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1'_ MU'a FUN '~N f'U l~rE~' ~ R~'.E?
during round one, with Gerencer's time
being the fastest
Most professional hillcli.mbs are won
on the rider's second attempt. The first
run provides information about gearing,
traction and suspension, and the
changes the riders make greatly. affect
the outcome of the hillclimb.
Williams made a couple of important
changes. "I knew my 5.35 wouldn't be
fast enough because the hill is so
smooth," said Williams. "We changed
the gearing and added propylene to the
fuel (nitromethane) to see if it would
help." It must have done something
because Williams blasted into the 4s
with a 4.983.
Dresser also improved his time, but
he just didn't have the horsepower to
compete and he would end the day a
disappointing eighth.
As in the first round, leader Gerencer
had the opportunity to ride at any time
in the second-round order once his time
was bettered. Typically the riders will
wait until the end to try to reclaim the
lead but Gerencer went to the line with
half of the field left to ride.
With victory in sight, the Harley
rider held the throttle to the stops as he
flew through the timing lights. As a
result, he sailed way down the return
trail before he could get his bike under
control. Gerencer's all-or-nothing ride
resulted in a 4.964-second ride and his
third win of the season. "1 couldn't let
. that part-time rider come to his first hillclimb of the year and win," Gerencer
said jokingly afterward.
Though his time was fastest, Gerencer still had to wait to see if anyone
could catch him. Reiser was the only
rider to come close with a 5.19. "I shut
off about 10 feet early so 1 wouldn't
crash over the top of the hill," said Reiser. "Third is better than getting hurt,
these young guys can bounce right back
from crashes."
Gerencer's teammates also had a
good day as Mickey Dent took fourth
overall despite a hard fall at the end,
and Harry Schreiber Jr. took fifth, ahead
of Wallace Fowler.
Williams was happy to place second.
"A win would have been great but the
other guys have gotten ahead of us a little bit, but we'll catch up," Williams
said.
With his win, Lou stretched out his
series point lead to 15 points as he seeks
his third national championship. Perhaps the worst news for the class came
after the race when Gerencer said, "We
geared it up for the second ride because
it overreved on the first ride. It could
have pulled an even higher gear - 1
could have gone .faster!"
(N
Hornell Motorcycle Club
Avoca, N_ York
Results: June 16, 1996 (Round 4 of 10)
540: 1. David Watson (Hon); 2. Paul Pinsonnault
(Hon); 3. Ted Wilkins (Rotax); 4. jim Zucco (!