88th
Annual PPIHC
Pike's Peak International Hill Climb
Colorado Springs, Colorado
June 26, 2010
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Michael Coburn Shatters
Pikes Peak Hill Climb ATV Speed Record
Hoosier / Spark's Racing
Honda TRX 450R Big Bore ATV
| Pikes
Peak International
Hill Climb - ATV Links |
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Colorado Springs, CO - Last year,
Pro Extreme Dirt Track racer, Michael Coburn tried
his hand and the Pikes Peak Hill Climb and came
away with a 450 class record along with a couple
of others. For 2010, Coburn set another record as
the fastest ATV ever to reach the top.
The legendary event, which has been ongoing since
1916 not only saw racers set new records, but
this year’s event also had a record turnout,
with over 16,000 spectators in attendance cheering
on racers as they made their way up the mountain.
“There were people lining the course everywhere
and really getting into it when we would pass
by them,” said Michael Coburn.
As festivities got underway for Sunday morning’s
race, the weather conditions were good, but around
noon, the clouds moved in and rain and snow began
to fall. Luckily, the cold wet conditions began
to subside just in time for racers to begin the
ascent.
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Michael Coburn racing his way to the top
of Pikes Peak Mountain |
After last year’s record breaking performance
in the 450cc class, Coburn made the decision to
race in the 500cc class for 2010 and put together
an awesome machine for the purpose. “This
year I ran a Honda 450R with a Curtis Sparks 500
kit and Hoosier tires. The quad ran amazingly
well and the jetting was dialed in pretty good.
I noticed that the Hoosier tires really made a
difference out there. They seemed a lot smoother
and more balanced and kept the handlebars for
twitching,” said Coburn of his winning set
up.
| PPIHC
Race Quick Facts |
| Race
Length: |
12.42
Miles |
| Track Width: |
20 - 50 Feet |
| Surface: |
Gravel/Asphalt |
| Start Elevation: |
9,390 Feet |
| Finish Elevation: |
14,110 Feet |
| Elevation
Gain: |
4,708 Feet |
| Average Grade: |
7% |
| Turns: |
156 |
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As Coburn left the line, he did run into a bit
of bad luck. “One of my contacts slipped
and was starting to fall out, which kind of made
it hard to see,” said Coburn, who kept the
hammer down despite his vision issue.
Coburn’s incredible charge had him racing
to the top of Pike’s Peak with a record
time of 11:44.460, shattering the old 500cc class
record of 12:07. Coburn’s time also came
within three seconds of breaking the old motorcycle
record, which was set at 11:41. “I thought
I would do pretty good, but I didn’t think
I would do that good!” said Coburn, who
is still a little in awe of his accomplishment.
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Michael
Coburn sets the all-time ATV record with
a time of 11:44, which shattered the old
record of 12:07 |
“I think this is the first time in like
20 years that a machine other than a Yamaha has
held this record, so this is a good accomplishment
for Honda as well. I am really happy with how
everything turned out and I am definitely planning
to do this again next year,” Coburn added.
Coburn’s impressive performance not only
gave him a new record, but he also beat out many
of the cars, trucks, and motorcycles to take a
very respectable 12th overall out of 22 vehicle
classes and over 160 racers, which is an accomplishment
all in itself.
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#42 Theo
Bernhard claimed the 2nd fastest time
up Pikes Peak with a 12:09, which earned
him the 2nd spot in the Quad 500cc Class
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#63 Robert
Kline brought home the Quad 450cc Class
Win with a time of 12:44, which was 16
seconds faster than Troy Smith in 2nd
Place
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Each year the competition at Pike’s Peak
gets tougher and tougher as racers keep pushing
the Limits of their machines and trying new things
to get the most performance out of their engines,
but that doesn’t seem to deter Michael Coburn
one bit. “I’m going to race again
next year and I really hope I can break another
record,” he said. And with his determination
and incredible speed, Michael Coburn could very
well break his own record.
www.ppihc.com
1631 Mesa Avenues Suite B-1
Colorado Springs, CO 80906
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