BMW Motorrad Pikes Peak

BMW came, saw and conquered at the US hill-climbing classic at Pikes Peak in the Rocky Mountains.

At the first appearance of the BMW Offroad Factory Team with factory rider Simo Kirssi and guest rider Casey Yarrow (26) from California, they dominated the Exhibition Class for motorcycles above 750 cc on their HP 2 Enduros, taking first and second positions.

In the unofficial total ranking of all motorcycles, the BMW riders are placed fifth and sixth.

The race up to the 4300 metre Pikes Peak, first held 90 years ago, is the undisputed US off-road classic.

The track starts at a height of 2900 metres and ends right at the summit.

The "84th Race to the Clouds" takes riders over a distance of 12.47 miles (about 21 kilometres); it has 156 bends and serpentines.

About a third of the track is now asphalted, the rest consists of a sand-covered and heavily compressive natural path; there are virtually no sidings.

Casey Yarrow finished in 12.20 minutes - a very respectable result; this put him seven seconds ahead of Kirssi.

The 26-year-old sunny boy from California was the fastest rookie with an average of just under 100 km/h and a total time below the track record up to last year - a milestone in PPIHC race history.

With a top speed of 156 km/h, Simo Kirssi managed the top performance for motorcycles on the "Americas Mountain" as Pikes Peak is also referred to by locals.

"I have no experience on asphalt whatever, and of course four hours of training isn?t enough to be really fast," said the Finnish BMW rider, obviously in a good mood.

Casey Yarrow, right up front in the US Supermoto Series, praised the HP 2 Enduro ("a great bike) and beamed after his successful performance.

"I hope to be in it again next year when BMW has a second go," he said.

BMW Motorrad head Berthold Hauser was more than satisfied with his team?s showing.

"We came here as rookies and we?re taking a class victory home with us.

This great result shows us where we are and next year we will certainly be able to get involved in the overall rankings.

"Micky Dymond, who set a new record last year on his KTM with 12:12 minutes, improved by 24 seconds this year, but still finished one second behind winner Gary Trachy (Husqvarna 660), making him only second in the 750 cc class.