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October 23, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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AMA
Pro Racing Hillclimb Champions
Crowned
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- AMA Pro
Racing is proud to announce its
2008 AMA Hillclimb champions, as
well as the 2008 AMA Pro Sport
Hillclimb champion.
In the AMA Xtreme Hillclimb
class, which features a variety
of engine sizes and
configurations under 770cc, Phil
Libhart edged defending champion
Walter "Tiger" Strank by 4
championship points. Libhart,
who had three wins to Strank's
two, said it was satisfying to
finally win a championship after
coming in second for several
years.
"It only took us 11 years to win
this title, and I think we were
the bridesmaid seven times,"
Libhart said.
"We built that (Xtreme
class) bike this past winter
from the ground up. It's
definitely good to build a bike
from scratch and go out and win
a championship on it. This has
been a personal goal of mine for
so long."
The title didn't come easy,
though.
"It was definitely a knock-down,
drag-out fight to the very end,"
Libhart said.
"At Oregonia, I
took a pretty hard crash in the
Unlimited class before I nailed
down the Xtreme title. I hurt so
bad I could hardly put my hands
on the handlebars. And the year
started with us finishing this
bike at 5 a.m. the morning
before the first event. I raced
with two hours sleep in three
days. I don't think it's sunk in
yet, but it definitely feels
good to finally accomplish
something you've been working at
for so long."
Strank, however, would not be
denied in the AMA Unlimited
Hillclimb class, which features
various engine types 701cc and
larger. The Johnstown, Pa.,
rider was the only multi-time
winner on the season, riding his
Yamaha R1-powered hillclimber to
four wins and 123 championship
points. Alex Benner, from Niles,
Mich., finished second, seven
points back and 16 points ahead
of third-place rider Paul Kops,
from Twin Lake, Mich.
"It was kind of an up and down
year. We put a new motor in the
bike. It made a lot more
horsepower, and it took awhile
to figure it out," said Strank,
who rides for the Dr. Bob Racing
Pro Hillclimb Team and receives
factory support from Yamaha.
"This bike is pushing around 300
horsepower, and I'm only 130
lbs. It's a lot for me to hold
onto."
While Strank was disappointed to
lose the Xtreme title, he
admitted that winning the
Unlimited class met his personal
goals for the year.
"I would have liked to have had
my fifth in the row for the
small class, but you can only
win so many before someone else
gets to be top dog," Strank
said.
"(Libhart) is probably the
best rider out there who had
never won a national title
before, so he deserves it. As
long as I'm No. 1 in one of the
classes, I'm alright. Next year,
though, I want to win them both.
Plain and simple, I've had
enough. I want both the titles
back next year."
The 2008 Unlimited title is
Strank's eighth AMA Pro Racing
Hillclimb championship.
In the AMA Pro Sport Hillclimb
class, which features 400cc to
450cc four-stroke,
single-cylinder production
bikes, Brownstown, Pa.'s Robby
Debusk, 16, dominated the class
all year. The Yamaha rider, who
rides with Strank on the Dr. Bob
Racing Pro Hillclimb Team, took
the title with 130 championship
points to Scott Wentz's 57.
Christopher Wahl was four more
points back in third.
"It was a good year. My
worst finish on the whole
year was second - I got four
firsts and five seconds,"
Debusk said."I learned a
lot this year, from Tiger
and everyone else. The most
important thing was about
how to use the clutch to
keep the front end down and
to keep the throttle pinned.
I have a really good team
behind me and a really good
bike, so I'm real happy to
get this championship."
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About AMA Pro Racing
AMA Racing is the leading sanctioning body
for motorcycle sport in the United States.
AMA Pro Racing series include the AMA Toyota
Motocross Championship presented by FMF, the
AMA Superbike Championship presented by
Parts Unlimited, the AMA Flat Track
Championship, the AMA Supermoto Championship
and the AMA Pro ATV Championship.
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