Ducati Loses More Than The Race At Pikes Peak — Rest In Peace Carlin Dunne

A dream run for Ducati's new V4 streetfighter prototype came to a catastrophic end as Carlin Dunne lost control of the motorcycle and ran off the road to his death, just 4-meters from the finish line. Carlin was at pole position, and this would have been his 5th win at Pikes Peak Hill Climb.

Dunne and the Ducati team were in the process of making a clean sweep of the weekend, having achieved pole position, and fastest times on the first three out of four sections on the 97.6km, 156-turn road racetrack.

Jason Chinnock, CEO Ducati North America, said, in a joint statement with Pikes Peak's Board of Directors, "There are no words to describe our shock and sadness. Carlin was part of our family and one of the most genuine and kind men we have ever known. His spirit for this event and love of motorcycling will be remembered forever as his passing leaves a hole in our hearts."

Carlin Dunne had won the "Race to the Clouds" four times in the past, including his record-setting run in 2013 with the Lightning Electric Superbike. This marked the first time an electric motorcycle beat the entire lot of internal combustion motorcycles in a head-to-head race. His tragic loss marks the seventh death in the 97 years the Pikes Peak race has been running.

Australian Rennie Scaysbrook took his first Pikes Peak win on a factory Aprilia Tuono V4 1100. Scaysbrook made a fantastic debut in 2016, looking all set to win on a KTM 1290 Super Duke R before crashing on race day. He lost 22 seconds but jumped back on the bike and finished second. He finished second in 2017, and 2018.

It's a bittersweet first win for Scaysbrook following the loss of his respected friend and rival, but the hard work and resilience over the years helped set a new record time of 9:44:963. in the motorcycle category.

Germany's Lucy Glockner, riding a BMW S 1000 R took home the Exhibition Powersport category victory with an impressive time of 9:58.878. Lucy and her BMW were the only other duo to break the fabled 10-minute barrier this year. Codie Vahsholtz, riding a Ducati Multistrada 1260 Pikes Peak edition, finished third with a time of 10:03.908.

Zero Motorcycles showed that it's SR/F electric naked bike still had a long way to go if it wanted to compete against the petrol based motorcycles, finishing 9th among all bikes with a time of 10:46.223, with rider Cory West on the throttle.

Thoughts About The Loss Of Carlin Dunne

Losing any one on a racetrack is the worst feeling ever. While we say this as only as fans of the sport, one can only imagine what manufacturers and folk physically present at the racetrack feel. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Dunne family.