Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126638
(Clockwise from bottom left) Lance Lu nd gren. shown in his second p lacing 250cc ride. was the only rider leg ally over on a production bike. (N ext ) Different styles of climbers. (N ext ) Not everyone gets over. (Top left) Kerry Peterson early in one of his w inning runs. (Above) Keith Roessler topped the hill four times and took second in Exh ibition. Widowmaker Hillclimb Peterson UHogs" . wins again! . By Karel Kramer Photos by Reed Dixon. Clark Maxfield and Kramer SALT LAKE CITY, UT, APR. 24 T wenty times. Twenty times the grand lady, an d some aren 't sure how much of a lady she is, of hillclimbs has sneered down on the insignifica nt doings of m en as they attempted to conquer the Widowmaker. Though she has grown tougher with age, men h ave had their 24 way with he r. Now , in her 20th yea r, non e hav e mast ered her like Yorba L inda , California 's Kerry Peterson. Peterson already had the records for only man to top the hill twice in one day a nd o n ly ride r to win twice on th e . new 15OO-foot hill. In this particularly record setting running, Peterson won for the third time. Also. for the first time, a Utah rider . two in fa ct, went over the new hill. Keith Roessler topped the hi ll . four tim es in th is running. Despite th e huge successes this year, th e 1983 model Widowmak er wa s a to ug her hill. The wall-like face that is so familiar to Utahans traveling from th e ca p ita l at Salt Lake to th e lower parts of th e sta te rises 900 feet in 1500 feet. That equates to an 83 per cent grade. A hill that has a starting a rea th at is not visible from th e top. There were 130 rid ers in the Exhibition class a lone , including many more riders from back east than last yea r. The majority o f the riders hail from Utah and California , but Colorado, Washington and Texas are well- represented as well as other states. The threat of snow or rain with the added number of the riders and th e increased cost of putting the event on weighed heavily on the minds of the Salt Lake City Bees Motorcycle Club, wh o sponsor th e non-profit event. The riders first hit th e hill at eig h t in th e m orning wi th th e Exhibition riders sta rt in g at nine in an effort to get the riders and spectators off the hill before a late a ftern oon storm th e weatherman promised. Morning runs in the exhibition class stayed low wi th many riders ending their rides before th e 500-foot mark. Only Peterson on his WheelsmithiPalmdal e H-D/Works Performan celTsubaki/ND ni tro fuel-injected H arley Davidson an d Keith Roess ler on hi s Frem ont Cycle Center 1200cc Honda topped th e hill on th e first run . Peterson went over first to th e roars a nd horn-hon kin g of th e crowd and pi cked up th e $1000 from th e Big Ni ckl e Want Ads. a lo cal want ad paper, for the first run over. Roessler went over one ride later. Winds from the impending storm were gusting at over 100 mph on the top of the hill, and they blew the timimg lights off th e to p o f th e hill during both trips over. Both riders had