Harley V-Rod wins at Pikes Peak Hill Climb

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., June 28 2003 - Hog Wild Racing sidecar team took their new Harley-Davidson V-Rod powered racing sidecar to a win at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. The team of Scott Whitney (driver-Palos Verdes Estates, Calif.) and Pat Holmes (passenger-Colorado Springs, Colo.) posted a winning time of 14:58.47, just 6 seconds ahead of the second place sidecar. They are sponsored by Bartels' H-D, Harley-Davidson, SidecarCross.com, Works Performance, and O'Neal.

ESPN television asked the team to carry an on board helmet-cam to capture the action from the rider's point of view. Given the multiple lead swaps, and several near crashes, the footage should be quite a thrill to see. Watch for the Pikes Peak Hill Climb motorcycle show in mid-August on ESPN2.

The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb is a unique motorsports event and is the second oldest motorsports race (after the Indianapolis 500) in the United States. The start line is 9,300 feet (2,862 m) above sea level. The finish line is 156 turns, 12.5 miles (20.1 km) and almost 5,000 feet (1,524 m) up to the 14,110 foot (4,300 m) summit of Pikes Peak. The road is primarily graded dirt with small sections of pavement, and no guard-rails. The annual one day event includes various classes for motorcycles, quads, sidecars, cars, trucks, and big-rig trucks. The fans favorites are clearly the big-rig trucks and sidecars.

The first ever Pikes Peak Hill Climb was in 1916. In addition to the auto classes, the 1916 event featured four motorcycle races. In the first, a Harley-Davidson Sidecar driven by D. Vanderhoof posted a winning time of 29:33. In the second motorcycle race of the day, Professional - Floyd Clymer on his Excelsior posted an overall record time of 21:58. In 1998 and 1999, the Whitney Brothers (Pete-driver, Scott-Passenger) put Harley-Davidson back in the winners circle at Pikes Peak aboard their nitrous-boosted Bartels' prepared Sportster sidecar. For 2003, Scott took over as driver, built a new rig powered by Harley's new fuel-injected and water cooled V-Rod motor, and posted a winning time of 14:58.47, giving Harley-Davidson a win on "America's Mountain" on their 100th anniversary.

The next big sidecar adventure for Team Hog Wild Racing is the grueling Paris-Dakar Rally in January 2004.

More information and photos about the team, Pikes Peak Hill Climb, and the Dakar Rally can be found on the team's web site: http://www.HogWildRacing.com