Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Hillclimb Longtime 540cc competitor Ted Wilkins continued his str ing of recent top-th ree finis hes with a win at round 11 of the AMA Nationa l Champions hip Hillclimb Series in York, Pen ns ylvania, By David and Lo ra Patton YORK, r A, SEPT. 26 a m e s "Jammer" Large took a giant step toward his thirdstraight 800cc National Hillclimb Championship with a d ominating win at round 11 of the 1999 AMA National " Championship Hillclimb Series. Large's second -straigh t victory has vaulted him to a IS-point lead and given him a great chance at sewing up the title at the next round . Ted Wilkins' win in the 540 class jumped him up into a tie for the po ints lead with five-time Na tional Champion Paul Pinsonnault. Scott McN eely was the first rider to challenge the 3QO.-foot hill, on his Mac's Cy cle Su p p ly n it ro -b urning H o n d a CR500. McNeely made the mo st of his ru n o n th e s mooth hi ll, pumpin g th e crowd up with his 5.952-second run . "We had to guess a t the setu p a lit tle bit because David (Wa tso n) nev er ran th e 21-i n ch re ar tire here , but i t a ll wo rked ou t grea t," McNeely said . Triu m ph-moun ted John Hami lton Jr. wa s a littl e h ot off th e lin e , a n d h e jumped over th e bre ak er , losin g time . Hamilton clocked a 6.547, his best pass of the afternoon. Poin ts leader Paul Pinso nna u lt had problems with the aweso me traction on the hill and wheelied to a 6.569. He would get it together on his second run. • Ins CD CD CD ~ M ~ ~ G> .c o U o 36 Bo's Rad ical Racing /Thor rid er Chad Disb ennett has owne d th e White Rose Motorcycle Clu b hill, wi nni ng the las t three N ationa ls. Disb ennet t blasted u p the hill in 6.423 seco nds , despite a cou-' pie of bobbles. Disb ennett' s hol d on secon d place lasted until Howe's Tri umph-mounted Phil Libhart took his shot. Libhart shortened his machi ne before his run to help the paddle-tire hoo k u p, and it wo rked for him , as he posted a 6.183. McN eel y ' s s ho t a t a o ne -ride win ended w it h the last rider in the class. Wilkins had rebou nd ed from a horrible d ay a t Da nville, New York , becau se of contaminat ed fu el to p u t together tw o s traig ht top -two rides since. Thi s tim e, Wilkin s hammered his Rotax tw o-stroke twin ou t of the hole and blitzed up the hill.. "I bo unced a litt le 'over the break er and may have missed the groove a little," Wilki ns said. "The bike wanted to wh eeli e all th e way u p th e h ill , bu t I kep t the th rottle pin ned and hu ng on ." Wilkin s sto p ped the docks in 5.93.6 seco nds, .016 faster than McNeely. Af te r th e 800s che wed u p th e hill, McN e e ly tr ie d to ca tc h Wil kin s . H e wasn ' t abl e to pu t in a win nin g rid e, but h e wo u ld hang on to se cond p lac e than ks to his strong first ride. Ham ilton had problems on his second ride, which ended short of the top. H e w ound u p sixth via his first-ro und time. Pin so nna u lt w as th e only to p- five rider to go faster on his second try, posting 6.267 for fourth overa ll, thou gh his po in ts lead w as go ne . Disben net t had an other grea t start, but he held it on too long. Disbennett 's first ru n earne d him fifth. The hill bega n to ru t up bad ly, and beating Wilk ins would be hard . Harry Schreiber Jr. climbed to sevent h place in his first hillcl imb of the season w ith a 6.571 pass, and Libhart ra n a 6.333, the bes t time of the round, but the fast times were in the first round . Wilkins took his second win of the year. "I did n't think it wo uld hold up but the groove go t really roug h in the middle of the hill," Wilkins said. "It's really great catching Pau l (Pinso nnault)." McN eely, Lib hart, Pin sonnault an d Disbennett filled in the top five. Will ie Price led the pack of 800s to the hill du ring that class' first round, bu t his Cas to Cycles GSXR hooked u p in the middle of the hill, loop ing out. Yam ah amounted Rod ney Smit h put the first 800 .tim e on the board , with a 6.563-second ru n. Har ley-Da vidson Racing Pro Hillcl imb Team / Geren cer' s H -D-b a ck ed Tim Fra z ier wo n th e s p ri ng eve n t a t York, and he was hoping to take ad van- : tage of the hill cond itions. "They' ve rea lly done a gr ea t job on the hill for this eve nt," said Frazier, w ho jumped in to' the lead wit h his 6.134-secon d run . "The bike flatt ened ou t before the big jump." Bobby Tem p leton wa s looking for a clean firs t rid e, and the Erskin e' s PMS For Moto rcycles star iined u p a nice rid e for a time of 6.155. Large was up next on the Reiser' s Cycle Service / KK Motorcycle Su ppl y / Lea th e r Gall e ry H a r leyDavid son XR750. "Jam mer" a nd team owner Tom Reiser had been busy befor e the start, adjusting the setu p. "We gea red the bike up and stiffened th e r ear suspensio n and s lowed th e rebound -d ampening down," Large sai d . "The key to this hill is to come ou t of the hole har d then shut the th rottle so you d on 't ju m p a t the end of the ra m p. If you cra n k it ba ck on to o ha rd or too soon you' ll hit the steep part of the hill a nd bounce. Th en yo u' ll w heelie and lose time." Jam m e r d rov e th e F&S Harl ey David son off the line right in the line he wa nted, an d 5.443 seconds la ter th er e was a new lead er. "T ha t's the bes t rid e I' ve ever had here," Large said . "I hit the break er, and the bike didn't eve n bounce." All eyes were on David Watson , rid ing the Mac' s Cycle Su pply / Kleeburg She e t m e tal / A&P M a ch in e H ond a CBR800RR, when he pulled to the line . Watson d omin a ted the All -Star Cha llen ge at Whit e Rose in Au gu st, and he was hop ing for a rep eat perfor mance on h is first atte m p t a t th e hil l. H e m is timed the brea ker just a fractio n, but the fastest motorcycle on the circuit hauled u p the hill in 6.034 secon ds. . "I sp un a lot off the line, and it threw my timi ng off a little, and I shut off too' soo n," Watson said. "When I hit the lit- tie camel hump after the ramp, I cased a little, bu t it was still a prett y fast time." Glen Petty Jr. had a decent ride, but he had a spectacular crash over the last ju mp . H e landed fron t-en d h igh and ma de it th rou gh the timers, then loo ped ou t. His second rid e wo uld end a little better. Reiser 's C ycle Service rid er Bob Castledin e che cked in with a 6.228 time, then Steve Dresser put in a determined effor t, s li p pi ng und er Fra zier' s ti me wit h a time of 6.120. Mike DeBusk ra n a smoo th, consis tent 6.598 to end the first round . As they began the second round, the hill had d eveloped two good grooves. Rodney Smit h finis hed e igh th, with a 6.359, the n Fra zier took his turn, but cou ld on ly must er a 6.458. Tem p leto n, . too , ha d pro bl em s b u t hi s fi rs t ru n ea rne d him fift h overa ll, right behind Frazier. Wa tson cha nged his bike setu p for his second run, but he overs hot the breaker, taking second place with h is first-run time. Large was surprised his time hadn't bee n beat. "Th e 540s ran 5.9s, so I figured my 5.4 would n' t last long, but th e hill is d e te rio ratin g," Large sa id. "The two grooves d on' t ru n straig ht, and that's helping me out ." . Pett y ke p t hi s Sto ug hto n 's Cy cl e Harley-Davidson on line for a 6.353 and sevent h pla ce, behi nd Bob Ca stle di ne , w ho co ul d n' t im p ro ve o n his earlier 6.228. Dresser had problem s off the start o n hi s se co n d rid e , b ut h is 6.1 20 in ro u nd one w as fa s t enou g h fo r th ir d place. DeBusk was the last rider w ho could topple Large, but DeBu sk cou ld n' t pu t toge th e r a stra igh t r id e . "J amm er" extended his w in strea k; to two in a row . "C orning ove r her e I knew I had to start winning races, and the su spension cha nges reall y mad e the differe nce for t:I/I us today," Large sai d . White Rose M.C. York, Pennsylvania Results: September 26, 1999 (Round 11 of 13) S4O:1. Ted Wilkins (Rotex) : 2. Scott McNt.'ely (Hen): 3. Phil Libhart (Tn); 4. Pau l Pinsc nnault IHo n), 5. Chad Disbe nnett (Tri): 6. John Hamilton Jr. (Tn); 7. Har ry Sch r eibe r (Hon ): 8. Aaron Brown ( H o n): 9. Mike Livingston (Han); 10. Mike Templeton (Yam) ; 11. Roger M cN eel y ( Ha n) ; 12 . T im Fre idhoH (Han ); 13 . Rich Scheuermann III (Han); 14. Chris VanHy n ing (Hon); 15. Ch a rlie Robert.. (Kaw). 800: 1. James Large (H- O); 2. David w atson (Ha n); 3. Steve Dresse r (H -D); 4. Tim Fra zie r (H-D); 5. Bobb y Templeton (H-D); 6. Bob Castlcdine (H ·O) ; 7. Clcn Pett y Jr. (H-D); 8. Rodney Smith (Yam); 9. Jdf Thomas (Yam ); to. Mik e DcBu ~k (Ka w ); 11. Russ Va nder v ee n (H- D); 12. Harry Denham (H- D); 13. Robert Shreiner (Ka w ). 14. Curt Snelling (Han ); 15. willie Pri ce (Su z) . AMA 54 0e e N ATI O N AL H ILL CLIM B CHAMPIONSHI P SE R IES P O I N T S STANDI N GS (A fte r 11 of 13 ro un d s) : 1. (T IE) Pau l Pin sonnault (128/ 2 win st/Ted w ilkin s (128/2 wins) 3. Phil Libhart (122); 4. John Hamilton Jr. (115 /2); 5. Cha d Di. .bennett . (11)0 / 2); 6. Tim Freidhoff (85); 7. (T IE) Scott .Mcblecty <7 / l}/ Aaron Brown<7 8 8/]}; 9. C hris Van Hyning (67); 10. Mike Livingsto n (65); 11. Rich ie Sc he u e rma n n III (63); 12. Toby Thompson (52 / ]) ; 13. Mike Tem pleton (45); 14. Roger McNt"'l'ly (44); IS. Charlie Robe rts (43); 16. Ja ck Macauley (25); 17. Chris Brown (6); 18. Bria n Bowlby (4); 19. Jeff Brown ( 3); 20. Alan Hos kins (1). 19 99 AMA 80 0c e NA TIO N AL H ILL CLIMB C H A M P IO NS H I P SE R IES POI NTS S T A N DI N GS (Afte r 11 at 13 ro unds): 1. Iames Large 0 33/2 wins); 2. (TIE) Bobby Tem ple ton 0 18/3) / Dav id Wal"l n(118/ 2); o 4. Glen Petty Jr. (117/1); 5. T im Frazier 005/ 1 win); 6. Lou Gere ncer (93/2); 7. Greg Willi ams (64); 8. (TIE) Ioff Thomas (63) / H arry Denham (6.,1); 10. Russ Va nderveen (56); 11. Mike De Busk (49) ; 12 . Bob Sh reine r (47); 13. Steve Dres se r (46); 14. Bob Castled ine (44); 15. Will ie Price (36); 16. (TIE) Rodney Willia ms{32) /Mark Swem (32); 18. Te rry Thom pso n (29); 19. Rodney Smith (22); 20. (TIE) C urt Snelling (20 /8r;mdo n Krt."t'gcr (20. Upcoming Rounds: Round 12 - Nashville, Indiana, October 3 Round 13 . Oregonia. Ohio, October 10

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