July 24, 2007
Strank and Libhart
Trade Wins at Bridgeton
National Hillclimb
AMA Racing news
By David L. Patton, Jr.
Bridgeton, MI, July 22, 2007
Phil Libhart and Walter “Tiger” Strank, Jr. continued their
winning ways at “The Wall” in Bridgeton, MI in Round 5 of the
2007 AMA National Championship Hillclimb Series. The sweeping
rules changes last winter have produced one of the most
competitive series in recent history and all of the Championship
contenders finished well in Bridgeton.
Xtreme Class - Phil Libhart was the first rider to
challenge the hill and he hoped to repeat his 2003 win at the
inaugural event. “I like this hill, I won here 2 years ago. The
bottom is like concrete, we are trying to loosen it up so we can
get traction off the line.” Libhart dropped the hammer on the
Kreeger Pro Hillclimb Team / Worley and Obetz backed Triumph and
launched over the jump at the 25 foot mark. A smooth landing and
a burst of throttle carried him to the timers at 120 feet in
2.733 seconds. Defending National Champion Walter “Tiger” Strank,
Jr .was up next and he blasted the Yamaha Motors USA / Dr Bob
Racing backed R-6 up the right side of the hill in 2.726 seconds
to take the lead. Anthony Dehart form Niles, MI drove his Dehart
Racing ZX-6 to a pass of 2.843 to settle into 3rd spot.
The hill got very rough for round 2 as the riders continued to
try to find a smooth line. Many fast rides ended out of bounds
but Tiger was able to work his way to a 2.706, keeping the
pressure on points leader Libhart.
After a gearing change, Libhart went all out on the Amerigreen
Bio Fuels Triumph twin and it paid off in a fantastic run of
2.486 seconds. “It was all about hitting the right line. If the
front end carried you off line, you ended up in the rough stuff,
killing your time.” The record crowd was on their feet as Tiger
lined up for the final time. “The bike launched hard out of the
hole and took off like a bat out of hell. I couldn't get my feet
on the pegs over the jump and I landed with 1 foot off but then
I saw the finish line and backed out of it. I thought I had lost
it because I shut off early but when I came down they told me I
had won with a 2.485. I didn't think there was any chance after
Phil pulled out that 2.4. ” “One thousandth of a second, you
can't even see the difference in those times, at least he had to
work for it”, said Libhart. Dehart held on to 3rd, his best
career finish on the Kawasaki.
In the Pro Sport division Ryan Oosterman captured his 2nd
win of the season. Class leader Jason Storms struggled but came
back on his final run to take 3rd behind local favorite Chris
Huizenga, making his Pro Sport debut.
In the Unlimited Class, Phil Libhart was dialed in right
off the trailer and he wasted little time ripping off a run of
2.581 to lead the way. Ryan Thibault matched Phil with a run of
2.581 on his Gary's Street and Trail / ABL Golf Carts backed CBR
Honda. “We have the shortest gearing we have ever run on this
bike.” Defending National Champion Walter “Tiger” Strank, Jr.
struggled early but he would rebound in Round 2.
In Round 2 Libhart nailed the smooth line for a pass of 2.482.
and Tiger moved into 3rd with a pass of 2.582 as the riders
began to get the hill dialed in.
In the final round the ruts made improvement difficult and
Libhart watched as the challenger fell by the wayside until only
Tiger was left. A bobble after he landed off the jump was all it
took and Libhart had another win at Bridgeton. The big bike was
great right from the start, we used our settings from 2 years
ago and it worked out great. We gained a few points on the
series leader today.” Thibault and Tiger rounded out the podium
and Anthony Dehart, leading the series, finished 5th behind Paul
Kops.
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