb 750cc Motorcycle Class
- Jun 9, 2011
The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, or "Race to the Clouds," is located in the Rocky Mountains. The race course begins at above 9,300 ft. altitude and twists through more than 156 turns winding uphill over 12 miles to finish at the 14,000 ft summit of the mountain. Adding to the challenge, the race starts on pavement, transitions to dirt, then back to pavement for the finish. First held in 1916, the event is now on the international calendar of the FIA in addition to holding seven motorcycle categories from 250-1200cc. And, in this year's event, K&N will be the official sponsor of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb 750cc motorcycle class. The 750 class has produced the top motorcycle times over the past five years at the hill climb.
"We have been testing feverishly at Le Grange with Gary and Greg Trachy," said team Spider Grip owner Paul Livingston. "Gary is the most likely to win the 750 class and may still set top time for motorcycles. Greg is our Ducati rider and should win the 1200 Pro class and maybe top time if he can beat Gary. Both of them are long time K&N supporters."
"K&N has a long history at the mountain, and I can vouch for the use of the product - it is one of the most prominent products that we see used by all classes of competitors at Pikes Peak," continues Livingston. "Last year the 750 cc class produced the fastest motorcycle time on the mountain with rider Gary Trachy, and I know that he is doing everything that he can to better that time for this year." In 2008 Spider Team riders Greg Tracy and Alexander Smith took on the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb aboard Ducati Hypermotard motorcycles, and came away with first and fourth place finishes respectively. Last year the the Spider Grips/Ducati team returned to the mountain riding Ducati's Multistrada 1200S. Once again Greg and Alexander were successful, bringing home first and third place finishes. In celebration of that famous victory, Ducati recently unveiled the special limited edition Multistrada 1200 S Pikes Peak motorcycle. Livingston told K&N Race News, "It was such a surprise when Ducati let us know that they were going to make a race replica of our Pikes Peak Multistrada. We knew before the bike was released to the public and we were sworn to secrecy - it was a hard thing to keep quiet about! We are all quite proud of it, and I think Greg Tracy in particular feels the honor of being recognized by Ducati for his incredible win last year." The 2011 running up Pikes Peak may will be the last year of dirt if the paving schedule goes as planned. Livingston adds, "It is a little bittersweet for us as, we are all a bit nostalgic about the 95 year tradition of racing in the dirt on the mountain. But, the sweet part is the new paved section at the top of the peak. At our practice last weekend it was really fast and the riders were excited about their speeds there. In preparation for those changes to the mountain we did make a few adjustments to the motorcycles, including changing out to competition Olines brake calipers and Galfer pads and rotors. "For those interested," says Livingston, "The current winning bike, livery number 555, is now on display in Colorado Springs at the Carriage Museum on the grounds of the Broadmore Hotel. If anyone wants to visit it, we will have it on display for the next few weeks until it is time for it to hit the race course again in preparation for race week - June 21-27th." Find K&N products for your vehicle using the K&N application search then use the K&N dealer search to find a K&N dealer in your part of the world. |
