FREEMANSBURG, Pa. (Oct 1, 2014) - The Bushkill Valley Motorcycle Club played host to Round 7 of the VP Racing Fuels AMA Pro Hillclimb series at their historic 500-foot hill near Freemansburg, Pa., on Sept. 28.
The day saw a duel between Jay Sallstrom and Vinny Nuzzolilli end in a draw in the Unlimited Class when Sallstrom's win tied him with Nuzzolilli for series points. John Koester opened his lead in the Xtreme class with his fifth win. Rookie Pro Sport rider, Matt Walker made it three wins in a row in his class.
Pro Sport riders tackled the hill first with rookie Nathan Prebe up first in his first ever pro hillclimb. His ride ground to a stop at 300 feet. Ryan Preece was the first to crest the hill, posing a 17.589-second E.T. Nicholas Briggs chopped a second off Preece's time. Matt Walker took the lead, topping the hill in 15.174 seconds, but dropped to second when Kyle Welch laid down a 14.960-second ride. Last in the riding order, Adam Holmes wedged into third, just 0.03 seconds faster than Briggs.
When Pro Sport riders made their second attempt, only Walker seemed to have the hill figured out. He posted a 14.500-second time and leapt into first. Welch's answer fell short at 430 feet. The Pro Sport podium had Walker on top, flanked by Welch in second and Holmes in third. Walker leads Welch by 13 in series points going into the final round with Molly Carbon in third, trailing Welch by nine points.
In the Xtreme class Nuzzolilli rode early in the order and blazed up the hill in 9.694 seconds. Koester rode fifth and laid down a perfect ride at just 8.887 seconds, moving to first place. Sallstrom followed with a 9.132-second E.T. to overtake Nuzzolilli. At intermission it was Koester, Sallstrom, Nuzzolilli, one, two, and three in order.
In second-half Xtreme action Nuzzolilli posted a faster time, 9.422 seconds, and Phil Libhart broke into the nines with a 9.993-second ride. But neither was fast enough to beat Sallstrom. All through the second half, Koester waited, anxiously hoping his earlier ride would hold. It did, and he topped the Xtreme Class podium for the fifth time this series, advancing his points lead to nine. Sallstrom took second place on the day and also sits second in series points with Nuzzolilli, third at Freemansburg and in points, 21 behind.
Bushkill Valley's hillclimb included exhibition Hillcross, a crowd-pleasing handlebar-to-handlebar combination of hillclimbing and motocross, featuring expert-class riders on Pro Sport bikes. Scott Wentz, Jr., Libhart and Sallstrom each took the win in their respective heats and faced off for the final. Wentz came out on top, followed by Sallstrom second and Libhart third.
While Pro Sport, Xtreme and Hillcross offered ample thrills and spills, it was the Unlimited Class that provided the nail-biting competition. After winning Round 6, Nuzzolilli came to Freemansburg leading the series over Sallstrom by a whisker-thin margin of three points.
Koester set the early pace, cresting in 9.586 seconds. Nuzzolilli faltered, taking more than eleven seconds to cross the finish line. Wentz dropped into second but was edged out by Libhart with a 10.031-second E.T. Then Sallstrom dashed up the hill and stopped the clock in just 8.845 seconds for the lead. At the half, Koester and Libhart trailed Sallstrom for second and third with Nuzzolilli out in fifth behind Wentz.
After halftime, Sallstrom sat out waiting to see if his time would be challenged. Koester came close at 9.063 seconds. Then Nuzzolilli pulled ahead of both with an 8.766-second E.T., forcing a second ride by Sallstrom. In an all-out, 8.549-second ride, Sallstrom clinched the win and brought the series to a tie with Nuzzolilli at 160 points apiece. The Unlimited Class podium was a rearrangement of the Xtreme Class podium with Sallstrom on top followed by Nuzzolilli and Koester, second and third, respectively. In series points, Koester trails the leaders by 19.
The eighth and final round of the 2014 series is on Oct. 12 at the Dayton Motorcycle Club's "Devil's Staircase" hill at Oregonia, Ohio.
The AMA Pro Hillclimb Series receives sponsorship from VP Racing Fuels, Wiseco Performance Products, ALCO Cleaning Products, and PSYCHMX Graphix.
Results
Unlimited: 1. Jay Sallstrom (Yamaha); 2. Vinny Nuzzolilli (Honda); 3. John Koester (Honda); 4. Phil Libhart (Triumph); 5. Scott Wentz, Jr. (Yamaha).
Xtreme: 1. John Koester (Honda); 2. Jay Sallstrom (Yamaha); 3. Vinny Nuzzolilli (Honda); 4. Phil Libhart (Triumph); 5. Robby DeBusk (Yamaha).
Pro Sport: 1. Matt Walker (Honda); 2. Kyle Welch (Honda); 3. Adam Holmes (Honda); 4. Nicholas Briggs (Yamaha); 5. Ryan Preece (Honda).
