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AMA National Hillclimb Championship Round 6: All-Star Challenge at White Rose Motorcycle Club Dave Watson (i) continues to dominate the 540cc class, while Walter Strank (2) continued his domination of the 800cc class. STORY AND PHOTOS BY DAVID L. PATTON JR. YORK, PA, AUG. 2 nce again hillclimbing's Dynamic l!J Duo battled to a draw at round six of the 2003 AMA National Championship Hillclimb Series. Dave Watson and Walter "Tiger" Strank Jr. finished the day with the exact same time in the 800cc class with their second-best time breaking the tie and earning Strank his third straight AIIStar Challenge victory. "I really want to get John Hamilton Sr.'s record of four All-Stars in a row," Strank said. For the second time this season there was a tie, unheard of in a sport where thousandths of a second separate the winners from the losers. In the 540cc class Watson nailed down his fifth 540cc win of the season as he continues to leave the rest of the field behind. Watson also set the day's fastest time covering the 280foot White Rose Motorcycle Club hill in 6.002 seconds. The All-Star offers a unique format from other national hillclimbs. The riders get two runs to earn a spot in the top ten, then the top ten take a final pass to divide up the purse. There is also a "Fast Time of the Round" bonus to be won, making for a highly competitive afternoon of racing. (I), 540cc In the first round of action, Dave Watson on the Kleeberg Sheet Metal/Cycle Accessories and More Honda CBR stunned the competition with a 6.128-second blast that was .31 of a second faster than Strank in second place. "The key to going fast here is that first breaker: Watson explained. "If you get over it straight and keep the wheels down, you should have a good time." After Phil Libhart clocked in with a 6.143 in round two on the Triumph twin, Watson raised the bar again with a huge 6.002 pass. After the second round, the field was whittled down to 10, but only nine riders could make it to the line. John Hamilton 46 AUGUST 20, 2003' eye • e Jr., fifth after round one, was starting his nitro-fed Triumph twin for his second ride when it blew up, sending engine pieces flying. His teammate Chad Disbennet was cut by one of the bits of shrapnel, but he just bandaged it up and got his bike ready to go. For the final round the race order is inverted, with the 10th-place rider going first. Former Amateur National Champion Michael Templeton led off the final round, and he saved his best run for the final. After a good, straight launch, he eased the Kawasaki KX500 over the breaker then shot out for the top jump. He got kicked hard and to the right off the jump, but he made it past the light in 6.724 seconds to move into fifth. Mike Livingston led a trio of Honda CR500 riders, but he had problems after the relatively flat bottom breaker where the hill transitions into a steep climb. Ruts always develop there, and they spoiled his chances, leaving him in 10th. Ken Bonnema overran the breaker, and the time he lost in the air hurt his effort, leaving him in ninth. James Wolfe couldn't get off the line straight, and the ruts sent him all over the hill for an eighth-place finish. With Hamilton out of action, former five-time champion Paul Pinsonnault was next, but he couldn't put together a smooth pass over the breaker and he would fall behind Templeton in sixth. Disbennet was up next and has three career wins at White Rose. The Bo's Radical Racersbacked Triumph was on line over the breaker, and he cranked it on into the transition. "We had a little problem with the front suspension today," Disbennet said. "It was bouncing too much." When he hit the ruts, the front end came up, and he had to balance the throttle to keep it from flipping over, costing him valuable fractions of a second. Disbennet moved into third, .0] 8 behind Phil Libhart. As Watson watched, Strank pulled in on his Yamaha R6. When he dumped the clutch, the bike bogged, and he had to clutch it to take off, but his shot at the win was done. n e _ s "We must not have gotten it cleaned out, but at least I will hang on to fourth," Strank said. Libhart has won the All-Star before, and he was going for it on his final pass. "On my second ride I was able to set back and carry the wheel thru the garbage after the breaker, but on the last ride I didn't get over the breaker very well," Libhart said. "We are still trying to get the rear shock working. The only bike change we made all day was adjusting the shock. I'll take second." After Libhart failed to knock him off, Watson went for a final pass, a 6.086 run that was the fastest run of the final round. The three fastest 540cc class times of the day belonged to Watson, who has five victories in six rounds as he looks to win his fourth 540cc National Championship. "What can I say, the 540cc always works great, and today my dad had it set up perfect," Watson said. "Now we'll see if I can catch them in the 800 class." BOOcc In the first round of the 800cc class Disbennet grabbed the lead on his Triumph. His 6.134-second blast was costly though, as his bike slowed just past the timers with something broken in the transmission. "The Disbennet curse continues," he said. "The motor runs strong, but the little things are killing us." Co-points leader Strank was also feeling the heat after round one. As he started his pass, the kill switch popped off, shutting off the ignition. Tiger came back in the second round, though. "I was nervous after the tether came out on the first run," Strank said. "I knew I had to put a time in there to get to the final round, or the chance of a championship might get away from me." Strank was cautious off the bottom, but he blasted the Yamaha R1 up to the top. He edged Disbennet by .01 of a second, and his 6.133 would give him the lead into the final round. Harry Denham on the Indianapolis Southside Harley-Davidson led off the final round despite a hard crash earlier in the day. He was smooth over the breaker and ran hard to the top for a run of 6.724 for eighth overall. Anthony DeHart had a mechanical problem before the start and would end up 10th. Gerry Bennett, on The Reiser's Cycle Service Harley-Davidson had a rough time putting together a clean run, but he came close on his final run to take sixth after a run of 6.572. Hamilton was still a little shaken from the explosion of his 540 and had to settle for ninth overall. James Large was riding a two race winning streak, but he was still trying to put a great ride in. Large dropped the hammer on the Reiser's Cycle Service-backed XR750, and the ruts caught his rear wheel as he crested the breaker and threw him sideways. He kept the throttle pinned and got it straightened out to claim fifth, but he was very disappointed. "My bike ran strong today: Large said. "It was all rider error. Watson, Tiger, Templeton and Chad just outrode me today. I'll just have to go home and work on stepping it up at Dansville." Templeton entered the third round only .061 behind the leader, and he had a really great holeshot, but a rut just past the breaker threw him off line. "I got too far left after the breaker and went into the rough stuff, but the suspension handled it, and the bike kept pulling hard," Templeton said. The Bob and Donna Erskinebacked Harley sailed past the timers in 6.] 60 seconds for fouth overall despite a broken brace on the swingarm that occurred in round one. Watson and his father Dan had been working on their Honda in each round. "It's too fast now," Watson said. "We had to change the gearing to slow it down, then we lengthened it to get it off the line. It tries to rip me off the back when I drop the clutch." Watson chose the big rut on the left and shot off the line. He stayed