Records Fall At Pikes Peak

Paul Carruthers | June 29, 2001

Motorcycle, quad and sidecar drivers shattered four records Friday during qualification for the 79th Pikes Peak International Hill Climb.

Paul Zinke was the fastest rider in the 250cc Pro division, shattering Don Bruner’s 1999 record of 5:49.00 by almost 14 seconds with a time of 5:35.51. Zinke was riding a Kawasaki KX250.

But Zinke wasn’t alone as Gary Trachy and Chuck Lee also broke the record. Trachy ran a time of 5:43.34 on his 2001 Honda CR250, while Lee posted a 5:48.78 on his 2000-model CR250.

The competition was much tighter in the 500 Pro division as there was almost no space between Greg Chicoine and Greg Tracy. Both men blew past Chicoine’s 1999 record of 5:50.47. Chicoine ran 5:30.26 with his 1999 Kawasaki KX 500 SPPR, and Tracy ran 5:30.61 with his 2001 Honda CR500.

Because of his qualification and practice times, Chicoine said he hopes he can win the division Saturday.

“The motorcycle’s capable, and I’m capable,” he said before qualifying. “More guys are able to win, but they have to catch me first.”

Swedish rookie Anders Jansson grabbed some attention when his qualifying time beat Chicoine’s record by .03 of a second. His time was 5:50.43 on his 1997 Honda CR500.

Paul Carruthers | Editor

Paul Carruthers took over as the editor of Cycle News in 1993 after serving as associate editor since starting his career at the publication in 1985. Carruthers has covered every facet of the sport in his near-28-year tenure at America's Daily Motorcycle News Source.