Benner, Libhart, DeBusk: Winners on White Rose Hill

By Jeff Whitehead

When the White Rose Motorcycle Club hosted round 6 of the AMA Pro Hillclimb series and the series' All-Star Challenge on their hill at Jefferson, PA, Alex Benner and Robby DeBusk each took their second win in a row (in Unlimited and ProSport, respectively) and Phil Libhart came out on top of the Xtreme Class.

The White Rose hill gets greasy when wet, and with overnight rain tapering to drizzle on race day, it was threatening to be a mud fest. But as the weather gradually improved and the hill dried somewhat, the rides became progressively faster. Even so, riders found the hill quite challenging with steep approaches to the two jumps and an off-camber turn above the second jump. Timing, tracking and throttle control were crucial.

In Xtreme Class, Libhart rode early and set a fast time at 9.311 seconds. Chris VanHyning followed Libhart, a tenth-second slower and points leader Nate Redmann's time was a quarter-second off the mark. Then Colby McCutcheon blasted over the top in 8.766 seconds, setting fast time for first round. Scott Campbell nudged his way into the pack with a 9.319 second time. Anthony DeHart and Paul Kops put in times in the low nines- they were second and third behind McCutcheon after the round.

In round two, Libhart and Redmann each shaved nearly a second off their times. McCutcheon bettered his time too, but not enough to hold first. After that round Libhart held first by less than a quarter-second while Redmann and McCutcheon were separated by hundredths.

The All-Star Challenge pits the top ten riders in Xtreme and Unlimited against each other for a third round. In Xtreme, Libhart stopped the clock at 8.273 seconds for the win. VanHyning, whose second round ride ended in a wild crash, came back with an 8.437 second ride for the second step on the podium. Redmann hung onto third- enough to keep him ahead in points for the series.

ProSport, not included in the All Star, was limited to two runs. Early in the series Bryan Rusnak appeared to be running away with the championship. But his first ride was slow and his second ride stopped way short due to bike trouble, possibly opening the door for 2008 champ Robby Debusk. DeBusk, whose bike was stretched longer after round 5 in hopes of keeping the front wheel down, rode fast in the first round and faster in the second. The only ProSporter to break ten seconds, he easily clinched first place- giving him back-to-back wins. Newcomer Stephen Carlin nailed his second ride at 10.03 seconds for second place. Scott Hoke also rode faster on his second attempt and crested at 10.388 seconds for third place.

Like the other classes, times steadily improved in Unlimited Class. Early on, DeHart knocked out an 8.425 second ride. McCutcheon squeaked by him with an 8.419 second ride and Alex Benner put in an 8.588 second time. After the first round the order was McCutcheon, DeHart and Benner. Redmann and Shane Green each rode faster in the second round with 8.328 and 8.236 second rides respectively- each temporarily on top. McCutcheon came back in the third round with an amazing 8.065 second ride and looked like the winner until Benner stole the day with the only sub-eight second ride of the day! Benner said “third time's a charm” as his bike hooked up with the best traction and the best track all the way to the top. Benner not only has back-to-back wins in Unlimited, but also took the points lead away from Libhart who finished a disappointing fourteenth.

The seventh and final round, the Dayton Motorcycle Club’s Devil’s Staircase Hillclimb at Oregonia, OH on October 11, will decide the championship- Be There!