Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Oevil's Staircase National Dave Watson is once again the champion In both the 540 and 800cc class. STORY AND PHOTOS BY DAVID L. PATTON JR. OREGONIA, OH, OCT. 13 final round of the 2002 AMA .U· National Championship Hillclimb Series was more like a heavyweight title fight than a motorcycle race. For II rounds, two great champions, Walter "Tiger" Strank Jr. and Dave Watson, have gone blow for blow, and the 2002 Devil's Staircase National will be remembered as one of the best scraps ever in hillclimb. Strank had all the momentum coming into Oregonia, winning the last five rounds, but he still trailed Watson by five points. "I've won the last five races and have only made up seven points," Strank said. "Dave has been so consistent. All I can do is try to win and hope the other guys can finish ahead of Dave." In 2000, Watson won both the 540 and 800cc overalls at Devil's Staircase, and all he needed this year was a fifth-place finish to sew up his second 800cc National Championship. "I'm planning on winning today," Watson said. "Hopefully I'll pick the right lines and go fast enough to beat Tiger [Strank]. Hold on tight, and hold it on." The racing turned out even better than the hype. While all the attention was focused on the 800cc battle, Logan, Ohio's Chad Disbennett dominated the 540cc class for his fourth national win of the year - best in the class. Triumph-mounted Disbennett outran the 2002 540cc National Champion Watson and 2001 champ Jeff Thomas to finish the year third in the series. ffl1 he Strank VVins the Battle, But VVatson VVins the VVar Rain in the area at the end of the week left the hill very tacky, and many riders altered their setups by lengthening the bike and lowering the gearing. Strank was looking for his first 540cc win on his latest R6, but he ran out of gearing after the jump at the 240-foot mark and would have to improve on his second pass. Thomas blasted the Wiseco/Thorf ARC Levers backed-Honda CBR up the face of the ramp, but he got off of the crest, costing him valuable fractions of a second. He got back on the gas and never let off, slamming over the jumps and past the timers in 7.658 seconds. Watson's timing was just a little off over the ramp and he couldn't crack the top five. Phil Libhart lined up way to the right for his first run and caught a lot of air over the ramp but was really quick off the bottom. At the second jump, the front end came way up, but he never backed off, and the parttime Grand National dirt tracker sailed into second with a time off 7.307 seconds. Former five-time National Champion Paul Pinsonnault chased Libhart with a smooth 7.601-second pass, while Disbennett's teammate John Hamilton Jr. clocked in with a 7.691second pass, despite being way undergeared. Disbennett has led many races after the first round this year, and his three wins could have easily been seven or eight as Watson, Strank, and Libhart, among others, have found a 540cc Gary Bowlby, son of professional hillclimbing's greatest champion Earl Bowlby, was the first rider to challenge the slightly muddy 450-foot hill. Ken Bonnema's first run was a little quicker than Bowlby's before Disbennett rolled the Bo's Radical Racers-backed Triumph twin into the pit. He started on the left side of the hill and fired it off the line. He crested the breaker at the 40-foot mark then held the throttle wide open, blasting up and over the last three jumps to stop the clocks in 7.155 seconds. "When I came up over the breaker, I knew I had a good run going and the rest of the hill went by real quick," Disbennett said. "I hope it holds up, but the four cylinders will be fast as usual." 48 OCTOBER 30. 2002' 0: U 0: • • n.wv. way to edge Disbennett out of the top spot. He was prepared to ride again if anyone could beat his time, and he watched everyone else ride, looking for an advantage. Strank got his Dr. Bob Racing-backed Yamaha R6 hooked up for a 7 A3-second pass for sixth overall, but Thomas followed Strank with a 7.296-second blast. Watson watched Thomas' ride and then dropped the hammer looking for the win. He nailed the run up and over the breaker and blasted his way toward the lights. He feathered the throttle before the last jump but climbed into second ahead of Thomas with a of 7.202-second time. Ubhart couldn't get a clean pass on his second run, ending the day in fourth while Pinsonnault improved on his second run, but dropped out of the top five. Hamilton put together a solid 7.358-second run on the Bo's Radical Racers/Thor-backed Triumph to finish fifth. "All year I've wanted to win the Devil's Staircase," Disbennett said. "We've been top three the last few races, and today it all came together for us. Our fourth win in the 540cc class." BOOcc Rookie Jack Mason was the first 800 on the hill, and he was all over his Thomas Racing Yamaha XS800. He never backed off even when he was sideways, starting off the round with a 7.379-second time. Templeton wasn't able to get a clean run on the Harley, settling for a 7.529-second pass but he would have a better run in the second round. Disbennett had an exciting first ride. "The throttle was hanging up on the line, but I took off anyway," Disbennett said. "I shut off 20-feet short of the breaker, but the bike ran perfect the rest of the way." Disbennett took over the top spot with a 7.055-second pass. Six riders later, James"Jammer" Large rolled the Harley-Davidson XR-75.o to the line. "I came here to win," Large said. "I'm not worried about the championship or the points or anything, I'm just going to ride as hard as I can and see what happens." Large's 7.003-second time propelled him into first. Strank wasted little time staking his claim on the fast time of the day. He blasted off the line and then wheelied over the lip of the breaker. "I thought when I carried the front wheel over the breaker that I had backed off too early, so I nailed it and it wheelied," Strank said. "I feathered the clutch and it hooked up and was gone. I don't even remember the rest of the hill I was so pumped up." The 6.B66-second run put the Yamaha Rl out front for the rest of the round. Near the end of the round, Watson took his turn on his Honda CBR. He overshot the breaker and the big Honda seemed to have a slight miss, which landed him in 10th place, five spots out of the fifth he needed for the title. After Mason failed to improve his time, Templeton lined up on the left and dropped the hammer. He did a good job timing the breaker and got the rear wheel hooked up and driving. He had to back out of it a fraction before the final jump, but he cracked the top five with a time of 7.155 seconds. Disbennett was perfect over the breaker, but when he turned it back on, the Triumph suddenly looped out. "My dad loosened the chains for more traction and I didn't get the message," Disbennett said. He would hold on to third overall. Strank's lead looked safe as the BOOcc class couldn't crack the sevensecond barrier. "Well, I did my job so far," Strank said. "I think there are a couple more six-second runs out there, I just hope Dave stays where he's at."

• Cover