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AMAlPace Arperican National Hillclirnb Series Round 2: White Rose National Hillclirnb o D~(J STORY AND PHOTOS By DAVID L. PATTON JR. YORK, PA, JUNE 2 S? wenty months after fracturing his U hip on his winning run at Mt. Garfield in Michigan, Tim Frazier completed his comeback with the fastest run of the day at the White Rose Motorcycle Club National Hillclimb. Frazier and the rest of the 800cc class chased Chad Disbennett and Phil Libhart all afternoon, with Frazier and defending 800cc National Champion Walter "Tiger" Strank Jr. finishing 1-2 and Disbennett in third. Libhart ran off with the 540ccclass win ahead of Disbennett and former Dual National Champion Dave Watson. 540cc Round two of the series was highlighted by perfect weather, as the White Rose Motorcycle Club celebrated their 50th anniversary. The 350foot hill was very dry and hardpacked, when rookie Jack Mason made the first pass of the day. He made it up and over, past the timers set at the 280-foot mark. Ubhart was up next on the Kreeger Pro Racingbacked Triumph, and had a good launch off the line leading to the first breaker. "Timing the first breaker is the big key here," Ubhart said. "You have to keep your momentum up, but keep the wheels on the ground." Ubhart was solid over the breaker, but the soft dirt in the middle of the hill led to a wheelie that he rode up and over the big jump and through the lights. The wheelie hurt his time, but the timers didn't work, so he would have to try again. Watson tried to jump over the breaker on his Kleeberg Sheet Metal/Spectro Oilsbacked Honda CBR. The four-cylinder bogged when it landed in the heavy silt of the transition, but he rode it to a 6.610-second time for the early lead. Disbennett had a good start, but he tried too hard over the breaker. He made up for it on the top of the hill, as his Bo's Radical racing/Thor-backed Triumph twin 54 .JUNE 19. 2002' .,. U .,. I .. stopped the timers with a 6.347 -second effort. Libhart pulled back in and really dropped the hammer on his Triumph twin. "We put $4000 in the motor this winter, so we'll see how it runs," Disbennett said. The bike wheelied over the breaker, but he climbed up the tank to bring it back down and then blasted up the middle. Libhart kept it wired to the lights and the Pennsylvania native took the lead with a 5.996-second run. "We geared it up after our practice run and it helped a lot," Libhart explained. "I got a little crooked through the middle part, but it ended up being pretty fast." The event featured three runs per class, with the 540cc riders changing gearing and wheelbase lengths. trying to come to grips with the loose dirt and heavy silt. Disbennett had the best run of the second round with 6.401-second time, a tick behind his first pass. "The run felt a lot faster, but the time was slower." Disbennett said. "We haven't got it figured out yet." Watson dropped his time to 6.466 seconds, ahead of Strank's 6.544, and the 6.978 of James Wolfe. As the hill continued to dry out, it got rougher and more rutted, and that helped Libhart's cause. Ken Bonnema was the last rider in the 540cc class to take to the hill, running a 7.2-second time to close the day. Only Wolfe improved in the final round to solidify his hold on fifth. Libhart took his second-career win at York, ahead of Disbennett, Watson, Strank and Wolfe. n e _ s BOOcc Watson was the first bike on the hill, and the 2000 Dual National Champion had his Honda wound up off the start. He was a little late shutting down on the lip of the breaker and caught more air than he wanted. After a crossed-up landing, he got on-line and set the pace with a 6.037-second run. Watson held onto the lead until 540cc winner Libhart put in his first-ever run on the Kreeger Pro Racing/Appalachian H-D and Triumph-backed Triple. Libhart's teammate Brandon Kreeger broke his femur at Middlebury, Indiana, round one of the series, so he loaned Libhart the radical three-cylinder. Libhart got a harder launch than he anticipated, but the part-time Grand National dirt tracker gathered it up by the top of the breaker and rocketed through the middle of the hill. "Once you get over the breaker and through that transition, you can just hold it wide open," Libhart said. Libhart scorched the lights in 5.941 seconds, the fastest ride in the first round. Frazier's last ride at York was in 2000, when he won on a HarleyDavidson XR-750. He was fast and straight off the line, and timed the breaker perfectly, but he got on the gas a little too early and had to fight to keep the bike in-bounds. He was satisfied with his 6.290-second run. "The bike pulled hard and didn't run out of gear," he explained. "I was just a little rusty. I'll go better on the next ride." Defending 800cc National Champion Strank was the last rider of the round, and he put in an exciting ride Tim Frazier won his first race since suffering a fractured hlp 20 months ago in the 800cc class. His time of 5.777 seconds was the fastest of the weekend. on his Yamaha R1-based machine. He had the big Rlon-line over the breaker and stayed straight up the middle. He flew most of the way to the lights after the big jump and wasn't able to get back in the throttle before breaking the lights in 5.999 seconds. Once again, Libhart watched as riders tried to boot him out of the top spot. Watson continued to fight the Honda through the transition and couldn't improve, but Disbennett stepped it up. "On the first run, I was crooked and had to back out of it," he said. He nailed his second run, though. "The bike just stayed low over the breaker and fell into the groove," he continued. "We've been waiting for a run like this on the 800. My teammate John Hamilton Jr. and his dad couldn't be here today because John Sr.'s brother, Dave Hamilton, was killed in a roofing accident a few days ago. Dave helped us out a lot at the hillclimbs and I hope I can win this thing for him." Disbennett's 5.861 was the best run of the second round. Libhart and Strank had problems getting hooked up after the breaker and couldn't catch Disbennett, but Frazier continued to pick it up. Frazier's crew for the weekend included two-time National Champion Beese Wendt and 10-time Champion Earl Bowlby.