Pikes Peak Hill Climb 2008 - Day 5

Confidence is preparation.
Everything else is beyond your control.

It had been six days since we left home. With three days of practice and a day of rest under our belts, we arrived at the base of Pike's Peak on Sunday morning with clean bikes, new faceguards and a perspective toward the day that only 120 or so other guys on two wheels would share. It was race day, time to face the challenge.

Competitors lined the auto road with their vehicles on display as a slow parade of spectator vehicles pushed up the mountain. By the time the access gate closed at 8 am, the estimated count of spectators on the mountain for the day stood near 15,000. Just like the crowds along the course, we had arrived prepared for a long morning of spectating and socializing while each of the cars took their position at the line. An atmosphere of intensity is a given on any race day, and as teams made their final tweaks, changed their minds, and changed their minds again, it was clear that the capacity to simply sit and wait quietly for a turn at the line was scarce.

The riders in the 1200 class didn't need to worry about missing their start. Of the 190 competitors, the only vehicles that stood between us and the end of a very long day were two rather intimidating Freightliners.

We watched a few of the early cars start up the hill under a perfectly blue sky with the morning sun warming our backs. By the chances that some of the drivers were taking on the lower part of the course, it was apparent that confidence was high.

Perfect is not a word usually associated with the weather on Pike's Peak, but Sunday was living up to its name. This natural phenomenon probably contributed to the high degree of optimism and courage among the drivers, some of whom began to watch their proverbial wings melt. Red flags, long delays and the thump-thump of rotors that did not belong to the news helicopter ate into the day.



At noon, patience was still in good supply at the TEAM MAX BMW camp and we found creative ways to keep ourselves occupied.

Graffiti is always a good pastime.Doug performed his best impression of the Wicked Witch of the West.And the bikes waited for their turn up the mountain.By 2 pm, we hadn't melted, but we were feeling wilted by the heat and stress of the day. All around us, the composure of the competitors was starting to disintegrate. We had been put on notice three times already for an imminent start, only to be called down by one red flag incident after another. Finally, at 3:45 pm, almost 12 hours from our arrival that morning, it was our turn. Our cheering section was in place on the mountain and Pete Canning (TEAM MAX BMW #52) stood behind the lens to document the action on the the road and on the sidelines.



The sidecars scooted by and the supermotos slid past before the first wave of 1200 class pros was released.


Joe Kopp, #3, who had been training with us all week, left Colorado Springs after practice on Thursday, flew to Greenville Ohio to collect an AMA GNC Flat Track victory and was on the line ahead of Max and Doug as they inched their Megamotos up to the line next to Tim Vesely and his KTM 950.



The green flag waved as enthusiastically as it had for the first car and we were off.

Doug and Tim went bar to bar up the entire mountain, staying within five or six seconds of each other at each split, including the finish. Doug made up ground on Tim on the upper section of the course to cross the line ahead of Vesely, securing fifth in class and top amateur honors with an elapsed time of 13:35.485.



Max caught short glimpses of the KTM vs BMW battle as he dropped his time from 2007 by over 20 seconds, finishing in 14:09.372 and seventh place.


Joe was in a class all of his own with the only HP2 Enduro at Pike's Peak this year, sandwiched on the line between Ben on his Megamoto and Rob Smith, clad in red leathers to match the paint job on his Buell.


The green flag experience was again something to behold.



The action between Ben and Rob Smith made Doug and Tim Vesely's match look gentlemanly. At the Glen Cove checkpoint, Ben's advantage over Smith was a mere 1.492 seconds. After almost ten minutes of racing, the margin was still just 1.43.



Pike's Peak is a race against the clock, but that's a hard thing to remember when you're a Pike's Peak rookie fending off a flash of red that pops into your periphery around every hairpin. On the top section, Smith eventually got his chance to pass when Ben teased the limits of traction and found them unacceptable. Meanwhile, Joe Warner was locked in tight with #13, Glenn Cox, at the ten and a half minute mark with a spread of only .93 seconds between the two.



Joe landed in the top 10 in class with his time of 15:36.332, finishing ahead of Ben who arrived a minute later in 11th place. Greg Tracy took the honors in the 1200 class this year on a Ducati, but was unable to beat the 2007 benchmark time of 11:46.47 set last year by Gary Trachy on an HP2 Megamoto. Trachy set a Supermoto division record this year on a YZ450 in 11:51.86.



For TEAM MAX BMW, the 2008 Pike's Peak International Hillclimb was an event filled with firsts and bests. None are honors that we can take home and place on the mantle except, perhaps, for a few photos to remind us of this unique experience.