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AMA National Hillclimb Series Round 3: Bushkill Valley Motorcycle Club 540: Disbennett said. "I decided I was going to hold it wide open on the bottom and over the jumps. I wanted to have it wide open when I hit the ground, and it worked out this time." BOOCC Bob Castledine launched the Reiser's ·Cycle Service bike C;ff the line to start off the 800cc class, but he hit the remains of the aforementioned boulder after the second jump and crashed hard. Harry Denham wasn't able to make it to the top, followed by Castledine's teammate James Large, who dropped the hammer on the XR750. Large, a three-time National Champion, was fast and straight off the bottom and had a great run going as he neared the final jump. On the approach the front end got light, and he had to back off to stay on the bike. "The front end came up, and I had to shut it down," Large said. "You're going so fast, and you have to just try to do the best you can, but I lost a lot of time there. I'll have to run again STORY AND PHOTO BY DAVID L. PATTON JR. FREEMANSBURG, PA, JUNE 8 G1iV he competition in the 2003 AMA National Championship Hillclimb Series is so close that round three of the 12-round series could have been the turning point in the race for the number one plates. Chad Disbennett traveled to Freemansburg in second place in the 540cc class trailing. defending National Champion Dave Watson, winner of rounds one and two. After a bike problem on his first ride, Disbennett faced the possibility of a huge points deficit if he failed on his second ride. Despite having to battle the flu, he stepped up with the winning ride to edge out Watson as they separated themselves from the other title contenders. Watson is the defending 800cc champion, but he faced a similar situation, because 2001 National Champion Walter Strank Jr. had an eight-race winning streak going that included the first two nationals of 2003. Watson also had a mechanical problem on his first attempt, but he came back to derail Disbennett's chance at a double win as he moved into a tie with Tiger at the top of the points standings. The Bushkill Valley Motorcycle Club spent a great deal of time and money last winter improving the 550foot hill by eliminating a kicker at the bottom and reshaping and widening all three jumps. They also blew out a huge half-buried boulder that had been a problem for years. L\ 540CC Ken Bonnema was the first rider to challenge the new hill, powering out of the slightly muddy starting box to 64 .JUNE 25, 2003· cue I e start the action. The traction halfway up the hill sent him to the ground as his Honda CR500 hooked up and looped out. Craig DeHart also crashed after landing off the second jump. Charlie Roberts battled a whee lie but made it past the timers set at the 500-foot mark to record the first time of the day. Disbennett won at Freemansburg last fall, and he blasted his Bo's Radical Racers/Thorbacked Triumph off the line looking for the win. Hjs charge ended 50 feet later as a part in the fuel injection system broke. Phil Libhart had a good launch, but his back end kicked sideways. He barely made it over the top, but he took over the lead with an 11.326second run on the Triumph twin. His time held up until Watson fired his Honda CBR up the hill. Most of the riders were starting on the right side, but Watson followed Disbennett's lead and lined up way to the left. He nailed the start, hooked up and never backed off on the first two jumps. He made it past the difficult third jump 8.987 seconds later and sailed into the lead. "The 540 always runs good," Watson said. "We never have any problems with it; just wash it and bring it to the races. It's awesome." His time held up as Mike livingston couldn't reach the top to end the round. The riders faced a perfect hill for the final round as the hill workers had cut down the ruts for rider safety. This time Bonnema made it up and over, but he couldn't crack the top five. All eyes were on Disbennett as he pulled his repaired Triumph to the start line. n eVIl's "We took a part off the 800 and hope it works," Disbennett said. "It's the wrong size, so we put in a hotter plug on that cylinder." He lined up on the left side and had a perfect launch, rear wheel spinning and the front wheel skimming the ground. He kept it pinned despite the front wheel getting higher and higher as he flew off the second jump, rushing to the top of the hill. He was able to make it through the soft dirt after the third jump and broke the lights in 8.520 seconds. "My dad said it started to miss near the top, but I said that was the valves floating," Disbennett said. "We needed this to stay in the points race. " After James Wolfe broke into the top five with a 10.157-second run, Watson set out to retake the lead. Starting on the left side, he put together a clean fast run but came up a fraction of a second short of Disbennett with an 8.688-second time. "I got a little squirrelly on the bottom there, so I may have lost it there, but the bike ran good," Watson said. "Chad must have put in a smoking run. I djdn't get to watch it because we were working on the 800." Former 540cc champion Jeff Thomas returned to action on the Thomas Racing Service/Wiseco/ Vinylcraft-backed CBR, running out of gear near the top but jumping into third with his 9.087-second run. He was followed by Strank, who clocked a 9.613-second run to claim fourth ahead of Wolfe. Livingston had problems again, and Disbennett had the victory. "We didn't even think we were going to get a second ride on the because Tiger and Watson are riding really well." After a crash on the R6, Strank was looking for a controlled run in the 800cc class. "I am going for a smooth, conservative run, then I'll try to pick it up on my second ride," Strank said. Strank ran a 9.348-second run on the Dr. Bob Racing Yamaha Rl, a bit off Large's 8.987 -second time. Disbennett checked in with a 9.389, followed by Jeff Thomas with a 9.335second time. The real news of the round was Watson, the final rider of the round. Before the weekend's action, his father Dan Watson installed a new lockup clutch on Dave's Honda. "Dave pulled a couple of holeshots on it, and we had to tighten the chain after every run, so the clutch is working right now," Dan Watson said. Watson lined up on the left and had a blistering-fast run up the hill. He never backed off and leapt off the second jump. However, as he landed, the brand new chain snapped like a rubber band, ending his run and the first round. Castledine made it over the top to lead off the final round, but he finished outside of the top five. Large hoped to improve on his time, but he got kicked in the air by the boulder's crater followed by the timer's malfunctioning, so he would get another shot. Strank was hoping to add to his 800cc class-record eight consecutive wins and was on the gas right from the start. Strank has earned many of his victories during his streak in the final round, and things looked good as he shot to the top with an 8.940second run to take the lead. Large gave it another attempt but