2002 AMA Amateur National Hillclimb Championships

August 10-11, 2002, Delbarton, WV

Aug. 13, 2002  - More than 400 riders came to Delbarton, West Virginia, to compete in the AMA Amateur National Hillclimb Championships August 10-11. In the end, the fastest man up the hill was Mike Wood, of Bay City, Wisconsin, who stopped the clock at the top of the 450-foot, nearly vertical run in 9.403 seconds.

Wood wasn't riding a big-displacement open-class bike, either. He set the fast time in the 600cc class. Just to prove the point, the second fastest time in the class was Wood's run on Saturday, a 9.724-second effort. Nobody else in his class broke 10 seconds.

From morning to evening, racers riding everything from 50cc minibikes in the exhibition class, up through extended-wheelbase, open-class machines, plus three ATV classes, charged up the hill. In each class, the fastest time claims the title, whether turned in on Saturday or Sunday.

Dry conditions turned the hillside into a dustbowl, and as the day went on, a soft patch at the base of the steepest part of the hill only got more torn up, sapping racers of momentum just when they needed it most.

Randy Maynard, president of the Moonshine Hillclimb club, which organized the championships, said the club had dumped three truckloads of water per day on the track to prepare it, but the hot and dry weather eliminated any hint of moisture.

Despite the conditions, many racers bettered their Saturday times on the second day of competition.

One of them was Lloyd Mueller, of Kewaskum, Wisconsin, who won the Open Bike class. After the first day, Meuller trailed fellow Wisconsin resident Todd Cipala, a former champion who is also head of household for an entire family of hillclimbers. Cipala beat Mueller up the hill by just 0.066 seconds on the first day.

But on Sunday, Mueller bettered his time, tripping the lights in 9.453 seconds, while Cipala could not improve on his Saturday results.

The three Wisconsin riders were the only ones to break 10 seconds.

The closest battle occurred in the 400cc Stock Wheelbase class. Wes McCoy, of Van, West Virginia, set the mark on Saturday with a 10.824-second run. Greg Raugh, of Twin Lake, Michigan, came close, extremely close, on Sunday. In the end, McCoy won the title by 0.011 seconds.

Local racer Frank Wilson Jr., of Delbarton, was the fastest up the hill on four wheels, winning the Open ATV class with a time of 10.411 seconds.