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AMA National Hillclimb Championship Round 7: Mount Gar-field but he lost time over the first jump then ran strong to the top for a 5.499 in 800cc first-round action. Strank followed Thomas with a quick 5.318, despite airtime over the second jump. Gerry Bennett then came up to drop the hammer on the Reiser Cycle Service/F £, S HarleyDavidson. Bennett scored his firstever podium at Haydenville the previous week, and he was fired up on his first ride. He nailed all the jumps, but finished a little too strong. "The ride was so smooth and then it was over so quick," he said. "Tom [Reiser] and Jammer told me not to leave it on too long at the finish, but I was caught up in the moment and couldn't stop at the top." Bennett's fall in the trees resulted in a mangled nose - and the fastest ride of round one. Watson had trouble getting the Troy Lee Designs Honda off the line and ran a 5.6, but it wouldn't be the last we'd hear from him as he would STORY AND PHOTOS BY DAVID L. PATTON JR. NORTON SHORES, MI, AUG. 4 efending 800cc National Champion Walter "Tiger" Strank Jr. put together an outstanding afternoon of hillclimbing in the seventh round of the series, held on a 300-foot-plus hill at Mount Garfield. Strank rolled his Yamaha R1 to victory in the 800cc class, and put together a perfect ride on his Kawasaki KX500 to steal the 540cc money-round win. John Hamilton Jr., meanwhile, returned to action to claim his second 540cc National victory of the year and James "Jammer" Large smoked everyone on his Harley-Davidson XR750 to win the 800cc money round with the day's fastest pass - a 4.878second run. Large's victory was a costly one as he, like 2000-season event winner Tim Frazier, couldn't get stopped on the top of Mount Garfield, and he crashed through the trees on the back side of the hill, ultimately suffering a fractured rib, punctured lung and a lacerated liver. Large will be out of action for at least six weeks. D 540cc Mount Garfield has a flat starting box that leads to the first jump, which is only 20 feet past the bottom timers. The bottom is the key to a fast time. The second jump comes up at the 110-foot mark, with the final jump at 240 feet - 40 feet from the timers. Dave Watson has three National Championships, but he's never solved the Norton Shores hill. Watson hammered the Kleeberg Sheet Metal/Factory Connection/Factory Effex Honda CBR off the line on his first run, but again it was disappointing as he couldn't get the Honda hooked up. "I just spun and went sideways off the bottom," Watson said. Still, he straightened things out to take the early lead via his 6.039-second run. Chad Disbennett came to Michigan as the hottest rider in the 540cc class after two straight wins. The Bo's Radical Racer/Thor-backed Triumph stayed on line over the first jump, and Disbennett kept it cranked on over the third jump. The result: a 5.484second run, and the fastest time of the first round. "We were geared way too low on that ride," Disbennett said. "I'm glad we got a pretty good time out of it though." Greg Thompson had a little help for his first-ever ride at Muskegon. 46 AUGUST 21, 2002' cue • (Above) Tiger Strank Jr. rolled his Yamaha Rf-powered hlllclimber to victory in the 800cc class during round seven of the AMA National Championship Hlllclimb Series at Mount Garfield. (Right) James "Jammer" Large copped the 800Cc money round, only to crash and severely Injure himself after crossing the finish line. Former top National contender Scott McNeely came out to help, and Thompson put in a solid effort despite wheelying his Mac's Kawasaki-backed KX500 over the first jump. Thompson clocked a 5.555, his best ride of the day. Chris VanHyning also ran into the fives with a 5.849 on the Arkport Cycles/Renegade Trailers by Rance Aluminum-backed Honda CR500. Disbennett's teammate, John Hamilton Jr., cracked the throttle on the Bo's Radical Racers/ Thor/Bumpsticks Triumph, and the bike yanked him all over the hill. He held on to it for a 5.742-second pass. James Wolfe finished up round one with a 6.202. Most of the frontrunners made gearing, wheelbase and suspension changes to try to get a handle on the rutted-up hill for round two. Watson was the first to score with the Cycle Accessories £, More Honda, as his father Dan, the 2000 AMA Mechanic of the Year, dropped the front end so low it would nearly case over the jumps, and Watson was able to get a clean launch. "Once you get off the bottom, you have to stay low over the jumps to get a decent time," Watson said. "My bike handled great, thanks to Mike Carnelli of Factory Connection, and I was able to hold it on to the top." Watson took over the lead with a time of 5.461 . Disbennett had problems off the bottom after getting cross-rutted and he would end up third. Thompson also couldn't improve with his second n _ vv s e try and he wound up fourth, ahead of Chris VanHyning who ran a 5.578, .023 of a second behind Thompson. Hamilton Jr. lined up the John Hamilton Sr.-tuned Triumph after a gearing change, and he scorched the bottom of the hill. Hamilton never backed off over the jumps and fought off a wheelie at the 180-foot mark, feathering the throttle just enough to stay on the bike and edge Watson with a run of 5.405, ending Disbennett's winning streak in the process. "My dad has built me a rocketship of a motorcycle, and once I got over that first jump straight, I just held it wide open and held on," Hamilton said. In the 540cc money round, the times were hampered by the ruts, but Strank kept his alcohol-burning KX500 straight and low on his way to a winning ride of 5.442 seconds, to top Watson's 5.459. Hamilton ended up third. BOOcc Defending 540cc National Champion and 800cc runner-up Jeff Thomas put together a solid holeshot on the Thor/Vinylcraft/lnnovative Mold and Machine Honda CBR800, come on strong in the second round. Large put his two-race winning streak on the line and was hoping to carve away at Watson's points lead with another win at Mount Garfield. Jammer launched straight, but the bike hooked up over the first jump and nearly looped out. He had to back off and got kicked over the second jump, then he flew to the timers with a wild 5.254. Bobby Templeton, on the Bob and Donna Erskine/Townsend Specialties/Lynch Motors Harley, hooked up off the line then got crossed up over the first jump. Templeton, one of the strongest riders on the circuit, bulldogged the XR750 back in line and was very quick on the top half of the hill to move to third with a time of 5.268. It was the last top-five run of the opening round. Once again, the competitors made bike changes to get a grip on the hill, and the winners were the ones finding the right setup. Thomas claimed fourth after a 5.253-second run, .001 of second ahead of Large.