THE RACE TO THE CLOUDS
P84
Feature
THE 97
TH
RUNNING OF PIKES PEAK INTERNATIONAL HILL
IN ITS HISTORY. RECORDS WERE BROKEN, BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY,
2019
BY RENNIE SCAYSBROOK
PHOTOGRAPHY BY LARRY CHEN
PIKES PEAK
Sitting in the hire truck, watching re-runs of
my ride from the 2017 Pikes Peak Inter-
national Hill Climb, it strikes me that I feel
dramatically calmer than in any of my pre-
vious attempts in The Race To The Clouds.
No one is looking at me. I'm locked
away in the air-conditioned comfort of a
Ram 4x4, taking final mental notes of the
course, waiting for my time to saddle up.
Finally, I get a little antsy.
Even though it's about 15 minutes
before my start, I decide the brain has
had enough study and I take my walk to the
Ducati Hot Grid, greet my Aprilia USA team
members, and take a seat behind my Aprilia
Tuono Factory 1100.
My close mate, Chris Fillmore, calls my
name from two bikes down the grid. We
lock eyes, give each other a thumbs up, and
simultaneously say, "see you at the top."
The silence is split as Germany's Lucy
Glockner fires her BMW HP Race. The wait-
ing crowd and the assembled team members
from BMW, KTM, Ducati and Aprilia give her
The highest
finishing line in
motorcycle racing
sees Rennie cross
it as a winner for
the first time, right
before tragedy
struck.
