Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

AMA National Hillclimb Championship d Round 4: Ski World National James Large got his first win of the year at Ski World. STORY AND PHOTOS BY DAVID L. PATTON JR. NASHVILlE, IN, JUNE 22 ave Watson continued his winning streak at round four of the 2003 AMA National Championship Hillclimb Series. He has at least one win at every event this year as he tries to defend his 540cc and 800cc National Championships. Watson's win in the 540cc-c1ass and his main challenger Chad Disbennett's terrible luck have helped Watson pull out to a 14-point lead in the race points bat· tle. In the 800cc class, James Large put together the most impressive ride of the afternoon, covering the 400foot hill in 6.818 seconds for his second Nashville, Indiana, win. Large's win helped him close on points leader Watson, who finished second ahead of Disbennett. D 540cc The Blue Poney Productions staff have revised the fastest t)i11 on the circuit in each of its first five years on the circuit, and for 2003 they created an excellent challenge for the competitors. They built up the two largest jumps on the hill and forced the riders to juggle gearing and wheelbase settings to find the best setup. Mike Livingston opened the race on his Honda CR500 and powered up the hill in 8.730 seconds to start things off. Disbennett, winner of Round 3, fired the Bo's Radical Racers/Thor-backed Triumph twin off the line, and he kept the throttle pinned as he launched off the first jump. He was straight as he flew over the second jump at the 200-foot mark and had it all lined up for the blast to the finish, but as he landed, the chain came off, ending his run. Disbennett's teammate John Hamilton Jr. made his first run of the season, and the Triumph rider had a fast and smooth 7.869-second run 60 JULY 9. 2003· cue I .. that could have been faster had he not run out of gearing halfway up the hill. He didn't have long to enjoy the lead, as Watson lined up the Cycle Accessories and More/Spectrobacked CBR Honda on the left side. He dropped the hammer and was wide open right from the start. Having won the 540cc and 800cc classes at the last two races held at Ski World, he was going for the win. Watson was solid over the second jump and held it on to set the pace with a 7.670second time. "It's really choppy at the top, and I got kicked hard up there," Watson said. "So I know J can go faster on my second ride." Walter Strank Jr. couldn't get the Yamaha R6 hooked up and settled for a run of 8.060 seconds. Phil Libhart aimed the Kreeger and Son's Pro Hillclimb Team/Amzoil/Tuff Platesbacked Triumph twin up the hill. He got off to a rocky start in 2003, but was flawless on the bottom of the hill, but like Hamilton, he lost time on the top half. "We were really undergeared: Libhart said. "I was out of gear and floating the valves after the second jump." But despite the gearing issues he still moved into second after clocking a 7. 721-second run. Craig DeHart had problems over the jumps, and the first round ended with Watson on top. Nearly every rider, including Watson, geared their bikes up for more top end, but the hill started developing ruts that added to its difficulty. Livingston improved on his second pass, but he couldn't crack the top five. Disbennett had to go on the 15minute technical clock as he tried to solve his chain problem. Hamilton wasn't able to put together a clean run, but his earlier run held up for third. Watson watched as Disbennett rolled into the pit; he was really on it n e vv s as he fought to hold onto second place in the points standings. Everything was working until he landed off the top jump and lost the chain again. "I plan on winning the rest of the hillclimbs this year: Disbennett said. "I don't want to wish bad luck on anyone, but we'll need some help to catch Watson." Gary Bauer, the 2002 540cc Rookie of The Year cracked the top five with a 8.256-second run on his Performance Technologies Honda CR500, then the fast twins and four cylinders tried to beat Watson's time. Strank's R6 had a fuel problem on his final pass, and Libhart nearly went over the bars over the second jump, while DeHart made a conservative pass to end the competition. Watson sent a message as he took another run and blew away his earlier run with a 7.386-second pass. "The 540 was just perfect today: Watson said. "The gearing and the length were right on, and I got a good ride in." BOOcc Rookie David Price had trouble over the first jump on his Harley as the big bikes got underway. Jake Lacefield had no problems, though, as he shot the Indianapolis Southside HarleyDavidson XR750 up the hill in a crowd-pleasing 7.622-second run to take the lead. Dan Watson [Dave's fatherl received the 2000 AMA Award For Mechanical Excellence and really had his work cut out for him after Dave broke his chain on both 800 runs at round three, two weeks ago. "I put a 530 chain on it and changed the gearing so we could run second gear, but the transmission wouldn't stay in gear, so we had a complete set of sprockets overnighted to us so we could use our old Watson got his third 540cc win of the year and now leads Gary Bauer by 14 points in the championship. gearing specs with the larger chain," Dan said. Dave won three of the first four 800cc races held at Nashville and was going for a repeat performance as he pulled a great holeshot on the left side of the hill. He was on the gas over the first jump but backed off a little over the second jump to try to stay low, landing nose first, costing him precious fractions of a second. He still managed a 7.157 -second run. "You have such a long run at the second jump that it's hard to keep the front end up, and it kicked me pretty good," Watson said. Strank Jr., winner of eight out the last nine 800cc nationals, was hoping to break the tie at the top of the points standings, but he knew it would be tough. "This is Dave's hill, but I would sure like to start another winning streak," Strank said. "I am going to try to keep the rear wheel low off the second jump and haul ass the rest of the way to he top." Strank launched the Yamaha R1 off the line, but the ruts caught him going up the second jump, and he had to back off a little, running a 7.394-second time. Large is the only rider to beat Watson at Ski World, and he knew he needed to win to stay in the championship picture. He unleashed the Reiser's Cycle Service XR750 off the line, and he rocketed over the first jump. He stuck to the left side, and as he crested the second jump, he kept it pinned as the big V Twin screamed to 8000plus rpm. He ran hard to the lights but misjudged the finish line. "I thought I had crossed the line then I saw the timers in front of me and had to get back on it," Large said. "I can go faster on my next ride."

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