Both members of the Spider Grips Ducati team have broken the magical ten-minute barrier on this famous American mountain race. How did they do it? On a Ducati Multistrada 1200 S equipped with a special Akrapovič exhaust system.

We got a really special order at Akrapovič: to create an efficient racing exhaust system for a motorcycle that was originally intended for touring, not racing. But because the Multistrada engine is shared with the 1198 superbike, and because the development of the exhaust system had a very precisely defined goal—victory at the legendary Pikes Peak mountain race in Colorado—our work had a very clear purpose and heightened motivation. After last weekend we deserve to take pride in our product because Spider Grips Ducati team members Carlin Dunne and Greg Tracy achieved a historical milestone.

This is the first time in racing history that any motorcycle rider has achieved a time of less than ten minutes. The winner of the race, Carlin Dunne, crossed the finish line with a time of 9:52.819, and his second-ranked teammate Greg Tracy was timed at 9:58.262. Dunne’s fastest speed was 144 mph and his average, considering the terrain, was a dizzying 72.872 mph. Just a reminder: this road has 156 turns, without guardrails in some places. It takes guts to do a race like this! And the right equipment. Dunne and Tracy both raced on Ducati Multistrada 1200 S bikes outfitted with an Akrapovič exhaust system developed just for this event.

“Today was an emotional day,” said Dunne. “The year of work the Spider Grips Ducati team put into preparing for Pikes Peak got us across the finish line in under 10 minutes, an achievement we’re very proud of. When we heard that we won and broke the record for the second time, I was speechless. The one-two finish proves the Ducati Multistrada 1200 S is the ultimate bike to conquer Pikes Peak.”

The general manager of Ducati North America, Dominique Cheraki, is also really proud of the achievement: “Ducatisti around the world are celebrating the victory of Carlin Dunne and the Spider Grips Ducati Team—we’re all very proud. Three years ago we chose the Multistrada 1200 S to compete at Pikes Peak to showcase its on- and off-road capabilities, class-leading ergonomics, handling, and performance. When we were alerted that the entire course would be paved in 2012, there was no doubt that the Multistrada 1200 S was still the right choice and breaking the record today proves this.”

A limited number of other owners of the top-performance dual-purpose Multistrada can also enjoy the same exhaust as the one used on the winning bike because the Akrapovič factory has produced fifty of them.