VOL. 53 ISSUE 27 JULY 12, 2016 P113
(Top left) Ducati's Greg
Tracy (left) was Rennie's
Squadra Alpina race
mentor and provided huge
amounts of knowledge and
insight into Pikes Peak.
(Above) The Fan Fest in
Colorado Springs was
great fun with over 20,000
fans coming out to enjoy
the action.
with infinite intricacies, me trying to
do my best sponge impersonation
as the words spewed forth.
You wake early to ride Pikes
Peak. Think 1:30 a.m. early. You're
on the mountain by 3 a.m. and rid-
ing by 5:15 a.m. Just that alone is
uniquely crazy, let alone the race
itself.
Tuesday practice started with the
top third of the mountain between
Devil's Playground and the summit.
Devil's is aptly named due to the
fearsome nature of the blind, fourth-
gear bends that dot the landscape—
in this place more than ever, knowl-
edge is power. Some corners are
plain scary, especially the nameless
double left that leads to Bottomless
Pit, a corner you have to trust your
instincts on or the outcome isn't
worth thinking about.
I finished that day after getting
only two flying runs. A French side-
car detonated and coated this most
dangerous of places in oil, so the
organizers made the right decision
and called off practice. Annoyed?
Yes. Relieved I wouldn't have to hit
an oil-stained track? Absolutely.
For Wednesday, we left the
machine alone—didn't even change
tires—and hit up the second sec-
tion. Tuesday was a write-off and
the times didn't mean anything, but
Wednesday was a different matter.
This section was from Glen Cove
to Devil's and suited the point-and-
shoot nature of the Super Duke
more than the open fast sweepers
of the third sector.
By the third run, I was still four
seconds behind Kawasaki's Bruno
Langlois of Corsica. I couldn't
figure out what was going on, until I
realized I was using first gear for all
the hairpins. Switching to second
gear netted immediate speed, and
Devil's Playground, 5:15 a.m.
There is nowhere on earth
remotely like Pikes Peak.
