Jeremy Toye is the rider of the year on the Pikes Peak mountain, as he was the fastest guy on two wheels in the 92nd edition of the Race to the Clouds, the 2014 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. Toye’s time was the 7th best this year, and even if he went below the magic 10-minute mark, he was still a little short of the outright fastest bike, Carlin Dunne’s Ducati Multistrada.
Dunne and his Ducati crossed the finish line in 9’52.819, whereas Toye’s Open Class Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R completed the 156-turn road section in 9’58.687. However, one of the most interesting things about Toye is that the 2014 PPIHC is his debut run in this (almost) century-long race, and his performance also granted him the Rookie of the Year title alongside the King of the Mountain tag.
Toye’s success is even more important, as 2014 marks the 30th anniversary of the Kawasaki Ninja family, with special, limited edition machinery already available for discerning customers. The most recent addition to the limited-run bike family is the 2014 Ninja ZX-14R 30th Anniversary Limited Edition, and only 300 such motorcycles will be made, each sold on a first cone, first served basis in select dealerships.
The Pikes Peak is a really dangerous competition, not only because of the sheer speed of the motorcycles, which can reach around the 240 km/h (149 mph) mark, but because of the absence of guard rails and… because of the very long drops on the steep mountain sides. With the extreme 45-degree downward slopes which can be 200 meters (600 ft) long, it’s very easy to figure out that making a mistake and launching the bike off the mountain side is a deadly affair which makes the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb a very dangerous race.
However, it appears like only 5 competitors have been killed at Pikes Peak, 2 of them riding motorcycles. Unfortunately, 54-year-old Bobby Goodin lost his life after becoming the 4th fastest rider in this year’s Middleweight class. He lost control of the bike after the finish line and fell onto the boulders on the mountain side.
Grab a beer and enjoy this sizzling hot (under) 10-minute ride aboard Jeremy Toye’s Ninja ZX-10R.
Google News