COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., June 28 2003 - Hog Wild Racing sidecar team
took their new Harley-Davidson VRod powered racing sidecar to a win at the
Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. The team of Scott Whitney
(driver-Palos Verdes Estates, Calif.) and Pat Holmes (passenger-Colorado
Springs, Colo.) posted a winning time of 14:58.47, just 6 seconds ahead of
the second place sidecar. They are sponsored by Bartels' H-D,
Harley-Davidson, SidecarCross.com, Works Performance, and O'Neal.
ESPN television asked Scott and Pat to carry an on board helmet-cam to
capture the action from the rider's point of view. Given the multiple lead
swaps, and several near crashes, the footage should be quite a thrill to
see. Watch for the Pikes Peak Hill Climb motorcycle show in mid-August on
ESPN2.
The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb is a unique motorsports event
and is the second oldest motorsports race (after the Indianapolis 500) in
the United States. The start line is 9,300 feet (2,862 m) above sea level.
The finish line is 156 turns, 12.5 miles (20.1 km) and almost 5,000 feet
(1,524 m) up to the 14,110 foot (4,300 m) summit of Pikes Peak. The road
is primarily graded dirt with small sections of pavement, and no
guard-rails. The annual one day event includes various classes for
motorcycles, quads, sidecars, cars, trucks, and big-rig trucks. The fans
favorites are clearly the big-rig trucks and sidecars.
The first ever Pikes Peak Hill Climb was in 1916. In addition to the
auto classes, the 1916 event featured four motorcycle races. In the first,
a Harley-Davidson Sidecar driven by D. Vanderhoof posted a winning time of
29:33. In the second motorcycle race of the day, Professional - Floyd
Clymer on his Excelsior posted an overall record time of 21:58. In 1998
and 1999, the Whitney Brothers (Pete-driver, Scott-Passenger) put
Harley-Davidson back in the winners circle at Pikes Peak aboard their
nitrous-boosted Bartels' prepared Sportster sidecar. For 2003, Scott took
over as driver, built a new rig powered by Harley's new fuel-injected and
water cooled V-Rod motor, and posted the winning time of 14:58.47, giving
Harley-Davidson a win on "America's Mountain" on their 100th
anniversary.
The next big sidecar adventure for Team Hog Wild Racing is the grueling
Paris-Dakar Rally in January 2006.
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