Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

• AMA National Hillclimb Series Round 2: White Rose National STORY AND PHOTO BY DAVID L. PATTON JR. YORK, PENNSYlVANIA, JUNE 1 week of rain resulted in a muddy race for the second round of the series as Walter "Tiger" Strank Jr. and defending National Champion Dave Watson continued their one-on. one battle for the top spots in the 2003 AMA National Championship Hillclimb Series, sponsored by Pace American. Strank, the 2001 800cc National Champion, extended his winning streak to a class record eighth in a row with a 6.667 -second blast. James Large also climbed into the sixes, running a 6.866 for second place ahead of Watson. Watson outran Chad Disbennett and Phil Libhart for his second-straight win in the 540cc class, as he widened his points lead after Strank suffered a rare mechanical problem on the Yamaha R6 and finished well back in the field. "Today was a rider's hill, and I was able to just ease it on over the breaker, and it worked out great," Strank said. A 540cc The start of the race was delayed for an hour to take advantage of a break in the weather, but the White Rose Motorcycle Club hill would be tough to tame for many riders this day. Mike Templeton got things started but wasn't able to make it over the top. The third rider up, Paul Garrety, was the first to record a time, taking 8.216 seconds to cover the 300 feet to the timers. Strank took second in the series opener, but his Yamaha R6 wouldn't shut off over the first breaker, and he had to pull the ignition tether, essentially eliminating him from the 540-class competition for the day. Garrety still held the top spot when Watson rolled the number one machine into the starting box. He lined up on the left side on his Kleeberg Sheet Metal/Cycle Accessories and More-backed Honda CBR. He tore through the heavy silt in the pit and launched up to the breaker. He kept the bike low and straight as he hit the transition to the steepest part of the hilI then cranked it on for the run to the lights. After a smooth trip over the big jump at the top, he stopped the clocks in 7.007 seconds to take the lead. "I feel like I'm riding better this year," Watson said. "If we hit the breaker right, we'll do all right. The 540 is really pulling strong. My dad has that bike dialed in." The hill workers cleared most of the mud from the starting box for the second round, but the ruts on the hill stilI made it tough to put together a fast run. As Watson watched, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania's Gary Bauer moved into second with a 7.398-sec- 46 JUNE 18, 2003' cue I e Watson Wins Again Despite getting really big air and almost throwing it away. Strank managed to master the muddy hill and claim his eighth consecutive 800cc- i class win. ond run on his Performance Technology Honda CR500. "We are trying lots of different things on the bike this year, and we have been able to find the right setups so far," Bauer said. "I hope we can keep it going." Anthony DeHart also cracked the top five with a 7.970-second run on the new Kawasaki ZX-6R that he and his father Craig are developing. Phil Libhart tried to get his season going after losing a chain on his first run. He hammered the Kreeger and Son's Pro Hillclimb Team/Amzoil/Tuff Plates-backed Triumph twin off the line, fighting to keep it down as he crested the breaker. He bounced a little through the transition, and that cost him some time, but he moved into second with a 7.398-second time. "Brett Rexroth helped us get the gearing in the ballpark, and we switched to a chain rear tire," Libhart said. "The rear wheel bounced a couple of times on the run, and that hurt our momentum a little, but it was a good run." ne""5- Disbennett had been fifth after the first round, but he had been watching the times drop, and he was ready to step it up after they geared the bike up and loosened the chains. The majority of Disbennett's national wins have come at York, and the Bo's Radical Racers/Thor/The Regulatorsbacked rider was going for it on his final attempt. After a solid holeshot he chopped the throttle as he crested the breaker and gunned the Triumph twin through the tricky transition. He moved into second with a time of 7.361 seconds. "This is more of a finesse hill, and I've been lucky enough to time that breaker just right a few times in my career," Disbennett said. James Wolfe cracked the top 10 on his last run, but he couldn't keep Watson from winning his secondstraight race. Disbennett, Libhart, Bauer and DeHart rounded out the top five. "My bike is running awesome, and two straight is great," Watson said. BOOcc Rodney Smith led the 800cc class off and had problems immediately at the bottom. He got it straightened out by the transition and rolled up and over the top in 8.025 seconds to get the session started. The mud and ruts made it really hard to keep the 200horsepower bikes on line, but Bobby Templeton didn't have any problems. He lined the Bob and Donna Erskinesponsored Harley XR750 up on the far right side and dropped the hammer. Knowing when to shut off as the bike crests the first breaker is the key, and he was solid as he gunned it through the flat before the transition then rushed up the hill. Templeton's 7.623-second time would put him into first place. His time held up until Watson lined up. Watson also lined up on the right side, ripping out of the pit. He overshot the breaker and caught too much air, hurting his time, but he was really fast on the rest the hill and scored a time of 7.033 of

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