Race week kicks off for Pikes Peak International Hill Climb (with photos)

Dave Hennessey has raced this 1000cc Suzuki sidecar rig here before (Photo: Ken Bingenheimer)

There are 150 turns in 12.42 miles, with a starting elevation of 9,390 feet and an ending elevation of 14,110 feet. That's feet above sea level in case you're unclear.

It's the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, the second oldest motor sports race in America after the Indianapolis 500, and race week started today with tech inspection and rider meetings at the headquarters hotel in Colorado Springs. Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday will be practice days, Saturday is an off day, and the race is Sunday.

There are 11 classes in the race, ranging from super stock cars to vintage cars, quads, sidecar rigs, motorcycles and supermotos, and unlimited and others. Vehicles making their way through inspectioneering today included Mustangs, BMW cars, one Studebaker, BMW bikes, KTMs, and a whole lot more.

The Hill Climb has changed over the years, and with more of the road paved than ever before, this year top competitors are eyeing the magical 10-minute mark. The current mark, set last year, is 10:01.41. Now, 12 miles in 10 minutes requires an average speed of 72 miles per hour. Add in the 150 turns, many of them hairpin curves, and 1,000-foot drop-offs without guard rails, and you start to wonder about the sanity of some of these people.

Safety then is a huge issue, and thus the practice sessions and the many racer meetings. Speaking this afternoon at the rookie racer meeting, Sonny Anderson, former racer and 19-year race official, told the group that safety is such a big deal that "we'll just meeting the hell out of you."

Most importantly, he said, "Don't get caught in a hurry-up mode." If you're working on your bike and likely to miss a practice run,he said, that's OK. He told of one racer several years ago who struggled with his machine, got it running and hurried off so as not to miss a run and went straight off the cliff at the first turn, breaking his back and both legs.

In the beginning

The original Pikes Peak Auto Hill Climb was first held on August 10, 11, and 12, 1916.  It was conceived of as a way to popularize the newly opened road. The entire road was dirt at that time. The road has gradually been paved further and further, and will be completely paved in 2012. As the paving has progressed, race vehicles have shifted more and more toward road race types and away from the moto types. Ken Kyler, attending this year to wrench for the two sidecar entrants, noted that once the road is completely paved the motocross and motard-type sidecars now racing will probably give way to the F1 and F2 racing sidecars seen at tracks like Miller Motorsports Park in Utah.

Over the years the name has changed repeatedly and classes have been added and dropped. Motorcycle classes are now included but have been in and out several times over the years. They now make up about half the classes. While the cars go one by one, the bikes, sidecars, and quads race in groups, though the race itself is timed, so crossing the finish line ahead of someone else doesn't necessarily mean you beat them.

Because the road to the top of Pikes Peak is open to tourists, practice racing must be done early in the day. Sonny Anderson told the rookies they should expect to be up on the mountain at their starting points each day by 3:30 a.m., or 4 a.m. at the latest. Different classes practice on different portions of the mountain each day. On Wednesday the bikes, sidecars, and quads will run the bottom third, on Thursday they'll run the middle, and on Friday they'll run the top.

Fan Fest

Friday is also the day when Colorado Springs joins in the festivities surrounding this annual event. Downtown on one of the main streets, the Tejon Street Bike Fest is open to everyone and features a beer garden, live music, and many of the race vehicles on display.

Then Saturday is a day of rest and recuperation in preparation for Sunday. Racing starts at 9 a.m., with the cars going first this year. However, if the big boys trying for the all-time record deem changing weather conditions to be favorable or unfavorable, they have the option of saying "We go now" or "We go later" and the entire line-up shifts.

In order to follow this event through the racers' point of view, we'll be following Andrew Phillips, a first-time racer, on his BMW G450X, racing in the 450 SuperMoto class. We'll also be following John Wood and Dave Hennessy, who will be piloting the only two sidecar rigs running this year, along with their respective monkeys, Giorgina Gottlieb and Jeremiah Owsley. Stay tuned.

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