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Kelowna  

Local rider in deadly race

A Kelowna motorcycle racer is in Colorado this week, racing in the famed Pikes Peak International Hill Climb for the first time in his career.

The hill climb is an annual race up the 20-kilometre winding road, that sees both cars and motorcycles gain over 1,400 metres of elevation in roughly 12 minutes, depending on the driver.

Marcel Irnie has been racing superbikes for years, but he usually finds himself on the track. The Pikes Peak Hill Climb, on the other hand, takes place on a rough street road, with deadly cliffs mere metres from the road. 

“(I race) on circuit tracks, which are safe,” Irnie said from Colorado. “They don’t have cliffs of death. This is like, you die or you do well.”

“It’s just like a typical road, there could be oil …  we’re racing up past snow, and the snow is melting across the road in one of the corners, as an example.”

And Irnie is not exaggerating. A bike racer has died the last two years at Pikes Peaks, prompting organizers to cut the participants from 300 to 100, to only allow the best of the best in the race.

And with only 36 of the 100 racers riding bikes, Irnie feels pretty special being one of only five racers who hasn’t competed at Pikes Peak before, and one of only two Canadians in the race.

To add to the excitement, Irnie snagged the best time of all 36 bikes during Tuesday’s practice.

“I was totally surprised because of our limited practice, in those three hours, for 36 motorcycles, it turns out I was the fastest of everybody,” Irnie said.

The finish line ends at 4,302 metres above sea level, and Irnie says “you get out of breath real quick,” near the top.

Irnie is riding in the all-electric class, on an electric-powered production motorcycle called a Zero FXS.

After practising the course all week, the real race is on Sunday, with racers taking off from the bottom in 30-second intervals. 



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