Ducati Reestablishes Pikes Peak Dominance

Ducati Reestablishes Pikes Peak Dominance

Carlin Dunne earns his fourth victory at the world-famous hill climb, dethroning KTM and reclaiming Ducati’s status as “King of the Mountain”

It has been a good couple of weeks for Ducati’s race department. The Bologna-based outfit has been achieving more-than-satisfactory results in MotoGP and World SuperBike, and Ducati can now add “Pikes Peak International Hill Climb Record Holder” back to its list of racing feats. Over the weekend Spider Grips Ducati Pikes Peak Team rider, Carlin Dunne reclaimed his record-holder-status when he completed the iconic race with a time of just 9:59:102.

Unlike a dedicated racing circuit, the 12.42-miles of paved mountain roads that make up the Pikes Peak course lack runoff areas and air fences. The course’s 156 turns feature a myriad of cliff drop-offs, making the prospect of overshooting a corner a potentially life-threatening one. The mountainous venue undeniably adds a unique element of excitement, drawing in thousands of spectators each year, and making Pikes Peak one of the most high profile races in North America. For this reason manufacturers are willing to pour an immense amount of money into their respective factory race teams in hopes of claiming the title of “King of the Mountain”.

Ducati has used the event as an opportunity to showcase the prowess of its Multistrada range. The Italian marque has achieved a total of seven wins at Pikes Peak, including in 2012 when Carlin Dunne piloted a Multistrada 1200 S to the first ever sub-ten-minute race time, creating an all-time course record that stood until last year. Ducati first competed in the “Race to the Clouds” in 2008, and has taken the hillclimb extremely seriously ever since. So last year when KTM’s Chris Fillmore set a new record aboard his 1290 Super Duke R, Ducati went home with its tail between its legs. But last year’s defeat seemingly served as motivation for Ducati’s race department, which went back to the drawing board and ultimately delivered the wildly potent Multistrada 1260 Pikes Peak.

“We did it. We took the podium,” exclaimed Dunne. “The Multistrada 1260 Pikes Peak proved as amazing as we all hoped. It performed flawlessly, giving me everything I needed to get up the mountain. Pikes Peak is never an easy race, but the weather cooperated and we clinched the victory for Ducati.”