http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-258723013668322389&q=poags+hole+hillclimb&hl=en

Seven page World Cup Hillclimb artical in the new October issue of Racer X

Fulfilling a dream (a family affair)
Farmington`s Jason Smith, 20, wins France`s Hill Climb
By John Renshaw
Special to The Tribune





Jeff Smith and his son Jason, on cycle. Every trip to a race is a family vacation for us, Jason says. "It brings our family closer together. (Photo courtesy of Jeff Smith)

Jason Smith of Farmington took first place at the Motorcycle Hill Climb Championships in France this month. Smith and four other United States riders overcame the 550-foot stretch of land that the French refer to as the "impossible mountain."
But this hill wasn`t impossible for Smith, who took home roughly $12,000 for the first-place finish in Decazaville. Smith was only one of four riders to make it over the hill. He did it in 21.4 seconds.
"France is the toughest hill I`ve ever seen . . . it`s a vertical wall. But it`s awesome to come in first [place] and the main thing is just to have fun," Smith said. "The French people were very nice to all of us over there and they treated all of us like kings."
The former editor-in-chief of Dirt Rider Magazine, Ken Faught, knew Smith was ready to tackle the tough course.
"At 20 years old, Jason is very impressive, his ability to conquer fear and not let the pressure`s of this sport get to him is amazing," Faught said.
Since Smith was young he dreamt of competing in France at the Monty Impossible. Watching videos of riders hill climbing, Smith knew this is what he wanted to do.
"France has always been my goal. . . . I feel privileged to be there because in order to compete, it`s by invitation only from the committee in France," Smith said.
More than 10,000 spectators were on hand for the competition.
But getting to France was no easy task for the Smiths, who had to buy a special trailer to accommodate team Action Machine`s Yamaha motorcycles. Fuel is also a challenge, the bikes run on 100 percent nitro methane.
"One thing that gets overlooked is how much planning is involved for a competition like this," Smith said. "It took us at least six months to plan ahead for the World Championships, even locating companies in France just to get fuel [nitro] had to be scheduled ahead of time so we could be fully prepared."
France finished second, with Stephane Pierrel topping the hill at 25.3 seconds. Canada was third, Jeff Thomas finished in 26.6 seconds.
Competing in the NAHA as a member of Team Action Machine,


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Smith has developed into a strong talent in his early career. Turning pro three years ago at age 17, Smith has worked through the rankings and is competing for a first place overall finish in the NAHA this season. With the league about halfway through competition this far, Smith currently is ranked second overall in the 0-700 classes.
Said Faught: "He is one of the few kids who represents the future of the sport and has the potential to be a national champion. With Jason`s help, we`re going to push for hill climbing to become an event for the X-Games beginning in 2007."
Smith has been working on motorcycles since he was 3 years old, with his dad Jeff. After building Jason a motorcycle five years ago, Jeff entered his son into amateur races and from there on, Smith`s career began to take shape. Jeff, who owns Team Action Machine, travels with Jason on the circuit.
"He`s my crew chief," Jason said, "ever since I was three, I`ve watched my Dad build motorcycles from the ground up and it`s great to be continuing that tradition. Every trip to a race is a family vacation for us. . . . It brings our family closer together."
But family in this sport doesn`t necessarily have to be relation. Although teams compete against each other on the NAHA Tour, there is a sense of unity among all the riders. With dangers unlike any other sport, the families of the competitors bond together.
"It`s a big family sport, we all help each other out. We [riders] see each other all the time even when it comes to the off-season. There is a sense of brotherhood among us and all the riders get along great," Jason said.

http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=148&sid=352555

Shelley Osterloh Reporting

A Utah man won a world championship title racing his motorcycle up the toughest hill climb in the world.

He`s just returned from France where he won the Hillclimb World Trophy this month.

Sixty Riders from 12 countries competed on a treacherous 550 foot stretch of land the French call the Impossible Mountain. All but four riders tumbled back.



Jason Smith/ World Champion Hillclimber: "You come over the wall and it doesn`t flatten off. It`s steep, real steep with big ledges and boulders. It`s nasty."

But it`s what 20-year-old Jason Smith of Farmington likes. He sailed over the double jumps and the first wall, then hung on through the rocks and loose dirt to clear a 150 foot near vertical wall to become the 2006 World Champion Hillclimber.

Jason Smith/ World Champion Hillclimber: "This is my trophy I won. They gave us a medal."

Smith`s win was big news in France, and some ten thousand spectators watched.

He started riding at age three and grew up watching video of his idols compete in the French Hill Climb. Now Jason and his Dad, Jeff, build the motorcycles from the ground up.

Most of Jason`s competitors run on gasoline powered engines. But this one is powered by nitro methane Jason and his father have worked for years to fine tune the engine so it can handle the nitro and give him the boost of power he needs.

Hillclimbing is a family affair. The Smiths recently purchased a special trailer so they can travel the country for competitions. Jason`s brother-in-law is also on his North American Hill Climbers Association team.

Judy Smith, Jason`s Mother: "It`s what our family does."

And winning the World Championship?

Jason Smith/ World Champion Hillclimber: "To see how happy my parents are when I come to the bottom of the hill, that alone is worth the world. It`s awesome."

Smith hopes this win will draw more sponsors and help him to his next goal.

Jason Smith/ World Champion Hillclimber: "My dream is to be able to hill climb for a living."

Jason Smith won 12-thousand dollars when he captured the World Trophy. This month he`s headed to New Plymouth, Idaho, for another Hillclimb competition.

The world’s fastest hillclimbers gathered in Europe to compete in the most-prestigious international event of the year. It’s a two-day torture test of man and machine, all chasing after the coveted World Trophy and an impressive $50,000 in prize money. North America sent eight riders from the N.A.H.A. Racer X/Suzuki Pro Hillclimb Series to represent the United States and Canada. The massive team was managed by five-time Hillclimb World Champ Kerry Peterson, and things couldn’t have been more intense.

France held its National Championship during Saturday’s events which determined which five riders would represent the host nation. None of the 40 riders managed to make it over the hill dubbed the Montee Impossible (Impossible Mountain) and it was easy to see why. It was so treacherous that the promoter reworked some of the course before Sunday to make it less dangerous and more thrilling for spectators. After all, this is a sport full of exotic 200-horsepower, nitro-burning multi-cylinder monsters, most of which use some sort of steel paddle tire or bolts sticking out of the rear wheel to provide increased traction. Oh yeah, some of the bike weighs over 700 pounds, so mistakes can be extremely costly.

Riders competing in the World Trophy were allowed five runs instead of the usual two on the American circuit. Twenty-year-old Jason Smith from Salt Lake City, Utah rode his 800cc nitro-burning Yamaha to win the event and the $12,000 first place prize. He was one of four riders who actually conquered the 550-foot hill, and he did so in 21.40 seconds. Frenchman Stephane Pierrel came in second with an impressive 25.3 second time. The French and Americans actually use two completely different techniques and bike setups, and both suffered equally on what could best be described as an uphill supercross tracks with big-block Chevrolet-size boulders at the top. The Americans tend to go for skinnier rear wheels and arm jerking power, while the French actually use 14-18 inch-wide car tires at the rear so they can run carriage bolts sticking through. It’s extremely odd, especially since they are run without any air, but they are very effective. Pierrel torqued his way to the top of the climb, and actually stopped for a few seconds on the 77-degree incline before resuming in trials-rider-like fashion.

American Jeff Thomas from Indianapolis claimed third after muscling his way over during his fourth attempt. Thomas actually had to borrow Smith’s bike to make the run after his transmission failed on his first run. That eliminated one of the five bikes that North American riders brought to share, and made things a little tense around the Team U.S.A. pits, especially with all of the bikes tumbling down the hill.

Frenchman Herve Poirot was the only other rider to make it over the top and stopped the clocks in 31.82 seconds. He edged out former champ Travis Whitlock who was fifth after climbing 159.12 meters on his KTM that was suffering problems with the NOS system. Whitlock, an American, is actually best known in France as the rider who scored the largest ever bounty in professional hillclimb competition. On his 21st birthday in 1990 Whitlock was the first to conquer a hill in Arrete that had not been topped in five years. Each year the promoter added money to the bounty, and Whitlock walked away with a cool $60,100 on his last run of the day. Unfortunately Whitlock had no such luck in France this time, but he did contribute heavily to a Team U.S.A. victory. Aside from Smith and Whitlock, the American contingent included Robie Peterson (8th), Dave Watson (10th) and Bret Peterson (12th). Bret Peterson also topped the inaugural stock class, making it a clean sweep for the United States.

“This was a really good event,” said Smith of the biggest win of his career, “I’m actually surprised that a few of us got over the top. It was really ugly up there, and pictures don’t do it justice at all. There were something like 10,000 spectators, and I know we put on a really good show.”

“I’m really proud of the entire team,” said Team Manager Kerry Peterson. “They all worked incredibly well together, and supported one another the entire time. I think that events like this actually strengthen racing in the United States because several foreign riders have come to our events to improve their riding. They know that the United States has a lot of talent, and like Supercross, people will always seek out the most-prestigous titles.”

“Man it felt good to get over the top,” said Thomas. “It’s a lot different riding in a foreign country on someone elses bike, but I will never forget this adventure. It was by far the roughest hill that I have ever seen and I hope I never have to climb anything like this again.”

“Luck always plays a big part in any racing, and it was my turn to have some bad luck,” said Whitlock. “I didn’t get the best pick for start position, and then I had a few bike problems. I really should have been able to get over the top, but I guess I’ll have to wait until next year.”



RESULTS

World Trophy Team: 1. U.S.A.; 2. France; 3, Canada; 4. Estonia; 5. Switzerland.



Individual: 1. Jason Smith (21.40 seconds); 2. Stephane Pierrel (25.30 seconds); 3. Jeff Thomas (26.86); 4. Herve Poirot (31.82); 5. Travis Whitlock (159.12 meters); 6. Ken Long (154.76 meters); 7. Patrick Brunier (154.48 meters); 8. Robie Peterson (154.13 meters); 9. Xavier Boutiton (152.75 meters); 10. Dave Watson (150.66 meters); 11. Riho Kollist (148.81 meters); 12. Bret Peterson (143.15 meters); 13. Marcel V.D. Akke (141.15 meters); 14. Eriki Salak (139.06 meters); 15. Don Beer (138.23); 16. Michel Wissen (138.1 meters); 17. Michael Resch (137.23 meters); 18. Lars Nonn (137.15 meters): 19. Josef Hofstetter (137.14 meters); 19. Vallo Poder (137.14 meters

Twenty-year-old Jason Smith pocketed $12,000 for winning the only true international hillclimb event on the 2006 calendar. Smith was joined by Travis Whitlock, Dave Watson and brothers Robie and Bret Peterson who are regulars on the Racer X/Suzuki N.A.H.A. Pro Hillclimb Series for the win this past weekend in Decazaville, France.

Smith was one of four riders who made it over what the French call Montee Impossible, a nasty 550-foot stretch of real estate. The speedster from Salt Lake City stopped the clocks with a 21.4 second run.

This artical was just one of many that were seen in Racer X, Cycle News, Troy Lee Designs websight, Numerous Salt Lake City news papers, and was featured on KSL 5 Evening news.
http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=148&sid=352555

http://www.motomag.com/spip/Montee-Impossible-de-Decazeville.html
http://troyleedesigns.com/company/news/article.php?news_id=295
http://www.racerxill.com/search.aspx?q=HILLCLIMB
http://www.cyclenews.com/ShowStory.asp?HeadlineID=9531
http://www.pro-hillclimbers.org/