Today we ran at the starting line – going up to just below Glen Cove. The race organization is working with a different timing system this year and from this location we got to experience the very best part of it – Instant results! With a strong Wifi signal right in the pits we were able to log into www.ppihc.com and see the transponders record each run almost instantly. One of the very great things about this is that when the ambulance rolls, as it did again today, we can instantly tell that it is not one of our riders, because they have recorded as finished.
Also new this year is the method of qualifying. In the past there would be one single run which the competitors would be told was the qualifying run and those times would determine race day starting order. This year the entire day was qualifying and at the end of the day each rider’s fastest time would be used for that purpose. The PPIHC website is still showing only the last run of the day, but we have been given the final qualifying, Carlin is 1st off the line with a top time of 4:16:08, and Greg second with a time of 4:17:518. Right behind them is Bruno Langlois on the Street Fighter (his final run is showing 4:23.243, but I do not know if that was his fastest run). I have heard from reliable sources that we were the fastest vehicles on the mountain with a top speed of 143mph versus 142mph for Paul Dallenbach in the car. Sweet!!!
Given the challengers and these close times, it looks like Race day should be EPIC!!! Please follow along – there will be live streaming on the PPIHC website so you can be close to the action!
I am actually a day late in posting this, as Friday ran long. After qualifying, we cleaned up the motorcycles and took them to downtown Colorado Springs for an event called Fan Fest. Basically a street fair with a focus on the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, we had a great time meeting the race fans. Greg and Carlin signed autographs for hours – far longer than we had asked them too. It was a wonderfu fun dayl even though a bit long – from 2:45am until 11:00pm with no naps. So Saturday, we plan to take it easy…. More on that later.