2002 AMA U.S. Hillclimb Championship presented by Pace American
Round 11 of
12: Sept. 29 - Jefferson (York Co.), PA
October 7, 2002
Watson clinches 540 championship, Strank's winning streak continues
By David L. Patton Jr.
 |
| Three 540cc
hillclimb titles and counting for Dave Watson. |
|
David L. Patton
Jr. photo
|
|
|
Dave Watson sewed up his third AMA U.S. 540cc
Hillclimb Championship with a convincing win at Round 11 of the
AMA U.S. Hillclimb Championship presented by Pace American
Trailers. Watson, on a four-cylinder Honda CBR put together a
5.930 second run on his final pass to edge Chad Disbennett, who
led most of the day. Disbennett took second on his Triumph twin,
with five-time 540 Champion Paul Pinsonnault rounding out the
podium at the White Rose Motorcycle Club's 50th year of hillclimb
competition. Watson's only title challenger, Phil Libhart,
couldn't overcome his recent string of bad luck and finished
seventh.
Watson also leads the 800cc points race but for the
fifth consecutive race, Walter "Tiger" Strank Jr.
chipped a few more valuable points from Watson's margin. Strank,
on the Yamaha R1, put in a kamikaze final run to win his
fifth-straight, again at Disbennett's expense. Strank covered the
300 feet to the timers in 5.473 seconds, but he couldn't slow down
enough on the 350-foot hill and had to bail off at the crest. He
was bruised but not injured, as he tries to hang onto the No. 1
plate he earned in 2001. Honda CBR-mounted Dave Watson followed
Disbennett's Triumph twin for third and carries a 5-point edge
into the final event of the series, The Devil's Staircase in
Oregonia, Ohio on October 13.
Next and final race:
Oct. 13, 2002
Oregonia, OH
top
Copyright AMA Pro Racing, 2005.
|
