Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

AMA National Champions h ip Hillc limb Series R o und 1 2: Bushk ill V a lle y Motorcyc le Club Nat iona l (L eft) David Watson took his fifth 800cc win of the year at the Bushkill Valley Motorcycle Club National. He continues t o lead the points i n b oth the 540cc and 800cc classes. (Right) Jeff Tho m as fi nis he d second in both the 540cc and 800c c c lasses. He holds down second in t h e 800cc point standings with f our rounds rema inin g. Round 12 of the 2000 AMA National Cha mpionship H illclimb Series , spon sored by Pace American, was run under perfect conditions in Eastern Penn s y lv a n i a . Spectro Oils /Mac 's Cycl e Suppl y -b ack ed Watso n led off th e show o n his fo ur-cylinder Hon d a CBR -based hillclimber, clicking off an 8 .7 9 0- seco nd run to se t the pace desp ite being under geared. Five riders later, fo rmer Nat ional Champ ion J ohn Ham il t o n wh eel ed th e B os Rad i c a l Racin g/Thor/ ASAP-backed Trium ph t w i n to t he l in e f or hi s son , J ohn Ham ilton Jr. has been riding bett er at each round and he hammered hi s Tri um p h off t h e l i n e , sta ying o n li n ~ throu gh th e rut s and hitting th e first j ump wide op en . "I knew I h ad to be as cl ean as po ssibl e through th e b ott o m here," Hamilt o n said later. " I on ly had t o shut off once , and the wh e els stayed on the g ro und and th e bik e kept pu lling hard . You have t o gea r rea l h igh for t h e b o tto m , but y o u have to hold y o u r momen tum f or the to p o r you 'll wheelie and ha ve to sh ut off. " Th e c rowd roa red as Ham ilton ' s class leadin g tim e of 8.439 was shown. T ed Wil ki ns, m e an w h il e , ra n a 9.00 2. "I w heelie d after th e second j um p and co u l d n' t h old it wid e o pe n : Wilk ins said. Paul Pinsonnault then went out and edged Wilk ins with an 8.925. "I gea red my bik e lower, pl aying it safe," he said. "I' ll go back to m y norm al setup fo r th e seco nd run ." In th e second run, Watson gav e it all he ha d as he went after h is seventh 540cc win of the year. "We geared the bike up , to try and ca tc h J ohn ," W at so n sa id . "I got all cro ssed up on the bottom and m issed m y line over th e jum p . I went for it and the bike was defin it ely going faste r, but yo u can't recover here if you screw up the bottom." Watson ran an 8.8 , but his 8.790 on the first run would be fast enough for third. Wilkins had a great run going on his Rotax twin. Still , his 8.879 carried him past Pinsonnault and into fourth. The latte r had encountered problems on his seco nd run . "I p icked a line I thou ght wou ld let m e m iss the ruts, but they got me." Pinsonnault said . He 'd run a 9 .0, p utting hi m f ifth behind Wil ki ns. J eff Th om as rode th e In no v at ive Mold and Ma ch ine-sponsored Yamaha XS 540 on his first run of the day , but he wh eeled out the BSA twin for round two. He got a good launch off th e bot tom and flew a long way up the hill off the second jump. He bottomed out , but 28 e By D A VID L. P A TTO N , J R . FEEMANBURG, PA, SEPT. 10 ~'T ha t was the best ride I've ever had on the 800 - maybe my best ride eve r," sai d 800 and 540cc po ints leader D av id Watson after his first pass in the big -bo re clas s paid off w ith t he d a y ' s fa st est ru n u p th e Bushk ill Valley Motorcycle Club's hill . At over 500 feet with three jumps, and a sma ll hump near the starting line (the most im portant secti on on the hill ), the Bushkill hill is a challenge. Watson, however, made it look easy as he covered the 500-plus feet in just 7.879 sec onds . John Hamilton Jr. also put tog ether a first-run -and -then-watch victory, his first of the year in the 540cc cla ss. For th e second straight week end , Jeff Thomas cl aimed the runner -up spot in both classes. F orme r 54 0 c c Ch ampion Paul Pinsonnault returne d to action with a fifth-place finish aft er sit ting out five rounds with a broken heel and ankle injuries. " It was n ic e to b e r i d in g again , though , I was a little rusty : Pinson nault said. "It was a big ru sh at firs t you can' t go very fast on crutches. " 540cc S EPTEM B ER 27 , 2000 ' cue I n e vv s never let off and sto pped th e clo ck s in 8.722 seconds. "I think I could hav e made a run at J ohn if I ro de th e BSA both rid es , " Th om as said. "I was a little over geared so I think I could have gone faster. We'll take another second ." Hamil ton Jr. simply watch ed as J eff Br own wasn't abl e to catch him. "Finally got a win, it has been a long time coming : Ham ilton said. " A t th e start of the ye ar the bik es were n't right and I got a little down. My dad has the bikes work ing well and I'm riding with a lot more confidence now. You know you have the horsepower to win if you can beat Da vid [Watson] on th is hill ." BOOcc A ction Mot or sports /English Motors/ Answer Racing 's Rodney Sm ith was the first 800 on th e hill and he made the most of its smoo th ne ss, puttin g toge the r a 9 .327 effort. Thomas, how ever, has been the hottest 800cc rid er on the circ u i t, and the V in yl cr aft Inc ./ Sk in Industries-backed Yamah a ri der wa s on th e ga s right fro m th e st art. Although h is fr ont end was all over th e place off the bottom , he didn 't back off. "I had to fight th e front end all th e way to the top ," T homas said afte r tak ing th e lead w ith hi s 8 .9 4 8 . It was a short-lived lead, how ever, as Triumphm ou nted Hamilton Jr. ra n an 8 .794 . Hamilton lost a lot of time in the air over the jumps and shut off ear ly at the top, but his Triumph's power m ade up for it, and his run was fast. "It seems when I stood up over the jumps I shut the throttle a little," he said. 'That's my fault - the bike was runn ing great," Watson has controlled the 540cc and 800cc po ints leads fro m the beginning of the season , and he put together a perfect run on his first attem pt. He was a red-white-and-yellow bl ur as he shot up the hill in on ly 7 .879 secon ds to ta ke th e lead. "I didn't get the ride I wanted in th e 540 class, but thi s ride m ak es up fo r it. " Watson said. T homas tri ed to take the win away from Watson, and he had a good run goin g right from th e start. "We stretch ed the bike out but we left th e gearing the sam e," he said . "It m ight hav e helped if we had added a couple of t eeth to th e back . I had a smooth , straight rid e for an 8.462 but I cou ldn't hav e gon e m ore than a tenth faster." Bobby T empleton ch ecked in with an 8.883 for fifth overall. Then yesacces sories.com / Dr . Bob Racing/Pirate Promotions-bac k ed Tiger Strank fired up the Ka wasaki triple. He hit his line out of the hole and stayed low over the jumps to clim b to a 800cc ca reer -best th ird place . "I've been waiting for this all sea son : h e sa id . " I knew if I co ul d get through t he ripples at the bottom , I co uld ma ke the pod ium. This is better than a 540 win." "N o one is going to beat Wats on on the four cylin de r wh en h e puts i t together like th at : T hom as said . " I could have gon e a li t tle fast er , but when you are gett ing beat by over half a second it' s im m aterial. I could ha ve sav ed $20 in Nitro by not riding th e second run . I'll settle for second ." "T od ay wa s a rea l good da y." Watson said. eN Bushkill Valley MotorcycleClub National Freemansburu, PA Results: September 10, ZOOO 800cc: 1. Dav id Watson (Hon); 2. J eff Thom as (Yam ); 3 . Tiger St rank. Jr. (Kew): 4 . J ohn Ham ilton J r (Tri ); 5. Robert Tem pleton (H-D); 6. Rodney Sm ith (Yam ): 7. Glen Petty , Jr . (H· D); 8. Phil Libhart (BSA ); 9 . Harry Denham (H-D); 10. Mike DeBusk (Kow ); 11. Curt Snelling (Hon); 12. Russ Vanderveen (HoD) ; 13. Robert Shreiner (Kaw ); 14. Brandon Kreeger (Tri ). 5 40 c c : 1. J o hn Ha milton. Jr. ( T r i ) ; 2 . J e ff Th oma s (Yam ) ; 3. Da vid Watson (Hon ) ; 4 . Ted Wilkins (Rorex ): 5 . Paul Pinsonnau lt (Hon); 6. Tiger Strenk ( Ka w); 7 . Tim Friedhoff ( Ho n ) ; B. Ch ri s VanHyin g (Han) ; 9. Ric hie Scheuerm an (Han ); 10. Anth ony DeHart (Hon); I I. Scott McNeely (Han) ; 12. James Wolfe (Kaw); 13. Charl ie Roberts (K aw) ; 14. Scott Friedhoff (Han); 15. Phil Libhart {Tri} . A MA 800c c N ATIONA L HILLCLIMB CH A M PIO NSH IP S ER IES POI NT STA NDI NGS ( A ft er 12 of 16 rounds) : 1. David Watson ( 159/5 wi ns) ; 2. J eff Th om a s ( 135 /2) ; 3. Glen Petty . J r. (125 ); 4 . Ro b er t T ermp l et o n ( 1 19) ; 5 . John Hami lton. J r. ( 111); 6. Tige r Strank, Jr. (99) ; 7. Tim Frazier (9B/ 2 win) ; B. Harry Denh am (79 ); 9. Phil Libhort (74 /1 win) 10. Mike DeBu sk (72); 1 1. Russ VanderVee n (57 ) ; 12. Br ando n Kreeger (47 ) ; 13 . Ja me s Lar ge (43/2 wins ); 14. Rodn ey Sm ith (42) ; 15. Curt Snelling (36 ); 16. Greg Will iam s (3 1) ; 17. (T IE) Harry Schrei ber . .Jr/De rrel l Fow ler (27 ); 19. Bob Castle tine (20) ; 20 . Tom Reiser (1 I ); 2 1. Paul Pinsonnault (B). AMA 540c c N A T I O N AL H I LLCLIM B CHAMPIONS HIP S ER IES PO INT STAND ING S ( After 12 of 16 rounds): 1. David Wat son (1 59 / 6 win s); 2. Ti ger St renk (1 37/ 3) ; 3 . Sc ott McNeely ( 117); 4. Ted Wilk ins (1 11/1); 5. Phil Libh ort ( 108) ; 6 . Jo hn Hamilton . Jr (99/1 ); 7. Paul Pin sonnau lt (B8/1 ); 8. T im Freidhoff (85) ; 9. Richie Scheuerman (82) ; 10. J eff Thome s (78 ); 1 I . Chris VanHy ning (77 ); 12. Michael Living ston (64 ); 13. Tim Fra zier (49); 14 . Mik e Tem pleton (36); 15. Anth ony DeHart (2 1); 16. Tyron e Sm oot (1 5 ); 17. Scott Fr eidhoff ( 14); 18 . (TIE) Mike Pulv er/Brion Bow lby ( 12); 20 . Paul Garrety ( 1 I ); 2 1. (TI E) Greg Will iam s/ Terr y Thompson (10); 23 . Roger McNeely (9 ); 24. Ja mes Wolfe ( 8); 25 . (T IE ) Jo ck Ma ca ulley /C laren c e Brow ning/Cathy Temp leton (6) ; 28 . Charli e Roberts (5) ; 29 . Chad Disbennett (3) : 30 . Curt Snelling ( I). Upcom ing Rou nds Round 13 - Middlebury, Indiana, September 17 Round 14 - Nashville, Indiana, September 24

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