BMW came, saw and conquered at the US hill-climbing classic at Pikes Peak in the Rocky Mountains 1st weekend of July. The first appearance at Pikes Peak of BMW Motorrad Team Offroad saw guest rider Casey Yarrow from California and factory rider Simo Kirssi dominate the Exhibition Class (for motorcycles above 750cc) on their HP2 Enduros, taking first and second positions.

In the unofficial ranking of all motorcycles, the BMW riders were placed fifth and sixth. The race up to the 4,300-metre Pikes Peak summit - first held 90 years ago - is the undisputed US off-road classic. The race starts at a height of 2,900 metres and ends right at the summit, some 1,400 metres higher!

The 84th 'Race to the Clouds' takes riders over a distance of 12.47 miles (about 21 kilometres), has 156 bends and has a tarmac covering for about a third of the race distance. The rest consists of a sand-covered and heavily compressed natural path, with virtually no run-off areas or barriers.

Casey Yarrow finished in 12 minutes and 20 seconds - a very respectable result which was actually seven seconds ahead of Kirssi. The 26-year-old from California was the fastest rookie at the event with an average speed of just under 100 km/h and a total time faster than last year's track record.

With a recorded top speed of 156 km/h, Simo Kirssi managed the fastest performance of any motorcycle on the 'Americas Mountain', as Pikes Peak is known by the locals. "I have no experience on asphalt whatsoever, and of course four hours of training isn't enough to be really fast," said the Finnish BMW rider, who believes he can go even quicker next year.

Casey Yarrow, who is currently one of the leading contenders in the US Supermoto Series, praised the HP2 Enduro's performance: "It's a great bike and I hope to be racing it again next year when BMW has a second go," he said.

BMW Motorrad's head of motorsport Berthold Hauser was more than satisfied with his team's showing. "We came here as rookies and we're taking a class victory home with us. This great result shows us where we are and next year we will certainly be able to get involved in the overall rankings".