Honda->ke291 has partnered with the American Motorcyclist Association to once again buffer up the safety features at the coming 2015 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb->ke1001. The long-standing partnership between the two entities will now include providing soft barriers at the 12.42-mile race course, specifically areas and sections that are considered the most dangerous for drivers and riders racing up the mountain.

These barriers, called Airfences, are described as air-filled cushions that have been designed to protect ATV and motorcycle riders in the event an accident occurs during one of the time trial runs in the Race to the Clouds. This isn’t the first time Honda and the AMA have come together to provide these Airfences to Pikes Peak. Just last year, the two firms partnered with the Roadracing World Action Fund to improve the event’s overall safety of the race that’s considered one of the most dangerous in the world. Last year’s soft barriers came in pretty handy with eventual class champion Jeremy Toye crediting the Airfences for saving him from further injuries after a fall during practice.

Now, Honda and the AMA are coming back for seconds and i couldn’t be a more beautiful thing. We all know how dangerous Pikes Peak can be. There’s no shortage of unavoidable accidents that happen in that mountain race track so any kind of safety equipment that can help minimize the number of injuries that might happen during the race is more than welcome to be part of it.

With these soft barriers in place, organizers, teams, and riders can be comforted knowing that the racing event is making these safety measures its top priority. Lord knows that if there’s one racing event that needs as many safety features as it can get, it’s the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb.

Continue reading to read more about Honda’s partnership with the American Motorcycle Association to provide Airfences to the 2015 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb.

Why it matters

Honda and the American Motorcycle Association are both doing the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb a huge service by providing these soft barriers for the racing event. We all know how dangerous the Race to the Clouds is. Some of you might have even been there and raced around the course so your understanding of its treacherousness comes from first-hand experience.

These Airfences won’t solve the issue of safety at Pikes Peak completely, but it will go a long way in making the race safer for drivers and riders alike. As a rider, that’s really all you can ask for. Toys knows exactly how what these soft barriers are capable of. Without them, he might have sustained more serious injuries from his spill in 2014. He even admitted that these barriers safe him from injuries that would’ve otherwise forced him to sit out last year’s event altogether.

The track record of these barriers speaks to the kind of safety technology Honda and the AMA have tapped into to ensure that they not only work, but also provide a semblance of trust from drivers and riders, all of whom will appreciate these barriers in the event that they get themselves involved in accidents at the 2015 staging of the event.

So yeah, thanks Honda and the AMA! You’re doing the 2015 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb a huge service by providing these Airfence barriers for the event. You didn’t have to do it, but it’s reassuring to know that both of you are willing to step up to the plate to ensure that the event has the cursory safety features to alleviate whatever concerns riders and drivers may have of participating in the event.

We’re hoping that nobody gets hurt to the point that these barriers save them from further injuries. Then again, asking nobody to get hurt at Pikes Peak is like asking Homer Simpson, a man who once forgot to make his own hear beat, to discuss the Pythagorean theorem: it’s a nice thought in our heads, but we also know better.