A dream campaign for Ducati's new V4 streetfighter prototype came to a tragic end as pole-sitter Carlin Dunne ran off the road to his death, just 20 yards from winning his 5th Pikes Peak Hill Climb.
Dunne and the Ducati team were looking to make a clean sweep of the weekend, having taken pole position and fastest times on the first three out of four sections on the 12.42-mile, 156-turn road racetrack. "There are no words to describe our shock and sadness," said Jason Chinnock, CEO Ducati North America, in a joint statement with Pikes Peak's Board of Directors. "Carlin was part of our family and one of the most genuine and kind men we have ever known. His spirit for this event and love of motorcycling will be remembered forever as his passing leaves a hole in our hearts."
Dunne had won the "Race to the Clouds" four times previously, including his record-setting run in 2013 aboard the Lightning Electric Superbike, marking the first time an electric motorcycle beat a field full of combustion bikes in a head-to-head race. His tragic loss marks the seventh death in the 97 years the Pikes Peak race has been running.
A win for Rennie Scaysbrook and Aprilia
Australian Rennie Scaysbrook took his first Pikes Peak win aboard a factory Aprilia Tuono V4 1100. Scaysbrook made a stunning debut in 2016, looking set to win it all on a KTM 1290 Super Duke R before crashing on race day way ahead of the field, losing 22 seconds as he jumped back on the bike and bringing it home to finish second. He finished second again to his teammate Chris Fillmore in 2017, and notched another second place in 2018, just 0.6 of a second behind Carlin Dunne.
It's a bittersweet first win for Scaysbrook following the loss of his highly respected friend and rival, but the culmination of years of hard work and resilience, and a new record time in the motorcycle category of 9:44.963.
The next motorcycle to finish was Germany's Lucy Glockner, aboard a BMW S1000R. Glockner took out the Exhibition Powersport category victory with an impressive time of 9:58.878, the only other motorcyclist to break the fabled 10-minute barrier this year.
The third bike to finish was Codie Vahsholtz, on a Ducati Multistrada 1260 Pikes Peak edition, with a time of 10:03.908. Zero Motorcycles showed that its SR/F electric nakedbike still has a way to go if it wants to compete against the gas bikes, finishing 9th among all bikes with a time of 10:46.223 with rider Cory West at the helm.
Check out an interview and video of Scaysbrook's run below.
Motorcycle Race Results
- Rennie Scaysbrook, AUS, 9:44.963, 2018 Aprilia Tuono V4 1100
- Lucy Glockner, DEU, 9:58.878, 2019 BMW S1000R
- Codie Vahsholtz, USA, 10:03.908, 2019 Ducati MTS-1620 Pikes Peak
- Robert Barber, GBR, 10:19.040, 2019 University of Nottingham UoN-PP (electric)
- Chris Fillmore, USA, 10:20.819, 2019 KTM 450 SX-F Factory Edition
- Akinori Inoue, JPN, 10:36.884, 2018 Kawasaki Z900RS
- Kamil Holan, CZE, 10:38.109, 2015 Ducati Streetfighter
- Cory West, USA, 10:46.223, 2020 Zero SR/F
- Stefan Dolipski, DEU, 11:11.915, 2019 BMW S1000R
- Yasuo Arai, JPN, 11:18.220, 1979 Kawasaki Z1000
Source: Pikes Peak International Hill Climb
