Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

HILLCLIMB A ANATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP M HILLCUMB SERIES Round 9: Goshen Iron Horsemen Me (Left) Paul za nder sellhe pace In Ihe BOOcc class early in the day , taking the win w ith a single ride . (Above)Mike Pulver took the 540cc-class wi n on his first ride. Here. Pulver gets air on his seco nd . slower ride. - By Jay Herndon of S.L. Photo MIDDLEBURY IN, SEPT. 21 , aul Zander shot his monstrous BSA up the Gosh en Iron Horsemen hill to set fast tim e of th e day w ith a single ride. The Pennsylvanian rookie b la sted onto th e hill in a no-holdsbarred assault to take his first-ever Pro National Hillclimb victory in the 800cc P class. Scott McN eely se t fast tim e in the 540cc divi sion. Utilizing the tacky conditions in the first round, McNeely styled with an airy jum p over the doubles to take his first-ever Pro Hillclimb win this year. r-, 0\ 0\ ,...... r:t3 ~ Q) ..a .8 u o 50 The last weekend of summer was the perfect time for the annual pro hillclimb at Middlebury, Indiana's own Goshen Iron Horsem en Motor cycle Club. With temperatures in the 70s, the 51-year-old club's grounds boasted several changes , wit h newly bulldozed-ou t s pecta to r areas and impro ved pa rking cond itions. Loca ted near Goshen, the Gos he n Iron Hor sem en Motor cycle Clu b s p ons ors two pro hillclimb events each year in ad d itio n to a ma te u r eve n ts a nd fla ttra ck races throu ghou t th e ye ar. Thi s particular event is "The Fall Event." This stop on the pro circu it provided racers with a 145-foot hill, light to ligh t the shortest climb on the circu it. What the hill lacks in speed and d ista nce, it makes up with airy, showy rides. 540cc Rand y Dillion of Goshen started the field of 19 540cc rid ers. Staying centered co mi ng off th e sta r ti n g log , Dillion rolled over the jump and over the second breaker. He then pin ned the throttle open on his stretch Hond a, recording a conserva tive run of 4.9893. Roun d two pro ved slower ye t; wh ile his ap proac h looked just as fast, the clock proved ot herwi se, showing a 5.3202 for his efforts . Dillion finished in 16th place. Mike Pu lver w as th e firs t rid e r to doub le the jumps, and he stayed centered off the log to finish his ride in a show y aerial over the top wh ile record ing a tim e o f 3.2627 seconds . Pu lver' s re tu rn tri p to the Iron Horseman 's Mot orcycle Club hi ll proved slower. Putti ng together anothe r clea n, center line run, Pulv er la u n ch ed hi s ligh tweight , stretched Hon da ove r the do ubl e ju m p . Upo n land in g , Pu lver op ened th e throttle as he das he d for the lights and finished the rid e with a lofty exit ov er th e top. The 3.3253 for his second rid e forced Pul ver to rely on the first-rou nd ride to tak e his secondplace finish . "I thought I had some makin g up to d o on the seco nd round ; I came ba ck and I go t a little too mu ch traction out of th e hole and jumped too far ," Pulver said . "I just want to th ank St od en ' s Cycle Ranch, Finishing Touch and Indy Powder Coating." Scott McNeely used a groove slightly left in the box for his assault on the 145foot hi ll. McNeely man ha ndled th e stretched Honda as he and his machine dug in . Utilizing the excelle nt lau nch, McNeely jumped the doubles and landed perfectly with th e th rottle pi nned, motorin g to and over the top in a professional and show y exit o ver the top . McN eel y ro ck ed th e cl o ck with a n impressive 3.2186, placing him on th e bubble for the first-round action . In the second round, McNeely used the far left side of the course for his chosen groove . Hard off the log, McNeel y go t a good lau nch and landed just over the second kicke r. H e go t h ard o n th e gas an d screamed to the top to log a slow time of 3.5660. The elected second rid e proved fu n an d exciting for the ecsta tic West Virg inian. "I didn't really have to ride the second ru n, but I opted to, becau se th e h ill was in pretty good sh a pe: ' McNeely said . "Special than ks to MAC Cycle Sup ply, Logan Suzu ki. Kaw asaki, To w nse nd Speci altie s, my d a d , and Clarence Browning ." Pau l Lowe utilized the left side of the course as he got staged on the log. A crisp launch put Lowe ove r th e jump with an excellent landing as he cleared the d ouble. Flyin g over the top , Lowe stopped the clocks with a 3.3223-second run . Lowe's second rid e, like most of the field, turned up a slower time. Choosing a cent er line a nd staying cen tered the enti re second ride, Lowe landed long, using the whole travel of his suspe nsion as he hit hard . Rocketing to the light, Lowe clocked a 3.6679 for his second rid e. The faster first rid e still pocketed Paul Lowe a third-place finish . "I kind of overjum ped the jump there a little bit... I believe I could' ve go ne a little faster if I hadn't got so much air:' Lowe said . ''Thanks to Logan Suzu ki, Kawasaki and MAC Cycle Supply." BOOcc Mike Shobert, aboard his Petty-built Triumph, got the field of 16 ride rs off to a noisy star t. The nitro-fed, stretched Triumph barked as Shobert utilized a center-line attack as he jumped the two obstacles, only to case it. land ing a couple of feet short of the cres t of the second kicker. With the rear tire , Shobert hit bottom , ha rd . Rebounding, he got back on the power, staying centered as he flew over the top in a 3.7867-second run . In round two aboard the Triumph, he came up short. After launching over th e jumps, Sh obe r t cras hed and was cred ited with a 98-foo t run, finis hing 13th for his efforts . Zande r chose the center groove for his first ride. Once fired and war med up , he pounded the BSA out of the hole for a n ai ry , straigh t-as-a n-a rro w ride over the doubl e. Landing on the cha inwrapped rear tire, Zander already had th e throttle open as he un icycled the stretche d BSA up the hill, carryi ng the fron t wh eel a good 45 feet and setti ng down just before the ligh ts, to clock an awesome 3.0881. This was Za nder's one and only pass on Goshen's Iron Horsemen Hill. "M an, we knew it was coming," Zander said. "We were waiting; we've been just putting ou r head s down and just

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