Hillclimb champions crowned on Devil's Staircase

Photos and story by Jeff Whitehead, www.prohillclimbonline.com

Alex Benner, Nate Redmann and Bryan Rusnak clinched the class titles for the 2009 AMA Pro Hillclimb Championships at the 60th running of the Dayton Motorcycle Club's Devil's Staircase Hillclimb in Oregonia, Ohio. The “Staircase” has been the series' final round for many years and is one of the oldest and most prestigious events on the circuit. Quite a few champions have received their crowns here.

Several things highlight the 2009 series, and one of them is mud. Most of the meets this season were preceded by significant rainfall, and Oregonia was no exception, with three inches of rain two days before the race. The race promoter, Dayton Motorcycle Club, worked hard to groom the hill and although it looked smooth enough at the start, the surface was thick, gooey mud that was hard to stand or walk on. But for the bikes, it meant traction, apparently tremendous traction, as the times were very fast. Indeed, five riders broke the 7-second barrier.

The hardest fought battle for 2009 was the Unlimited Class with top contenders Benner, Phil Libhart and rookie Shawn Farnsworth all in the running. Libhart took the lead early in the season and held it until the sixth round at Jefferson, Pa., where a 14th place finish knocked him back to second by just four points. Benner was obviously gaining strength in the later rounds and posted back-to-back wins in rounds five and six. Farnsworth rode solidly in his first year on the circuit and was just six points behind Libhart and 10 behind Benner. Any one of them could have taken the crown at Oregonia. But Benner did it with a screaming 6.865-second ride for the second place win against Libhart's fifth and Farnsworth's seventh and took home the No. 1 plate for his bike for next year.

The Xtreme Class championship looked to be in the bag for Nate Redmann in his first year on the Dr. Bob's Racing Factory Yamaha. Nate took a spot on the podium in five of the first six rounds -- three firsts, a second and a third. He was the man to beat. Libhart nipped at his heels all season with two wins and a solid performance in the other rounds. Mathematically speaking, Libhart had a chance, but making up a 13-point deficit in one round would have taken considerable luck. Redmann's fourth-place finish on the Devil's Staircase gave up only three points to Libhart's second, and Redmann took the No. 1 plate for his bike. Rookie Colby McCutcheon gave a good chase in the series in the third spot.

The ProSport championship looked like a done-deal after four rounds and four first-place finishes by the rookie Rusnak. He even blew a motor in the fourth round and still won, on a borrowed bike! But he faltered in the sixth round and left the door ajar for 2008 champ, Robby DeBusk. Ten points behind coming to Oregonia, Robbie had to hit it just right and hope against Rusnak to take the win. In the end, Rusnak's third-place finish gave up just five of those points to DeBusk's first place win, forcing DeBusk to relinquish the crown for next year.

In exhibition racing, Verti-Cross was brought to Oregonia. It's side-by-side uphill racing on stretched out 450's. It is truly a crowd pleaser and wildly fun. On the “Staircase” there were heats at intermission and the final after the pro bikes were done racing. Those who stuck around saw teammates Redman and DeHart go head to head for the win. Redmann got ahead of DeHart and gave him a face-full of Oregonia mud at the top. Scott Campbell took the third-place finish.

Results 2009 Championship Series:
Unlimited Class: 1. Alex Benner (Hon); 2. Phil Libhart (Tri); 3. Shawn Farnsworth (H-D); 4. Walter “Tiger” Strank (Hon); 5. Anthony DeHart (Yam).

Xtreme Class: 1. Nate Redmann (Yam); 2. Phil Libhart (Tri); 3. Colby McCutcheon (KTM); 4. Walter “Tiger” Strank (Kaw); 5. Matt Luna (Kaw).

ProSport Class: 1. Bryan Rusnak (Kaw); 2. Robby DeBusk (Yam); 3. Amanda Campbell (Hon); 4. Scott Hoke (Suz); 5. Brandon Novak (KTM).

Results Oregonia Hillclimb:
Unlimited Class: 1. Walter “Tiger” Strank (Hon); 2. Alex Benner (Hon); 3. Nate Redmann (Yam); 4. Anthony DeHart (Yam); 5. Phil Libhart (Tri).

Xtreme Class: 1. Shane Green (Hon); 2. Phil Libhart (Tri); 3. Anthony DeHart (Hon); 4. Nate Redmann (Yam); 5. Harold Waddell (Suz).

ProSport Class: 1. Robert DeBusk (Yam); 2. Amanda Campbell (Hon); 3. Bryan Rusnak (Kaw); 4. Stephen Carlin (Suz); 5. Scott Hoke (Suz).

Verti-Cross (exhibition): 1. Nate Redmann (Yam); 2. Anthony DeHart (Yam); 3. Scott Campbell (Hon).