Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Cycle News 2003 06 04

Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles

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Round 1 : Zeke Wenger Memorial National Hillclimb "I was going to make a lot of changes between rounds, but I decided to stick with the same setup, and it hooked up better out of the hole," Bauer said. "That was the difference." They were the only two riders to break into the top five in round two. The ruts were much worse for the final round, but that didn't bother Disbennett and his Triumph twin. Minor bike adjustments added up to a solid holeshot and a smooth, straight landing to pull him into fourth with a time of 3.502 seconds. His run was tb,e quickest in the final round, but not enough to beat Watson "My bike worked awesome today: Watson said. "It's good to back up my 540cc win from last fall at this hill." Strank ended up second with the rookie Bauer in third, and Disbennett just edged out VanHyning for fourth. BOOcc STORY AND PHOTOS BY DAVID L. PATTON JR. MIDDLEBURY,IN, MAY 18 1? he 2002 800cc AMA U Championship came National down to .064 seconds. That margin was just enough for Dave Watson to capture the number one plate despite a sixrace winning streak by 2001 Champion, Walter "Tiger" Strank Jr. At the first race of the 2003 AMA National Championship Hillclimb Series, sponsored by Pace American, the rivals put on another fantastic race that had to go to a tie breaker before Strank was awarded his seventh straight national victory. Watson may have come up short in the 800cc class, but he got revenge with the win in the 540cc class, beating Strank by .18 of a second. Gary Bauer scored the first podium of his career with a third place finish in the 540cc class, and Chad Disbennett chased the leaders in the 800cc action. Walter 5trank carded his seventh straight victory In the 800cc class, but he had to win the tie breaker over Dave Watson, who tied him to the thousandth of a second. Phil Libhart has finished in second place for the last two seasons. He rolled the Kreeger and Sons Pro Hillclimb Team/Amzoil/Tuff Platesbacked Triumph twin to the line for the first run of the season. "The hill looks good: Libhart said. "At the last race here last year I had my worst day ever, but hopefully we have all that fixed." Libhart blasted off the line, and as he launched off the first jump, he got crossed up and couldn't straighten it out before he landed. He hit the ground hard, his bad luck continuing in the 540cc class. Former National Champion Paul Pinsonnault returns to competition full time, making it up and over on his first run at the Goshen Iron Horsemen Motorcycle Club in four years to set the early pace, but the fast four cylinders were up next. Strank was ready for his first ride of the year. "I am a lot more focused compared to the first race last year: Strank said. He lined up on the left side on his Dr. Bob Racing/B Ei B Sales and SerVice-backed Yamaha R6 and let it loose. He easily cleared the double and covered the 140 feet to the timers in 3.487 seconds. Strank's hold on the top spot lasted for one more ride when Watson pulled the number one bike into the starting pit. "The key to this hill is timing the breaker right to keep the bike low, and to just clear the second jump so you can get all the speed you can up to the last part of the hill: Watson said. He dropped the hammer on the Kleeberg Sheet Metal/Troy Lee Designs-backed Honda CBR and headed up the steep ramp to the first jump. He snapped the throttle closed as he left the jump and flattened the bike out to keep it low, then landed perfectly and wicked it up. The crowd roared as his time of 3.303 seconds was announced. "That went pretty well," Watson said. "I didn't hit the breaker as well 56 ne"". 540cc JUNE 4, 2003' cue • e as I wanted, and there are a lot of fast guys, but I'll come back and try to go faster." Disbennett followed Watson with a 3.759-second run, and Chris VanHyning finished the first round with a 3.520-second pass. The hill has always been regarded as a "first round" hill because bad ruts develop in the face of the first jump and on the top of the second jump where everyone wants to land. Even though the riders were used to the hill, faster times were hard to come by. Pinsonnault put together a 3.618-second run, then 2002 540cc Rookie of The Year Bauer jumped into third on the Performance Technology Honda CR500 with an excellent 3.495-second pass, only .008 behind Strank. Dave Watson may have finished second to Strank in the 800cc class, but he secured the win in the 540cc class. The master of Iron Horseman and the only rider to win four straight races at the hill, Bobby Templeton, started off the 800cc action. His Harley-Davidson had an ignition problem before the racing started but fired up just fine for his first run. Unfortunately the clutch slipped, and his run was a wasted effort. Strank was up next lining up on the left side of the hill. His Yamaha R1 exploded off the line with Strank timing the breaker perfectly. After a solid landing, he screamed the big bore past the lights in what would be the day's fastest time, 3.231 seconds. Watson lined up in the same rut as Strank and went for the win. His launch may have been a fraction slower than Strank's, but Watson laid out over the double to cut down on airtime and nailed the landing. Everyone at the hillclimb was stunned as Watson's 3.231-second time was announced, exactly the same time to the thousandth of a second as Strank's. The tiebreaker goes to the rider with the next-fastest run for the win, and the low rider turnout meant

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