Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

AMA Nst io l:1s l Hillcli m b Ber-ie s Round 1 6: Devil's Stair-case National Watson sa id . " I didn ' t want to get thrown on the ground. I am amazed that it was that fast. " Scheuermann led off the final 540cc round of the year. He had a couple of bobbles that slowed his run , but his first -run time held up for third. "I got a little squirrelly, got crossed up and that was it: Scheuermann said. Van Hyning 's Service-sponsored Chris Van Hyning overcame the rutted hill to record a fast, straight run in 10.089 seconds , snatching second overall on his Honda CR500. "I just wanted to stay as straight as poss ible on the second run: VanHyn ing said. "I've raced a lot of motocross (Left) Bobby Templeton shows th e erowd how to fl y up the hili. The trieky co nd itions eau sed many of th e rid e rs to get thrown out of the saddle a s they tried to elimb The Devil 's Sta irca se. (Be low) Rieh le Scheuerman finished th ird In the 540ee el ass on his Honda. STORY AND PH OT OS By D AV ID L. PATTON , JR. OREGONIA, OH OCT. 8 t was only right that newly crowned 540cc and 800cc National Champion David Watson would win both classes at the season finale in Oregonia , Ohio. His wins at Round 16 of the 2000 Pace American AMA National Championship Hill climb Series brought his victory count to nine in th e 540cc class and six in the 800cc class, as he became the first Pro rider to win both classes . Watson had to come from behind to beat three-time, and defending , 800cc National Champion James "Jammer" Large, but he was the class of the field in the 540cc division, recording the day's fast est run on his first pass . TI 540cc For the second year in a row , rain hit the Dayton Motorcycle Club facility, turning a well-groomed 500-foot hill into a slippery, rutted challenge for the Pro riders. RRP/EK Chains/ Wiseco-backed Richie Scheuermann has scored his best results in the mud, and he wasted little time hammering the Watson Racing nitro -fed Honda CR500 into the lead . Scheuermann is racing with a broken bone in his leg, but he was on the gas as he hit the big jump at the 170-foot mark . He kept it on two wheels over the last kicker to climb into the lead with his 10.335-second effort. Six other riders served up 10 -second runs with Howe's Triumph-backed Phil Libhart 44 O C TO BER 25, 2 0 0 0 ' cue coming closest with a 10.452. David Watson locked up his second 540cc number-one plate two races ago , and he won last week at York, so all eyes were on him here as well. He rode in the m iddle of the hill - the mud wasn't slowing him down as he flew off the ramp 30 -feet from the start. He caught a lot of air as he hit the bigger second jump, and then made sure he was under control for a quick blast to the timing lights. The hardcore fans that braved the cold, wet weather were on their feet as the day 's first nine-second run was shown . A time of 9.755 surprised Watson, and stunned the competition. "I was trying to take it kinda easy : I e n - "" in the mud, and that has helped me ride well in these conditions." Libhart had problems right from the start, hooking -up too much and nearly looping out. He fell over at the 190 -foot mark , but he held on to fourth , ahead of John Hamilton 's firstrun time of 10.549. Many riders struggled with the deteriorating hill, and Tiger Strank ran a 10 .823 for ninth place to end the 540cc racing. Strank earned the number-two p late in his first year of 540cc competition . "Coming out of the amateur ranks, this is a lot better than I figured I would do : Strank said. "T here wasn't any stopping David this season but we had a great year." BOOc c Mark Bufton led off on his beautifully prepared Norton, but ran out of traction near the top. Reiser's Cycle team owner Tom Reiser was planning on rolling the first jump to set up for the big jump . His racer instincts took over and he blasted his F&S H a rl e y - D a v i d so n X R750 over all the j umps, to stop the cloc ks in 11.261 seco nds. Inn o vati ve Mo ld and Machine/Vinylcraft-backed Jeff Thomas was one rider who didn't mind the mud, after a second -place ride at Dayton last year under simi lar conditions . Thomas tried the farr ight line and was on the gas over the first jump . He hit the big jump cross-rutted, but wrestled his Yamaha XS800 tw in back under control to make it through the lights in 10.447 seconds. Watson also pulled int o the 10's with a 10. 8 6 8, a tick beh ind Templeton 's 10.864-second effort. Near the end of the round , Large pulled in for his last ride with the number-one plate. "It 's hard giving this thing [the number-one plate) up but I'm glad it's going to David: Large said . "Things didn't work out for me this year, try ing to hang onto it, but I'll be back next year, for the whole year." L ar g e , the t hree -time 800cc Cha mpion never backed off, and his 1O.12 1-second run shot him into the lead, a position he he ld th rough the first round. "I hit so hard off the first jump that the landing off the big jump jarred both feet off the pegs, then I just tried to make it to the top, " Large said . Reiser had the first big run in the second round . He chose the same far-left line , but he had everything cranked up a notch, and he was moving when he hit the big jump. He hit the jump so hard it almost catapulted him over the bars but he held on to take fifth overall with his 10.449, not bad for a nearly 62-year-old semiretired past champion . Thomas wasn 't able to improve on his first-run time , as his bike slowed on the top part of the hill. " T h e timing belt slipped again: Thomas said . "Still, fourth is good for a day like today ." Libhart ran a 10.576 to take sixth, then Watson came to the li ne. Watson spent a lo t of time between rounds checking out lines and then settled on the far -right side . He was roosting out of the hole, but the first jump threw him into the middle of the hill. He had to roll the big jump to get straight-

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