Pikes Peak 2010: Ducati takes top honors in the 'big boy' class
(June 30, 2010) When it comes to proving a point on a motorcycle, there are two good ways to get it done. The first thing to do is keep your mouth shut and let your results speak for themselves. The second is to repeat the process as often as possible.
If Ducati was out to prove the point that their all-new Multistrada was capable of taking on the biggest, baddest bikes on the planet, in one of the most respected and feared formats on or off the pavement, than we must say... mission accomplished.
Ducati's freshman effort racing the Multistrada 1200S at "The Peak" in the 1205-or as we like to call it, the Big Boy class was a great success as not one, but two Multistradas took the high and low position on the podium, locking up fist and third.
Of interest was winning pilot Greg Tracy's comments about his victorious factory Ducati: "This is my first year on a factory motorcycle and I'll tell you that bike was box-stock. It had some carbon, and few tweaks and that was it." From what we can see, other than a few bolt-on items, suspension tweaks and special paint, it appears that Tracey is telling the truth.
Although all of this leaves us very impressed, wanting nothing more than to get our hands on a shiny new Muti and head for the nearest fourteener, it must be mentioned that the win comes in a class lacking some of the major competitors who traditionally show up to send a beast up the hill (including BMW). But maybe Ducati will have so much confidence leaving Colorado they can challenge BMW to a head-to-head Mini versus Porsche type shootout? For now, we'll just say congratulations to Ducati, Greg Tracey and Alexander Smith for some fine work.
By Autoblog