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/127952
EVENTS By J im Bensberg Phot os by Rupert Berrington PIKES PEAK. CO, JULY 4 he "foreigners" invaded Pikes Peak this year, taking all but on e of the winners' trophies from the locals in th e 76th runnin g o f the " Race to th e C lo u ds ." Si x cl a s ses of m ot orcy cl es ra ced to t h e 14,l1D-foot sum mit of America's Mou ntain on the sa me d ay as the auto and tru ck di visio ns in an AMA Pro Am-sanctioned event. The Ama teur classes ran first in the daylong event, in between vehicles as diverse as 5/8-scale Legends Cars and twin-axle big-rig tru cks. First up the hill, both in qualifying and on race d ay, wa s Co lora do resident Mark Erickson, finishing the Open Amateur class in 14 minutes, 00.71 seconds - a full five seconds ahead of second-place finisher Tracy Smith on a Ho nda CR500. The Kawasaki KX.5(X}.mounted Erickson was a winner in 19lJ7 as well, albeit on a KX250 in the 25fu: Amateur class. That left it to second-year veteran Greg Chicoine, from Jefferson, South Dakota, to blast up the 1242-mile, 156-tum uphill IT courseahead of fast qualifierFrank Mannsaker, a rookie from Norway, in the 25Dcc Amateur class. Mannsak er wou ld eventually finish fourth behind Chicoine, Giovanni Bandierini from Italy, and ColOiadoSprings rider Tracy Iverson . (Above left) Davey Durelle won the Open Pro class at the Pikes Peak Hillclimb, riding his KTM to victory ove r Brian Anderson. (Above right) Destry Abbott won his first title at Pikes Pea k when he topped the 250cc Pro class. Abbott, who ls contracted to Kawasaki, was allowed to ride a KTM in the event . In the Side car class, bro ther s Pete and Scott W h itney sha ttere d th e previ ous Pik es Peak record on a beau tifull y prep a red H arl ey-Da vids on h ack w it h a tim e of 14:34:78, nearly a full m inu te quic ker tha n th e '97 record set by th e EML Honda team of second- place fin ishers David Krohn and Gary Cas so A la-second pe na lty assessed to vetera n IT ace Edd ie Muld er for alle gedly ju mp ing the start cou ld not keep the form er G ra nd Nation al n umber 12 from clai ming his first vict ory in the Vintage Twins class on his Dod ge-sponsored '67 Triu m ph . His tim e of 14:14.82 was well off the pace of Scott Dunlavey's record of 13:39.59, but he w as clearly unchal lenged as he ra ced past th e es ti ma ted 10,000 race fans on his way to the su mmi t. As th e a fte rnoon approached, rain clouds settled over several areas of th e course. Th e 250cc Pro s, led by fast qualifier and fou r-time cha m pion Chuck Lee from ~oIorado, sped off the start line und er om in ous w eather conditi ons. As th e fo g lifted at th e summ it , Destry Abbott, a Kaw a saki-contract ed rider w ho was allowe d to race a Vosburg Racing KTl\{, was declared the winn er, jus t a tick ahea d of Chuc k Lee on his CR25D Ho nda. Ab bo tt was clearly pleased with his first win in what was his th ird con secutive try, wi th a time of 13:15.23. Thi rd pl ace went to Co lo rado na tive Paul Zinke, wh o came from the seco nd ro w on a KX250. Fina lly, as th e rain mad e man y parts of th e groome d-gravel m ountai n hi gh way (which has no w been tr ea ted its enti re d istance with a new d ust suppressant called PennzSuppress, an enviro nm entall y fri en d ly o rga n ic su b s ta nce d evel oped by Pe nnzoil) s lick, the premier class of Open Pros head ed for the top. In a thrill ing race, Da vey Durelle nipped th e Wood -Rotax of Co lo ra do ยท Springs native a nd three-time wi n ner Brian Anderson at th e finish line u nder d e n se fog . Durel le, who h a s b ecome very p opula r w it h loca l fans, accom pl ished his " three-pea t" th is time on a KTM sponsored b y Vos bu rg Ra cin g ra ther th an hi s u sual w inn ing Wood Rot a x. When as ked if there w ere anyth in g else le ft to acco m plish on Pikes Peak, Durelle replied: "Absolutely. I'd lik e to br ea k th e record hel d by Clin t Vahs ho ltz." Th ird p lace wen t to Rick G unby, a Ca nadia n ent ra nt from Milton, Ontario, on a Wood-R otax. In all, foreign rider s rep resented six different cou ntries. In ad d ition to th e tr aditiona l p ri ze mon ey, the winn ers of the three pro fessional cla sses all recei ved contingency m on ey from Pennz o il , Mo ti o n Pro, Su perflow Pepsi, Wen d y's and Cri pp le Cree k's Mid nigh t Rose Casi no. And , by virtue of first -time mo to rcycl e-division s p o ns o rsh ip from Ba rne tt To o l a n d Enginee ring, the Pikes Peak racer s will -minute ESPN2 show be featured in a 3D 0 for bikes only. Pikes Peak Hillcllmb Pikes Peak, Colorado . Resu lts: July 4, t 998 OP EN AM: 1. Mark Erick.. .o n (Ka w ); 2. Tra cy Smith (Ho n); 3. larry Kleinschmidt (Kaw ): 4. Dou g Chestn u t (Yam); 5. Chris Hath away (Kaw). 250 AM : 1. G re g C hicoi ne (Ka w); 2. Gio va n n i Band ierini (Hon): 3 . Tracy Iverson {Hen): 4 . Fra nk Ma nnsaker (KTM); 5..Lawrence Kastner (Kaw). VINT TW : L Eddie Mul d er 2. Pa ul John son (Triu) ; 3. Steve Doyl e (Yam); 4. Don Adams ITri): 5. Joe BlackweD rr-o. SOCK: 1. Wh itn ey I Whitney (H-D); 2. Krohn / Cass (Hon): 3. Dohe rty / Brownlee (BMW) ; 4. Bakker/Tay lor rr-o. ( I(., w). 250 PRO, L Dest ry Abbott (KTM); 2. Ch uck Lee (Hon); 3. Pa u l Zinke IKaw ): 4. Mark Filler (Kaw); 5. Do n Bruner (Yam). OPEN PRO: 1. Da ve y Durelle (KTM) ; 2. Bri a n An d erso n (W-R); 3. Rick Gunby (R tx) ; 4. Sco tt Dunla vey (Ho n): 5. Rand y Triplett (W-R). 27