Interesting Entries for the 2015 Pikes Peak Hill Climb

The 93rd running of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb may be over three months away, but the historic American road race released its official entry list this week, with some interesting participants for 2015’s Race to the Clouds.

So far with 78 motorcycle entries confirmed, our attention was piqued with the entry of a 2015 Kawasaki H2 sport bike by Japan’s Takahiro Itami — an unsupported race entry according to Kawasaki USA.

Bringing things more locally, Colorado-based Ronin Motorcycles has an entry with one the company’s 47 heavily modified Buells, with Pikes Peak class-winner Travis Newbold at the helm.

Coming straight from the Isle of Man TT, Rob “The Bullet” Barber will compete in the electric class with The Ohio State University’s Buckeye Current team.

Other entries of interest include a Ducati 1299 Panigale S by Eric Foutch, a still to-be-determined ride for Cycle World’s road test editor Don Canet, and a TOBC Racing Suzuki GSX-R600 for Asphalt & Rubber contributor Shelina Moreda.

While Pikes Peak has several “To Be Determined” motorcycle entries still to disclose, noticeably absent from the entry list are many of the race’s recent top-finishers.

Fastest man up the mountain on two wheels (9’52.819), Carlin Dunne is absent from the entry list at this point in time. Dunne has the added distinction of winning Pikes Peak in his rookie debut, as well as being the fastest electric motorcycle entry ever up the Colorado peak.

Rumors of Brammo entering the race have so far not panned out to be true. As Dunne’s name had been mentioned in the same breath as Brammo’s in the past, those two fates may be intertwined.

Alta Motors has been another name mentioned as a possible entry, and with the company’s 250cc-class electric MX and supermoto bikes to come out later this year, Pikes Peak could be a good showcase for the San Francisco startup.

Last year’s winner Jeremy Toye is also not on the entry list. Toye came very close to Dunne’s record last year, lapping 9’58.687 on his Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R.

Ducati’s uber presence, powered by the Falkner/Livingston Racing team, seems to be absent for 2015, though the venerable PPIHC squad could still power Canet’s ride again, as they did last year.

All of this could mean that 2015’s title for “King of the Mountain” could be up for grabs, for a number of riders. Could a new rookie come to Pikes Peak and shatter the record? Will we see an electric entry continue to disrupt the fun for the petrol heads? Time will tell.

Let’s just hope though for safe racing conditions for all the competitors involved.