Pikes Peak hits pause
The 2020 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb will not feature any motorcycle racing while the event assesses the future of two-wheeled racing at the Colorado venue. The announcement comes after the death of race favourite and four-time winner Carlin Dunne at this year’s meeting. Organisers met recently to review what happened this year with the decision taken to pause motorcycle racing so they can gather more data, ultimately to assess the long-term viability of the entire motorcycle programme at the hillclimb, which takes place on public roads. “Motorcycles have been a part of the PPIHC for the past 29 years, and their history on America’s Mountain dates back to the inaugural running in 1916,” said Pikes Peak chairman Tom Osborne. “That said, the motorcycle programme hasn’t been an annual event. They have run 41 of the 97 years we’ve been racing on Pikes Peak. It’s just time to take a hard look at every aspect of the race, including the motorcycle programme, and determine whether or not the event may change.”
Dunne was not the first motorcyclist to be killed while racing at Pikes Peak and it is not unheard of for organisers to suspend bike racing, sometimes for years. However, Dunne’s mastery of the course meant his accident came as a huge shock to all those involved. As a measure of the high esteem in which he was held, a fund set up to support his family after the accident raised over £81,000 in just over three weeks.