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/128384
Strank, Watson Take West Virginia Hillclimb D efending 540 National Hillclimb Champion Walter "Tiger" Strank Jr. continued his perfect season in the 540c( class in round four of the 2005 AMA National Championship Hillclimb Series at the West Virginia OffRoad Park just south of Charleston. Strank put together a great ride in his final pass to outrun Jeff Thomas and KTM's first-round leader, Dave Watson, to win the first-ever Pro Hillclimb held at the facility. Watson would come back in the 800cc class for his first win of the season with a .0 I of a second win over defending 800cc National Champion Chad Disbennett. Chris Kabo ended up third to round out the podium finishers. The hill featured a steep starting area leading to the first jump at 175 feet, with the second jump at 260 feet and the final jump at 350 feet. Rookie Ryan Thibault led in the early going after a pass of 8.598, but then Watson dropped the hammer on the nitro-fed KTM 525. Watson caught a lot of air over the first jump, but he kept it pinned, and despite the bike starting to miss at high rpm, he shot into the lead with a run of 8.459 - the fastest of the round. "The bike is 100-percent better than it was out west this spring," Watson said. "'t's still not right; it misses at high rpm, but we are getting it dialed in." The hill was definitely rougher for the second round, but that didn't stop Jeff Thomas from blasting into the lead on Dave Watson's Honda CBR. Thomas' 8.397-second pass would stand up until Strank rolled the number-one bike to the line. Strank blasted the Dr. Bob RacingiFox/B&B Sales and Service Yamaha R-6 to the top of the charts with a run of 8. 186 to claim his fourth straight win. "The last run I could feel the chains skipping across the ground, and I was surprised the time was that fast," Strank said. "The bike is phenomenal." James "Jammer" Large led off the 800cc class with a solid 8.168 run that would earn him sixth overall for the day. Disbennett didn't know what to expect on his first run. Brown Becomes Sixth Different NHRA Winner The parity-filled NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle season continued at the K&N Filters NHRA SuperNationals in Englishtown, New Jersey, on June 19, where Antron Brown became the sixth different rider to win in the first six races. Brown added his name to the winners' list with a final-round victory over Karen over u.s. Army teammate Angelle Sampey. In the final, Stoffer took a big lead out of the gate, but Brown was able to drive around her and win, 7.169 to 7.238. "My lights got a little close in the two rounds in the middle, and I got a little scared," said Brown, who nailed .007 and .005 reactions in rounds two and three, advance to more than one final this year. "Our category is getting tough," said Brown after collecting his 14th career victory. "Our field was separated by twelvehundredths this weekend, so that tells you how tight our class is getting. We've just got to keep staying on it. The teams that stay the respectively. "In the final, I said, 'I cannot throw this race way on a red light,' and I messed myself up. I left the door wide open for Karen [Stoffer] when she cut a .024 to my .077. That was really bad on my part, but my team really picked up the slack when I let it go. They gave me a fast motorcycle, and most consistent are going to win the races. that's what got us the win. Not the fastest bikes are always going to win. It's going to be the most consistent bikes. If the bike can make lap after lap after lap, that's going to get better as time goes on," Brown Brown certainly proved that with his win. Though he didn't have the quickest bike (Ryan Schnitz earned that distinction with a 7.019 in round one), Brown was the most consistent competitor on the Old Bridge Township Raceway Park grounds. After powering to a 7.085 to earn his 10th "We're definitely back on track, but it's added. "Right now, Angelle [Sampey] is running real good again, but we are struggling a little bit with her bike, and my bike is struggling off the starting line. We could have changed it and tried to fix it, but Steve [rartaglia] looked at me and said, 'Hey, we're going fast enough to win this race.' I said, 'I'm with ya, brother.' We've got plenty of races left, and this gives us confidence career pole. Brown lived in the low- to mid- going into the next race in St. Louis. This 7.1 s throughout eliminations. He opened with a 7.135 to beat Scott Valetti, who pro- championship fight has just begun. Just a third of the season is gone, so we've still got two-thirds left. It's going to be a dogfight." The points chase is definitely turning into a dogfight with just 103 points separating the top 10 riders. G.T. Tonglet put together another solid performance to hold onto the top spot. Tonglet, who advanced to the semis, holds a 47-point advantage over Stoffer. Brown catapulted from 10th to third, 62 markers behind Tonglet. vided a scary moment when he came off his Kawasaki after the run. Valetti was transport- ed to a local hospital with road rash to his right shoulder, left hip, left calf and both hands. He also complained of pain in his left toes and right wrist, which was later X-rayed. Brown then clocked a 7. I29 to easily beat 2003 Powerade champ Geno Scali, whose bike broke midway through the run. Brown then advanced with a 7.155 to 7.162 victory 12 JUNE 29, 2005 • CYCLE NEWS Disbennett lined the Bo's Radical RacersfThor-backed Triumph up on the left side and he had a nice straight launch up to the first jump. He stayed low off the jump and hit the second jump wide open - keeping it on to the top of the hill for the first 7second run of the day, a 7.766. Four riders later, seven-time National Champion Watson pulled in the Cycle Accessories and More/Spectro-backed Honda CBR to the line on the right side. Watson's bike changes worked as he stayed online out of the hole and stayed low over the first jump. He never backed off, and he leapt into the lead with a run of 7.766, .004 of a second ahead of Disbennett. "My dad [Dan] has been working really hard on the bikes, and the 800 is sick fast," Watson said. "I just have to get a good ride through and it's always in the hunt for the win." Strank, winner of the last two 800cc Nationals, was a tick off the pace with a 8.049 after a big wheelie at the third jump. The hill was definitely rougher for the final round, and the big bikes were having a hard time hooking up and staying straight. Disbennett ran a 7.940, but he would end up second behind Watson. David L. Patton Jr. AMA Prostar Passes Halfway Point Stoffer, who became the first competitor to going to win races this year." "My dad has put on the highest gearing we've ever run, so rrwill be interesting," he said. Kevin McKenna AMNProstar passed the halfway point of the season with the PR Factory Store St. Louis Nationals at Gateway Raceway, June 4-5 in St. Louis, Missouri. Even though it was run in the beginning of June, with the hot and humid conditions it felt the like the middle of August. Saturday night's Street Chaos action saw Josh Davis suffer one of the worst top-end fires ever; the fuel tank failed on his nitrous Hayabusa. Davis, who was forced off the bike and suffered a severe wound to his elbow, walked away from the incident. In Top Fuel action, Larry McBride looked to march to his third win of the year, qualifying on the pole with a 6.14/227 followed by client Jimmy Brantley at 6.23/209. The two met in the final, but the race never happened; McBride burst a gasket on the burnout for the final. Brantley recorded a 6.15/211 for his first-ever win. Funnybike points leader Korry Hogan seemed unstoppable with consistent 6.6 passes, including his number-onequalifying 6.678/204. Hogan kept pace through eliminations but slowed to a 6.74 in the final, as Keith Lynn ran a spectacular 6.63 for his first win of the year. Fast by Gast Pro Mod qualifying was led by two-time reigning champ Charlie Farrar, who ran the quickest Pro Mod run in history with a 6.68/191 on the C&W Cycleworks Kawasaki. Farrar hit a redlight foul in round one. The final saw Coodee Thomas take his second win on the year, getting by the Extreme Motorsports Suzuki of Mimmo Marciano in the final, 7.07 to 7.1 I. The Accel Pro Stock class has seen a tremendous rivalry between Todd Doege and Paul Gast. Gast took the number-one spot at 5t Louis, qualifying with a 7.16, but Doege took the event, winning a razor- thin final over Gast, 7.162 to 7.166 The Mickey Thompson Pro Street class saw Barry Henson's win streak come to an end as he went to the final and lost to Velocity Racing client Trevor Altman. Altman took his first-ever win with a 7.49/ 191 as Henson, who earlier set a new e.t. record at 7.44, struggled to a 7.78 for the loss Cycle World magazine's Nick lenatsch took the seat of Kent Stotz' Pro Street Honda Blackbird for the event, qualifying fifth at 7.77 and going to the semifinals. Chip Hunter has risen to be the man to beat in the Zero Gravity 1000 Supersport class, qualifying in the number-one spot and taking this second straight event win. Hunter ran a 9.14 for the pole on his GSXR I000 and faced number-two qualifier, the zx.-I OR of John Hall in the final. Hall hit a red light in the main as Hunter cruised for a 9. I 0 winner. The Yamaha Hot Rod Cruiser class was once again aU Patrick Racing, as team riders Jeremy English and Rick McWaters owned all the performance numbers in the class. English qualified number one over McWaters with a 9.29 and took his first . win, beating his teammate 9.31 to 9.48 in the final. Parry Kourlas took the win in the twostroke Super Eliminator class, as Darren Burnett won Super Street. Other winners include Kenny "Kenny 0" Dermanelian in Schnitz Racing Top Gas, Mike Coulson in Dyantek Pro ET, Rob Schenz in MTC Super Comp, Doug "Super Dad" Peterson in RC Components Super Gas, and local ace Janie Palm in Street ET. Matt Polito