Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

.> ILLC B·:·. H LIM '· w , . :, ' '-:,' , National Championship H illclimb Series : Round 2:White Rose M.C. Clubgrounds Gereneer and DeBusk win·big·at White R ose (Far left) Mike DeBusk topped the 540cc class with 8 run that left him with 8 broken collarbone. (Above) Lou ie Gerencer Jr. aced the 800cc class aboard hi s big HarleyDavidson. (Left - clockwise, fr om top ri ght) Louie Gerencer Jr~ Randy Gabriel , Tom Reiser, Alan Hos kins , Paul Plnsonnault and Mike DeBusk were the top fi nishers In both classe s. The White Rose hili looms In t he background . By Jay A. Herndon JEFFERSON, PA, JUNE 5 ouie Gerencer Jr. wheelied his red nitro-fed Harley-Davidson to the top of White Rose's hill to win the 800cc class at the second round of the AMA National Championship Hillclimb Series, while Mike DeBusk took top honors in the 540cc class with a fullthrottle climb that was fast in .execution and straight in delivery. All was not smooth sailing for DeBusk, how ever, as he flew over the top of the hill and promptly flew over the bars. The White Rose M .e. hosted the round, and the event marked their 38th year of hillclimb promotions during their 43 years of operation. Located near Spring Grove, a small community in Pennsylvania, this stop on the Pro Hillclimb circuit is a favorite amongst the riders due to the club's nice facilities, as well as the care and condition of the hill. The White Rose M.C . welcomes the pro hillclimbers twice a year, and a third time every other year for the invita tiona l that is held in late July or early August. This being an even year, the invitational will be held in Muskegon, Michigan, on August 7, for the top fifteen riders of each class, by invitati on onl y. White Rose's hill starts steep and lev- L o els at the 60' mark, forming the first jump or "kicker." The hill continues to slope up at a significant incline to the 220 ' mark where a large b ulld ozed grove, about 8' across, is cut ou t. Continuing in slope and climb, the timing lights are set at the 260' mark, with the top of the hill just another 4O'ahead: 300' of pure Hillclimber's delight. DeBusk commen ted on the hill pri or to the event's start, saying: " A lot of guys are gonna go fast. I'm sure some are gonna ha ve tr ouble wi th traction cause there's lots of it up there today and hopefully well be getting us a hand ful of it. But the hill looks real good." With partly cloudy skies and th e temperatures warming up , the event got under wa y with Steve Dresser having the dubious honor of cutting the first groove into the hill. Dresser put his brightly-painted Suzuki-p owered bike in the center of the box to start his climb . Dresser's launch lacked the power that he needed to build up momentum for the top half of the climb. Making throttle adj ustme n ts, Dresser worked the bike up the hill and through the light, kicking o ut a dusty ro oster tail and bringing the estimated crowd of 4000 to their feet, cheering. Dresser's return in round two proved slower , as he was plagued with horsepower problems and • unable to log a fast time. The 540cc class got underway with DeBusk dra w in g ride number two . Recovering from an injured left arm sustained at the Goshen, Indiana hillclimb just three weeks prior to the day's event, DeBus k fir ed his nitro-powered BSA onto the hill in a 'bonze' frenzy. With a couple kicks from his bike going up the hill, DeBusk flew through the timing lights and contin ued up over the hill's crest. DeBusk got lots of air, only to dismount his BSA unfash ionably wh en he landed on his front wheel and continued over the handlebars. DeBusk suffered a broken collar bon e and took a short ride to the ho spital. Debusk paid the ultimate p rice in order to win his first-ever Pro H ill cl imb with a time of 5.9971. When he returned to the hill later in the d ay, DeBu sk said: "It makes yo u feel goo d to w in in front of your home crowd. -Unfortunately, we have another inju ry. Hopefully we'll get healed up, and we 'll get to rock & roll some more." Alan Hoskins put his Honda onto the hill very smoothly as he exiled out of th e center of the starting box. After clearing the firs t obstacle, Hoskins screamed to the lights centered all the way up on the hill to log a time of 7.5167. Returning later in the second round, Hoskins turned in a 6.3910, fast enough to put him into the third-place position . "I just wanted to keep my back tire on the ground as much as possible today and give it hell," said Hoskins, Scott Everett launched his Triumph hard and stayed on the gas through the lights. Everett logged a lot of air time at the finish and dismounted in the same over -the-bars fashion as DeBusk. In an attempt to prevent any more inju ri es, th e hill w orke rs and referee Harold White de cid ed to make adjustments to the hill after th e fir st 540cc round by 'd ozing out a cut across the hill at the 220' mark to slow riders down. Paul Pinsonnault go t some air time as he crested the firs t breaker and settled onto the hill with a time of 6.0332. Pinsonnault's second gravel-throwing climb proved slower with a 6.23, and he relied on his first-round climb to secure a second place finish and maintain his points lead. "1 just wanted to try and place in the top three positions to maintain my points lead. I d id just that, so I'm happy," said .Pinso nnault. "I was trying a new setup on the bike today and it worked." Michael Dent got the 800cc class underway . Dent's s u r p ri se win at Goshen, three weeks earlier, had the 800cc field watching him as he launched off the line a bit loose and squirmy. As Dent came out of th e box , he lobbed over the first breaker and continued to

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