2002 AMA U.S. Hillclimb Championship presented by Pace American
Round 12 of
12: Oct. 13 - Oregonia, OH
October 30, 2002
Strank wins battle, Watson takes
war at Devil's Staircase National Hillclimb
By David L. Patton Jr.
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| Watson was the
"did the double" in 2000 too! |
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David L. Patton
Jr. photo
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The final round of the 2002 AMA U.S. Hillclimb
Championship presented by Pace American Trailers, turned into one
hell of a motorcycle race. For 11 rounds, two great champions,
Dave Watson (2000) and Walter "Tiger" Strank, Jr. (2001)
have battled for the No. 1 plate in the 800 class. The 2002
Devil's Staircase will be remembered as one of the most exciting
hillclimbs of the last 10 years.
Tiger had all the momentum coming to Oregonia after
winning the last five rounds but he still trailed Watson by five
points. "I've won the last five races and have only made up
seven points. Dave has been so consistent. All I can do is try to
win and hope the other guys can finish ahead of Dave."
In 2000, Watson won both the 540 and 800 class at
The Staircase and claimed the first dual championship in the
70-plus year history of AMA professional hillclimbing. For 2002,
Dave sewed up the 540-class crown two weeks ago at York, Penn.,
and came to Oregonia needing a fifth place finish to win his
second 800cc National Championship. "I'm planning on winning
today. Hopefully I'll pick the right lines and go fast enough to
beat Tiger."
The action was intense right from the start as
Tiger blistered the hill on his first ride with the day's fastest
run, a 6.866 second blast. "Well I did my job. I just hope
Dave stays where he's at." Strank said between rounds. Watson
had a few minor problems on his first run up the 400-foot hill and
found himself in ninth spot after one round. James "Jammer"
Large would take second with his 6.891 second run. 540-class
winner Chad Disbennett (Triumph) had the third fastest ride in the
800 class and Rodney Williams (H-D) put together a fast 7.073 ride
claim fourth overall. Dan Watson wheeled in the Watson Racing
Honda for the most important ride of the year for his son, Dave,
who knew what he had to do. "I figured something out on my
540 ride, I need to stand up more here. We've rejetted the bike
and made it longer, now I have to ride loose." Watson was a
little restrained up the ramp so he wouldn't overshoot the breaker
then he whipped the Honda for all it had. "I knew it was
faster than my 540 ride, but I didn't know if it was fast
enough." The crowd went nuts when Watson's 7.0920-second run
was announced, .063 faster than Bobby Templeton (H-D) for fifth
place and Watson was champion by 1 point! "I was under the
gun after my bad first ride so I just tried to ride the hell out
of it and it worked. I can't even describe how awesome today has
been. "After the final rider made his pass, Strank took one
more run with the No. 1 plate and had to look ahead.
"Well I won six in a row on the 800 and the
540 bike is running great so hopefully this will give me momentum
for next year so I can get the No. 1 plate back. Dave rode great
all year and he earned the Championship."
With the title chase over in the 540 class and the
top-three positions locked up, the fans may have overlooked the
dominating performance put in by Chad Disbennett of Logan, Ohio.
Disbennett only needed one run, a 7.155 on the horsepower hill, to
claim his fourth win of the year, tops in the class. Disbennett's
Triumph twin outran the CBR Honda four-cylinder machines of Watson
and 2001 champ Jeff Thomas. 2002 championship runner-up Libhart,
took fourth and Disbennett's teammate, John Hamilton, Jr. also
Triumph mounted, held off Strank's Yamaha R6 for fifth
overall."I'm happy for Dave and for Tiger, they have had a
great year, but today I am happiest for me. I have always wanted
to win The Devil's Staircase. When the season started this was the
race I wanted the most." Disbennett said at the trophy
presentation.
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Copyright AMA Pro Racing, 2005.
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