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IN THE WIND P44 KOESTER AND SALLSTROM WIN FREEMANSBURG HILLCLIMB J ohn Koester won the Unlim- ited and 50 Pro classes while Jay Sallstrom took top honors in the Xtreme class at round two of the AMA Pro Hillclimb Champion- ship Series at the Bushkill Valley Motorcycle Club's Freemans- burg, PA hill, June 10. Defending champ Sallstrom tackled the hill first in the 450 Pro class, but looped his bike out near the summit, scoring a distance of 475 feet. Bryan Rusnak crested the hill first with an E.T. of 18.103 seconds. Phil Libhart moved ahead with a 15.821-second ride, then Ja- son Kostan edged him out by more than a second. Both were bested by Koester, who stopped the clock at 14.061 seconds for the lead at the half. In second- half 450 action, Jack Mason, riding second-to-last, laid down a 4.963-second ride to bump Libhart off the podium. Koester waited out the second half, but no rider beat his time. Though he'd already clinched the win, he aimed to give the fans the show they'd paid to see. Koester took another run up the hill as a victory lap. Amazingly, he lopped more than a second off his ear- lier ride, posting a 12.860-sec- ond time to wild cheers from the crowd. Kostan and Mason flanked Koester on the podium, in second and third places, respectively. Deryk Beau- doin was the first rider up the hill in the Xtreme class, topping the hill in 11.720 sec- onds. Sallstrom followed with a 10.973-second ride for the first- half lead. Vinny Nuzzolilli posted an 11.796 E.T. for third place at the half, just be- hind Beaudoin. Sallstrom waited out the Xtreme class second half to see if he'd need to defend his position. Beaudoin scratched, Nuzzolilli crashed, and only Libhart, Jack Mason, and Nick Briggs came close with mid-12-second E.T.s. Sallstrom's first ride held for the Xtreme class win, followed by Beaudoin and Nuzzolilli, second and third, in order. Nuzzolilli rode first in the Unlimited class and crested the hill with a fast 10.143-second E.T. Nuzzolilli waited and watched as Unlimited class rider after rider attempted to unseat him. Koes- ter was the man—he stopped the timer at 10.002 seconds, forcing a ride by Nuzzolilli. Nuz- zolilli fought back but fell short to settle for second. Sallstrom's 10.576-second ride landed him third. Jeff Whitehead 450 Pro 1. John Koester (Hon) 2. Jack Mason (Hon) 3. Jason Kostan (KTM) 4. Phil Libhart (Yam) 5. Bryan Rusnak (KTM) Xtreme 1. Jay Sallstrom (Yam) 2. Deryk Beaudoin (Kaw) 3. Vinny Nuzzolilli (Hon) 4. Nick Briggs (Suz) 5. Phil Libhart (Tri) Unlimited 1. John Koester (Hon) 2. Vinny Nuzzolilli (Hon) 3. Jay Sallstrom (Yam) 4. Deryk Beaudoin (Kaw) 5. Nick Briggs (Suz) John Koester flies his 450 Honda over Freemansburg. He won both the 450 Pro and Unlimited classes at round two. PHOTOGRAPHY BY JEFF WHITEHEAD