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DUCATI RULES THE DIRT AT PIKES PEAK
Privateer effort wins on stock Hypermotard
Cupertino CA (23 July 2008) – Ducati North America is proud to officially announce its victory at the 86th annual Pikes Peak International Hill Climb; on a customer spec Hypermotard.
Greg Trachy won the 1200cc motorcycle class and took fourth overall on the Ducati Hypermotard 1100 S; a motorcycle in stock trim with Ducati Performance accessories. The win was significant as this year marked the return of stiff manufacturer competition. Against the 119 motorcycles attempting to tackle the Peak, Greg rode the stock Hypermotard to victory over Andrea Padovani and Christian Lancellotti of the factory Aprilia team from Italy. Greg also overcame stiff competition from noteworthy riders like KTM mounted Marco Belli, the BMW of Douglas Morrison and Greg’s own teammate Alexander Smith - the son of the legendary Malcolm Smith - who had a brilliant ride to fourth in his first ever race aboard a street based motorcycle.
The idea to race the Hypermotard started innocently enough almost a year ago at Pike's Peak. While attending the July event, Becca Livingston visited the local Ducati dealer where she first saw the Hypermotard in person; by October the bike she was dreaming about was hers. Becca, with her husband Paul at the controls, were adding to their thousands of miles riding two-up when they came to the realization that this motorcycle could be a contender on the mountain. Over the next few months and repeated verification from some very qualified friends, the decision was made to officially enter the Ducati in the Pike's Peak event.
For the full story of Ducati’s victory at Pikes Peak; please visit
www.ducatiusa.com
Greg Trachy; 1st Place (12:06.60)
“The course conditions today were the worst I’ve seen in 12 years, and that affected our times, but with the Hypermotard I never felt that I was in danger of losing the bike. When I got to campgrounds I looked back and saw nobody back there, going into the dirt it swapped back and forth a couple of times so I figured it would be better to secure the class win than to risk it going for the record run. I want to thank Paul Livingston and Ducati for putting this together at the last minute and gaving me such a great bike to ride!”
Alexander Malcolm Smith; 4th Place (13:04.29)
"The Hypermotard was the first street bike I had ever ridden. I was amazed how quickly I could adapt to the characteristics of the bike. It says a lot about the motorcycle when you can buy the bike and parts from your local dealer and have a bike that is ready to conquer Pikes Peak Hill Climb. The proof is in the results, with the seasoned veteran Greg Tracy dominating the class and myself finishing 4th having never ridden this type motorcycle."
Paul Livingston- Team Manager:
“It was a real honor to bring the Hypermotard to Pikes Peak and give the bike its first win in international competition. Throughout the week the Hypermotard’s performance was flawless. We started with stock bikes ( in fact we started with my wife’s streeet bike!) and with the addition of readily available Ducati Performance upgrades, a Race Tech suspension and Scott’s Performance steering dampers we came up with a winning combination in only a matter of weeks. Credit for this has to go to the effort put together by FL Racing- to get us to this point so quickly was simply amazing. Greg Tracy is a seasoned veteran of the mountain and knows what it takes to get up the hill quickly, and in the most treacherous of conditions. His experience and development skills allowed us to develop the winning package. Alexander Smith is a natural talent. Having never ridden a street bike until two weeks before the race, crossing the line in fourth place under trying course conditions was a testament to his abilities. Both riders came away from this year’s race eager to start next year’s effort right away. We look forward to returning to Pikes Peak in 2009 to continue the Hypermotard’s winning ways on the mountain.
Results: 1200cc Class
1.Trachy (Ducati); 2. Anderson (Buell); 3: Kopp (Buell); 4. Smith (Ducati)