Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

Kerry Peterson launched his modified Honda CR500 off a ledge on the Open Exhibition hill to top the special Rainier Beer Shoot-Out. 24th Annual Widowmaker Hillclimb Kenny is third Kimball to win the Widow By Karel Kramer/Dirt Rider Photos by Craig Adams and Doug Olsen SALT LAKE CITY, UT, MAY 17 Kenny Kimball became the third member of Utah's Kimball fam ily to wi n the infamous Widowmaker H ill climb when he rose l 070 feet on a Yamaha in the 700cc Exhibition class, but he fail ed to go over th e top. Kimball also won th e Open Exhibition class with' a 823-foot run. Kenny's father Mel was th e first rid er from Utah to win th e hillclimb, and his brother, Mel Jr. , won last year. For th e 24th ed i ti o n of th eir a nn ua l hillclimb, th e Bee's Motorcycle Club mandated that no rid er would top the " Widow," and th e club lived up to its promise. To ensure their strategy, the Bee's drafted two of Utah 's best hillclimbers to design th e hill. The layout was already diabolica l before the hill cre w wa s bribed with a dinner, contingent on no rider topping the hill. Keeping th e specia l ized long wh eelbase, steel paddle-tired hill- climb machines from admiring the view from a top the 1600-foot sum mit was no easy task for h ill ca pta ins Kim ball a nd T rav is Whi tlock . Parti cularl y si nce lan d -u se h a ssl es forced th e climb farther south o n the face, o nto a steeper but far less brush y piece of real esta te. This year's climb was held in nearl y th e same location used for the 1975 climb. Without th e heavy sage to dodge that in creased the difficulty of previous climbs, a serpentine cours e was ribboned o n to the face of th e hill , th en dug fu ll of cliffs and ledges before th e first rid er left the line. The club did indeed put th e poison back in th e "Widow," and her bite proved fatal for th e hopes of every rid er intent on seeing th e top. Kimball proved th e most successful of those upwardly mobile on a Kenny Kimball celebrates the f ruits of victory after cl imbing higher than anyone else. No one managed to go over the top. day where co nditio ns changed radicall y. One minute th e sky poured rain, making th e day as gloomy as far-traveling riders foil ed by th e treach erous hi ll, a nd a minute later th e sky wou ld clear and shine as bri ght a nd sun ny as th e face of the winner who pocketed $2000 for each class win. . Kimball 's winning feat required j um p ing two ledges right o ut of the ga te, th en climbing a short distance before scaling a four-foot ledge in the m iddl e of a 900 right-hand turn. He th en gra bbed an immed ia te left-hand turn up a sho rt stra igh t sectio n, which was p unc tuated wi th four ditches across th e trail a t differin g an gles. Once over th e ditch es, the tra il ' turned ha rd right before tra ckin g offcam ber th rough light bru sh a nd ma king a no the r 900 left tum near the 500-foo t mark . The 15-foot wi de lane th en ra n off-camber to near th e 600foot mark before sweeping right in loo se sand a nd rock a t th e steepes t pa rt of the hill. At th e 700-foot point, th e tra il hit a six-foo t cliff. None of the riders go t over the cliff on th e first run, but Kimball blazed a trail over it on th e second run, then kept enough momentum to scramble over more ledges and through more turns, It looked as if he were on his way over the top, but after fighting a fouling sp ark plug all th e way, Kimba ll's YZ490gave up a t the 1070foot mark. Mark Cox , Whitlock and five-time winner ' Kerry Peterson managed to blast their Honda CR500Rs over the cliff, but th ey either fell off or went o ut of th e lane shortly after. They seemed set in the top spo ts until the trail matured and severa l lateriders motored easily over the ledge that earlier had been th e stumbling block, In th e last five runs of th e day, Canadian Brian Pierson powered his KX500 past 800 feet, followed by Robert Horban and Lero y Ebeling on 500 Hondas. Cox ended up second, with 830 feet, after a tie with Pi erson was decided in hi s favor du e to a better first run, H orban was a mere foot behind in fourth, with Ebeling fifth a t 824 feet and Peterson sixth nearly 100 feet back 'a t th e 737-foot mark. Du st y Beer 's Ka wasaki sna tched seventh by ge tti ng seven inches hi gher than Whitlock 's 723-foot run. Todd Whi tlock a nd Tom J ohnson fill ed o ut th e top l Oon th eir H ondas a t 709 a nd 708 feet, respectively. The Ope n Exhi bition class was run o n a d ifferent lan e than the 700cc class for th e fir st ti me. The tight twi sty, ledge-fill ed face proved fru strating a nd impossible for th e big, heavy h illclimbin g mach in es. T he pa dd led rear tires quickl y mulched much of th e ear ly part of the hill into silt, lea ving ruts th at caught the cases of the WIder bikes and lifted th eir wh eels off the gro und. . Man y disgruntl ed rider s never made it over the first 50 feet. More than half of th e 30-rider field never cleared 200 feet, and winner Kimball herd ed hi s 1219cc four- cylinder Honda 823 feet for th e class win-barely over halfway. Tom Elmore made the trip from Illinois worthwhi le wi th his best finish ever, second behind Kimball , with a climb of 754 feet. After aby smal luck in th e 700cc class, 1986 winner Mel Kimball Jr. , nailed third place money with a 633-foot run . H e wa s follow ed by Travis Whitlock on a 1245cc V-65 Magna stripped for dirt with motocross fork and extended driveshaft, at 625 feet.

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