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AMA National Hillclimb Series Round 3: Bushkill Valley Motorcycle Club geared it lower for this run," he said. Van Hyning also rode the rough, rutted hill to perfection to edge Pinsonnault by 0.0140 of a second with a 9.690-second effort. Watson tried to rebound on his second pass. "I took it easy on my first ride," he said. "It's a little choppy near the top. I can go faster if I get a clean pass through." Watson lined up on the far left side, but the first jump shot him to the right and out of a shot at the win. Watson finished third, ahead of Libhart and Livingston, who had problems on their second attempts. "I figured we could finish in the top four today, but I saw a couple of ruts at the top that I was able to miss, and that was enough for the win," Van Hyning said after career win number two. STORY AND PHOTOS BY DAVID L. PATTON JR. FREEMANSBURG, PA, JUNE 9 flI or the second week in a row, a U former National Champion made his way back to the winner's circle after serious injury. Last season, Dave Watson was well on his way to defending his 540 and 800cc National Championships when he suffered a ruptured spleen while practicing on his motocross bike. Watson missed four Nationals and wound up third in the 540cc class and fourth in the 800cc class at the end of the season. Since the crash, Watson has raced four Nationals, with a third place being his best effort. Watson regained his form in Freemansburg, Pennsylvania, with a smooth, fast pass up the 500-foot hill to snatch the 800cc win from 2001 National Champion Tiger Strank Jr. James Large, who is back racing on the tour full-time after three straight 800cc championships from 1996 to 1999, took third place. The 540cc class saw a pair of nitro-fed Honda CR500s battle the powerful twins and four-cylinder machines, with Chris Van Hyning picking up his second career National win. Van Hyning edged out five-time 540cc National Champion Paul Pinsonnault, who once took five straight wins at the Bushkill Valley Motorcycle Club hill. Pinsonnault broke his ankle in 2000, but he rode strong all day, finishing 0.0140 of a second behind Van Hyning. Watson collared third place in the 540cc class. 50 JUNE 26, 2002' c u e I _ 540cc Melvin Mease started the racing day off but threw the chain on his Triumph twin over the first jump, a problem that also derailed his second pass. Mike Livingston dropped the hammer on his Off-Road Cycle Supply-backed Honda CR500 and flew toward the first jump. He kept it pinned over all three jumps and tripped the timers at the 500-foot mark with a time of 10.527 seconds. His time held until Pinsonnault rolled his nitro-fed Honda CR500 to the line. Pinsonnault has always ridden well at Freemansburg, and though he hasn't ridden this year, he displayed the form that won him five straight Nationals at Freemansburg. Pinsonnault was smooth and fast all the way to the top to take the lead with a 10.285-second pass. "I had to back off over the second jump to get it lined up for the last jump but, other than that, it was a pretty good first ride," Pinsonnault said. Van Hyning has taken over as the top two-stroke rider in the class, and he more than matched Pinnsonault's pass, with the Van Hyning Service Center-backed machine stopping the timers in 10.206 seconds to take over the lead. Watson was looking for a good result at his favorite hill. "The hill looks good today," Watson said. "Hopefully, I can get off the line straight and stay low over the jumps so I have a chance at the win today." n __ s (R19htl Chrl. Van Hynlng'. nitro-fed CR500 pulled him to the 540cc-class victory at round three of the 12-round serle•• Watson rocketed the four-cylinder Honda CBR out of the hole and over the kicker right before the first jump. Watson held it on, stayed low, and took the lead with the first nine-second run, a 9.906. Phil Libhart edged Watson at round one of the series and took the win at round two. He had a strong run going, but he had to back way off over the third jump to get lined up for the finish and moved into second with a 10.155-second run. Rodney Williams ran an 11.271 after problems on the first jump to end the first round. The second round of the 540cc class saw the hill winning the battle, keeping half of the class from the top. One rider who wouldn't be denied was Pinsonnault. He was on the gas right from the start, his CR500 running strong on the top end. He never backed off the throttle and kept the bike low over the jumps for a flawless 9.714-second run. "I may have lost a little time at the bottom," Pinsonnault said, "but the bike ran good after the first jump." Van Hyning was also looking for a faster run. "The bike ran out of power at the top of the hill [in the first run], so we BOOcc Defending 800cc National Champion Strank rolled his Yamaha R1based machine to the start line to begin the 800cc-class action. Strank was after his second straight win at Freemansburg, but he landed hard off the first jump and had to ease up over the second jump to get a clean run at the final jump. Strank set the early pace with a 10.050-second time. Bobby Templeton was up next, and he was the first of the 800s to crash due to the kicker on the ramp to the first jump. In all, eight riders fell victim to the hill in the first round due to the rough conditions, with many riders crashing out. Reiser's Cycle Service riders Bob Castledine and Large were able to work their Harley-Davidson XR750s to the top, with Large clocking a 10.068-second run behind Strank. Libhart edged Castledine for third on the Triumph triple. Libhart had to roll out of the throttle after a wheelie over the middle jump and he barely kept it on the hill at the top for a 10.981second pass. Last week's winner, Tim Frazier, was the last rider of the round, and he