Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

AMA National C h a m p io n s h ip Hillclimb S e r ie s Round 10: Poag's Hole Promotions Hillclimb (Left) Jeff Thomas had the fastest run of the day at the Poag's Hole Promotions National Hillclimb in Dansville, New York. Hi s run of 9.982 seconds a lso earned him the 800cc victory, h is second of the year. (Top) Mike Templeton lands off of the hill's first small double on his way to sixth i n the 540cc class. STO RY AN D PH O T O S sories.com/Pirate Promotions Kawasaki KX500 to the line . Strank was making his first trip to Dansville , and was hoping to rebound from his bad da y at the previous round. "I just ho pe to b e cons istent today ," he said. "It' s going to take a m ira cle to catch Watson for the title ." S tr a n k blaste d h is KX over t h e double a nd tim ed th e uph ill ju mp pe rfec tly, staying flat a nd low a nd keeping strai ght up to th e big jump. "I kic ked it d own a g e ar off th e jum p, and it took off wh en I landed a n d went g reat up to t he to p ," h e said . Strank' s flawl ess run prope lled him into th e lead with th e da y 's first 10second run , a 10 .856 . Loc al Chris Van Hyning fol low ed , a nd was a ls o right on line at th e double , but he go t c ros s -rutt ed on th e jumps . He he ld it o n a nd barel y mad e it throu gh th e lights, his 10 .866 be ing only .09 of a second ou t of first. "It was a pretty good run ," he said. "Ti g e r was a little straighter at the top ; I got a litt le squirrelly up there." T h e season 's biggest crowd watched as the hill beat down a ll the challengers , and then Watson drop ped th e hammer and scorched the first half of the hill, then tried to ease over th e b ig j ump and lost mo me ntu m . Watson lande d in fourt h with' a 12 .04 1-second pass. T he hill wa s eve n to ug h e r in the se cond ro und, as de e p ruts de ve loped o n th e j u m p s, a nd t h e hi ll was churne d to powd er . The first 10 riders c ouldn' t crac k th e 12s , but then Scott McNe ely, who had suffered a broken c hain five feet from the timers on his first run , took a shot armed with his father 's chain. He came up short over the double , but held on for an 1 1.76 1 to take third from Watson. St rank watched as Van Hyning ran By D A V I D L.PA TT O N , J R. DANSVIllE, NY, AUG. 20 e ff T h o m a s and T ig e r S trank clai med the to p spots in the 8 00c c and 540cc cla s se s , resp e c t ive ly, at this Volvo Tru c ks -spon so re d event, which featured a long , steep hill th at has bedeviled r iders e v e ry y ear because of the big jump th at la unc hes the r iders into the face of t h e steepest part of the h ill. La s t ye ar only thr e e of the 540cc riders reached the top in the final run , but this year the riders were greeted with a harder-packed hill. "The hill is a lot better th is ye a r," sa id Dav id Watson , who leads the points in both classes. "Ge tti n g through the top jump and keep ing your speed up is the ke y." J: 540cc Loca l boy Me lvin Me a s e hustled his Triumph twin off the line to open the event but ran into trouble over the doub le at t h e b o tto m of the hill. Ya m a h a -mo unted Mike Te mp le t o n was ab le to j u s t cl ear the double , go ing fast an d st ra ight on the up hill ju m p bu t getting crossed up off th e big jump. Still, he ne ve r ba c ked o ff, passing th e clocks in 12.399 secon ds - good enough for an event ual s ixth on the da y. Phil Libhart put in a s pectacular effort, lining up on the far left and eas ily clearing the double , but his front end was up in his fac e. He pulled it all together, only to loop out at the top. "I got up to the lights , and the rear wheel must have caught a rock o r something solid because it came right over on me," said Libhart, who took the le ad with a time of 11.021. Ubhart still held the lead when Strank rolled the Dr. Bob Racing/yesacces- 52 S EPT EM B ER 6, 200 0 ' cue I e n e vv So an 11.210, and a s Watson had problems off the big j um p and couldn 't improve on h is fi rst tim e . That meant Strank had his th ird win of the season. "I thought for sure Watson would beat m y time , but he 's riding for the championship ," Strank said. "The hill got rougher, so he didn 't take any chances. It's been a rea lly good day. " VanHyning finished a c areer-best second place, and Libhart rou nded out the podium . BOOcc Mik e Debu sk re t u rned to a c t io n a fter se paratin g his e lbo w a t Round seven, and he ra n a co nse rvative 15 second run to o pe n the 800cc com p et ition . Glen Petty J r. jum pe d past Debu s k's t im e desp ite a near crash on the bottom , salvaging a 14.663 seco nd pass that would turn out to be th e fifth fastest in the class. Th oma s th en took his shot o n the Vin y lcraft/Sk in Industries Yam aha XS-800 twin. "S o m e pe o p le will roll th e last ju m p , b ut I think yo u will h av e to ju mp it to win today," Th om as said. Thomas was on the ga s over the double, and although he had to fight off tank -slappers on the way to t he uphill jump , he never let off, even after he got crossed u p off the last jump. He ripped past the lights with an 11 .198 to grab the le a d. After that wild trip, Ha rry Den ham pu t in a smooth, co ntro lled 13 .926 run to e dge Petty . C an ad a 's Greg Wi llia ms turne d u p th e h e at o n Th oma s with a n 11.477 run, and the n Wa tson we nt to the st arting box . He le apt a m ile over the top of the dou ble , th en got a clean landing on th e n ext o ne, and was blaz ing towa rds the top wh en h is rear wh e el hit a hump and ki cked him . Wat son boun ced past the lights in 10.164 seconds to take the lead. Ruts took out the first four riders , and no on e really so lved the hill until Thomas made his second run on the In n o va tiv e Fu el Inject ion /Th om as Ra c ing Ya m a ha . He hit th e do uble on t he fa r le ft side a nd ha d to make a mid- air correction, but he la nded o n th e gas and in- b o un d s. Th oma s s tay e d on the left a nd was the fas te st rider of tfie da y up to th e uph ill jum p, which he nailed , landing ju st short of the b ig jump . He le ft th at laun ch er s t rai g h t , but had t o pull it b a ck towards the c e nte r of the hill to stay out of the trees. Th e crowd went nuts when his 9 .982 was a nno unced . "It' s a rough hill, but I seem to do better when it's rough ," Th om a s said . "I to ld everyone if I h ad it lin ed up s t ra ig ht, I was going to h it it wid e open . The hill was a lot smoother on the left ." Williams selected the right side of the h ill for h is second run , and he also put together a great ride , but lost a little time in the s ilt and posted a time of 1 1.092 - not enough to unsea t Watson for second. "I had two consistent rides today ," Williams said . "I th in k I got every th ing I could o ut of my bike ." Wa tson was c ont ent with second, sayi ng , "J e ff had an incre di ble , ins a ne rid e. For m e to be at that , I would hav e to re all y rid e o ver m y h ead . I'll take the se co n d -p lace points and tr y to k e ep thi s t hi n g going . The champ ionship is th e most im po rta nt th ing for m e." Poag's Hole Dansville, New York Results: August 20, 2000 800cc: 1. J eff Thomas (Yam) : 2. David Watson (Hon) ; 3. Greg Williams (Hon ); 4. Harry Denham ( H· D ): 5. Glen Petty , Jr. (H·D): 6. Mike DeBusk (Kaw): 7. John Hamilton. J r (T n) : 8. Phil U bhart (BSA): 9 . Russ Van der Yeen (H-D ); 10. Rodn ey Sm ith (Yam); II. Curt Snellin g (Hon) : 12. Robert Templ eton ( H· D) : 13. Ti ger Strenk (Yam) ; 14. Brandon Kreeger (T ri) . 54 Occ: 1. Tlger Strank (Kaw); 2. Chris VanHying (Hon): 3. Phil Ubhart (Tri}; 4 . Scott McNeely (Hon ); 5. David Watson (Hon); 6. Mike Templeton (Yem ); 7. Richie Scheuerma n (Hon ); 8. Mi ke Uvingston (Hon) ; 9 . T im Fri edh off (Hon ); 10. Jack Macauley (Hon) ; 11. Clarence Bro wni ng ( Hon) ; 12. Sco tt Fr ied hoff (Hon) ; 13. An thony DeHart. (Hon) ; 14. Ted Wilkins (Rotax) ; 15. Curt Snelling (Hon). AMA 800cc IlATIONAl. HILl.C1JJ'IB C' SHIP SERIES POINTS STANDINGS ( Aft er 10 of 16 rounds): I. David Watson ( 136/4 wins ): 2. Glen Pelly, Jr . ( 113) ; 3 . J eff Th om as ( 107/ 2 ): 4. Ti m Fr azie r (9812): 5 . Rebert Termpl eton (97) ; 6. John Ham ilton . Jr. (86); 7. Tiger Str eak (77): 8. Harry Denham (60): 9. Mik e DeBusk (59): 10. (TIE) Phil Libhart /Ru ss venderv een (51 ): 12. Brandon Kree ger (45): 13. J am es Lar ge (4312): 14. Rodney Smith (28): 15. Harry Sch reiber, Jr (27 ); 16 . Curt. Snelling (26 ); 17. Greg Will iam s (25 ): 18 . Bob Castl etine (2 0) ; 19. Da rre ll Fo wler (17) ; 20 . Tom Reiser (1 1); 2 1. Paul Pmsonnault (8) . AMA 5400c NATIONAL HILl.CUMB C'SHIP SERIES POINTS STANDINGS (A ft er 10 of 16 rounds); I. David Watson(131 / 5 wins) ; 2. Tiger Strank (11 3/3 ); 3. Scott McNeely (106): 4. Ph il Libhart (99 ): 5. Ted Wilk ins (86/1 ): 6. Paul Pinsonnau lt (77/1) ; 7. J ohn Ham ilton, Jr (72 ); 8 . (TI E) Ric hie Schevermen/Tlrn Fr ie dh o ff (65) : 10 . Chris VanHyn ing (6 2): 1 1. Michael Uv ingston (6 0) ; 12. Jeff Thoma s (55 ); 13. T im Fr azier (49); 14 . Mike Tem pLet on (33); 15. Tyrone Smoot (15 ): 16. Anthony Deha rt ( 14 ): 17. Mike Pulver (12) : 18. Paul Gerrety ( 11): 19. (T IE) Greg Willia msfTerry Thom pson / Scott Friedhoff ( 10) . Upcoming Rounds: Round 11 - East Palest ine, Ohio , August 27 Round 12 - SleeI City, Pennsylvania, September 10

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