Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

A M A/Pa c e Am erican N a t io n a l C h a m p io n s hip Hillclimb S e r ie s R o u n d 4 : B usnKiII V all e y M .C. After coming up short in the previous three rounds, Paul Pinsonnault scored his first w in of the year in the 540cc class at the Bushkill Valley National Hillclimb. S T O RV A ND PH OTO S BV D A V ID L. P A TT O N JR . FREEMANSBGRG,PA, JGNE II h e AMA Nationa l C h a m p i o n sh ip T li m b Ser ies t rave le d t o the Hillc Po c on o Mou n ta in r eg i on f o r round four , a n d fi ve - t i me A M A 5 4 0 c c' Nat io nal Hill climb Ch ampion Pau l Pin sonnault conti nued his Freemansburg m astery, recording his fi rst Nationa l win of the season and stret chi ng his B ushkill V alley w in ning st reak to three. In th e 800cc c l a s s , p oints leader David Watson fi nally claimed a victory with a g reat come -from behind effort aft er starting the seaso n with th ree second -place finishes. Th e 500 -fo ot hill was es pecia lly tough this year, with near 100-degree hea t and a dry , rut ted course . Th e three large jumps set the Bushkill hill apa rt from other hillclimbs, b ut this yea r the s ma l l " c am e l humps " between th e sta rt ing box and th e first j um p becam e th e crit ica l section for a fast tim e. 5 4 0 Lo c al pro J eff Bro wn start ed th e hillclimb, but he crashed off the side of t h e seco n d j u m p . Bo 's Rad i c al Rac in g/Tho r -backed J ohn Ham ilton Jr set the early pac e w ith a pass of 9.91 I sec o nds , wh i ch would be h is best time of th e day . Pins onnau lt has more wins at Freeman sburg than at any other hill , and he upped th e lead pace , w ith a 9 .5 I 4 , holding fast tim e u nt il th e b i g g es t d o g i n th e c lass ca me to the line. 44 JUNE 28 , 2 0 0 0 ' cue • e Watson has two 5 4 0 c c wins in three st arts , and his Honda CBR6 00 ba sed h ill c limber h a s a su bsta ntia l h o r sep o w e r e d ge i f h e ca n get it hook ed up . He dropped the ham m er and b laste d th rough the little c am el humps . A f t e r g ett ing c ro s s - rutted o v e r t he fir st ju m p , Watso n go t it stra ightened o ut and fle w up the hill in 9.435 seconds, th e to p time in the cl ass for the first ride . Sco tt McNeely and Ted Wil k in s posted nearl y identi ca l t imes , 9 .734 t o 9 .735 but Wa tson's time held up. T ig er St rank was th e first rider to p ut togethe r a b ig run in rou nd two , getting a straight and fast shot through th e humps and ov er th e fir st j um p . He kept the bik e low ov er the last two ju m ps to st op the clocks in 9.445 seconds . David Watson watched Ti g er's run and cl aim ed, "Paul will run an eig ht second pa ss, I'll ha ve to go faste r. " Wat son's pr ed iction cam e tru e, as Pin sonnault follow ed hi s ga mep la n to perf ection and ecli psed hi s ti m e. W at son th en lin ed u p his Hond a fou r-cyli nde r, and he had it wo und up o ff th e line , but he got bou nc ed by th e ru t s. W ilk in s ran a 9 .545 o n hi s Th or -ba c k ed Rot a x t o tak e fifth , beh ind Strank . Scott McN eely save d hi s best ru n for last, nailing a pe rf ect st art before getting cros sed up over the first jump. He got it stra ighte ned to post a time t ha t was goo d eno ug h f or seco nd overa ll. T im Frei d ho ff was the la st n e vv s rider of th e. class and he grabbed seventh, w ith a ti me of 9 .833, ens uring Pin sonnault's ninth Freemansbu rg win. " I co uldn' t believe the ti m e: Pin son nau lt sai d. "I had to sw itch c yl in d e r s this w e e k , and m y b i k e is n ' t p u ll in g very we ll a nd w o ul d n 't rev o ut. But I love th is hill, and it's great to get the w in." BOO Th e 8 0 0 ' s w e r e face d w i th a to ugher hi ll, as th e higher horsepower ma chines are hard er to control off the line , especi all y in the rut s. After 'Russ Vander Veen bo unce d into tr oub le off the line and had to cruise up th e h ill , Bobby T empleton missed his li ne and nearl y" wen t off the side of t he second jump, saving it an d clock ing a 10 .30 6 to set th e earl y pace. Glen Petty Jr. put in a c onservative r u n to p i c k up a 9 .989 , th en J eff Thomas rolled ' his 650 Yam ah a twin ba sed ma ch ine t o th e lin e. Th om as ri p ped off the bo ttom of the h ill , battling through the ruts and nev er back ing off. He th rilled the c rowd with a tim e of 9 .4 17 . John Hamilto n Jr. also ran into t he nines, w it h a 9 .892 t o m ove int o seco nd. A ll ey es were on th e hill as K leeburg Sh eetmetal/Spectr o O il s-b acked D avid W atson p repa red fo r hi s run. Wat son got a gr ea t s t a r t , a n d he didn 't back off over the first jum p . He left his CBR800 pegged over the sec o nd j um p and leaped nearly 30 feet u p the fac e of the hill . Many riders went from try ing for th e win t o hoping t o sco re points between ri des , Glen Petty Jr. taki ng a sm ooth 9 .756-second ride to earn th ird overa ll Thoma s sat and watched a s H am il t o n couldn 't im p r o ve and ha d to sta nd on his first -ru n tim e for f ifth . D r. B o b Rac ing / ye sac c es sori es .com - b ack ed Mi ke D eBus k sc reamed his 75 0 Kawasaki trip le two -stroke t h ro ug h the h umps and over the first jump. He fo ught off a wheelie and crossed th e li ne with a run of 9. 8 15 t o take fo urt h . Then Watson came to the li ne in an unusual positi on . He k ept a tight rein on hi s Hon da 's horsepower and ro de very ca refully on th e approach to the j um ps, and it really paid off. Wat son clocked a 8.9 23 to ta k e the lead. Thomas donned hi s rid ing gear to chase Watso n's ti m e, but the sec o nd j um p proved cos tly . He jum ped fro nt end hig h and th e time los t correct ing that bo bb le co st h im th e w in . D avid and Dan W ats on wat ch ed as the ti m ing bo ard ring up 8 .937 , .00 986 of a sec on d behind W atso n's time. N eith er Harry D enh am nor Ti ge r Stra nk c o uld to uch th e to p fi ve, and Watson had th e wi n . "l saw tha t J eff really had it go ing off th e lin e then he had a co up le of mi n or b obbl es g ettin g th ro u g h t h e ruts, and th at cos t h im : W atson said. " Hey , he got m e a few weeks ago at Middlebury . T oday was m y tu rn ." eN Bushkill Valley M.e. Freemansburg, Pennsylvania Results: June II , ZOOO [Ro und4 of I& J 600cc : 1. David Watson (Han); 2. Jeff Thomas ( Vom) ; 3. Glen Pett y , Jr. (H- D ) ; 4 . Mi ke Debu sk ( Kaw) ; 5 . Jo hn Hamilt on. J r. (Tr i); 6 . Bobby Templeton ( H· D) ; 7. Phil Llbh ert ( BSA) ; 8 . T iger Strank (Kaw); 9 . Brand on Kreeger (Trl) ; to. Harry Denham (H· D): 11. Russell Vander Veen (H· D); 12. Curt Snelling ( Ha n); 13 . T im Frazier ( H· D ) ; 14. Rodney Smith (Yam) . 5 4 0 <: <:: I . Pau l Pinsonn ault ( Ho n) ; 2 . Sco tt McNeel y (Hon) ; 3. Dav id Watson (Han); 4. T iger St rank ( Ka w) ; 5 . T ed Wil kin s (Ro tax) ; 6 . M ik e Livingston (Han); 7 . T im Freidhoff (Han); 8. John Hamil ton. Jr. (Tri) ; 9. Mike Pulver (Han); 10 . Paul Garret y ( Ka w) ; 1 1. T im Frazier ( BSA) ; 12 . Jeff Thom as (Yam ) ; 13. Phil Libh ert (T ri); 14 . Charles Roberts (Kaw); 15. Scott Friedhoff (Hon). AMNPACE AMER ICAN 800ce NAT IO NA L C'SHIP HILL CU MB SERIES POINT S STAN DINGS (A ft er 4 of 16 rounds) : 1. David Watson (57/1 win); 2. (TIE) J eff Thom as (45/1 )/G len Pett y Jr. (45) : 4 . Bobb y Templeton (44); 5. Tim Frazier (43 /1 win); 6. Mike Debusk (30) ; 7. James Large (28/1 win); 8. Brandon Kreeger (27 ): 9. Harry Schreiber.clr. (26); 10. (TIE) John Hamilton Jr. (25 )jTiger Strank (25 ); 12. Harry Denha m (20 ): 13 . Russell Va nde r Veen (16) : 14. Robert Castledine ( 12); 15. Curt Snelling (10) ; 16. Phil Li bhart (9 ): 17. Rodney Smi t h (7 ): 18. Darrell Fowler (4 ); 19. Tom Reiser (3 ). A MA / PA CE AMERICAN 540cc NATIONAL C'SHIP HILLCUMB SERIES POINTS STANDIN GS (A ft er 4 of 16 rounds): I. David Watson (54 /2 wins); 2. Paul Pinsonnault (50/1 ); 3 . Tiger Strank (45/1 ) ; 4 . Scott McNeely (42) ; 5. Tim Frazier (4 1) : 6. Ted Wilkins (34); 7 . John Ham ilton Jr. (30): 8. Phil Libhart (29) ; 9. (llE) Mike Livingston/ Jeff Thomas (25); 11. Tim Freidhoff (24 ); 12. T yrone Sm oot (15 ); 13. Chris VanHyning (13 ); 14. (TIE) Richie Scheuermann/ Mike Pul ver (12 ) : 16 . Terr y T hom p son (1 0): 17 . Poul Ga rre ty (6) ; 18 . Roger McNee ly (4 ) ; 19 . Bria n Bow lb y ( 3 ) ; 20 . (T IE) Ca t hy T empleton / Ch arlie Robert s (2) : 22 . ( T I E) A n t hony De Ha rt /Scott Freidhof! (l ). Upcoming Rounds: Round 5 - Avoca, New York, June 18 Round 6 - E. Palestine, Ohio, Ju ne 25

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