In 2011, four pilots chose the Ducati Multistrada 1200 as their weapon of choice to attack Pikes Peak in the 89th running of “The Race to the Clouds.” Two would finish on the podium. Two would not finish… This is their story.

Featuring:  Greg Tracy, Alexander Smith, Carlin Dunne and Mark Cernicky.

Special thanks to:  Spider Grips Ducati Racing, Dumonde Tech, Race Tech, DynoJet, Super Sprocks, ARP and  CONTOUR Cameras for the onboard footage.

Ducati announces today its return to the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb for the 90th edition of “The Race to the Clouds”.

Spider Rider Paul Thede has set a new land speed record by becoming the first electric motorcycle rider to exceed
200 mph during the Bonneville Salt Flats Speed Week, Aug. 13-19, 2011.

Paul Thede of Race Tech at the Bonneville Salt Flats

The Lightning Electric SuperBike achieved an average speed of 215.960 mph with a best speed of 218.637 mph -
more than 35 miles-per-hour faster than the previous SCTA record of 176.434 mph, held by Ritches/Nelson set in August 2009.

Thede and Lightning Motorcycle’s record is recognized by the Southern California Timing
Association/Bonneville Nationals Inc. (SCTA/BNI).

In the required two run process, the motorcycle ridden by Paul Thede, principal of Race Tech and the developer of
the Lightning SuperBike’s suspension system, made a run of 214.209 mph, followed by a return run of 217.712 mph, with a top speed of 218.637 mph in the last mile.

The Lightning Electric SuperBike

Spider Grips thanks Paul Thede for including our grips on his technological advanced motorcycle, and salutes him for his new membership in the Bonneville 200 Mile Per Hour Club – the first Electric Motorcycle rider to be inducted into this august community.

“Our team was confident and excited to participate at the Bonneville Salt Flats, which is the ultimate proving ground to validate the performance of our Lightning SuperBike,” said Richard Hatfield, CEO of Lightning Motorcycle.
“We not only succeeded in shattering our previous record, but we confirmed that electric motorcycles will be an important part of our industry’s future.”

The Lightning Electric SuperBike features a Remy HVH250^TM electric propulsion motor, an Ener1 battery pack and additional enhancements.

Crew and Motorcycle

The 2011 Pikes Peak Hill Climb was a long hot day. We had a lot of delays. Some cars lost motors and oiled the road. One went off at Ragged Edge, a corner above timberline about 12,000 feet and landed unhurt about 100 yards down the mountain. Yikes what a ride.

The motorcycle division had a few riders who crashed. Two went to the hospital with
injuries but everyone survived the day. A lot of records were broken due to the new section of asphalt at the top section.

I was able to win the 450 class and lower the overall record by about 20 seconds. That also put me at 4th overall on the day. I was very happy to be able to do that with a 450cc bike. I had a good run with only a few “O Craps”

A special thanks to Spider Grips for providing a Pikes Peak 2011 Checkered Flag to all the class winners in the Motorcycle and Quad divisions. The best part was when Monster (the car guy who won the overall by breaking the 10 min mark) said hey were can I get one of those flags? He was bummed when I told him they were just for the bike guys.

All and all it was a great day and thanks to my sponsors we were able to put in a great effort. I look forward to building on this program for next year with the Kawasaki KXF450.

Great big Thanks to all my Sponsors!

Kawasaki Team Green
Jamie Williams
MotoAdventure Kawasaki
Apex Sports
General Engineering
American Bike Taylor
BRP products
Tucker Rocky
EME
Production Tool
Hinson Clutches
K&N Filters
Victor Circle Graphics
Arai Helmets
Scotts Performance
Spider Grips
Jemco Exhaust
Trail Performance
Contour Helmet Cameras
Monster Energy Drink.
DynoJet

Davey

Durelle Racing Products
www.durelleracing.com

We parked the Sprinter vans on a pretty steep angle along the side of the road, and unload the bikes in the dark. Because the race course is also a city park with set hours of operation, we have to be done by the time the first park visitors arrive at our location. So we drive thru the gates at 4:00am and start riding by 5:00am at the latest. We have to be done by 8:30-9:00am.

We warm the tires and try to keep ourselves warm too, in the 22 degree wind. We know the drill by now and head over to the riders meeting in plenty of time. Today Alexander Smith and Greg Tracy will be riding from Cove
Creek to the summit at 14,100ft.

The course is a mixture of pavement and dirt – when the race started 95 years ago not surprisingly it was all dirt, but since the year 2000 due to a lawsuit settlement, the road has been paved in alternating sections. It is just about completely paved now. This will very likely be the last year with any dirt on the course.

We’ve spent a lot of time getting ready for this day – since the race last year Greg and Alexander have been spending a lot of time on local tracks in Southern California just getting to know their bikes even better. They both wore out their leathers!

We also made a few tweaks to the motorcycles. We ran the Ducati MTS-1200 in virtually showroom stock condition last year, but we have made just a couple changes this year. We visited Galfer in Oxnard CA, where they fitted us with custom lines to our upgraded Ducati Performance Brake Calipers. We also visited DynoJet Research to install their AutoTune system which will help the motors at the extreme conditions and altitudes that we run. A DynoJet quick shifter may have found its way onto the race bikes while we were there too.

But today it was all about the mountain. After the our practice session, Greg and Alexander report that the new pavement is going to be FAST! It is close to the top in an area of tricky turns and long drop offs.  There is some
ice on the road near the summit but other than that, everything looks good.

Once the bikes are loaded back into the vans, we sight the first tourists on their way up the mountain. We head back down though on our way to the Mecca Motel – our favorite place to stay in Colorado Springs!

In honor of the 2010 win, Ducati will be releasing a special edition of the Multistrada – the Pikes Peak Edition. Here is a glimpse of that gorgeous motorcycle:

Tomorrow the alarm will sound again at 3:15am and we will be back on the mountain – but tomorrow will be in the dirt!

Hey Everyone!  Last weekend was rounds four and five of the GNC Flat Track series in Salinas, CA.  They hosted a really big, fast TT on Saturday and a short track on Sunday.

Rider Jimmy Woods #37 at the GNC Flat Track Series

We qualified third fastest which gave us a pole position start in the third heat race.  I came off the line in second behind Brad Baker #12 and had a good race with Brad and ended up finishing second right behind him.  Second gave me a direct transfer to the main and also the dash.

With my win in the dash I was confident and ready for the main event.  I didn’t get the best start and got pushed out in the first corner.  I had some work to do and by the end of the third lap I had worked my way up to fourth.  Then Rob Pearson #27 got under me exiting the right hander and moved me to fifth.  Rob and I went back and forth for the next couple laps, then we got tangled up in the same spot he made the first pass which let Sam Halbert #7 and Wiles get past both of us.  The next lap I got back by Wiles coming on to the front straight and the next lap Wiles ran into me in the last turn almost knocking me down.  Needless to say I wasn’t too happy about it and the next lap I ran the fastest lap of the race running him back down and then coming out of turn two the chain came off the bike.  I was really bummed, we were having a great race and really wanted a top five finish. 

Rider Jimmy Woods #37 at the Salinas TT

The Main event result was less than ideal, but we salvaged some points with the dash win.  I was pleased with that and was happy to have had the fastest lap of the race.  Our bikes are VERY fast and were working great, I felt like we had the speed all day so I was ready for the short track for some redemption!

SHORT TRACK 

The track looked great!  As soon as I looked at the track I knew it would be some great racing.

Short Track Action

Right from our first lap out the bike felt great and I felt at home on it.  The gearing was really tall for our practice laps so we made a big gearing change for qualifying and it was perfect.  We set fast time and were the only bike in the 12 second range.

We had pole in the first heat, I got the hole shot and pulled a comfortable gap to come away with the win over Sam Halbert.  Our heat race was the fastest so I would have pole for both the dash and main event.

In the dash I came off the line second behind Jethro Halbert #69 and the four laps flew right by.  I was unable to complete a pass on Jethro and came home second with Stevie Bonsey #80 rounding out the podium.

Jimmy Woods #37 making the pass

In the main event Wiles grabbed the hole shot with me in second  and I stuck right to his inside lap after lap, but couldn’t quite get up under him enough to make a pass.  I took a look behind me and saw that we had a big gap over  Halbert, who was third, so I started trying different lines.  He was getting off the corner great and I was faster in the middle so it made it really hard to get by.  with two laps left I went high and came close on the last lap, but lost it by a half a bike at the line. It was a great race and I was happy to get my first Grand National Main Event Podium.     

This weekend everything seemed to come together for us.  We were fast every time we hit the track all weekend and we have some great equipment and great momentum behind us for the rest of the season.

Once again thank you to to all of the great people involved in A&J Racing!  – Southland Racing, Digger 57 MEH CORP, Race Tech, Hostility Clothing,  Big Gun Exhaust, Bob Hill Motorsports, Rod Lake, JETT Tuning, Dyno Jett,  Comfort Conditioning, AAA RV, Gene & Gail Cummings, Motion Pro, Maxima Oils, PMP Sprockets, Web Cam,  Arai, Sidi, EKS Brand Goggles, A&A Racing, Spider Grips,  Fontana Radiator Works, West Coast Hotshoes, JGPhotowerks, SCFTA, ACT Leathers, Hinson Racing, Hooper Motorsports.

Beeeepppppp, doadooooloooo, honk honk, beeeeeeeeep beeeeeeeeeep, Beeeepppppp, doadooooloooo, honk honk, doadooooloooo, beeeeeeeeep beeeeeeeeeep, Beeeepppppp, doadooooloooo, honk honk, beeeeeeeeep beeeeeeeeeepppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppp.

It gets annoying reading it doesn’t it? Let alone listening to it all day every day. Indians love all sounds and the louder the better. Girls walk down the street with bells ging-a-linging around their ankles, children have them attached to their shoes. Teenagers love to walk around with the latest pop music crackling from their mobile phones. Cricket is blaring from fuzzy tv’s through out the city, overlaid with the constant honking from the traffic.

 When riding my Suzuki DR350 on the open road, you would think the honking would vanish and everyone would travel along together as one happy family, but its not as simple as that. With a population of 1.2 billion, everyone in India has to prove their worth by being greater. The easiest way to prove this is to have the loudest horn and drive incredibly fast. Not only do you tackle the roads with fast and loud traffic, but you have to share it with cows, camels, tuk tuks and horse and carts. Not to mention the traffic that has somehow made its way onto your side of the road and is heading straight for you!

With my faith only in simple local maps, I find navigating through a ‘small’ two million population village is a lot harder than finding the centre the night before. You find yourself becoming extremely clever in reading simple signs hidden amongst the squiggly foreign handwriting and completely comfortable at asking for directions, even though they might also be completely wrong.

I might be travelling alone, but I certainly don’t feel alone as I haven’t found an empty spot in India. After a chai break, I have to have the side stand down when I climb aboard my Suzuki DR350, giving it a good strong kick, to bring it to life. Within a few minutes I am surrounded by a large growing crowd, all of them have come to see a 5’2 girl completely wrapped up in motorcross gear get on her monstrous motorcycle. I cannot image what they must be thinking about me while they all simultaneously wobble their heads, as I wave goodbye.

Follow Danielle’s adventures on her website and blog here:http://www.motomonkeyadventures.com/index.htm

To start I want to let you know I had such a great time during the winter months hanging out in Florida about 20 minutes from Daytona at my mechanic Ryan’s house.  This was the first year I did this and from what I was able to accomplish training wise it won’t be the last. It was so great to have outdoor time where I was able to train on my bicycle, be in the sun and working not only on my training but all my sponsors as well.   The winters in Western NY are so tough and at times it could be depressing.  I think I found a combination that works for me and it should make for an awesome year both on and off the track.  

The difficult decision 
Leading up to Daytona’s opening round we prepared the best we could.  We had a difficult time deciding on what platform to be racing on and when we thought we had a handle on it things would change.  We sold my “A” bike from last season and that almost became a big mistake for us.  It left us with only our  “B” bike  which also was a 2008 model.  We would have no backup.    When we realized new bikes were not available it was too late to change and take a gamble on another manufacturer. After consulting internally with the team, our outside sponsors and other industry folks we trusted, we made the difficult decision to stay  put on the same platform and more importantly come to Daytona on an older bike knowing full well we would be underpowered and over weight compared to all the new 2011 models we would be racing against.  In addition, it meant we didn’t qualify for any contingency money which meant  we were racing only to get out of Daytona with valuable point for the championship and put on the best showing we could for our sponsors, team, family and friends.  It was a huge gamble since having only one bike meant a crash in practice, qualifying or race one could mean the end of the race weekend which consisted of two races that counted toward the championship. To say it was little crazy was an understatement, but there was no way we could get newer bikes by then and we had to do what we had to do and live with it.   My entire team was supportive and we went into the Daytona race week optimistic we could hang with the top teams and give the fans a show. The team prepped the bike fantastic.  All my product sponsors came through with new components and a few spares.  Our motor was rebuilt and ready to rock and everyone was ready to get it on. 

Qualifying
We got to the track and set up.  We had some new suspension parts put on, locked in some chassis setting and was ready for the first practice.  Rain made the first practice difficult and cut it a little short.  Once we got to our Q1 I was out there working alone and was around 1.6 seconds off the pace and qualified 9th out of 40 riders.  I wasn’t too worried at the time since I was feeling out the bike, suspension and new motor.  I felt I had the top speed to be up there shooting through the speed trap at 175 MPH but I was just having some problems getting off the corners.  

The next morning at 8AM we had our second qualifying round and while the track was a little cooler and somewhat damp I was able to shave another second off my best time of the day before and qualify second for the morning. The combined qualifying times moved me up on the grid to 7th starting position or a second row start.  While I know I could do better I was still satisfied and knew I could work my way up front quickly when race time came. The Supersport race one was later that day and my team made sure every nut and bolt was tight and everything was about as ready as it could be.  I relaxed a bit, watched some other qualifying and rested up for the first event. 

Race One 
On the start of race one I got a great start but unfortunately we had a red flag while I made my way into second place on lap one which caused a total restart.  On the restart I got pinched off a little which caused me to lose early contact through the infield of the lead group.  Once I got around the slower riders out-breaking them in the chicane I was just too far away to sniff their draft and they gapped me.  Alone without a draft I didn’t have the speed to catch up and ended up in the second group that was significantly off the pace of the leaders.  I worked my but off in that group but could only managed a 7th place finish after being drafted by a fleet of new 2011 machines.  I dropped another second but was still 2 seconds off the best time of the winner in the class.  I knew we needed to do something dramatic to the motorcycle since I was riding a controlled crash for most of race one. 

Race Two 
The team and I spent a lot of time discussing what was wrong and where on the track we needed to make up time in order to get closer to the front group.  We consulted our suspension folks, our rider coach and my mentor Jason Pridmore and other trusted third parties in order to get some consensus on what to do.  It was a tough decision.   We looked back on other situations such as last years New Jersey Motorsports Park where in race two we made such drastic changes and ended up with our first win.  We decided to do the same and go for it.  With the changes made we got a good night sleep and waited to take to the warm up the next morning.  In the warm up I felt good, made another small change and waited for race two to start.  I knew I was not going to leave anything on the track and was going for it.  On the start I got off the line and worked my way into the third spot hanging with the lead group.  Four of us dropped the rest of the field after putting down 52′s on the second lap almost two seconds faster than the rest of the pack.  I was truly hanging on for dear life since I was unable to jump off the corners and had to dive deep in to each corner hard on the brakes in order to close each gap that the top three would pull.  I was getting yanked everywhere except on the brakes and it was just a matter of time before my super aggressive riding was going to catch up with me.  It did on lap seven going into turn one where I had an big moment deep and hard on the brakes and slid up in there a little too deep. It gave the rest of the lead group an advantage as they started to break away from me through the in field leaving me alone in fourth place some eight to ten seconds ahead of the second group.  With three laps to go I just put my head down and wanted to get out of there with fourth place points.  But as they say, in racing anything can happen, and on the last lap through the chicane it did.  The third place rider must of lost it and when I came through to get on the banking I knew I was podium bound.  I put my head down and brought it home to a cheering crew, team and sponsors.  It was awesome!

James Risploi on the podium at Daytona

My sponsors were so excited. ANT Racings David Ashi was so pumped as was my teams mechanics Ryan and Dustin.  Star Schools Jason Pridmore was right there with a hug.  The guys from Monster Energy, Dainese, AGV and even Mike, Dee and Jessica Lee from Techmounts were in victory lane cheering me on.  But what was really awesome was to know the folks from the NationalGuard.com were there and I could see them all from the podium.   The first thing I remember on the podium was giving thanks to the men and women who fight to provide us all our freedom to do what we love to do and I was so grateful that all my sponsors saw enough in my character, my team and our combined abilities to invest in us this year.   We took a huge gamble coming to Daytona with one bike, an older one at that. To come out second in the points with a podium as well is just icing on the cake.  It was a team effort for sure. I also want to thank my dad.  Not only for all the support, but before the weekend he gave me a pendent gift.  It was a charm with a quote from Winston Churchill that said, Never, Never, Never Give Up.  That pendent and saying will be with me for life.  Our weekend was an example of a young team that had the odds stacked against them  but by never giving up we managed to break through and have an awesome Daytona week.  Now the team and I have enormous momentum on our side going into the next race.  I can’t wait to do it all over again.

Till next time…do what I like to do GO FASTER…

As Paul says “My spring is off to a good start with a weekend of firsts ….
First time for me jumping in Columbus Georgia,
First time for me jumping at an airshow
and First time for me jumping a moving plane!”

Jumping over Pilot Skip Stewart at the Georgia Air Show 2011

Starting with Jason DiSalvo – winner of the Daytona 200. Rider Jason DiSalvo made excellet use of a two hour red flag with an engine change and then made a 15-lap sprint to win the 70th Daytona 200 AMA Pro Daytona SportBike race at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday.

“After what the team went through today with everything with the engine, those guys worked so hard,” DiSalvo said. “That was probably the biggest thrash in all of motorcycle history to get that bike back together and ready to rock on time to start. It’s just amazing. I’m almost speechless as to how I feel about winning this race. I don’t think it has sunk in yet.”

Also at Daytona this past weekend. Flat Track rider Sammy Halbert hung it out on the short track to win a double!  By winning all the points-paying races this week, Halbert leaped to a 16- point lead only two races into the 2011 AMA Pro Harley-Davidson Insurance Flat Track Championship.
“That’s just the way we have to run, flat out and hope for the best,” said Halbert. “I didn’t get that great of a start, but I was able to get to the front pretty quick. Then I just had to stay consistent.”

Continuing the Daytona crush, special mention to riders James Rispoli and Chad Cose. James Rispoli earned a third place finish in the AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport Class.  James says  ”Man this was an awesome weekend.  I knew I had the ability and I knew we had to find a way to ride my equipment over the edge to stay with these guys. I just kept my head down not making a mistake to take the last spot on the podium.  I want to say a huge thank you to my team and crew who totally believe in my ability and always give me the best they can to work with.”

We also want to give a shout out to Spider Grips Rider Chad Cose who finished his best Expert class finish so far in his young career with a 8th place finish in the Grand National Singles Daytona II event.

And finally, noting that Daytona was not the only place to find top level racing this past weekend, we are pleased to congratulate Spider Rider Brandon Brown who led his team to 1st overall ATV in the Tecate Score San Filipe 250.

Brandon Brown, Umatilla, Ore., led his team to the Overall ATV and his third SCORE Class 24 victory in the last four SCORE Baja races on a Honda TRX450R. Brown, the reigning SCORE Overall ATV and Class 24 season point champion, split the riding time fairly equally with co-riders Jorie Williams, Longview, Wash./Kenny Sanford, Tacoma, Wash./Robbie Mitchell, Price, Utah. They covered the course in 6:17:13, averaging 40.10mph to defeat a field of 27 Pro ATVs that started the race.

First Overall ATV at the Tecate 250