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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127405
7.555-second run to put h im third at the end of round o ne. T he second ro und tu rn ed out to be faster for most riders, as of the 19 who topped the hill , 13 bettered their first a ttempt. The crowd had swelled to over 6000, wit h fans lin ing the course and adjacent hills. G rooves had formed in the face of the hi ll, and co nfidence rose along with the temperature. Everett o nce aga in lost co ntrol and fell 220 feet up the h ill , but his accu mulated points guaranteed h im fourth in the fina l standi ngs. Pin sonnault ra ged to th e top of the Staircase and shaved hi s first tim e to mo ve .043 seconds behind Frazier. A sho wer of mud clods poured down th e h ill as he muscled over the top , ra ining 150 feet downhill like a small ava la nc he. The cro wd yelled its approval. Ernie Pell in push ed h is Honda hard up the Staircase to turn in an impressive 7.583 ride for his second a ttem p t. But it was Wilkins who dominated the hill the second tim e up, thundering over the top to stop the. clock at 7.032 seconds. No o ther rider co uld do better in the second round; so Frazier didn 't have to mak e ano ther assault on the hill. Pinson n ault 's seco nd -ro u n d improvement moved h im to third in th e final results, bumping Li cht to fourth. Pellin rounded o u t th e top five with his second-ro und run. Frazier was both nervous and happy as he accepted hi s trophy for a fir stever perfect season in h ill climbing h istory . The La ncaster, Oh io native attr ibuted h is success to his bi ke an d mechanics, fa th er Dick Frazier and Gary Bowlb y. "They make it a lot easier to rid e when you do n 't have to worry abou t how the bike pe rforms, just worry abou t yo ur jo b th at day ," said th e 27year-o ld cha mpion . " I am used to the bike. We haven 't cha nged the basi c setu p for th e last couple of years, so that he lps too. " Fr a zier added th a t h e p lans to compete in the 540cc class for one more seaso n, then will lik el y move up to the 800cc class. 800cc T he ru n ning of the 800cc class was a markedl y different event from that of the 540s. 'First of all, full y half of th e top 12 riders are fam iIy. The very successfu l Will iams fami ly from Canada incl udes Wad e, wh o was tied for first place a t the begi nning of the da y, h is brother, eighth-ranked G reg, and their 33-year veteran fathe r, J ohn Williams in 12th place. The Cerencers, from Elkhart, Indiana , include Louis Gerencer Jr., tied with Wade for first place, brother -in-law J eff Yoder holding down the ntimber three position, and three-tim e Na tional Ch ampion Louis Geren cer Sr. right behind Jeff in th e number four spot. The second distinction between the classes was the amo unt of mech anical problems that the 800s would incur. Of the 23 riders in the 800cc class, seven would forfeit rounds because of it. T he Will iams family alo ne would lose four of thei r six shots at the hill to bike problems. Despi te these cha llenges, the 800cc class tuned in im pressive tim es ove ra ll. G erencer J r. pow er ed hi s H arl ey to the to p in a mere 6.458 seco nds . T his deci si ve cl i m b wa s enough to take the first round. Fifthra nked Rob ert Ca stledine of Springfield , Massachusetts, was next to keep below seven with a 6.58 1. Greg Wil - . Iiam s, runn in g straight nitro in hi s Honda , foll ow ed sui t with a clean 6.943 and brother Greg bested that by a fraction , turning in a 6.648 ascent . At the end of round one, only Yoder would break seven seconds among the Paul Pinsonnault flies over the first terrace en route to third in the MOcc class. behind Frazier and Ted Wilkins. top five conte nde rs, running just above with 7.012. Geren cer Jr. wa ited to see ifhe would need to defend h is time with a second run. He kn ew th at Wade Will iams would push hard to pic k up speed and win h is firs t Nati oal, Bot h Wad e's lather and brother had won National titl es, and he wa nte d to keep it in the fam ily. But Wade woul d have to wa it hi s turn whi le Cas tled ine, who again slid h is Harl ey in under seven, cut every ti m e o n th e board exce p t Cer encer J r.' s, pos ti ng a brief 6.539. G reg Will iams would be the nex t top rider in the starting pi t, bu t woul d never see the to p of the hill again tod ay, as h is Honda ba lked at the sta rt and grumbled to a halt and he unsuccessfu lly tr ied to bea t the clock and make repairs. Next came Wade. Laggin g beh ind Geren cer J r. by less than a 10th of a second and tied for the lead in o vera ll points , he would gi ve it hi s best if gi ven the chance. But th is would not be th e day for Wade eith er, as hi s Honda kep t slippi ng o ut of gea r. He never go t to attempt ro und two wit h all three Williamses un abl e to rem edy the problem in th e allo tted 10 minutes. Yod er, Gerencer Sr., and T om Chat tert on were the o n ly ot her riders to cli p seven seconds in the second ro und , but no ne beat Geren cer J r.' s firs t rou nd ·time. At the end of the da y, the order was Gerencer Jr. , Cas rledi ne, Gr eg Willi ams, Wade Williams, and T om Chatterton . In corporating th e ea r n ed points brought their overall po sitions to: Lou Gerencer Jr., with the Na tional Championship titl e (his first ..,.in with 87 points), Wade Williams (84j, Yoder thi rd (80), Castledine up from fifth to fourth (75), a nd Lou Gerencer Sr. , off 0 o ne to fifth place (71). Third-placed Greg Williams was the top finisher among the Canadian con tingen t. Consistent rides earned BSA·mounted Larry Licht fourth in th e MOcc class. Results MO: I. Tim Frazier (RSA); 2. Ted w itk in s (R rx ): 5. Pa ul Pinsonnauh (Hon ); 4. Larry Licht (8 5A); 5. Ernie' Ptll in (H on); 6. Alan Hoskin s (Ho n ): i . Ro ger McNell y (Ya m ); 8. Steve Dresser (SUI ); 9. Bill Api cella (Ka w ): 10. Doug Klo rn (T r i] . 800: I. Loug Cerencer Jr. ( H · D); 2. Bob Cast led ine (H -D); 3. Grt' R Williams (Ho n ); 4. Wad e Will iam s (Han ); 5. T om Chatterton (H- D); 6. Jdr Yode r (H D); 7. Ha rry Sch reiber, Jr. (H · D); 8. Lou Oerenc er. Sr. (H · D): 9. Tom Reiser (H · D); 10. Rand y Gabriel (H -D). AMA NAT'L C' S Hl P MOee SERIES FINAL POINT STANDINGS: I. T im Fraz ier ( 105 pts): 2. Pa ul Pin sonnault (84); " , Tl"d Wilkins (78 ): 4. ScO Il Evere u (7 1); 5. Steve Dresser (68); 6. Bill Ap icella (55); t. R icha rd So ter III (53); 8. Ern ie Pellin (51); 9. Ala n H osk ins (50); 10_ DOUH Klo rn (36). AMA NAT'L C 'SHIP 800ee SERIES FINAL POINT STANDINGS: I. Louis C erencer Jr. (8i ); 2. Wade Willia ms (8-1); 3. J eff Yod er (80); -I. Ro hert Cas rledi ne (75); 5. Louis Cerencer Sr. (71); 6. Thomas Chaue noe (69); 7. Grf'K Williams (61); 8. Thomas Rei ser (56); 9. Randy Gabriel (-19); 10. Charles Casey (46). . 9