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Whitney
Brothers' Pikes Peak Story |
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Whitney
Brothers' Pikes Peak Story |
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| _ | Harley-Davidson Racing Sidecar_ |
| Adventures at the 1999 Pikes Peak Hill Climb Bike setup, tougher competition, wild ride . . . by Scott Whitney |
| To skip past the pre-race story, and read the exciting stuff below, click here. | Click photos for a larger view |
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Last year (1998) Last year we pulled off a record setting run on our 1200cc Harley sidecar, winning the sidecar class at the Pikes Peak Hill Climb with a margin of 49 seconds over second place. Click here for the full 1998 story. Our competitors didn't know we used nitrous-oxide until after the race, and a few of them were not very happy about our secret. For 1999 we expected them to come back with vengeance, and possibly nitrous-oxide too. Tough competition is great, and we looked forward to a challenging race in 1999. Meanwhile, we had two upcoming off-road events where we wanted to run our Harley. Normally we use our Honda CR500 based motocross sidecar in the off-road events, but for two of our favorite races we decided to try the Harley. It's a real bear in the rough stuff compared to the light weight 2-stroke Honda, but the power of the Harley is a real blast! The first race was the famous Elsinore GP in November. We took off the nitrous-oxide, put on the long-travel shocks and knobby tires, and headed for Lake Elsinore. We had a lot of fun and managed a close third place finish despite taking a heavy beating. The next race was the popular Adelanto GP in February. It's got sections of desert, motocross, pavement, and dirt roads. With it's mile long smooth back straight, we had some room to open it up and let those 1200cc's show their stuff. It worked great, and we passed everyone with ease there, and gained enough time to still hold the lead after the rough motocross section. With the long travel suspension, the double jumps were fun too! We had a close battle with the team of Mike Burns and Bob Morgan for a few laps, but stretched it out a bit towards the end and won the 45 minute race with a one minute lead. This was the last race for the Harley until Pikes Peak on July 4th, so we had plenty of time to work on bike improvements for that event. |
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Great Press A number of publications took an interest in our unique bike, and our successes on it. It's not often you see a Harley in off-road racing, or even at Pikes Peak. Our story from last year was re-published at OffRoad.com and in Hack'd magazine, the Harley publications Hot Rod Bikes, and Thunder-Press did very nice feature articles, as did the German magazine Motorrad-Gespanne.
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Bike Improvements Our goals for 1999 were to win and set a new record with a time under 14 minutes. Our time from 1998 was 14 minutes and 34 seconds. To meet those goals, we had a few improvements to make on the bike. The nitrous injectors were hand-made, and turned out to be less than ideal, so we installed standard nozzles made by Nitrous Oxide Systems. The rest of the Bartels' prepared Sportster motor was working fantastically, so we didn't mess with it. A new set of shocks from Works Performance were installed to optimize the bike handling. I had calculated that the flat panel on the front of the sidecar was costing us about 10 horsepower at 80 miles per hour, so we developed a more aerodynamic design. We spent a lot of time looking at rear tires. We settled on a street tire that we custom grooved to our liking. The tread pattern is a bit odd, but so are sidecar requirements, and the road surface at Pikes Peak.
We knew we had to do our best on bike preparation since our toughest
competitors, Dave Krohn and Gary Cass, were highly motivated and were stepping up to a
high performance engine, a Honda CBR900RR. They would be faster than ever. |
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Testing disaster After all the bike modifications were completed we took it out for one last test to be sure everything was working well. One missed shift while running hard, and the revs went way beyond redline. Ouch . . . we heard the rocker arms hitting the covers, and all kinds of nasty sounds. It was still running fine after that, but we were not sure what we might have hurt. We had only about a week before we headed for Pikes Peak, and we didn't need a major rebuild at this point. Well, luck wasn't with us when I checked for wobble in the crank. It was way out of spec, and Bill Bartels convinced us we had to fix it. We quickly pulled the motor out and took it to the Bartels' dealership. They know their race motors, backing such top dirt track riders as Jay Springsteen and Shaun Russell. Dave and Wil put in some last minute late hours at Bartels' to get the motor rebuilt. We ended up with a new crank, new front cylinder, new lifters, one new pushrod, a valve job, and a box full of worn and damaged parts. We rushed to get the motor back in the bike, and hit the road for the big race. |
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Colorado Springs The race museum is in Colorado Springs, the home town for the hill climb. It's a great place to visit if your interested in the 83 year history of this international race. They've got a room full of old and VERY OLD race cars, motorcycles, photos, and other memorabilia. The race organization gave us more than our share of exposure, placing our photo on the hill climb official race program, year 2000 calendar, race tickets, promotional pamphlets, poster, and more. In town we ran into Mickey, a motorcycle competitor who flew in from Japan to race up the hill. At technical inspection we got a live interview by Jim Bensberg, the KRDO radio host. The evening before our first practice day, Doyne Bruner threw a big pre-race dinner party at his local motorcycle dealership, Apex Sports. There's a lot of really nice people here, and the whole race organization makes everyone feel at home. |
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First practice day Practice is run over two days. On July 2nd we got up at 3:30am and headed up the road for early morning practice on the upper half of the course. We needed to fine tune our carburetor jetting, as well as the nitrous setup. We tested two different jet sizes on the nitrous. One was with 30 horsepower boost, the other with 40. The nitrous is controlled by a button at Pete's thumb. At the press of the button at full throttle the horsepower goes from 80 to 120 instantaneously. We had problems with the 40hp jetting on the nitrous, so we settled on 30hp for race day, which is the same as we had run the previous year. We talk a lot during the hot runs up the hill, as well as on the slow returns back down. Quite often one of us sees a good line or a hazard that the other doesn't see, so the communication helps a lot to optimize our race lines. In one of our runs, we ran the bike into the ditch on the inside edge of the road, and smashed the nerf bar (left foot peg) into a rock. It was bent but not broken. That was the only mishap we had. Overall the day had gone well for us. We got 6 runs up that part of the mountain. The other sidecar teams all had problems with jetting and other things, and missed one or more of the practice runs. |
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Second practice day and qualifying Again we were up at 3:30am on July 3rd, and headed up the road for our second day of practice. This was on the lower half of the course. SuperFlow was there offering free testing on their portable dyno. We put the sidecar on, and and gave it a run. The data showed lower horsepower than expected. We ignored it, and prepared for our practice runs up the mountain. Most of the lower portion of the course has a PennzSuppress surface treatment that makes the dirt a lot like pavement. It's very fast, and much more predictable than the loose dirt on the upper half. In one run we over did it in a left turn where there was loose dirt rather than PennzSuppress. We spun the bike 90 degrees left, pointing directly off the track. We were still carrying speed, and shot off the road into the rocks and dirt embankment. Both of us were still on the bike, but it was quite a scare. We were lucky the left was the UP side rather than the DOWN side of the mountain! I can't remember ever spinning out like that on a sidecar! We had passed a quad just a few turns earlier, and he gave us a thrilling description of the mishap from his close behind point of view. In the next run, Pete pressed the nitrous button when the engine wasn't revved up enough, and our hearts stopped when an explosive sound blasted from the engine and the power went away. Oh SH#$@*T. Did we blow the engine? We both looked to see how big the hole was. There were flames and smoke coming from the air filter. Realizing it was just a loud backfire through the carburetor, Pete held the throttle wide open hoping to blow out the fire. The power came back and we accelerated on. The fire went right out and we finished that practice run, shaken but not broken. The last practice run was our qualifying run. Up to this point we hadn't run side by side with any of the sidecars, so we were not sure how our times would compare. We gave it our all, and ended up 16 seconds quicker than the second place sidecar team of Krohn/Cass. Their support crew was visibly disappointed when the times were posted on the display board. They had put a huge effort into building a faster bike, but it wasn't enough in qualifying. Anything could happen on race day though. We returned to our hotel in town and went to work on the bike. We would have to get up at 4:00am the next morning for race day, so work on the bike had to be completed before then. We replaced the burned air filter, put new tires on front and rear, and cleaned everything up. We were ready to race! |
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Internet WebCam Since my first year at Pikes Peak, I had wanted to have a live WebCam trackside to cover the race for all those who couldn't attend in person. This year I found that DaveSpeed, the Webmaster for the official hill climb web site wanted to do the same. The biggest problem was getting the data transmitted from the remote mountain location down to a phone line in town. The two of us solved the logistical problems and we set out to make it happen. FreeWave Technologies loaned two sets of their radio modems for the effort. With many hours work by DaveSpeed, my brother Eric, and friend Jack, everything was set for the first live images from the race. DaveSpeed had also arranged for live audio over the Internet, which included KRDO radio coverage of the whole race. Our crew ran one of the WebCams from their motorhome at Devil's Playground, while DaveSpeed ran one at the finish line. |
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The race course
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Race morning The sidecars were one of the last in the schedule, so we had a long wait till our start time. The previous year we were one of the first in the schedule. We couldn't decide what was worse, waiting at the bottom to start, or waiting at the top after finishing? We had frozen our butts off at the top last year, but this year we were baking in the hot sun at the bottom. To add to the frustration, there were a dozen or so crashes and other incidents that added to our wait. Most of our crew was at Devil's Playground, 8 miles up from us. We had radio contact with them, and they kept us up to date on weather conditions. It can be raining at the top and sunny at the bottom at the same time. They reported bone chilling cold wind, as they sat in the motorhome with a protected birds eye view down at the course below. Our wives, Adriana and Marka, hung with us at the bottom. Just when Rod Millen started his run, we got reports of light rain up above. The rain was gone within 15 minutes but that, in addition to "loose" road conditions on the upper section, prevented Rod Millen from breaking the 10 minute barrier. At that time we were lining up in the start line staging area. There were rows of motorcycles ahead of us, so we still had a while to wait. As we sat with the bike we noticed a bit of gas leaking from the aluminum tank. I had patched a hairline crack weeks before, but it seemed to have come back. The more we sat, the faster it leaked. After a while we realized we better do something about it or we wouldn't have enough gas to make it to the top. Just then a seasoned racer walked up and suggested we rub a bar of soap along the crack to seal it up. Where do we find a bar of soap on the starting grid, we asked ourselves? There was a huge deluxe motorhome parked just beside us, so we motioned to the seasoned racer to check there. In a motorhome like that, they must have a bar of soap! He was back in a jiffy, commenting that it was Marty Reid's motorhome. He's the Producer of the ESPN television coverage. With a little rubbing, the gas leak was fixed. Both Pete and I were amazed, and thrilled. Thanks Marty!!! |
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The Race The sidecars were to be lined up in reverse order, with the fastest qualifiers in the back row. Since the race was timed, starting us a minute and a half behind the first row of sidecars was not a problem. The officials had calculated the gap so that we should pass the front row competitors in an area of the course where there would be a lot of spectators. Nice idea for excitement, but a bit challenging for us. We had been told that the fastest qualifier (us) got first choice at starting position within our row, but we were directed into the least preferred starting position on the right side as we idled up to the start line. We decided not to make a big issue of it with the official, and let Krohn/Cass have the preferred spot. We had 12 miles of hard racing to make a pass if we didn't get the hole shot. The start flag was in the hands of Sonny Anderson, one of the head motorcycle officials. Bill Brokaw, the other head official stood with a camera to catch anyone who tried to jump the start (a ten second penalty). Sonny would step into a small circle laid out on the ground, and at any time wave the flag to start us off. After we rolled up to the start line, Sonny didn't waist any time stepping into the circle. Before I could brace myself for a hard launch off the line, the flag was waving. I wasn't quite ready, nor was Dave Krohn. Fortunately for us Pete was ready, and as we shot off the line, I glanced over to see Krohn/Cass drop back a few feet. As we went into the first turn, Krohn/Cass were already catching up. I could feel them screaming up behind us. We drag raced to the next turn, trying to hold them off. They were looking for room to pass but couldn't quite pull it off. A little push on the nitrous button after turn three helped us get a slight bit of breathing room. We had a close race for one or two miles. Any slight mistake would still let them by. Slowly we crept away, though they were within one turn of us for several miles. |
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We blasted through the long "Picnic Grounds" straight, one of
the fastest sections on the track. The nitrous was very helpful here. As we
approached "Blue Sky", we each were aware of the left turn where we had spun out
in practice. We were both pointing at the turn as we approached to be sure the other
knew of this "caution" spot. We breezed through without incident, then hit
the nitrous to move us on. So far we hadn't made any mistakes. The motor was
pulling hard, and everything was working great. As we approached Glen Cove, we caught a glimpse of Bakker/Taylor moving along nicely just ahead. There's a long straight section as you pass through Glen Cove, then a hard right turn with the mountain on the left, and a steep drop on the right. We held it wide open down the straight to try to pass Bakker/Taylor before the right turn. A lot of nitrous and ducking the wind gave us a lot of speed, but didn't get us there in time. We had to back off and pass in the turn, but there wasn't much room. Since we came up so quickly, I don't think they knew we were there. There wasn't enough room on the inside, so we took the outside to pass. All that speed suddenly wasn't such a good thing. I had to give an all-out, hang-out, drag-my-butt lean to keep us on the road around the turn. Unfortunately there wasn't enough room for two sidecars and me hanging all the way out. One of those had to give. It was me! My body caught the sidecar fender and passenger grab bar on their bike as we flew past. I got slammed backwards pretty hard. I still had both hands on the grab bar (rule number one for sidecar racing passengers), but my feet were in some foreign country. My right foot found the hard ground at about 50mph, and my left was dangling out of place on the sidecar. This threw us off line into the rocky ditch at the left side of the course. We found ourselves riding motocross over in the ditch as I struggled to hang on. The bike seemed more like a bucking bronco than a road machine. That slow-motion "CRASH" feeling was flashing though both our minds. It was better than flying off the steep edge on the right, but we were not planning on any motocross racing for several more weeks, and crashing is NEVER in the plan! Pete held a line through the nasty stuff and got us back onto the road. WEW, we made it!!! I finally had a chance to pull my dragging foot up off the road and back to the sidecar platform. It was a bit scary for both of us, as well as Bakker/Taylor who watched the whole thing from a prime viewing spot just behind. They kindly gave us plenty of room in case we laid ourselves out on the ground. Our apologies to them for cutting it too close. As we caught our composure a few seconds up the road, Pete yelled ARE YOU OK? ARE YOU OK? I replied YA, YA, GO...GO...GO! Racing sidecars allows you to share those memorable racing moments with your pal because he's always right there with you. We both knew this was not a moment we wanted to remember. As we put our minds back on winning, I glanced back and gave Bakker/Taylor a "thumbs up", and we accelerated away. |
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The officials were right-on when timing the gap between the two rows of
sidecars at the start. We gave a lot of spectators a thrilling pass exactly where we were
supposed to do it. We made good time up to the switchbacks and didn't see Krohn/Cass anywhere behind. Soon we saw the other front row starters, Damon Doherty and Jim Brownlee on their super cool looking BMW roadrace style rig. They were struggling with clutch problems and lacking horsepower, as we caught and passed them quickly and without incident. This was just past the halfway point, and there was nothing between us and the finish line . . . except a few hairpin turns, a few straight-off cliffs, six miles of loose gravel road, and 3 more pounds of nitrous-oxide! The view from here is fantastic. It's about 12000ft altitude, and the air is a bit thin, making breathing a chore. On this hot July 4th summer day there were even large walls of snow along side the road. Our engine and lungs would have to struggle with the altitude, but the view would have to wait until after we finished the race. The nitrous-oxide was becoming more important at this higher altitude. Pressing the button a few more times, we were flying into Devil's Playground. This is where most of our support crew went to watch the race. Four generations of Whitneys were there cheering us on. As we slowed for the hairpin right, their loud air horn caught our attention, and we waved while blasting past. From Devil's Playground on, the course has a different feel. The spectators are not allowed above this point except at the very top. Only official course workers were seen, and they are sparse. You're kinda on your own with the loose road, no more trees, boulders here and there, and several sections of wide-open throttle. It kind of forces you to think about the finish line a bit more, and your need to get there real soon. With Krohn/Cass well behind, we concentrated on setting a new record. In one of the fastest sections I looked over Pete's shoulder at the tachometer to make sure he wasn't over revving the motor. We didn't need to blow it up by pushing too hard. It was steady as a rock, right at ZERO. I guess it wasn't warranted for high vibration 80mph operation on twisty dirt roads at 13,000ft. The RPM's must be fine, hit the nitrous! |
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A mile or so from the finish I noticed the engine running a little rough
and loosing some power. It was more than just altitude. It felt a bit like
running out of gas. I could see that Pete was noticing it too. He said
something to me but I couldn't hear what he said. That gas leak at the starting line
flashed through my mind, and I started to panic. I yelled to Pete, WE'RE RUNNING OUT
OF GAS, COOL IT, WE'RE OUT OF GAS!!! He ignored me and held the throttle wide
open. Then he hit the nitrous button a couple of times. All that does is use
the gas up twice as fast, and a painful vision of us pushing the bike up the hill the last
quarter mile to the finish was building in my mind. I screamed again; WE'RE OUT OF
GAS, TAKE IT EASY, and I motioned forcefully with my hand to cool it. He yelled back
loudly; I THINK WE'RE OUT OF NITROUS! Hitting the nitrous button was pumping extra
gas in, but no nitrous, so it ran way to rich and lost power. I realized that quickly, and
in that split second my emotions switched from panic to joy, knowing we would make it fine
and we were going to win too! One more hairpin right, a sweeping left, and we
blasted across the finish line. YA!!! All that physical work, the emotional roller coaster, some yelling, 14,100ft elevation, and the thrill of winning had left me gasping for air. As soon as we pulled to a stop Jim Bensberg of KRDO radio swung his microphone up to us and asked how it went. Between gasps I got a few enthusiastic words out, and motioned to Pete for more comments while I caught my breath. The other sidecar teams were rolling in, and we greeted them with congratulations for their fine runs, and for reaching the top. All competitors were very cordial, and seemed thrilled to have made it to the top. We all shared our memorable race moments as we waited for the official times to be posted. |
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At the top While checking over the bike we noticed a nasty flat spot in the rear wheel. Our "off-road" excursion when passing Bakker/Taylor had done more than just scare us. We could make it down the mountain just fine, but it looks like we'll need a new wheel. While I was over talking with DaveSpeed about his WebCam success, Pete came running over to report our time. We had made it up the mountain in 13 minutes 59 seconds, a new sidecar record, and one second under the target time we were aiming for. It was 35 seconds quicker than our 1998 record time. Krohn/Cass took 39 seconds off their previous best time, but were still 45 seconds behind us. Doherty/Brownlee and Bakker/Taylor were each a lot quicker than their previous best times, and finished third and fourth respectively. On the way down the spectators wait along side the road, and we give them all "high-fives" as we pass by. It's a thrilling thing to see all those enthusiastic spectators up close. |
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Victory dinner and Awards Brunch To celebrate our win we stopped in at Giuseppe's with our whole crew for a fine 4th of July dinner. The next morning we attended the awards brunch to receive our trophy, and celebrate another great race with all the competitors. The presentation begins with a "race highlights" video put together by the ESPN/Marty Reid video crew. It included a short clip of our collision with Bakker/Taylor, along with other exciting moments. Later we were called up to receive our trophy, and offer thanks to all those who helped us. Overall, it was another great year at the Pikes Peak Hill Climb.
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| This page and it's contents Copyright © 1999-2000,
Scott
Whitney Photos provided by Whitney crew, Jim Spicher, Buche', and others. Last updated: Sat Feb 23 10:51:12 2008 PST |
