Pike's Peak International Raceway

Pike's Peak International Raceway
16650 Midway Ranch Rd
Fountain, CO 80817
(719) 382-4311 (voice)
(719) 382-9180 (fax)
www.ppir.com

Comments:

The PPIR facilties are quite small - 1.3 mile track, small infield paddock. The track surface is in pretty good shape, transitions on and off the banking are smoother than any other 'bowl' track the AMA visits. There's electrical outlets on the hot pit wall, but the juice wasn't turned on during our event. 40 and 50 amp RV service is available in the back section of the paddock. Garages are available for rent.

Racing notes:

Grab a track map off of Pike's Peak International Raceway's home page and come along with Bob for a lap:

The layout of T1 changed a few times during the event, so who knows what to expect the next time we visit. The final configuration was a three-bike-wide chicane of cones and rubber curbing designed to force you up near the wall on the entrance and slow you down for the run off the banking and around T2. The trick to this setup is to thread your way through the chicane and hang it out there a bit before commiting to T2. Don't brake coming into T1, just back off the throttle a bit and downshift one gear as you make the transition off the banking.

T2 looks pretty simple at first glance. It takes you from the front banking to the back banking. The nasty part of the turn is half-way through. There's a slight drainage depression following some concrete / tar patching. The trouble with the depression occurs when you are cranked all the way over and on the gas. The dip will hammer the front end hard enough to send the front tire bouncing off the track if your suspension isn't set up right. The smoothest line through that section is on the very inside, right next to the paint stripe. Stay on the gas to keep some weight on the rear of the bike, brace yourself on the pegs and stay loose on the bars. Take the time to get your suspension dialed in for this part of the track. Get it wrong and you'll lose one-to-two seconds.

Stay on the gas heading out of T2, run out on the banking only as wide as your speed requires and grab two or three gears along the way to T3. This turn in preceeded by a short straight. This is the only hard braking section of the track. The best line through T3 is to square it off and get a good run to T4. Back it in there if you can and straighten out the run to T4. There's a bumby strip of sealer just to the right of the inside curbing all the way around T3. If your suspension can deal with it, don't sweat it.

Grab a gear between T3 and T4, drop it back down before you turn in. T4 is littered with holes, sealer and pavement patches. The smoothest line is on the very inside. The outside is pretty smooth, but is usually dirty. The exit of T4 is important to a proper setup for the esses of T5 - T7.

I ran pretty much straight in on the right side of T5, hooked the inside of T6 and set up to catch T7 on the very inside. There's a couple of holes in the pavement just before the apex of T6. They aren't bad if your suspension can deal with them, but whatever you do, stay on the gas if you pass over them. They'll upset the front end if you have too much weight up there. Only the very inside of T7 is smooth. The rest of the corner is a mess of sealer and patches.

Treat T8 a lot like T3. Square it off and get on the gas as early as you can to get a good drive at the front banking. Slipping and sliding coming off T8 is part of the fun. Be careful not to overdue it and highside yourself into the front wall. Work your way up towards the wall, grabbing gears along the way and set up for the entrance to T1.

PPIR is a very short track. It'll take you longer to read these notes than to make a lap.

Bob