Its all uphill from here for the new Multistrada – Click above for high-res image gallery
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 Mr 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 hey, 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. Hit the break to read the full press release straight from the horse’s mouth.
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[Source:Ducati]
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DUCATI WINS THE PIKES PEAK INTERNATIONAL HILLCLIMB
The Ducati Multistrada 1200 S takes first and third positions in its
maiden off road competition
Pikes Peak, CO (28 June 2010) – Ducati North America is excited to
announce its first and third place finishes in the 88th annual Pikes
Peak International Hill Climb, held yesterday in the mountains above
Colorado Springs, Colorado.
In its very first international competition, the Multistrada 1200 S
took top honors in the 1200cc class in the hands of Pikes Peak Veteran
Greg Tracy. The Multistrada took a massive lead off the starting line,
and rode into clouds to take the top podium position at 14,110 feet.
Tracy ran a smooth, uneventful race which demonstrated the exceptional
on and off road capabilities of Ducati’s latest offering.
“That was an exciting week I’ve got to say. I want to thank Ducati for
the opportunity they’ve given me- I was even pitted in front of Rhys
Millen’s Unlimited Class ride- that was pretty cool! The Spider Grips
Falkner-Livingston Multistrada was an amazing ride. Everyone did an
awesome job and that motorcycle is crazy fast- it hit 137mph at one
point! The bike worked great on the dirt and the asphalt,” said Tracy
in the post race award ceremony. “When I was growing up, and all these
factory teams would win races, I was sure they had these $100,000
engines and that was why they went so fast. I was wrong. 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.”
Greg’s teammate Alexander Smith also put in a formidable performance,
ensuring the second Ducati entry made the podium. Alexander fought his
way up the mountain, and while battling for second had an accident in
the last corner, which slowed him down but still allowed time to
remount and finish third.
“I have to repeat everything Greg said about the bike- it was really
perfect. The race was good, and if you see the start line footage you
can tell how awesome the bike was working,” said Smith. “It was a
pretty uneventful race up until the last corner where I kind of laid
it down. I got off real quick and remounted which was still good
enough for third and got two Ducati’s on the podium.”
For more information about Ducati’s win in the Pikes Peak
International Hill Climb, please visit www.ducatiusa.com.