Situated high in
Colorado’s Rocky Mountains, Pikes Peak Raceway will host
round five of the AMA Superbike Championships and the class’s
first single race weekend since Daytona. A mere 1.31 miles long,
Pikes Peak is the shortest track on the AMA road racing schedule
- half the size of most other tracks with riders lapping in
under a minute.
Almost 5,800 feet above water level will mean the high altitude
will restrict the performance of the engines but the fast, flowing
layout of the track can promise high speed action. Like all
speedway ovals, Pikes Peak includes sections of banking in its
road racing track, notably the front and back straightaways.
The run off the front straight banking onto the flat surface
of the first corner is never a smooth transition. This is amplified
by a dip, which can disrupt the bike’s stability. But once
you get into the second turn the track turns into fun. The layout
seems to suit riders with a dirt track history. The long left-hander,
from turn one to the in-field bends, reminds Doug Chandler of
running a mile flat track. This is a corner of concern for the
HMC Ducati technicians. The long bend has some negative camber
and the combination can be rough on tires. Riders will be conscious
to preserve their tires, being banked over on the left hand
side for so long. Dunlop has a single compound tire specifically
made for this track.
As the riders head into the infield bends the action will heat
up. Riders can take a variety of lines to pass a competitor.
Especially in the hairpin where it’s tight and tricky.
Riders will need to hug the inside of the bend, picking up the
bike at the last minute and getting hard on the gas to give
them a good drive into the esses. This section doesn’t
have a lot of traction so the bikes will be moving around a
lot. Unfortunately spectator viewing in this area is limited
as it’s all infield but this will be where a lot of the
action will take place. This will be the last place riders will
make a pass before the esses then it will be follow-the-leader
until they get onto the front straightaway. Slip streaming won’t
happen until they get further around to the back straightaway
where they’ll be carrying more speed. And being a little
over a mile long, Pikes Peak doesn’t have much of a straightaway.
The race is an astonishing 48 laps, which, for the riders, seems
to take forever. As the bikes are rarely upright the rider get
very little opportunity to rest, making it one of the more demanding
races of the season. The short distance makes it a relatively
easy track for bike set-up and technicians will focus mainly
on getting the bike turning in turn two and through the esses
plus creating a bike that will conserve its tires. Luckily,
as most of the data taken from races so far this season will
be irrelevant at Pikes Peak. Only Fontana offers some similarities.
Rider’s fitness will play a key part as the high altitude
will not only reduce oxygen to the engine, it will reduce oxygen
to the lungs. Doug Chandler left for Colorado last Friday to
begin acclimatizing himself with the thin air. He won there
in ’99 and is looking forward to a good result on Sunday.
