Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128346
Libhart, Large Take Devil's Staircase ConlinueJ from page 7 P hil Ubhart and James "Jammer" Large took home the lion's share of the reco rd $39,000 purse as the Devil's Staircase hosted the final round of the 2004 AHA National Champ ions h ip Hillclimb Ser ies, presented by Pace Amer ican, tions can be made via our we bsite (www. w mxf.o rg) by clicking on the Shane link," says a release fro m the Women's MX/SX Founda tion. "We take every type of credit card and also have PayPal capabilities . One-hundred percent of the donations will be given to the Shane Lusk Fund." Kawasaki/RPM Racing Team rider Jo h n Beal is recovering well from his brokennec k injury, according to a press releas e from RMP Racing. Doctors say that a full recovery is possible. Beal was expecting to get his halo off o n Monday, October II , and is very excited to begin rehab, the team says. in Oregonia, Ohio, on October 10. The Dayton Motorcycle C lub has hosted professional hillclimbs fo r 54 years, and this year perfect weather and a large crowd saw Libhar t score his second S40cc-c1ass Nat io nal in a row, while Large , fro m nearby Orient, Ohio, backed up his 2003 Staircase win .. w ith a 7.365-second run that wou ld be the day 's fastest ride . With the 800tc National Championship on the line , everyo ne was wa tching Chad Disbennett - and he d idn't disappoint. Disbennett won the seaso n opener in May, but at round two, mec hanical problems led to a 14th-place finish . Since then, Disbe nnett has been on the pod ium at every round. When defend ing cha mp ion Dave Watson was injured in round six and Walter "Tige r" Stran k Jr. broke his wrist in round seven, Disbennett has been back in the hunt . At the Devil's Staircase , he won the 800tc title. After wrapp ing up t he 540cc Championship in the e ighth round in York, Pennsylvania, two weeks ago while riding w ith a broken wrist , Strank came into this round with the lead in the 800cc series as well. But Devil's Staircase would prove to be difficult. "I'll skip my first ride on the 800 and see what happens," Strank said. "It' s such a high-spee d hill and the jump s are humongou s this year. I was hoping they wo uld be a little smoother, but there is no way I can hit these jumps wide open witho ut re breaking my wrist." Disbennett needed a 13th-place finish to win the National Championship if Strank co uldn't ride . After a death-defying attempt on his first 540cc ride nearly sent him sailing into the crowd, Disbennett was a little stra ighter on his 800cc to set the early pace on the K&N/Thor/Bo 's Radical Racers Triumph with a 7.995 -second run . His teammate, Jo hn Hamilton Jr., blister ed the hill on his Triumph to lead at the end of the first round with a 7.664 run. Strank led off the second round, but he was very conservative and wasn't able to crack the top 15. "Well, we got the 540 title, and now I have all winter to heal up and get stronger I Briefly... KTM has, once again, signed on as title spo nso r for the Pro race at the Tecate Ha re Scram b le s in Tecate, Baja Ca lifornia, Mexico, on Decem ber 12. Kenda Tires has also recently signed on as an event sponsor, joining FMF, 909, Sidi, IMS, Race Tech, Maxima and Scott's Performance . For more info, log on to www.losancianos.com or call 0. Jerry DeBerry at 619n81-1440. James"Jammer" Large w a s the Devil's Staircase w inner in the 800cc ra n ks. Th ree motocross/desert racers from Southern Californ ia are currently in the Middle East tackling the UAE De se rt Challenge - a six-day, I362 -mile rally thro ugh the United Arab Emirates, Octobe r 10-15. "Myself, Scott Yenzer and John Deykes are co mpeting for the PowerHorse race te am , and we are the only Americans parti cipating in the final ro und of the FIAWorld Rally Cross Championship," Bill Gilbert said. "We hope to bring so me fun back to this part of the wo rld in light of the re cen t events in th e Middle East and the tragic death of Richard Sainct . Y ou should be able to follow our progress on www.uaedesertchallenge.com. www.power-horse .com and www.eurosport.com. E-mails during the rally can be sent to our team at bo rt24@ hot mail.com." for nex t yea r," Strank said in de feat. Disbe nne tt seemed assure d of a top - 10 finish, but he wasn't leaving anything to cha nce , and he blasted his way to 7.49 1 to ta ke the lead . "O ther than round two, I have finished in the top three at every race . and I wanted to put an exclamation point on the season with another pod ium finish," he said. Ultimately, he would have to sett le for second, as Large thundered the Reiser's Cycle Serv ice/F&S Harley-Davidson/KK Motorcycle Supply-backed XR750 to victory. "Y u have to tum it on her because the o jo lts are so hard ," Large said. "It's smoother to hit them fast than it is to hit them slow er. Tom [Reiser) and everyone has been working really hard and my back problems have really made this season rou gh, but it's great to en d it with a win." Disben nett and frien ds were certainly en joying his first National Champ io nship. "It' s great to be numbe r one," he said. "I want to dedicate this title to my dad Doyle, a three- time National Champion. He makes this all poss ible. John Ham ilton Sr. built a great bunch of motorcycles fo r me and my teammate John Hamilton Jr., and with the help of my family and all my friends , we got it done." In the 540cc class. Libhart scored the win on his Kreeger and SonslAmzo iVTuff Plates-backed Triumph twin. "I got a little more air than I wanted to over the bottom breaker, but other than that I don't know what I could have do ne better on that run ," Ubhart said. David L, Patto n Jr. British Superbike tea m Rizla Suzuki has appo inted Robe rt W icks as its new tea m manager, after Paul De nning left the team to take over the Suzuki MotoGP team for the retiring Garry Taylor. Wicks has spent the last five years as the marketing manager for the World Superbike Cham pio nship. "I love motorcycle racing. It is in my blood and I have been very fo rt unate to be part of the organ ization of the World Superbike Championship and thoroughly en joyed my time there," W icks said. "But now I am realizing my own personal dream to join and be part of a top team thanks to this opportunity with Cresce nt and Rizla Suzuki. I will be taking over most of the day-to-day tasks of Paul Denning within RizlaSuzuki, Continued on page I , www.cyclenews.com CYCLE NEWS • OCTOBER 20, 2004 9