Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

eHILLCLIMB AMA National Championship_H_ill_cli_rnb :R _n_d9 _ _ou _ ~. Paul Lowe rode to 10th in the 540cc class, but holds fifth in the point standings . Lou Gerencer Jr. scored the 800cc class win for the second week in a row. Ted Wilkins posted the winning time for the 540ccclass on his impressive second run GerencerJr" Wilkins come out smelling like White Roses ByJay A. Herndon JEFFERSON, PA, SEPT. 26 ed Team H arley-Davidson rider Lou Gerencer Jr. and Rotax-mounted Canadian Ted Wilkins launched up the White Rose M.C:s hill wi th fast, flaw less climbs to take top honors in the 800 and 540cc classes, respectively. This ma rk ed the second tim e thi s yea r tha t the series mad e a stop a t the popular ascen t, which features a beau tiful backd rop of na tural scenery. The hostin g club, whic h has been aroun d for 42 years, is known for its dedication to safe ty; th e club sp ent s ubstantial amounts of time and mon ey rework ing the top half of the hill to take out a dangerous kicker , which seri ously injured Lou Geren cer Sr . a nd John Will ia ms w hen the series last s top p ed at the White Rose. The kicker was rep laced at the 22o-foot mark wit h a ledge that was cu t into the side of the hill. A jump-at the 4o-foot mark was followed by a pair of small kickers before the led ge, and the hill finished with its steepest portion at 300 feet. R 22 Morning dawned cold and rainy, but the precipitation stopped and left overcast sk ies . As riders ar riv ed and proceeded to inspect the condition of the changed hill, the common observation was that the p revious d ay's rai ns had left th e hill wet. But most were confident that the soil would d ry for the start of the event. The moisture kep t the d ust down, but caused hill wo rkers to be buried by dirt and rocks from the bikes' hu ge roos tertails. James Zucco , known for his immacula te, green, s tre tched Kawasaki drew honors to start off the 540cc class. Zucco launched from the right side of the box, rolled over the first jump, and cracked his thro ttle again through the first set of break ers. He flew off the second jump and landed with good traction. Zucco wheelied a nd loo ped ou t to tri p the lights with a time of 8.3263 seconds. Z ucco' s retu rn in the second rou nd ' proved faster and smoo ther and secured seventh place with a 7.2559-second run. Steve Dresser retu rn ed to comp etition after a dirt bike crash forced him to miss two rounds. Dresser put his Suzuki on the hill after starting from the far right in the box. Dresser's start was fast and he caught air off the first jump. He ca ug h t traction and wheelied upon landing, but set his front wheel down in time to launch over the second jump. Dresser finished his first climb in 7.0708 seco nds . H is second a ttemp t prov ed more effective, as traction was becoming m ore ab undan t as the hill d rie d out. Dresser again started from the righ t, and his assault was nearly id en tical to his first one, with the exception of a faste r 6.7064-second tim e. This secured him third overall for the da y. Ted Wilkins p ut his Rotax sno wmobile-powered bik e on the hill wi th his typical zest. His launch was quick and lo ud , and his la nd ing fro m th e fir s t jump produ ced a w heelie. He adjusted the throttle to se t the front bac k do wn after bobb ling on the landing of the second jump, a nd fishta iled through the lights to a bla zing 7.0148-second time . Wilkins' second run was faster yet, as he utilized a line tha t was slightly off to the right, w ith a straigh t sho t at the jumps. Wilkins sailed long off the second ju mp, landing right at the lights and improving his time to 6.4620 seconds. This secured his fourth w in of the year and maintained his th ird-place position in the class' point standings. Winner of the previous round, Paul Pinsonnault put his Honda up the hill quickly despite a bobble after the first jump. H is time was 6.6551 seconds, and he returned later wi th a slower 6.8963second attempt. This put him in second place , and kept him at the fron t in the points race. "I knew the hill was gonna get a lot faster for the second run, and the bottom of the hill definitely wa s faster the second time out," said Pinson nau lt. "I d on't kno w, maybe the points race has go t m e a li ttle nervo us, to o, b u t it wo rked out in my favor : ' In th e 800cc divi s ion, the USA Tea m 's Ran dy Gabriel drew ho nors to start his class off with his nitro-burning Harle y. Gabriel started on the far right, lost tracti on as he laun ched off the pad, and go t sideways over the firs t jump. He used throttl e con trol and body language to compensate, an d flew over the

• Cover