Pikes Peal Champ, John Angel 8-28-04

 

ATV Scene: Tell us more about your favorite race event – the Pikes Peak Race. How does it work?
Angel: The hill climb is an annual invitational event.  It generally breaks down as a 4 day event.  The first day is tech inspection and riders’ meetings.  The second day is the upper half of the mountain practice while cars practice the bottom half.  The third day is the lower half of the mountain practice as well as qualifying for starting positions on race day.  Finally, the race which is held on the last Saturday of June (as opposed to the old July 4 th date) is a one- time race up the hill – winner take all.

Road conditions vary between asphalt (approx 20%), Penzapress (20%) and dirt (60%).  The 12.4 mile course begins at 9,200 feet and finishes at the 14,110 foot summit of Pikes Peak. The speeds on the mountain range from 0 to 92-93 miles per hour.

The best way to explain this race to someone who will never be able to experience the mountain in person is this: Imagine a wide open, 146 turn, asphalt and dirt surfaced road race where the slightest mistake could easily cost you your life.

ATV Scene: It looks extremely dangerous. Has anyone ever died at this event?
Angel: Like I said, the race is very dangerous because the road has virtually no guard rails and there are points on the road where if you miss a turn, you could drop as far as 2 miles vertically.  Unfortunately, there have been fatalities.  The most recent death was in 2002 and involved a car in the Super Stock Division.  In the 12 years since quads have been allowed to participate, luckily there have been no deaths.

ATV Scene: When you get to the top, do you race back down is their only one chance at it?
Angel: No, you only race up the mountain.  However, on the way back down the mountain on race day, the thousands of spectators that have gathered along the 12 mile route stand along the road and “high-five” all the riders/drivers.  It is quite an awesome sight and gives the spectators a chance to get up-close and personal with the riders/drivers.

ATV Scene:You speak of the spectators along the track. We’re assuming that they don’t behave like a few Baja 1000 spectators. Has there ever been a problem with spectators?
Angel: Spectators stay well off the road and they’re great to have as part of the event. To my knowledge there has never been a problem.

ATV Scene: Can you practice during the year?
Angel: Because the city of Colorado Springs owns the road and generates revenue off the toll taken at the bottom of the mountain, they require you to rent the road at the cost of $5000 for 2 hours and it is only available between the hours of 6:00 a.m. and 8:00 am .  So, most people do not actually “practice” other than during the event or driving the road in their personal vehicles.  As previously mentioned, we do have the opportunity to practice on the road during the allocated practice days.  We usually get about 5 practice runs on the top half and 3 practice runs on the bottom half.

ATV Scene: Is there a way to remember the course at all?
Angel: Repetition, repetition, repetition.

 

ATV Scene: We understand that a few riders (Bobby Parr for one) actually video tape the entire course then review the tape over and over to try to memorize the course. Do you do that? Is this a secret you don’t want to talk about? Any comment on this?
Angel: I personally try to drive the road as much as possible at least the last thirty days before the race. The scenes on Huevos V are a helmet cam Wes Miller put on my helmet during qualifying. Memorizing the course is a must. Also, Lenord Vashholz, one of the must decorated Pikes Peak Hill Climb divers made a tape in ’99 I purchased, and continue to watch today.

ATV Scene: Why do you like this kind of race?
Angel: Pikes Peak is the second oldest racing event in the US behind the Indy 500 and has teams come in to compete from all over the world.  It is a great honor to win this very prestigious event.

ATV Scene: Do you race any other events?
Angel: Yes, I have competed in the GNC Motocross Open ProAm class with my last full time year being 2001 in which I finished 9 th overall.  I have been the Colorado State MX Champion six times.  I also have raced in the Pro Quad Stadium Series, most recently the Anaheim and San Diego events in 2003 where I finished 12th and 10th.

 ATV Scene: How do the ATVs finish compared to the other race vehicles?
Angel: The ATVs finish very well in this event.  Out of the 91 vehicles that made it to the summit this year, I was the 11 th fastest overall. I finished 33 seconds behind the fastest Pro Rally car yet actually beat most of them. Typically, quads have one of the fastest times up the mountain

ATV Scene: Who is your biggest competition?
Angel: The mountain, Mother Nature and the clock are a rider’s biggest competition.  The mountain is a challenge because you are going from 10,000 to 14,000 feet elevation in just 12 minutes.  At that altitude, the weather conditions can be extremely unpredictable.  At this year’s event, there was sun, rain, hail and snow all within a 6 hour time frame.  In essence, you are racing the clock even though there are two other riders sent off the starting line with you.

ATV Scene: You’ve tried to win on a four-stroke. Why did you switch to the Banshee?
Angel: I found that the volumetric efficiency of a four-stroke is not sufficient for the extreme altitude.  Just as the sand dunes, a built Banshee is still the king of horse power and that is what you need for this race.

ATV Scene: Has a four-stroke ever won? Can it?
Angel: A four-stroke quad has never won the event.  My mark of 13:22 in 2002 still stands as the fastest four-stroke up Pikes Peak .  The technology of the four-strokes needs to advance to the point where one could take a YFZ450 or CRF450 motor and get 100 horse power that was reliable.

 

ATV Scene: If money was no object, what would be the ultimate quad for this event?
Angel: Given the regulations we are put under, I think we have already built the ultimate quads for the event building in upwards of $40,000+ into the machines.  Turbos, aftermarket cylinders and titanium are not allowed and super bike motors weigh too much and have a too high center of gravity.

ATV Scene: Do you think Tim Farr or Shane Hitt could win this race if they showed up with their current GNC TT race quads?
Angel: With all due respect to two of the greatest riders to ever race a quad, no.  While the set-up is similar, I doubt Tim or Shane’s TT quads would have enough horse power to keep up the high miles per hour necessary to win the event.  Also, they would have to spend a good 2 weeks prior to the race, memorizing the hill and all 146 of its turns in addition to acclimating to the altitude to have a chance.

ATV Scene: How did you crash in 1999?
Angel: This was a classic rookie year mistake.  I didn’t have the road memorized.  I came up to a 180 degree switchback doing approximately 70 mph but had forgotten the turn was there.  I locked up the brakes and got the quad pitched sideways to scrub as much speed as possible but it was too late.  My momentum carried me off the mountain backwards.  As I watched the road disappear, I had a second to look back only to see a field of car-sized boulders as my landing pad.  As I mentioned before, this left me with 10 broken bones in my lower back and tremendous respect for the mountain.

ATV Scene: Any secret set ups that you care to discuss?
Angel: One distinct advantage our race quad had this year was the use of KX 125 power jet carbs tied in to a custom Dyna ignition.

ATV Scene: How do jet your quad for this race?
Angel: Jetting is truly the trickiest part.  You jet the bike so it keeps the most horse power available up high on the mountain while making it not too lean where it blows up down low.  We are racing at 5 different atmospheres so you can imagine how difficult this is.

ATV Scene: What is the ideal tire set up?
Angel: Hoosier H-block rears and standard fronts. I tried American Racers in ’02, but they did not hold up well at prolonged high speeds, and often went out around creating wobble.

ATV Scene: What’s the biggest mistake that riders seem to make with this event?
Angel: Lack of overall preparation.

ATV Scene: Do you think an ATV can ever win the overall at Pikes Peak ? Now that, you’ve won it, we have a feeling that this is your new goal. Are we correct?
Angel: You bet. If the restriction were lifted, and we could run Cheetah cylinders, I think we could get damn close to the elusive 10 minute barrier.

ATV Scene: How did you celebrate this extraordinary accomplishment?
Angel: My crew (John Stallworth/owner, Kevin Helt,rig/trailer/dyno owner,Lee Kent/mechanic,Kevin Gigot/technical support, my wife Heather/#1pit tootsie) Jim Goertz (2 nd place and Canadian flat track champion) Yoshi (Japanese hill climb champ and his crew) all partied together long into that night. It was awesome!

ATV Scene: We know that the people behind the scenes are very important in this industry. Any additional people that helped make this happen?
Harry at Trinity lent us a one off set of Titanium Banshee Pipes, Wes got me all the exposure and put my name on the map for Pikes Peak, Dan at Lonestar for agreeing to do the Raptor project in ’02, and Kevin Cowert last year (’03) for believing in me enough to give me his Lonestar Lightweight Banshee to race at last years race. And finally my wife, for letting me drag her all over this country for eight straight years racing Quads.

ATV Scene: Any parting words?
If you readers want to experience a once in a lifetime race, make sure to put Pikes Peak on top of your list.

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