As per the latest news, the future of motorcycle racing at Pikes Peak is in jeopardy. Concerned authorities are expressing their views to ban motorcycle racing from the event. This is a result of the recent death of Ducati Team’s rider Carlin Dunne astride the forthcoming Streetfighter V4 prototype.
The Pikes Peak Hill Climb Challenge is a historic racing event. This year it was its 97th run. Over the years, many changes have been implemented not only in the organisation of the event but also in the course of the event. For example, earlier, the track was unpaved which limited the types of vehicles that could participate. Also, the top speeds of the vehicles were less and they achieved lesser speed on the track because of the lack of tarmac.
Another rule of the game is that motorcycles with clip-on type handlebars aren’t allowed to prevent street-legal sportbikes – think Kawasaki ZX-10R Ninjas and Yamaha R1s – from competing. The organisers were worried that the ability of the bikes to hit near 200mph in a blink of an eye was too much of a risk given the 4,000-foot drop if things went wrong.
But in today’s world, we have motorcycles that can match the performance of a superbike and provide a comfortable riding position at the same time; have a single-piece tube-type handlebar. We’re talking about naked bikes. The Ducati Streetfighter V4 prototype is one of them.
Carlin’s tragic demise wasn’t the first fatality that we have seen at Pikes Peak. There have been a few in the past. What if there had been a fatality involving a car crash? Would cars be banned then?
We are still waiting to get an official statement from the concerned authorities about their decision on banning motorcycle racing in Pikes Peak. What do you have to say about all this?
