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AMA
National Hill Climb Links |
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Oregonia, OH -The Dayton Motorcycle Club would play host to the
AMA National Hill Climb series held in Oregonia,
Ohio at a hill known as the "Devil's Staircase".
The newly added ATV classes was a pretty big addition
to this race as it would see ATV's clawing their
way up the same hill at the same event as their
two wheeled counterparts.
Almost 500 competitors would be registered
to compete with three classes dedicated to ATV's.
Fifty six ATV entries would be in contention
for being crowned king of the hill! Three classes,
4 stroke, 2 stroke and Vet would be offered
to fit most anyone of any skill level into competition.
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Track workers line the course from top
to bottom to ensure safety of the riders
& spectators & to help stop the
ATV's from sliding back down the hill! |
An
atv attacks the 390 foot hillclimb known
as the Devils Staircase in Oregonia, Ohio
- skill, speed, & overall power of
your ATV are require to climb this monster! |
The two day event would allow each rider one
opportunity each day a timed run up the hill.
The best times would be used to figure the finishing
order for the event. What was interesting was
the fact that there is no practice, it is pure
competition from the moment the event started
and what you ran was what you had to accept.
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The run-in
to the bottom of the hill is very short
& requires a tremendous amount of
power & energy to make it to the
top & lay down a good time
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This was the first chance I've had to ever be at
an organized hill climb and I must say it seemed
to run with a fair amount of constancy with very
few breaks, and with almost 500 entries, each
day would prove a challenge to get the runs in
and keep the action flowing, something the course
workers did very well. The starting area
would allow a very brief run at the first leg
of this hill and as a rider crossed the timing
lights his/her time would be started.
Working up the hill was not that difficult
of a task however doing it with speed and control
in order to achieve a fast time would indeed
prove difficult. One missed shift, one bad section
of traction, even a bad bounce from landing
one the hills stages would result in a loss
of time. The top of the hill held a second set
of timing lights that were tripped ending the
timed run.
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Paul Hilliard
took home 11th place in th ATV Vet class
by putting down a 10.4100 time which
was just .7 of a second off from the
leader Brian Childs' time!
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The sound of a highly tuned two stroke screaming up the hill was exhilarating,
and the fact that it was an ATV made it even more
satisfying! The twin exhaust of a well built Banshee
or the grunt from a high revving LT500R sure took
me back as the quads made run after run. The thumpers
were not left out as they pulled the hill and
gave the new generation something to be pleased
with, but nothing does it for the crowd unless
its pure power belching the sweet smell of race
gas and premix!
Modifications were easily identifiable as extended length swing arms sure set
these machines apart from their MX and XC brethren.
With machines that ranged from mild to wild,
the sport of ATV hill climbing is alive and
well and will hopefully be open to more events
of this caliber in the future.
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#63 Vernon Lloyd's nearly flipped over
during his Vet Class run on Saturday,
but on Sunday he rebounded to claim the
4th fastest time in the class |
Kale
Kolenda claimed the 3rd fastet time in
the Vet Class on his Yamaha Bansheee &
he also finished 7th in the 2 Stroke Class |
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Brian Childs
won both the ATV Vet Class & the
2-Stroke class by laying down an under
9-second pass each time up the hill
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The winners on this day would be proud of their
accomplishment. Brian Childs would rip off a
8.93 second run to claim the win in the Vet
class as well as a 8.79 run in the 2 stroke
class to take both classes!. In 4 stroke, Marty
Thayer would send his quad up the hill on a
9.900 run that would secure his win.
It was a fantastic weekend that showed how
competitive the ATV's can be. The best 450cc
bike time clocked in a 8.75 second run and the
fastest time of the weekend came from a 750cc
+ machine in the Open class with a 8:31 second
run.
