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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127786
.H L LIM IL C B . A National ChampionshipH MA illclimb Series Round 1: Mid lebu Indiana d ry, eencer, Uver 0 season-o ene, (Left) Lou Gerencer Jr. scored th e 800ccclass win during the opening ro und of the AMA Natio nal Hlllclimb Series at the Gosh en Iron Horesemen M.e. In Middlebury, Indiana. (Below) Mike Pulver hopped his way 10 his first career win In Ihe 540cc class. (Bottom) Rodne y Smith look ed 10 be In trouble at Ih e start of t his 800cc run . Smith came bac k to finish third In the class . By Dav id L. Patton Jr. MIDDLEBURY, IN, MAY19 n d ian a Hillclimb fans had a lot to cheer about when round one of the AMA National Championship Hill climb Series vi sited th e Goshen Iron Horsemen Motorcycle Clubgrounds for the se con d annual Zeke Wenger Memorial Hillclimb Tw o-time National Champion Lou Gerencer from Elkhart, Ind iana set the fast est tim e of the d ay on hi s second ride to win the 800cc class while Mike Pulver from Indianapolis also put in an outstanding se cond rid e in the 540cc class to win the first Pro National of hi s car eer. I 6 540 BSA rider an d 1995 Rookie of the Year Terry Th ompson was the first 540cc-class ride r to challenge the hill, and though he made it over the top, he wa sn 't smooth en ou gh for a fast tim e. Mike DeBu sk , also on a BSA, put up the fir st fast time o f the da y, but the nation ' s top 540cc riders were ready for the chall enge . Three -time and defendin g N ationa l Champion Paul Pinsonnault flew hi s nitro-burning Honda CR500 ov er the jump and th r ou gh the clocks for a 3.24-second ride. Pinson na ult' s ti me paced the class until Scott McNeely came to th e lin e. McNeely had a horrible day last fall at Middlebury, and h e was really p u mped up this year. A 3.22-secon d ride had put hi m on top at the end of the first rou n d . To win at the Goshen Iron Horse m e n Motorcycle Club Hillcli mb, a rider must come off the line hard, fly straight off the first jum p, barely clear the second jump and land with the place. Ontario, Ca n ada's Ted Wilkens mist im ed his seco nd ride, bu t h is first one was good enough for fou rth place. "I shut off just a bit too soon and I d id n 't clear the second jump all the w ay," Wilkens said. Pu lver had a solid first ride, and he ap pea red to be really foc used as he put in h is second ride, stopping the clo cks w ith a 3.15-second ru n to take over the lead . "It felt like my bike never even left th e ground over the jump s," Pulver sa id aft erward . N ow Pu lver ha d to w at ch th e others go afte r h is tim e . Pinso nnault pi cked it up on h is seco nd rid e, bu t he couldn't beat McNeely's second-place time. . "I just got beat by a couple frac tions o f a seco n d by tw o g uys who w e re h un g r ier th a n I was," Pi nso n nau lt sai d. Mc Nee ly was the last rider who could take th e win, but h e couldn't th rottl e wid e open, runn in g a ll th e w a y s tra ig h t through th e lights. A ll this must happen in th e space o f 200 feet and around three seco nds . A s th e 540cc cla ss ca me up for round two, everyone w as look in g for that first s traight, perfect run. Da vid Wat son cras he d on h is fir st ride and cam e over the first jump with h is fro nt wh e el wa y too h igh on hi s seco n d rid e. Wat son, 1995' s Most Improv ed Rider, held on to record a 3.55-second run, which w as good for six th place. DeBu sk improved on h is se con d ride with a time g o o d enou gh fo r fifth im p rove on h is first ride and ended up second, tying hi s career be st. "It' s a lot better than I did here last yea r," a di sappointed but satisfied McNeely sai d. Th is da y, though, belon ged to Mike Pu lver. "I couldn't be lie ve it when I got to th e top of th e hill a nd I heard, 'That puts Mike Pul ver in first place: " Pulver said. "This is th e firs t time I' ve led the po ints stan di ngs." 80 0 Last yea r th e Elkhart-based HarleyDavidson Racing Pro Hillclimb Team h ad an up-and-down day at the sea son's first hill cli mb. H a rry Schreiber Jr. wo n, Mickey Den t crashed and wou ld m iss most of th e season, and tw o -t im e a n d defe n di ng Na tio nal Champion Lou Gerencer finis hed 10th. That finish and a six th -place finish at Middlebury's fall even t made it impossible for Gerencer to catch Steve D r es se r for the n umber-one plate. After a long off-season, Gerencer was ready to overcome his recent Middlebury jinx.