Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Events Pikes PeakIn atio alHill Climb tern n Eddie Mulder (12) leads Marty Lewis (210) and winner Craig Raygor (419) in the Vintage Twins class. . fiers Pete and Scott Whitney, on the Bar tels'-prepped 1200cc H-D, were nearl y b u mped from ac tion se vera l co rners fro m the start' line wh en their hack overtook the team of Bob Bakker and Mike Taylor. Former w inn er s David Krohn a nd Gary Ca ss b ro ug h t a n ew CBR900RR motor to po wer th eir EML machine, bu t it was not eno ug h to pass the nitrous oxide-powered V-twin of the Whitne y brot her s. A new class record was se t in the Whi tney s' run of 13:59.66. Durelle vows to return next yea r to a ttem p t a record-b reaking run on his reli ably fast Wood -Rot a x. Th e co u rs e sho uld be fast due to the application of a new org a n ic su bs ta n ce ca lled PennzSuppress, which bind s the nati ve grav el, making for a smooth and stable racing eN su rface. By Jim Bens berg Photos by Rupert Berrington 38 COLORADO SPRINGS, CO, JULY4 he 77th running of the "Race to the Clouds " saw 61 riders in five classes cha llenging the 156 uphill righ ta nd left - ha nd tu rn s of the Pikes Pea k International Hill Climb. It wa s a sunny a fternoon that gree ted the riders as they waited their turn to race up 12.42 miles to the 14,110-foot su mmi t of Pikes Peak, but a smattering of rain at the top canceled any ho pe of a new cou rse record for re tu rn ing cha mpion Davey Durelle, wh o still wen t ho me w ith hi s fou rth Pikes Peak win. Firs t to the su m mit in the 250cc Pro class was California rid er Greg Tracy, a former winner of the now-d efun ct amateur class, with a tim e of 13 minu tes, 17.26 seco nds. He d id it on a Yamaha YZ. Tracy bested 1995 250cc w inner and fas t qualifier Don Bruner, wh o eventually fi nis hed fift h on h is Apex Sp o rt ssponso red YZ250. Bru ne r was lea ding w he n he low -sided at the Elk Park righth a n d er. Seco n d pl ac e wen t to loc al favor i te a n d fiv e-ti m e cl a ss w in n e r Ch u ck Lee , o n his Rid g ew ay Moto rsp orts-sponsored CR250. Off-road racer Ru s sell Pea rson, a Pikes Pea k rookie from Ne vad a w ho inh erited last year's wi nnin g KTM from Destry Abbo tt, finished third. Next u p were the 500cc Pros, led by fas t qu alifier Greg Ch icoine from Sou th Da ko ta . The KX500-m ounted Chico ine led from the start and wa s nev er headed by Japa nese sensation Shuji Miki, who, despite setting the second-fas test qualifying time, fell jus t a few comers away from the sta rt line . Colo rado rid er and second -place finis her Bob Conway, who won the event in 1971 and 1974, was no ma tch on his Hu saberg for the smooth Chicoin e. Local rid er Tre nt Jo hn s on comp leted a personal-best th ird-place finis h on a CRSOO. In the 750cc Pro class, forme r Na tional nu mber 58, Davey Dur elle, who now hails fro m Colora do Sp rings, eclipsed t h e 1994 qualifying record of Clint Va hs ho ltz bu t w a s un ab le to b reak Va hs holtz's overall co u rse record on race day d ue to a br ief ge t-off in a righthand corner less than tw o m iles from the su m mit. DureIl e, o n the Wildca t Motorsports / Do nohu e H -D / Gene ra l Eng ineering Wood- Rotax , timed at 96 mph during qualifying, clocked a ru n of 12:52.12 on a 600cc Wood-Rotax, which gives him four co nsecu tive victories, more than any other rider in this top category of mot or cycle Hill Climb raci ng . Three-tim e wi nner Brian Anderson, also on a Wood -Rotax, was unable to cat ch Durelle despite his fall and finish ed second . Min nesota rider Rand y Triplett, on an Al Mu th Harl ey-David son-sponso red Wo od -Ro ta x, ca me in third . Durelle pick ed up $2917 in purse and co n tingency money from presenting spo nso rs Barnett Too l and Eng ineering , Crip ple Creek's Midnight Rose Casin o, Su perflow Dyno s, Pennzoil / Qu aker State and Wendy' s. While the rid ers in the Vintage Tw ins class d on 't race for cas h, -the action is u su all y p len ty fast - too fas t, it seems, for returning champi on Ed d ie Mul der, who reported ly d ro pped more than 70 feet down the side of America's Mounta in w hen he co m p le tely mi ssed th e right-h and corn er a t Elk Pa rk . T h e The 250cc Pro class beg ins its climb up the 12-mile Pikes Peak hill. Greg Tracy (555) too k the win over Chuck Lee (56) and Russ Pearson (3). alwavs co lorf u l Muld er, who wa s far ah ead of even tu al winne r Craig "Rip " Raygor w hen he cras hed , escaped se rious injury bu t was u nab le to finish the race. "Thank God for Shoe i," said Mulder after breaking his helmet in the fall. Raygor's 1974 Yama ha was nearly 38 second s ahead of second- place finisher Marty Lewis on a 1963 Triumph at the finish line. Fina lly, the crowd-p leas ing sidecars too k to the groomed-gravel roa dway in a n in verted starting order. Fast qu ali - Pikes Peak International Hill Climb Colorado Spring, Colorado Results: Ju ly 4, 1999 250 PRO:' l . Greg Tracy (Yam); 2. Chuck Lee IHo n): 3. Rus s Pea rs on (KT M) ; 4. Sco t l e e (Ya m); 5. Do n Bruner (Yam). SOD PRO: t. G re g C hi coi ne ( Ka w ); 2. Rober t Co nway (Hbg j: 3 . Tr ent Jo hn son ( Him ); 4 ",Mark Erickso n U(aw); 5. David Begctka [Kaw}, 750 PR O : 1. Da vey Dure lle (W·R) ; 2. Bria n A nde r so n (W ·R) ; 3. Ran d y Tri p lett (W-R ~ ; 4. Scott Dun lavey (Hon ); 5. Rick Gu nby (H-D). VI NT: I. Craig Raygor (Yam); 2. Marty lewis {Tri ); 3. Jim He isn er (T ri ); 4 . David Ud en (Tri ); 5 . Ioe Blackw ell (Yam). SDCR: I. Pe te Wh itney (H·D); 2. David Kro hn (Hon): 3. Da mon Dohert y (BMW); 4. Bob Bakker (Ka w) .

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