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/692010
SALLSTROM WINS BUSHKILL HILLCLIMB J ay Sallstrom chalked up wins in the top two classes in round two of the AMA Pro Hillclimb at the Bushkill Valley Motorcycle Club hill near Freemansburg, Pennsylvania, June 12. John Koester won the Expert Singles class and Exhibition Hill-Cross competition. Rookie rider Jason Kostan was the only rider in Pro Sport, taking the automatic win. Expert Singles rider Deryk Beaudoin tackled the hill first, posting a 19-second E.T. Koester was the next rider to top the hill. His time was 15.779 seconds. Bryan Rusnak followed, cresting in 17.781 seconds. Phil Libhart stopped the clock at 18.75 sec- onds. Then Sallstrom posted a 15.262-second E.T., in the lead by a half-second. Eddie Capelli crossed the line in 18.737 sec- onds near the end of the order. Nine of the 15 Expert Singles rid- ers scored distances rather than times in the first half, owing to the difficult nature of the Freeman- sburg hill. At the half Sallstrom led the pack, with Koester and Rusnak in hot pursuit. In the Expert Singles second half, Joseph Lowe briefly moved into third. Koester laid down a super-fast 13.748-second ride that bumped him to first. Rusnak bettered himself by more than a second and took third back from Lowe. Sallstrom's second ride was off the pace, leaving him in second but that was good enough for the TiLUBE Top Gun Award. Lowe led off the Xtreme class with a 16.893-second ride. Sallstrom followed with a stunning 10.957 E.T. Rusnak topped in 12.891 seconds for second place, briefly. Riding in mid-order, Libhart was a half-second faster than Sallstrom, taking over the lead. Koester posted a 10.757-second E.T., bumping Sallstrom to third and Rusnak to fourth. After intermission, Sallstrom had everything dialed in as he screamed to the top in a high- flying 10.233-second ride. Only Libhart came close to unseating him, but rode nearly a second off Sallstrom's time. Sallstrom climbed to the top step of the Xtreme-class podium, flanked by Libhart and Koester, second and third, in order. Unlimited class riders, much like the Xtreme class, struggled with hill conditions. Fewer than half crested the hill on their first attempt. After several riders fell short, Sallstrom showed them how it's done. He practically leaped to the top in just 9.775 seconds. Jockamo Baldina post- ed a 13.492-second time followed by Koester in 13.047 seconds. Libhart rode last in order and crested the hill in 12.709 seconds to take second from Koester. After halftime, Sallstrom sat IN THE WIND P22 PHOTOGRAPHY BY JEFF WHITEHEAD Jay Sallstrom was a double winner at the Bushkill Valley National Hillclimb in Pennsylvania.