Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

~,- Pikes Peak International Hill Climb (Left) B rian Anderson (4 9) rode h is WoodRotax t o the 750cc Pro w in , less than a second ahead of Randy Trip le tt (2 8) in the 7 8 t h ru nning o f t h e Ra ce to the Clou d s i n Co lo rad o Sp rin gs. (Right ) The Swedish sid ec ar team of Anders Nilsso n (driving) and Tom Gri ndberg not on ly w on their first time out in Colorado Sp ri n gs , they set a new c las s record at the Pikes Peak International Hill Clim b . B y J IM BENSBE RG PH OT OS B y R U PERT BERRINGT O N COLORADO SPRINGS, CO, JOLY 4 n a day with m an y su rprises, two ou t of five co u rse record s fell in th e m o t o r c ycl e d iv i si on a s cou rse condi tions bed ev il ed c ar, tru c k and c ycl e co m pe ti tors du ring th e annual Pikes Pea k In t ern at io nal Hill Cli m b , th e 78th ru nni ng of the Rac e t o th e Clouds. The first to the 14 ,l 10 -fo ot sum mit o f Pik es Pea k in the 750cc Pro cla ss was Apex Sp orts/Sprouse Co n s tru ct ion /M a c T ools -sponso red Wood -Rota x r id er B r i an An derson , with a time of 13 minutes, 19.86 sec onds o ve r the 12.4 2 - m ile , 15 6 -t u rn cours e . The w i n wa s Ande rson 's fourth in the prem ier class at Pikes Peak; he also won in 19 81 , '9 1 and ' 9 2 . In 1 1 con secuti v e attemp ts , Ander son h as nev er f ail ed to fi nish th e event, and he no w has n ine to pfive fi ni she s t o his cre dit. Lakev ill e, Minnesota 's Randy T rip lett, also on a Wood-Rotax , was less tha n a secon d b eh ind A nderso n at 13 :2 0.84 , an d rounding ou t the podium wa s Canad ian r ider Rick Gumby . Polesitter and pre -race favorite D avey Durell e did no t start bec ause he was struc k head on by a p ickup t ruck th e aft ern oo n be fore the race as he was scouting th e public Pik es Peak highwa y w ith fellow c omp e ti tor Don Wi l son o n st reet - legal bik es. Whi le Wil son was a b le t o av o id the m i sh ap wit h the wayward downhill tr uck , Durelle was se nt t o t he h o sp i t a l w ith a b roke n righ t femur. Race officials p rese nte d Du rell e's rac e bi k e to t he start line to ho no r th e popu l ar four-time wi nner from Fountain , Colo rado . 60 JULY 2 6 . 2000' cu e I e (Above) Eddie Mulder (12) was the first Vintage Twins rider to reach the s u m m it. Next up were the 500cc Pros , led from sta rt to su m mit b y J ef ferson , South Da k ota 's Greg Ch ico ine, on a specially p repa red K aw asak i KX5 00 spo nso red by Champion Cycl e, JD's M ot o w o r k s a n d FMF Ra c i n g ; the r e tu rn in g class champ i o n had a 13 :30 .80 r un , ne a rly 11 seco nds ahead of fast qualifier D avid Vla sicak f rom Lakewood , Colorad o , o n a CR500 Honda . Denver's Trent J ohn son rep rised his 1999 third -p lace fin is h o n a CR5 00. N ed e r la n d, Col orado 's Mark Erick so n, who started in the sec ond wav e of fiv e riders in the 25 -rid er 50 0cc Pr o clas s , was t he only c asu alty of the d ay ; he hit a po thole on his KX5 00 in an experim enta l, pav ed section of the co urse near Cove Creek . Er ic k son is now recuper ati ng fro m tw o brok en ribs and a bro ke n c ollarbone. Do n B run er , who is usua lly see n hus tl in g a K awasak i ZX 6R ar ound a n e vv s r oad rac e t ra c k , set a n ew co urse rec ord f r o m th e pole posit io n for th e 250cc Pros on a n Apex Sports /Silkolene / T su ba k i- sp on sor ed Yamaha YZ250 with a time of 12:52.9 4 , ec l i p s ing C h u ck L e e ' s 1996 m ark b y n e ar l y 13 seco n ds . S e c ond -p la c e fi n isher and defe nd ing cl ass champ Gr eg T r a c y fro m L on g B ea c h , Californi a , o n a Y Z25 0 , also bested th e pr evi ou s r e c o rd - an es pe ci a ll y im p ressi ve f eat in v i ew of the dry , slick road condi ti ons on th e g roomed -gravel h igh way and the gusty winds t ow ard t he top of the cou rse. KX250 m ounted Paul Z in ke , fr o m ne a rb y Wo odland Park , Co lorado, to ok th ird. The Swed ish sid ecar t eam of driver And ers Nilsso n and Tom Grindberg domina te d pra ctice, qua lifyin g and race da y wh ile setting a ne w co urse r e c ord o f 13 : 53 .3 8 i n th e i r fir st attempt at the Peak on a Suzu k i GSX R 11 OO -powered sidecar rig . Nilsson and G r in d b er g , the 1999 Swedish Sid eca r Hil lcl im b c hamps , hu mb l y accepted their trophy and ac c o lades at the awards bru nch o n July 5. "Every peo p le in the USA , I want t o thank!" said Nilsson in his best En glish . Th e arrival of th e Sw ed es , who w er e sp onsored b y McDon ald s f o r th is event , was m et with graciousness from d ef end in g Pikes Pea k sideca r cham ps Pete and Sco tt Wh itney. Not on l y d id th e Wh itn e y broth e r s see t he i r re cord ma r k f a ll , t h e y we re un a bl e t o fin i s h t he race , w h i ch all owed Da v id K rohn and Gar y Cas s to tak e a second- place fin ish on th eir CBR900-power ed EML/ Honda . Mark McDade and J eff Atkins rounded out th e to p three on a Wasp Yamaha twin in th is crowd -pl easing ra ce. F inall y, Progress ive Suspension/ B a rn e tt / A&A Ra c i n g /K & N /S h o e i / M a x im a / M o t i o n Pr o / KK - b a c k ed Edd ie M ul der vowed no t to disa ppoi nt his spons ors as he d id last year when he landed hard in a rock p ile on th e sid e of th e Pik es Peak high way wh ile l e ad in g c o mfo r t a b ly . T h e alw aysvib r an t Muld er , f r o m A gu a Dul c e , Cal iforn ia , ab solutely bli stered th e Vint age T wins class o n hi s imma cu l at el y p r ep ared Triumph 750 twin with a time of 13 :47 .10, a full minute and 38 seconds ahea d of 199 9 wi n ner Craig Rayg or from Calhan , Col orado. J o hn Hornbrook , from Hous ton, cam e home thi rd on a Triumph. Also making h is first appearance on Pikes Peak , albe it in an American Speed A ssociat io n sto ck ca r, was fo r m er AMA m otocross and Supercross cham p ion Ric k Jo hnson , wh o ap par ently cooked the en g in e in his LS-I po wered Che v y Mon te Car lo b ut m a d e i t t o t he su mmit in a respectable 13 m inutes, 42.40 sec CN onds. Pikes Peak C olorado Springs, Colorado Results: July 4, 2000 250 PRO : 1. Don Bruner (Yam ): 2. Greg Tracy (Ya m) : 3 . Pau l Zinke (Kaw): 4 . Tim Lee (Kaw); 5 . David Wollaston II (Han). 5 00 PRO : 1. Gr eg Chicoine ( Ka w); 2 . Dav id Vlasi c ak ( Han ); 3. Trent J ohn son (Hon ); 4 . T racy Smith (Han) ; 5. Kenny Perk ins (Yam ). 750 PRO ; 1. Brian And erson (W· R) ; 2. Randy Triplett (W· R); 3. Rick Gum by (H·D); 4 , Don Wilson (Rtx): 5. Mick ey Alzol e (W· R). VIN T : 1. Eddie Mul d er (T ri ) ; 2 . Crai g Raygor (Yam ); 3. John Hornbrook (Tri ); 4. Ti m Buhler (Trl); 5. Michael Pearlma n (Tri ). SDCR : 1. A nders Nlls scn/Torn Gri ndberg (Suz); 2 . D a v i d K ro hn / G ar y Cas s (H o n ) ; 3 . Ma rk McD ad e/J eff A tkin s (Wsp); 4. Ralp h Porzelt/ Scc tt M cD a de ( N o r / Ws p ) ; 5 . Dem o n Dohert y / J im Brownlee.

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