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HILLCLIMB . AMA National ChampionShip Hillclimb ~ries , Round 4: Avoca, New York a on me orne By David L. Patton Jr. AVOCA, NY, JUNE 16 or the second race in a row, Lou Gerencer and David Watson claimed the top spots as the AMA National Championship Hillclimb Series traveled to Avoca, New York, for round four. Wa tson had to fend off the challenge of three-time and defending 540cc National Champion Paul Pinsonnault, his friend and mentor, while in the 800cc class Gerencer had his hands full with Canada's Greg Williams, who made his first appearance of the 1996 season. Logan Kawasaki's Paul Lowe started the day's event in the 540cc class looking for some good luck after a tough start to the season. Lowe took fifth in the series last year and he turned in a smooth ride up the rocky, 400-foot hill for a first-round time of 6.48 seconds. Lowe's .first ride held up until Watson brought his nitro-fueled KAP Honda CRSOO to the line. Watson came out of the hole straight and hard and he never let up despite a big wheelie after the second kicker. Waston blasted through the lights for a time of 5.75 seconds, the top 540cc run of the first round. Three riders later Paul Pinsonnault took his Wulfsport-backed Honda up the hill in a run nearly identical to Watson's, wheelie and all, for a 5.92. Honda-mounted Scott McNeely, second overall in the point standings, turned in a good ride at 6.20 seconds. "I wasn't geared high enough for the hill," said McNeely. Still, he ended the round in fourth, 0.10 second behind Jim Zucco's Kawasaki. The Hornell Motorcycle Club's hill always smooths out as the day goes, getting faster all the whHe, and that was certainly the case today as the secondrun times proved. Once again Lowe led off, and this F (Above) Lou Gerencer Jr. took another win in the 800cc class, with a superfast run on the smooth Hornell M.C. hilI. (Above right) Like Gerencer, 54OCc-class rider David Watson took his second win In as many weeks. (Right) Canadian Greg Williams brought out his four-cylinder Honda and put In an Impressive second-place ride In the 800cc class only a few ticks behind winner Gerencar. time he kept the wheels on the ground and driving for a 5.82-second run, a time that would land him a fifth-place finish. The 540cc times continued to drop but Watson still held the lead. Then Pinsonnault got his second chance at the hill. Pinsonnault gained those three number-one plates with clutch rides under pressure and he put in a flawless ride to take away the top spot from Watson with a 5.70. "The first ride my bike ran super and the second run it was really rich," said Pinsonnault. "1 ran faster because I could hold the throttle wide open all the way to the top." McNeely may have gone too far when he regeared his bike. He got down to a 6.07 but it was only enough for eighth, dropping him to third in the series standings. Triumph-mounted John Hamilton put in the best ride of his first professional season running a 5.98, for sixth overall. New leader Pinsonnault could only watch as the rest of the 540cc class tried to go even faster. Kawasaki-mounted Zucco had a great ride improving from 6.10 on his first ride to 5.77 for fourth, tying his career-best professional finish. "We shortened the wheelbase for the Second run so it would hook better and we geared it uJ+ a little and it worked," said Zucco. Ted Wilkins, national number three, has had a tough year so far and his firstrun time wasn't in the top 10 as he dropped the hammer on his Rotax for his second ride. "My bike wasn't perfect today but 1 kept working on it and once it hooked up, it ran better," said Wilkins, whose hard work and good riding got him up to third, 0.01 second ahead of Zucco. That left one rider with a chance to beat Pinsonnault, David Watson. Though Watson is in his third pro season, this was his first ride here on his Honda. "Paul Pinsonnault helped us set up the bike. this morning and we made little changes after the first ride," said Dan Watson, David's father and tuner. The changes worked as Watson stopped the clock with a 5.70 run and his second win of the season. "I thought 1 would have to go faster than that but Paul's bike wasn't right. Still, it feels good to win two in a row." The outstanding racing in the 540cc class was just a sign of things to come as the 800cc riders took to the hill. 1995 National Champion Dresser is from nearby Arkport, and a huge crowd was here to cheer him on. Another popular rider was Canadian Greg Williams, making his first appearance on the circuit this year aboard his four-cylinder Honda. All of the competitors, though, would be watching one Lou Gerencer of the Harley-Davidson Racing Pro HiJlclimb Team. Gerencer held the points lead coming into this event and only a great ride by Tom Reiser in round two at York kept Gerencer from sweeping the three previous races. Gerencer was especially fired up this year because Hornell is the only hill he hasn't won on. Williams put in an excellent ride on his first attempt, getting solidly into the five-second range with a 5.53. Dresser also got into the 5s with 'a 5.92, though his bike didn't seem to have its normal growl. . Then came Gerencer. He roared up the hill in a cloud of dust and took the lead with a time of.5.35. In all, eight riders broke into the five-second bracket