Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

eHILLCLIMB ! Reiser, Pinsonnault possess titles at Devil's Staircase AMA National Championship Hillclimb Series: Final Round rl (Left) There was plenty of traction to be had on the 445-foot Devil's Staircase. (Below left) Tom Reiser scorched the hill to win the 840cc class while Paul Pinsonnault (below) topped the 540cc class. Both riders clinched their respective class championships at the event. fas tes t courses on the circuit," DeBus k sai d . Pinsonnault shot a roostertail all the way up the hill on his first run, with his nitro/alcohol Honda breaking the lights a t 8.291 seconds. That time basically locked u p the win, and while Pins onnault had no reason to use his second rid e option, he elected to make another try anyhow. His "fun ride" p rod uced an amazingly quick 8.188-second time. "My first ride wasn't a cle an ru n," e xp la in ed Pinsonnault. "I came 700 miles and wanted to make a second ride jus t to see if I cou ld do any better...! just wanted to have some fun ." Consistency was the key to Pinsonnault's championship; his season produced four victories, one second place and two third-place finishes. He faltered only once, finishing 10th in Logan , Ohio. The 80Dec class started with Canad ian Greg Williams launch in g h is fourcylinder Honda from the left side of the box . Once away, Williams thundered up the center of the hill, roosting across the line w ith a 7.925-second tim e and the thunderin g a p p rov al of th e cr ow d . William's bike d idn't run cleanly on h is second run and his time was slower, but his first run gave him an eventual sixth p lace. . Reiser started his Harl ey from the far right, and d rifted onto the chalk out-ofbounds line off the start . He made throttle ad justments to get straightened ou t, and skirted the line for ano ther 40 feet before posting a 8534-second time. Fortunately for Reiser, all rid ers had agreed at the morning riders' m eeting not to enforce the boundaries rule. Reiser's ride stood, but he improved on his second run with a 7.325-second timing. "We decided to drive it out of the pit, crest the first hill, and then hang on for the ride," said Reiser of his second run, which earned him the win . Lou Gerencer Jr. put h is H arleyDavidson in the starting box on the far right. Gerencer Jr. got off the firs t jump a little squirr elly as he drifted far left , but he straigh tene d ou t in tim e to p u t up a 7.6761-second sco re. In round two Gerencer Jr. again started far righ t and rode a perfectly diagonal line to the top of the ascen t. H e tri p ped th e clock at 7.527 seconds, securing second pla ce in the class . " In th e second ride I w ent too fast over the first jump again and spent too much time in the air," said Gerencer Jr. "I still beat Williams and ended up second. I can't wait 'til next year!" C" Res u lts By Jay Hernd o n OREGONIA, OH ocr. 10 , o m Reiser and Paul Pinsonnault arrived at the last stop on the circuit with the points leads in the 800 and 540cc classes, respectively. By the end of the day at the Devil's Staircase, both had turned vict ories into cl a ss ch a m p ionships, eliminating any d o ubt as to who the two best hillclimbers in the country are. Just outside of Waynesville, the Devil 's Staircase is loca ted on a fa rm tha t is owned by the Powell fami ly, who help the Dayton M.e. in the organization of the event. Another club original- T 20 Iy started th e competition, but th e D.M.e. took over in 1965 and has run it ever since. The day started off cold and brisk wi th th e ground still muddy from the previous day's rains. As usual, the 445foot hill (from light to light) was wellgroomed and ready to go . A 20-foot p lateau jump was at the 35-foot mark, with another br eaker at 270 feet. Riders call it a fas t hill that is ideal for 800cc powerplants. Leon Everett drew honors to run first in the 540cc class, and put his Triumph on the hill. He quickly rolled over the first jump and opened up the throttle again, cutting a straight line to the lights wi th a time of 11.573 seconds. Everett returned for his second run, but was unable to improve his time and had to settle for 17th place. Mike DeBusk, aboard the BSA that Tim Frazier took to last year's title, put on a fabulous show . He started centered in the box and fired onto th e hill, drifting left after th e firs t ju mp and flinging m u d across th e line with a 8.444-secon d time. DeBusk's return produced a quicker time of 8.309 seconds, and elevated him from third to secon d place. "I 'm really fortunate to finish second here tod ay, 'cause there're a lot of fast motorcycles her e and this is one of the S4Q, I . Paul Pinsonna ul t (Hon); 2. Michael Debusk (BSA); 3. Steve Dresser (Suz) ; 4. Ted Wilkins (Ra); S. James Zu cco (/

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