Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127849
HILLCLIMB CHEVROLET PIKES PEAK INTERNATIONAL HILLCL/MB ings, Colorado overa ll mot orcycle record held by 1994 w inner Cli nt Vah sh oltz . The Donahue Harley-Davidson-spon sored "S u p e r Dav e" Durelle, from Eden Prairie, Min neso ta, turned the fast time of the day w ith a 12-minute, 21.96-second run on hi s Wood-Rota x, a fu ll 23 se cond s a head of th e Apex Spo r ts-s ponso re d Wood-Rot a x of Woodland Park, Colora do, rid er Paul Zinke. Randy Triplett, from Lakeville, Minnesota , equaled hi s 1996 third-pla ce fini sh o n his WoodRotax some six seconds behind Zinke. Ca p t u re d o n r adar at 101 mph through the rel atively lon g Halfwa y Picni c Grounds stra ight, Durelle set a n unofficial top -speed record for the tw owhe-elers en ro u te to picking up $4000 in prize money for th e w in . An other $600 in contingency mon ey was award ed to the popular Durelle by Cri p p le C reek's Midnight Ro se Cas ino , Wend y' s and Mo tion Pro. Whil e a 12-mi nu te run may pale in co m pariso n to th e overall reco rd of 10:04.06 se t by th e all- whe-el-drive 900 h p To yo ta pi lo te d by Rod Millen in 1994, it still represents a hair-ra ising 60 mph a vera ge o n a un ique w i nd i n g course (wit hou t guardrails), s tar ting at an. altitu de of 9390 feet and risin g 4nO fe-et, past comers appropriately named "Blue Sky" and "Ragged Edg e." Compare the o vera ll mo torcycle record o f 12:21.13 set in 1994 to the 1916 winning By J im Be nsberg Photos by Tra c ks ide Photo ,. 20 COLORAOO SPRINGS, CO, JULY 4 econd o nly to the Indianapolis 500 in longevity, the annual Race to th e Clouds celebrated its 75th birthday on July 4 wi th mo re than 100 mo torcycle racers m aking history by joinin g an equal number of auto and tru ck competitors on a pic tu re-perfect day to ra ce to the 14,110foot summit of Pikes Peak . Billed as the "highes t and most spectac ular m otorsp orts e ve nt in the world," the Independence Day classic sa w " repeat winner s in fou r of the six motorcycle classes, w hich run separately fr o m th e car a n d truck d ivision s. Un like the fo ur-wheelers , which race o ne at a ti me agains t th e clock , t he mo torcycle classes are ru n in waves of five riders, providing spectators and the television audience a thrillin g spectacle as the y speed th rough the 156 groomedgravel turn s on the Pikes Pea k H igh way's 12.42-mile one- way course to the top of "America's Moun tain." Th e highway, open 365 days a year to the mo toring public (weather permitting), is o pe ra ted by the Ci ty of Col ora do Springs, which a llows the hill.climb o rganiza tion to cond uct the race und er a special lease ag ree ment with the Uni ted Sta tes Forest Service. Dave y Durelle, the returning Open Pr o ch a mp, ca m e to th e Peak for his sixth consecu tive try and gained his second win, bettering his 1996 time but faili ng by less than a second to best the (Above) For the second year In a row, Davey Durelle topped the Open Pro class at the Pikes Peak Hillcl imb. (Below) Chuc k Lee (56) and Destry Abbo tt (3) battle l or the lead In the 250C Pro class ; Lee went on to win, while Abbott took second. . ~ .I v ~