Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

AMAIPace Arner-tcan National Hillclin1b S e r ies Round 3 : Wh ite R o se N ation a l YORK, PA, JaNE 3 o h n H a m il t on Jr. en d e d D a v id W atson 's 5 40c c - c lass w i n ni n g streak with a perf ect run o n the 30 0foot Wh ite Rose Mo t orcycl e Club hill to cl aim his fir st win of the year. Triumph rid er Phil Libhart also headed third -placed W atson , but Wat son came back to take the 800cc -cla ss win w ith th e da y 's fa stest run on his CBR Honda. Th e hill was in excellent sh a pe and the t imes w ere all c lo se w ith th e winn in g t im es on ly h u n dredths of a seco nd ah ead of the field . (Le ft) National Champion David Watson t ook his second 800 c c win of th e ye ar at White Rose. (Above) Mike Liv ingston pounds his Honda CR Int o th e hill In anger after th ro wi ng it away In the 540cc-class. j 540 V anH yn i n g 's S e r v i c e / A r kp o r t Cy cl es-b ac k ed Chris Van Hy ni ng was the first rider on the hill and he had no problem rush ing his Honda CR5 00 t o th e top in 6 .483 seconds. In th e past, th e h ill has featu red a st arting li ne that led to a ramp fo llowed by a 30 -foot fl at trans it ion lead ing to t he steep pa rt of th e h il l. Th is year, th e transition area had been filled in with dirt, shortening th e flat area to 10 fe et - rain all week resu lt ed in a lot of tra ction. Watson pulled the Kleebergh She et Metal /Fa ctory Effex-ba ck ed Honda CBR t o the line with a four race 540 cc winn ing stre ak (d a t in g back to last season ) , and was reall y quick off the bottom of the hill. Watson d idn 't time th e shutoff ver y well and wa s slowed by too much airtim e off th e ramp . He m ad e up for it in th e m iddle and sailed off th e big j um p at the 220 -foot m ar k and bounc ed th ro ugh the lig ht s in 6. 238 -seconds t o take th e lea d. Bo 's Rad i ca l Rac ing/Tho r/A SA P Racin g- rid er Ham il to n won the 8 0 0c c class la st fall at Whi t e Ro se an d he was rea d y for another win . "The win last year gives me a lot of co nfidence here and I can ride aggre ssively and that's when I ride my best ," Hamilton said . Hamilton launched strai g ht an d fast an d na il ed his shutoff point. He ke pt his rear wheel o n the grou nd and slammed the throttle open and shot up th e h ill , h am m eri n g th rou g h the lights with a 6 . I 12-seco nd effort to take the lead . Libhart ran a 6 .276 on his Triumph to cl ose up to third . Mike Li vingston looped out i n dramati c fashion on the ramp to end th e first round . VanHyning c limbed to fifth with a 6.385 -second run befo re Watson tried to put in a w inn ing run. Watson 46 JUN E 20. 2001 • cu e I e stayed on the th rottle a littl e too lo ng , resulting in too much airtime off the end of ramp, slo wing him to a 6.383 second run . " I didn 't get t h e r u n I wanted ," Watson sa id . "I had t w o good runs but I was a little off." Jeff T h o m a s fl ew h i s In no v at i v e M o ld a n d Ma ch in e /T h o r / W i se c o b a c k ed H o nda CB R to t he top in 6.37 3 sec ond s t o take f o urt h , an d th en Li b hart st ep ped up fo r his sec ond ride . "I' ve ne ver won at this hill , it wou ld be nice to get one [w in ] today ," Libhart said . Libhart put together a flawless rid e on th e Kr eeg er Racing /Ams o il backed T riumph, and came up with a 6.163 -s econd run to edge out Watson , but was sti ll .05 I of a seco nd beh ind Hamilton . " If we had a litt l e more gear, we might have gotten J ohn ," Ham ilton said . " Second is the best 540 rid e I've had here." C h ar lie Rob erts clo se d o u t the 54 0cc racing ou t side the top 10 but it was Ham ilton with the w in . BOO Dr. Bob Racing / D ynaport-b acked Greg Thompson made his first 800cc run on his Kawasaki two-stroke tri p le, opening up with a 6 .44 2 -sec ond pass to sta rt the da y . Jeff Thomas to ok the lead w ith a 6 .595-second run sho rtl y thereafter, bu t Watson followed him on h is Tro y Lee D esi g n s/ S p ec t r o backed Ho nda and wa s o n th e g as . He got the ho leshot then snapped th e throttle shu t as he crested th e ram p, t hen t u rned l o o se 2 0 0 nit ro-fed horsep ower and ripped up th e hill. He flew so far o ff th e last jump th at he covere d th e las t 60 f eet b efore h e c ould cr a nk th e gas b a c k o n. He ser ved up th e d ay 's first five-second run with a 5 .740 time. Mark Sw em check ed i n w ith a 6 .343 -second run on his BSA a nd neVlls th en J ames " J a m m er" Larg e made his first tr ip to the line this seaso n. " I' v e waited a ll wi n ter f or th i s ," La r g e said . " It' s a n ew m oto rc ycl e and we aren 't sure abo ut gea ri ng , but I'm ready ." Large 's Reiser's Cyc le Serv ice pit cre w , Ru ss and Cla yton , con su l t ed th e area' s top psychic Satu rd ay about Sun day 's weather to try to get a head st art on the competit ion and had the b ig XR - 750 ready to run . Large dropped the hammer off the line and the b ike tore out of the hol e. The ho rsepower caught him by surprise . "That bike hits twice as hard as the bi k e I won m y cha mpionships on ," Large said . He nearly straightened it out ov er the ramp then it hooked up and he had to fight to keep it in bounds. Th e th re e -time National Champion held o n for a 6 .295 -second pass. A ction Motor sp orts /R .L. Sm ith Garage back ed ride r Rodne y Smith co ntinued his excellent start to the 200 I seaso n w ith a fa st , smooth run on his XS800 Yam aha tw in . Smith wh eelied th rou gh the transition and ke pt the power on f o r a ste lla r 6 . 14 0 -seco n d effort. Tiger Strank's first rid e at Wh it e Rose on the Dr. Bob Raci ng /B [, B Sales [, Service -backe d Yam aha R- I was ex citing, as it really took off after th e ramp and almost left Stran k beh ind. He st aye d on th e bik e and on the gas and he cl ock ed a 5 .9 9 3 -sec o nd run to cl ose in on Watson . "T ha t th ing almost ripped m y arms off ov er the break er ," St rank said. Ubhart rolled his R.L. Smith/ Amsoil back ed BSA to a 6.37 4 -second pass to end the first round. Watson watc hed as Swem bobbled on hi s second ride and Large had a good la unc h slow ed by a m inor electric al prob lem. Th e hill wasn 't offer in g- u p fast t imes and many ride rs had thei r fastest runs in round on e. Strank wa s up to speed on his second pass , and he rode well on the bo ttom of th e hil l. His R- I w as pe rh aps the only bike on th e circu it to rival Watson 's horsepower , and Strank turned it loo se in the middle of the hill. As he flew past the timers every o ne waited for his time , it wa s a 5 .7 8 3- se c o nd run , .04 3 beh ind Watson . " T h i s time I tri ed to ta k e it easy pa st th e brea k er th en c rank it o n," Strank said . " It was rea lly hooking up all th e way up th e hill - .04 3 of a sec ond. I sho uld have held it on a fraction lo nger." Libhart has one ca reer 800c c wi n and he w as after number tw o on th e last run of the d ay . He w as solid o n the bottom but he was a fraction off ov er th e ramp and too -much airt ime hurt his time. U bhart edged out Rod ne y Sm ith for third with his 6.04 1second time. "T hat was m y best 800 ride here ." Libhart sa id . " A second and a third , I'll take that an y day." Watson was also satisfi ed with his da y . "I only got one good rid e in today , but it won the 800 ," Watson sa id . "I missed it a li tt le on the 540 , but th ird eN is still a good da y." White Rose National York, Pennsylvania Results: June3, 2001B 80Occ: 1. Da vid Wetscn (Hon); 2. Tiger Strank Jr . (Vern) : 3 . Phil Lib hart (BSA) : 4. Rodney Smi th (Yam ); 5. James Large (H- D) ; 6 . Bob Castledine (HD ); 7. Mark Swem (BSA) ; 8 . Bobby Temp leton (H0 ); 9. Greg T hompson (Kaw); to . John Hemllt on Jr. (H-O) : 11. Jeff Thomas (Yam) ; 12. Harry Denham ( H · D ) : 13 . C had Dlebe r men (Tri ); 14. B rand on Kreeger (T ri); 15. Riehl e Scheuermann (KlIw). 54 Occ: 1. John Hamilton Jr. (Tri); 2. Phil U bhart (Tri ): 3 . David Watson (Han); 4 . Jeff Thomas (Han); 5. Chris VanHyi ng (Hon ): 6. Tiger Stre nk Jr. (Ka.... ): 7. Chad Disbennett (Trt): 8. James Wolfe (Hon) ; 9. Tim Freidhoff (Han); 10. Gregory Thompso n (Kaw); 11. Anthony DeHZl rt (Hon); 12. MichZleJ Gon calves ( Hon ); 13. Paul Garrety ( KZI "' ); 14. Ken Bonnema (Han); 15. Melvin Mease (T ri). 2 0 01 AMA N ATIONAL CHAMPIO NS HIP HllLCUMB SERIES POINTS STA NDI NGS ( A ft er 3 of 15 rounds): 800<:c: I. David Watson (44/2 wins ); 2. Bobby Templeton (36/1 win); 3. Tiger Strank Jr. (32) ; 4 . Phil Libhert (3 2 ); 5 . Jeff Thom a. (30); 6. Rodne y Smith (27 ); 7. Mark Swem (25) ; B. John Hamilton, Jr. (22); 9. Richie Sc heuerrnenn III ( 16) ; t o. Rodney Willi am s (1 2); 1 1. .Jerne s L" rge (I I); 12 . M ik e Bebu sk ( 11) ; 13 . Harry Denh am ( I I) ; 14 . Bo b Cestle dine (1 0) ; 15. Greg Williams (10) ; 16. Brandon Kreeqe r (9) ; 17. Greg Thompson (7): 18. Tom Reiser (6) ; 19 . Russell Vanderveen ( 5) ; 20 . Chad Disbennett (3 ). 5 4 0 cc: 1. David Wat son (43/2 wins) ; 2. Phil Llbhart (39); 3. TIm Freidhoff (35); 4. John Hemlltcn Jr. (3 4/1 win ) ; 5 . Chris VanHy in g (3 1); 6 .C hed Disbenne tt (26) ; 7. T iger Stre nk J r . (2 6) 8 . J eff Thomas (24) ; 9 . Gregory Thompson (22); 10. Mike Uvi ngston ( 18 ); 11. Anthony DeHart ( 11): 12. Paul Pinsonnault (9 ) ; 13 . Curt Snelling (9) ; 14. James Wolfe (B); 15. Michael Goncalves (8) : 16. Kenneth Bon nema ( 5 ) ; 17 . Paul Ga rre ty ( 4 ); l B. Rich ie Scheuermann III (4); 19. Paul Kops (2) ; 20 . Melvin Mease. Jr. ( 1). Upcoming Rounds: Round 4 - Steel City, Pennsylvan ia, Ju ne 10 Round 5 - Nashville. Indiana, June 24

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