Pikes Peak Hill climb 2008 - Day 2

Dirty Little Secrets

The key to being fast at Pike's Peak, or in any race for that matter, is to figure out something your competitors don't know and then use it to your advantage. As we attempted to sleep last night, racing quad motors screamed right through til dawn as they were tweaked and tested on trailer-mounted dynomometers in preparation for Wednesday's first practice. We've witnessed noxious concoctions of fuel, science-fiction style aero packages and artistic tread patterns that further hint at the high-tech commitment of many of the racers. Good luck charms abound, and decals on more than a handful of vehicles call to the power of a higher being or lost friend to oversee their climb.

The Quad lab:



Nobuhiro Tajima's Suzuki "Monster" will try to break the 10 minute barrier:



A K75-powered sidecar gets some last minute attention:



There's certainly a lot to learn at this event. So far, it's been Doug Morrison who has made the only scientific discovery that we're pretty sure no other team has yet considered: Potassium Feldspar. The significance of this tectosilicate mineral at the Pike's Peak International Hillclimb can't be avoided. It's the mineral that makes the granite on the mountain appear pink. That's the sort of useful knowledge you receive when you include a professional geologist on your amateur race team.



The mountain did have a nice pink glow this morning as the sun introduced itself from beneath the horizon. Motorcycles were assigned the lower section of the road for timed practice runs, from the starting line to Glen Cove.



The first 2.5 miles of the road is highway-quality asphalt. It's a high-speed, 4th gear pinned kind of surface with big sweeping turns to make any rider feel like a hero. As you climb, the road reveals some surprises. The exits to those big sweeping curves start to disappear and soon you're forced to commit to the turn, like you've never committed before, as the radius continues to decrease.



Just when you're thinking the curve has got to end any moment, you get another surprise: the sun, directly in your eyes.



The series of never-ending curves on asphalt end abruptly at the 10-mile marker, where the surface turns to something in between dirt and gravel. Since the cars have not run this section yet, the road is littered with loose, sandy shot. This is one of the sections where professional racers can have their chance at becoming amateur geologists by taking high speed soil samples. There's not much rhythm to this part of the course and a rookie soon realizes why so many racers keep coming back for more experience.

We see tarmac again when we reach 11,440 ft at Glen Cove. The end of the dirt signals the the end of our practice section and when the last motorcycle is up, we all parade back down to make this run four more times.



Our times are recorded for each run, which not only help us gauge how we're riding but will serve to establish a starting grid for the race on Sunday. Micky Dymond laid down the fastest section time of the morning at 5:19.956, curiously piloting a Husky 610 this year. Greg Tracy pushed his Ducati to the top of the 1200 class in 5:25.73. Doug Morrison was the fastest BMW, less than a minute behind the professionals at 6:10.57, with teammates Max, Ben and Joe right behind him in the class.



Our racing activity for the day was over by 8:30 am and for most of us, breakfast became dinner. The combination of travel, altitude, anticipation and the experience on the mountain had left most of our gauges on "E". We headed back to the hotel for some rest and woke up to find that dinner would be breakfast. We're all feeling refreshed and ready for the next practice session. On Thursday, we get to run the middle section of the course. We'll climb 1,340 feet over three miles of long, open straights that end in hairpin turns, without guardrails to obstruct the scenery.