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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127745
HltLCLIMB. . AMA Natiol'lal Championship H,Uclimb Series Round 9: Quaboag Riders M.C. reaks throu h Iy bettered Garrety's time by over half a second. Soter scorched up the hill with a run of 4.369, a fast time that would last for three more rides - until Lowe had his chance at the hill. Up to this point, Lowe's top finish in his pro career was a third place, and he came to Monson running fourth in the overall standings. The Kawasaki rider changed all of that with a flawless ride up the far-right side of the hill, as his run of 4.336 seconds would stand as the top 540cc time of the day. By David L. Panon Jr. MONSON, MA, AUG. 27 UI Lowe stunned the 540cc lass at the Quaboag Riders Motorcycle Club's 1995 Professional Hillclimb, scoring the first-ever National win of his three-yearold professional career. The West Virginian's round-nine victory moved him into third place in the overall point standing behind tied series points leaders Paul Pinsonnault and Richard Soter ill, both riders now with 113 points and three wins to their credit. Like the smaller-displacement class, the 800cc class also has a two-rider race for the championship, as defending champion Lou Gerencer Jr. chases Steve Dresser, who has led the way since round two of the 13-round series. Gerencer came to Monson on the momentum from his win in the last round in Danville, West Virginia, and the Gerencer's Harley-Davidson rider scored his fourth win of the season, just edging Dresser by 0.057 seconds. Gerencer picked up one point in the points race and now sits three behind Dresser, who has 107. After Kawasaki-mounted 540cc-dass rider Paul Garrety opened the day's event with a 4.885, Richard Soter III brought his BSA to the line and prompt- P 30 (Above) Paul Lowe wheell.. his way to the first S4Occ-class National Hlllclimb win of his pro career. Lowe now sits fourth In the overall standing. (Above right) This slight bobble may have cost Steve Dresser the win In the 800cc class; he finished second. (Right) Lou Gerencer Jr. blasted his Harley-Davidson to the 800cc-c1888 win with the only sub-tour-second run on the day. "I looked at (the hill) earlier in the day and it was real smooth across the jump up there," Lowe said of his rightside line choice. '1 wouldn't get a lot of air, so 1 stuck to that side." When the round-one times were tallied, defending class champion Pinsonnault, from nearby Ludlow, Massachusetts, was credited with the third-best time ahead of David Watson, also from Ludlow, and Kevin Zucco. As the second round began, all eyes were on Soter as he threw up a huge rooster tail coming off the line. The BSA rider's time of 4.511 wasn't enough to improve on his first run but he still had a solid hold on second. "I was surprised when 1 heard my time - it felt a lot faster," Soter said. "But the hill is really drying out, making it hard to find traction." In the first round, David Watson had a big wheelie that really slowed him down, but his second chance on the hill went substantially better as he put in the third-fastest run of the day in the class. Watson said of his 4.399"Second run, simply, "We've really got the bike working better." Pinsonnau1t's return was unfortunately a tick slower than his first run, and Watson's strong second-round ride dropped him to fourth overall, enabling Soter to join the points leader at the top of the standings. "Paul Lowe did a great job. It was a real close race," Pinsonnault said. "Fourth was okay today; we'll just go to the next race and try to do better." Ted Wilkins had a mechanical problem with his Rotax on his first ride and he had to pull out of the starting box to make repairs. It was worth the trouble because on his second run he screamed up the hill in 4.491 seconds to take fifth on the day. In the 800cc class, Glendal Petty Jr. brought his XR750 Harley-Davidson to the line to lead off for the big bikes. Petty had some problems on his first climb and ended up with a ride of 4.414 seconds. Yamaha-mounted Rodney Smith brought his machine to the line next and screamed through the lights with a time of 4.120 sec;onds to eclipse Petty's run,